The Ark of the Covenant by Nicholas Batzig

FROM TABLETALK | July 2011

It seems that every year a new children’s story Bible comes out. The captivating artwork often makes the biblical stories come alive. There is one picture in a particular story Bi ble our family has that my two-and-a-half-year-old, Elijah …Read More

The Allurement of Christ by Nicholas Batzig

FROM TABLETALK | May 2011

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15). Thomas Chalmers’ sermon “The Expulsive Power of a New Affection” has …Read More

Justified by His Blood by Anthony Carter

FROM TABLETALK | April 2011

Have you ever wondered why God loves you and desires you in His eternal blessed presence? Have you ever contemplated (seriously) why God would look favorably on you and bless you rather than condemn you? Most of us (dare I …Read More

Propitiation by His Blood by Anthony Carter

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

The theology of the church is filled with big words (justification, sanctification, predestination, and more). These big words carry with them big meanings. These big meanings reveal to us the bigness of our God and the greatness of our salvation …Read More

Reflecting Sin: The Pedagogical Use of the Law by David Murray

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

“Ouch!” That first look in the mirror every morning doesn’t get any easier, does it? In fact, I’d rather do without looking in mirrors at all. And I might get away with it — for a few days. Because …Read More

Lighting the Way: The Didactic Use of the Law by Robert Letham

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

In Reformed theology, the law has been seen as the guide for believers in the conduct of their lives. John Calvin described this as its principal use. In this sense, we are talking about the Decalogue — the Ten Commandments — and …Read More

Restraining Sin: The Civil Use of the Law by David VanDrunen

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

Of the three uses of the law, the so-called “civil” use may strike us as the least interesting theologically. It involves no inward transformation of the heart or Spirit-wrought righteousness that is pleasing in God’s sight. By this use …Read More

Our Liberating God by Burk Parsons

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

Why would anyone love the law of God? Why would we love that which constantly tells us what miserable wretches we are, daily points out all our shortcomings, relentlessly reminds us of all our death-deserving sins, and keeps knocking us …Read More

The Idol-Crushing King by Nicholas Batzig

FROM TABLETALK | March 2011

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). If the heart of man is, as John Calvin described it, “an idol-making factory,” then the way in which those idols are destroyed should be of utmost importance to us …Read More

Not Protesting Evil by Gene Edward Veith

FROM TABLETALK | February 2011

Dear Eligos, We tempters have a job that is both easy and difficult. Thanks to our fearless leader’s victory in the garden some time ago, human beings are ridiculously, even comically, susceptible to sinning. And yet, sin itself is …Read More

Our Bloody Religion by Anthony Carter

FROM TABLETALK | January 2011

It has been said that Christianity is a bloody religion. This reference is usually made by critics who point to the wars, inquisitions, trials, and executions carried out over the years in the name of Christianity. While we must admit …Read More

Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the LORD? (Part 2) by L. Michael Morales

The paradise atop Eden’s mount is described in Genesis 2-3 as a well-watered Garden with an abundance of fruit trees, a place where humanity and animals lived in harmony. These physical blessings, however, were but tokens (and small ones …Read More

Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the LORD? (Part 1) by L. Michael Morales

Once a soul has come to understand something of the unutterable majesty of the holiness of God, the question asked in Psalm 15 and 24 suddenly weighs upon the heart: “Who shall ascend the mountain of the LORD?” That is …Read More

Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the LORD? (Part 3) by L. Michael Morales

Worship — approaching the living God — is the central concern of Scripture, and a vital aspect of its narrative drama. Who may climb the summit of the LORD’s dwelling place to gaze upon his beauty? Against the backdrop of this …Read More

Restoration and Reformation by John Sartelle

FROM TABLETALK | December 2010

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matt. 4:17). What was the first word spoken by John the Baptist and by Jesus as they came preaching? Each of them …Read More