Reformed Christian Studies

 By Dr. Derek H. Thomas - Posted at Sermon Audio: Psalm 127 KJV 1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. 2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. 3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. 4 As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. 5 Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: How Jesus's Being the Prophet, Priest, and King Inform the Church Howdy! Seems like it is a good time of the year to count our blessings and consider again where they come from. The Larger Catechism questions for today are a great benefit to accomplishing that. For the believer there is always a need to be comforted in the reminder that everything we have, everything we need, both now and in the future, has their yeah and amen in the ongoing ministry of our Savior. In these Q/A’s we get to hear exactly how He goes about making sure in real time and through His providence His sheep are provided for in His glory. The fact that our Lord fulfills all of the roles registered below each in their own way deliver a particular peace and help in understanding how He is continuing in His ascension to be God to His covenant people. The three offices of Christ are called that for a few reasons. First, when we use the word “offic

By Pastor Adam Kuehner - Posted at Sermon Audio: Direct Link:  Shepherd on Justification | SermonAudio

 By Simonetta Carr - Posted at Place for Truth: "Sine dominico non possumus" ("We can't do without the Lord’s Day"). This was the answer of a group of 49 Christians (31 men and 18 women) who were arrested for participating in a Lord’s Day service. They lived in or around Abitina, a city in today's Tunisia which was at that time under Rome. It was the year 304, and Emperor Diocletian had launched an empire-wide persecution against Christians, forbidding their meetings, destroying their churches, and demanding them to hand over (tradere) their Scriptures. Defying the emperor’s orders, this group, led by their presbyter Saturninus, continued to meet secretly for worship in private homes. Discovered and arrested, they were sent to Carthage, about 50 miles away, to be tried by proconsul Gaius Annius Anulinus. Commenting on this arrest, the author of the Acts of the Abitinian Martyrs [1] – most likely an eye-witness – wrote: “As if a Chr

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:  4. Ambrose and Augustine - YouTube

By Rev. Neal Mathias - Posted at Sermon Audio: Psalm 126 KJV 1 When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. 2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. 3 The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad. 4 Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. 5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts from Parson Farms: How the Hypostatic Union Grants Assurance to Believers Good Morning! Today in our look at the Larger Catechism we will be spending time considering more about what it means that Jesus Christ is our Mediator. We’ve defined that word enough to be able now to dig deeper into why it matters and to see how it effects our daily walk and life. Some people like to look down on doctrine, saying things like “it’s a relationship, not a religion”. Yet, the problem with thoughts like that is when you utter it you are standing on the shoulders of men who spent a lot of time in concert with the Church in the blessed work of faith seeking understanding. There’s a bit of Paul’s concern at Corinth and Peter’s general worry to those he is writing to in his first epistle. Milk is good, but it’s not filling, it doesn’t make you stronger. There should be a desire to learn more and more of Jesus and His labors on our behalf. Can you get too d

By Adam Kuehner - Posted at Sermon Audio: Direct Link:  The Federal Vision: Overview (2) | SermonAudio

 By Simonetta Carr - Posted at Place for Truth: Most tourists to Rome stop by Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, in Piazza Navona. Some drop a coin in the water and make a wish. Hardly anyone is aware that in the same square a young Italian man was boiled in a cauldron of oil, pitch, and turpentine for his religious convictions. And yet, the man’s young age, stubborn refusal to recant, and astonishing composure during that final, agonizing ordeal, have contributed to imprint his name in the history of the Protestant Reformation. Algerio was born around 1531 in Nola, near Naples, Italy - the same birth-place of another famous dissenter, Giordano Bruno. That general area was also where a Spanish Reformer, Juan De Valdes, held a Protestant-leaning conventicle. Quite possibly, Algerio had already been exposed to dissenting ideas by the time he moved to the university of Padova (or Padua, as it is known outside of Italy). In Padova, he lived with other stu

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:  3. Athanasius Contra Mundum - YouTube

By Rev. Neal Mathias - Posted at Sermon Audio: Psalm 125 KJV 1 They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. 2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. 3 For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity. 4 Do good, O Lord, unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. 5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of iniquity: but peace shall be upon Israel.

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: Why Jesus Remaining in the Flesh is Good For Humanity Good Morning! We’ve talked at length about the covenant and what a covenant is, etc... and so a lot of what we are going to look at today is a repeat, but it’s the good kind of repetition that gives us strength of a spiritual kind. Our Lord calls on us to meditate on the blessed things because we are constantly being assaulted by the bad stuff. As Paul likewise reminds us in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” That’s why we do these catechism lessons every week. When we compare the amount of time we spend on frivolities verses the word of God every one us likely should be ashamed in some way. Yet, when we do go t

By Adam Kuehner - Posted at  Sermon Audio: Direct Link:  The Federal Vision: Overview (1) | SermonAudio

 By Simonetta Carr - Posted at Place for Truth: Sybil’s admission to the mission field reminds me of a scene of a movie. She was asking for directions to her accommodations when a young man offered to take her there. The man, Hiram Bingham, was preparing to leave as a missionary to the Hawaiian Islands. He just had one problem: the mission board was reluctant to send unmarried people, and his fiancée had just broken off their engagement. Sybil was a school teacher dreaming of joining a mission. It was common then for young Christian women to seek “higher” service to God by marrying a minister, going to a mission field, or both. And there they were, in the same vehicle, both thinking of far-off fields. “I had taken cold by a night’s ride over the mountains,” Hiram explained, “and I wrapped a handkerchief about my neck, chin, and mouth, that cold evening, and this awakened ready sympathy in the sensitive heart of the young lady.” [1] Hiram had heard

By Bruce Gore - Posted at YouTube: Direct Link:   Constantine the Great - YouTube

 By Rev. Neal Mathias - Posted at Sermon Audio: Psalm 124 KJV 1 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now may Israel say; 2 If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us: 3 Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their wrath was kindled against us: 4 Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had gone over our soul: 5 Then the proud waters had gone over our soul. 6 Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us as a prey to their teeth. 7 Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

 By Rev. Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts from Parson Farms: How the Continuity of the Covenant Shows Our True Family Good Morning, A couple of things as we get going this morning in our catechism lesson. First of all, you’ll notice that we skipped 31 and 32. Last week when I did number 13 I failed to add them into the post along with question 30. My apologies on that. Second, part of the my job in writing these is to convince you that it is worth your time to read them. That goal is going to get a little tougher admittedly as we turn into some of the more in depth content the Larger Catechism has to offer. The hope is that not only am I successful in that, but you really do get something out of these little letters of explanation. On that front let’s get into the three amigos for this week: Q. 33. Was the covenant of grace always administered after one and the same manner? A. The covenant of grace was not always administered after the same manner, but the administrations of it und