The Prodigal Father by R.C. Sproul Jr.

FROM TABLETALK | December 2012

When I served as editor in chief of Tabletalk magazine, I committed my share of gaffes. I received more than my share of sweet-natured but school-marmish notes about why this semicolon should have been a colon, or why further was …Read More

Apostolic Anxiety by Kevin DeYoung

FROM TABLETALK | August 2011

Second Corinthians 11:28 always seemed like a strange verse to me — until I became a pastor. Here’s Paul, rattling off all the ways he’s been beat up for Jesus — imprisonments, lashes, rods, stonings, shipwrecks, drifting at sea …Read More

What Made David Great? by Kevin DeYoung

FROM TABLETALK | January 2011

Everyone who knows the Bible knows that King David was a great man. And yet everyone familiar with the Bible also recognizes that David did a lot of not-so-great things. Of course, there was the sin with Bathsheba, the murder …Read More

What’s in a Name? by Mark Futato

FROM TABLETALK | November 2010

Anybody who has spent any time in the church can tell stories of flat-out ridiculous attitudes and actions they have seen in the lives of God’s people. There is nothing new under the sun. The book of Jonah exposes …Read More

Christ Our Church by Kim Riddlebarger

FROM TABLETALK | October 2010

There are a number of Old Testament passages that figure prominently in the New Testament. In Galatians 3:10–14, several of them are quoted by the apostle, and he uses these Old Testament passages as proof texts for the …Read More

Joseph’s Faith in Death by Kim Riddlebarger

A key figure in the closing chapters of the book of Genesis, Joseph is known for several things: his “coat of many colors,” being sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and his remarkable ability to interpret the dreams of …Read More

Lessons from a Queen by Tom Ascol

FROM TABLETALK | May 2008

In contrast to many of the ancient Near Eastern cultures, the Bible demonstrates a great respect for women. Among Jesus’ closest followers were Mary and Martha, and women were often the object of His kindness (Matt. 9:20ff; 15:22 …Read More

The Faithful Minister by Joel Beeke

FROM TABLETALK | May 2008

Matthew 11 begins with a brief reference to Jesus’ commissioning the twelve apostles (see 10:2–5), then returning to His work as a minister of the Word. This is the context for understanding the events and sayings of Chapter …Read More

The Reluctant Prophet by Steve Kreloff

FROM TABLETALK | February 2008

Anyone who has ever attended a Sunday school class knows that Jonah was the man who was eaten alive by a fish and then vomited out three days later. But that’s about the extent of most people’s understanding …Read More

Jesus’ Family Tree by Joel Beeke

FROM TABLETALK | January 2008

Genealogies are hardly spellbinding. Perhaps, like me, you are tempted to skip them in your Bible reading. Yet genealogies are a significant part of God’s infallible Scriptures. They, too, are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction …Read More

Everything Is Against Me! by Derek Thomas

FROM TABLETALK | September 2007

It is Jacob’s lowest point. As far as he knows, Joseph is dead. That’s the story his sons have led him to believe, showing him the blood-stained “coat of many colors” (Gen. 37:31–33). He mourned …Read More

A Loyal Love by Kathy Miskelly

FROM TABLETALK | July 2007

“For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Those words of Ruth are often quoted to express the desire …Read More

Limping Home to God by Derek Thomas

FROM TABLETALK | April 2007

Poor Jacob! You have to love him even though he’s such a disagreeable fellow! A cheat from birth, Jacob has lived up to his name and now finds himself away from home, fearing the wrath of his twin-brother …Read More

Snakes and Ladders by Derek Thomas

FROM TABLETALK | March 2007

Poor Jacob! You have to feel sorry for him even though he’s a most disagreeable character! A “self-willed mother’s boy,” with opportunistic instincts that enabled him to outsmart friends and foes alike in a ruthless bid at …Read More

Wily Jacob by Derek Thomas

FROM TABLETALK | February 2007

Sell me your birthright now,” Jacob demanded of his twin brother, Esau (Gen. 25:31). Thus begins the sorry tale of Abraham’s grandson. From the start, Jacob challenges us to dislike him: a self-willed, pampered child with ruthless skills …Read More