Practical Theology
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Depression is one of the most common forms of human suffering. In a typical year, approximately 21 million American adults and another 5 million adolescents experience a major depressive episode. For many, the effects are severe enough to impair work, school, relationships, and daily life. The economic cost alone is estimated between $200 and $300…
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Following its treatment of the Law (2LCF 19), the 1689 Baptist Confession, following the Savoy, devotes an entire chapter to the Gospel (2LCF 20). However, chapter twenty doesn’t provide us with a definition or description of the gospel. Rather, it addresses the necessity and accessibility of the gospel. In particular, it seeks to answer perennial…
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Having considered the decline of family worship (Part 1), as well as some biblical principles (Part 2) and positive benefits to support its practice (Part 3), I’d now like to offer several basic guidelines that should govern our thinking and practice as we endeavor to implement family worship in our homes. 1. Be consistent and…
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Having considered the decline of family worship (Part 1) and some biblical support for its practice (Part 2), we look now at some positive benefits, which in turn supply another argument for its restoration. As Paul instructs us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether we eat, drink, or whatever we do, we’re to do all to…
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In Part 1, we defined family worship as “the occasion in which the members of a given family gather together in order to participate in special acts of worship, such as the singing of praise, the reading and hearing of Scripture, and the offering of prayer to God.” In this segment of our study, we’ll attempt to…
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I attended a Christian University along with approximately five-thousand other students, most of whom came from Christian homes. Although I never conducted an official survey, my general impression was that very few of my fellow Christian students had grown up in homes where family worship had been regularly practiced. It was a foreign concept to…
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Religious “Legalism” with a capital “L” is heresy. It’s the belief that one’s personal virtue and obedience to religious norms or standards merits God’s favor and/or salvation. This “do-it-yourself” religion is antithetical to the gospel of Christ and the Bible’s grace-based religion. “For by grace you have been saved through faith,” writes the apostle Paul.…
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We’ve looked at the law and gospel in terms of “the big picture” and determined that they are interrelated and inseparable concepts (see Part 1). But is it ever appropriate to distinguish law from gospel? In other words, do the biblical writers ever contrast law with gospel? The answer is “Yes.” In fact, such a contrast is…
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The biblical teaching on “the law” and “the gospel” is massive. And contrary to what some may think, these concepts are complex. They can’t be reduced to a plaque on the wall with the Ten Commandments or a paper tract with Four Easy Steps on how to become a Christian. Instead, law and gospel each have…
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Death is an occasion and funeral homes are a place marked by much sadness and grief. And yet, according to Holy Scripture, there is something potentially beneficial about such an occasion and such a place. As the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it, “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to a house…