What makes Paul joyful?  It certainly was circumstances and future expectations.  Paul's boundless joy is tethered to the eternal promise of God, the same promises believers have in Christ Jesus.  

As Christians we may be confident that God is indeed for us in Christ even when our circumstances tempt us to doubt God’s favor toward us and presence with us.

This message explores how Christ’s church bears witness in the midst of persecution, proclaiming the enduring reign of God and the power of His Word. 

This message unfolds how this marvelous reality influences how we worship and serve Christ as creator, ruler, and redeemer.

This message explores how the church relates to unbelieving neighbors alongside whom it exists.

This message compares and contrasts being a pilgrim with being a master, on one hand, and a tourist, on the other. 

Our uncomfortable calling as exiles—to be neither isolated from nor absorbed into our environment—means following the footsteps of the Suffering Servant.

In this episode, Office Hours talks with the faculty presenting at the 2021 WSC Faculty conference for a preview of their lecture. 

In the last year, we also have all been reminded about the fragility of life and the uncertainties that can come with disease and death: COVID, a plummeting economy, violence in the streets almost unparalleled in history. Often in such times, we turn to the Psalter for comfort. Today, I’d like to take the reader on a brief survey of a familiar Psalm: Psalm 91.

We are reminded by the Word always to give thanks.  No matter the circumstance, the Lord's grace and presence give us sufficient reasons for thanks.  

Among the sterling characters of the Old Testament few surpass Joseph for integrity and faith—which shine all the more given the suffering he was called to endure. From one perspective, his life could be summed up as, “how everything went wrong.” But Joseph would insist that “everything went right.” Is Joseph a special case and have a special faith?  Or does he testify to a promise that applies to the people of Christ as well?

This meditation reflects upon the Apostle Paul's prayer for the church in Ephesus, which he planted, knows, and loves. By extension this prayer is for Christ's church and people in this present age as we await the Lord's return. Paul's prayer is bold and audacious. It is confident and comforting, knowing that the Lord is able and willing to do more than we can even ask and think.

We will be looking at God’s promise to restore the fortunes of Zion and the various ways in which he has done and will do that.  

In his 1521 translation of the Greek New Testament into German Luther used the word allein (alone) in his translation of Romans 3:28, which says, “For we reckon that a man is justified through faith apart from the works of the law.” Luther was right. He captured Paul's intent, which was to teach salvation sola fide, by faith alone.  

Genesis 11:1-9

In this episode, Office Hours talks to Westminster Seminary California President Joel Kim about the state of the seminary during the Covid-19 pandemic.

God’s compassion for those outside of Christ is so different from ours.  He focuses our attention on this in one of the most sublime short stories in literature: the little book of Jonah.  

In Romans 5:1-11, the Apostle Paul preached the bad news of our sin and the good news of our free, once-for-all, justification and salvation. The heart of passage is that, in Christ, God loves sinners, justifies them, saves them, and as a consequence, sanctifies them by his love and Spirit. 

All human boasting is subverted by the surprising grace of God's calling and election. The Christian's boasting is inverted, redirected away from ourselves toward the cruciform glory of Christ our Mediator.

God has robbed the graves of his people