Philip the Tetrarch was one of the three sons of Herod “the Great” who received territory when he died in 4 BC. Directly mentioned in the New Testament only in Luke 3:1, he ruled over Ituraea and Trachonitis. These almost exclusively Gentile regions were located to the northeast of the Sea of Galilee. It was…
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Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, in every thing give thanks—for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. ( Thessalonians 5:16–18) Giving thanks in every thing is relatively easy when the sun is shining and everything is more or less, “going our way.” Yet there are times—and for our church family at…
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T. S. Eliot once noted that the serious books we read do not influence us nearly as much as the books we read for fun (or the movies we watch for entertainment). Why? Because when we are relaxing, our guard is down and we engage in the “suspension of disbelief” that allows us to enter…
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Grappling with the Fears of Technological Change “Today we are at the dawn of the digital revolution, and we are grappling with many of the very same fears people faced at the dawn of every other communications revolution… But even now we can have hope. We can look to history to see how God has…
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God the Father, looking upon the sinful children of men, and seeing them all in a perishing condition by sin, out of infinite bowels of tender compassion, has provided a glorious way of mediation, of propitiation for sin. And, to that end, He has sent His only beloved Son out of His bosom, who has…
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Herod Antipas, under a variety of titles, appears in all three of the Synoptic Gospels and is mentioned in the book of Acts. One of the many sons of Herod “the Great,” under the terms of his father’s will he was appointed “Tetrarch,” a client ruler somewhat lower in rank than a “king,” over the…
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It has often been said that, “To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.” Regardless of the source of this modern-day proverb, it communicates a truth that all of us recognize instinctively. We also understand, at least in theory, that adequate preparation must always take into account the nature of the challenge being prepared…
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A Christian faith that tries to adapt itself to this culture in order to win a “hearing” is a Christian faith that will be left with nothing to say. The ally of faith is not culture but creation, not the ethos and trends of modernity, but the stubbornly present imago Dei. For it is the…
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In light of Christmas, we will not be posting anything during the week that follows. May the Lord give you a wonderful holiday and may you have many opportunities to point others toward the Christ Whose birth we celebrate. Merry Christmas!
Are You Bored with Christ at Christmas? “It’s possible to become so familiar with Jesus that we know him as a Sunday school answer rather than a mind-blowingly great, heart-meltingly beautiful Lord, who makes his claim upon our lives, to whom we owe everything, who alone gives us lasting joy, and who deserves all our…
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