Of the Way

This is must reading for any young man.  Ryle’s exhortation to young men is timeless, succinct (62 pages in this edition), and wise.  The only real qualm that I have with Ryle is that he seems to have a latent gnostic streak with regards to the material world.  (The phrase “immortal soul” shows up quite […]

This little 41 page booklet is essentially an adaptation of the first lecture Thielicke would give to new students.  It warns new theological students of the “spiritual sicknesses” that frequently befall theology students.  He compares the period of theological training to puberty in that there are a lot of changes going on and the maturity […]

Protestant Biblical Interpretation is a textbook of hermeneutics, which the author defines as the “science and art of Biblical interpretation.”  This was assigned reading as part of my “Thinking Biblically I” class at Christus Rex Study Center.  There is a lot of good material in this book, and there are only a couple of untranslated […]

This is a great summary of Biblical Christianity (a.k.a. “Calvinism”).  There are four sections of this book.  “Back to Conversion” is written by Doug Wilson, an able and concise presentation of the reformed view of soteriology (the doctrine of salvation).  “Back to the Covenant” is written by Doug Jones and presents the basics of thinking […]

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens. […]

This is a book of several essays on church life on topics ranging from the character of a minister to outreach to the sacraments.  Beyond containing several memorable quotes, the book is quite practical.  It deals directly with issues that come up again and again in the life of the church.  Wilson ably advances the […]

Peter Leithart preached at our church this past Sunday.  As I don’t believe he ordinarily records the sermons he preaches, this is a rare treat.  It can be found here.   While you’re at it, you can also catch the last time he preached at our church (before I was there) about Naboth’s vineyard.  Don’t say […]

My first Christus Rex Study Center (CRSC) book.  Jordan attempts to develop a Biblical worldview based on the symbolism of the Bible.  He looks at stars, trees, rocks, animals, etc., in terms of their symbolic significance in the Bible and then looks at the different “worlds” of Noah, the Patriarchs, the Mosaic establishment, the Davidic […]

As Christians, we have been baptized into the death of Jesus Christ, our Lord. The old order was nailed to the cross with Jesus. The Law of Moses was nailed to the cross with Jesus. But on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. For those in Christ (including the […]

Note: As part of my application to Christus Rex Study Center, I was required to include a statement of my Christian faith.  I figured I’d also post it here on my blog.  Enjoy. The request that applicants to Christus Rex Study Center provide “a written statement of [our] Christian faith” is delightfully ambiguous. How somebody […]

After reading this title, many of you might be thinking, “We’ve lost Mike. He’s gone off the deep end. We always knew he was one quirk away from dementia, and well…it’s Leviticus.” My current Bible reading has me in Leviticus. Let’s face it: among contemporary evangelicals, Leviticus is not likely to win the “book we’re […]

I was recently involved in a scrum in the comments section of a post on Doug Wilson’s “Blog and Mablog” where I was arguing with a couple of other readers  about foreign policy.  I confess that I was not as sober-minded as I should have been and didn’t guard my electronic tongue as well as […]

In the life of religion, there are always ditches on both sides of the proverbial road of faithfulness and obedience. On the right we have superstition.  This ditch is characterized by  adding to the word of God.  The superstitious are often seen as being more “religious” than the faithful, and are proud of it.  The […]

It’s interesting how God works things together some times. If any of the following recent events did not happen to me, I probably would not have ended up writing a hymn. 1.) I recently purchased the Academic/Theological edition of Finale 2009, a music notation program from Make Music, Inc., which I wouldn’t have done unless […]

Jehovah’s covenant is sureHis name is lifted highBy his own name he swore an oathTo Abram’s seed draw nighThose purchased by the blood of ChristOn whom thy favor restsPredestined ere the dawn of timeThe bridegroom’s prized bequest Transcendent yet incarnate LordSublime in mysteryFor who can know the ways of GodUnless revealed they be?Unchanging as a […]