Think about your body – bones and muscles, brain and spinal cord, heart and arteries, white blood cells and lymph nodes, and all the rest. Your body was fearfully and wonderfully made, and each part contributes to your well-being (Ps. 139:14). Think about your right big toe. Not the most glamorous part of your body, but it’s great. Your big toe bears much weight and helps maintain your balance. Walking, gymnastics, and skateboarding are thrilling in part because of big toes...
Author - Jonathan Shirk
Christ’s church is a beautiful and wonderful thing. The very concept and existence of Christ’s church is hopeful and comforting. Why would I say that? How could the church’s existence give us hope and comfort? Let me explain. The covenant of works was clearly defined from the beginning: “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16–17). The...
Years ago, another elder and I met with a couple in their home to talk about their church membership. They were members of our church but did not attend corporate worship with us. In fact, I don’t think they’d joined us for corporate worship in years. They were essentially strangers. When meeting with this couple, the husband seemed disinterested in our church and church in general. I don’t think he believed he needed a local church, and he didn’t show any desire to be an active part...
Is there any part of God’s moral law more misunderstood or ignored by Christians than the fourth commandment? Maybe the second or the seventh, but it is evident that the fourth commandment has fallen on hard times among many Christians. In fact, the fourth commandment is so misunderstood that people continue to confess Christ and claim to follow him while they unashamedly continue to disobey the fourth missing its goodness. They assume they can have deep intimacy with God apart from obedience...
I grew up in the Mennonite Church, and for Mennonites, oaths are a no-no. You simply don’t swear oaths. As a kid, I remember feeling a bit nervous about the possibility of needing to go to court and standing up against the hand on the Bible part. What would I do? By law, Anabaptists are not required to swear oaths in court. They can simply give legal affirmations which are defined as follows: In law, an affirmation is a solemn declaration allowed to those who conscientiously object to...
Majestic. What a word. When something is majestic, it’s grand, it’s impressive, it’s outstanding, it’s magnificent. What have you seen that is majestic? What has taken your breath away? Maybe you’ve beheld the majesty of Mount Whitney in California or of the Winston Churchill Range of the Canadian Rockies. Maybe you’ve looked up at the majesty of the nighttime sky from Cherry Springs State Park in Coudersport, PA, or from Nova Scotia, Canada. I was once fly fishing on Pine Creek...
What about images of Jesus? Many Christians agree we should not make any images of God because of the second commandment. But what about images of Jesus who is both God and man? What if we simply portray the humanity of Jesus and leave his divinity out of it entirely? Is that breaking the second commandment? It’s a big question. It’s an extremely important question. In fact, it’s among the most important theological questions because it relates to how we think about and worship Jesus...
You’ve probably seen it on signs or t-shirts or stickers – “Love is love.” It’s the slogan of the LGBTQIA+ community. This little slogan reveals our culture’s confusion about love. First, as a kid, I was taught not to define a word with the word itself. Doing this is called a circular definition. What is the Heidelberg Catechism? Well, it’s a catechism from Heidelberg. That’s not all that enlightening or helpful. “Love is love” is unhelpful in part because it’s a...
What is conversion? When you hear the word “conversion,” you might think of an animated evangelist under a tent bellowing about being born again as a tearful man walks a sawdust aisle to the front. Or maybe you think about repeating a prayer at a youth conference or camp or someone leading someone else through the so-called “sinner’s prayer.” Or maybe you think about some other sensational or mountain top experience. I’ve been to tent revivals, youth conferences, and...
Understanding how the Heidelberg Catechism is organized is important. The law exposes our sin and misery and drives us to Christ. This is the guilt section. The grace section unpacks the gospel. In this section, the Heidelberg helps us understand the Apostles’ Creed, an excellent historical summary of the gospel. Through the gospel, the Holy Spirit quickens and motivates us to live for God’s glory by increasingly obeying His commandments. This is the gratitude section. Gratitude is more...