Monthly Archives: July 2011

Exhortation: A Conservative and Radical Gospel

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Uri Brito

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of you may know of the death this week of one of the greatest living Reformed theologians in the last 100 years. John Stott … Continue reading →

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Communion Meditation: The Table of Reconciliation

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Uri Brito

This table is reconciliation. It is reconciliation between God and man, but also reconciliation between man and man. Manoah and his wife prepared a meal for the angel of Yahweh, but the angel said that they needed a sacrifice. Today, … Continue reading →

Posted in Communion Meditation | 1 Comment

Ascension and Glory

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Uri Brito

In Judges 13, Manoah’s sacrifice (ascension offering) is united with the Angel of Yahweh (Jesus). Jesus ascends to God as the perfect aroma. But he does this in front of Manoah and his wife. They are witnesses of his ascension. … Continue reading →

Posted in Judges | 1 Comment

Covenant and Reprobation

Posted on July 30, 2011 by Uri Brito

Shepherd writes attempting to avoid future misunderstanding about the nature of reprobation: And please note carefully the way in which I’m stating this point because it could be very easily misunderstood. I want to block out the possibility of misunderstanding … Continue reading →

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Norman Shepherd and John 15

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Uri Brito

Near to the heart of the Shepherd controversy at Westminster (discussed in Ian Hewitson’s work Trust and Obey) is John 15:1-8. Opponents of Shepherd viewed this passage only from a decretal perspective. Thus, they understood Shepherd to be teaching conditioned … Continue reading →

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The Death of John Stott

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Uri Brito

It is now 1:09 PM central time and I see the twitter news about the death of John Stott. Author of 52 books, Stott was a giant figure in the evangelical world. David Brooks referred to him in 2004 as … Continue reading →

Posted in Tribute | 2 Comments

Jonathan Edwards’ On Our United Happiness

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Uri Brito

God’s respect to the creature’s good, and his respect to himself, is not a divided respect; but both are united in one, as the happiness of the creature aimed at is happiness in union with himself (The End for Which … Continue reading →

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Jehovah’s Witnesses

Posted on July 26, 2011 by Uri Brito

Jehovah’s Witnesses spend much of their time making clear how God only has one name, Jehovah. How can they limit the names of God to only one name? This is foolish, since God reveals himself by different names throughout the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cults/JW's & Mormons | Leave a comment

Pastoral Work and Depression

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Uri Brito

I am thankful that in my few years of pastorate God has placed godly men in my life. Men like Mickey Schnider, Randy Booth, and many others have really shaped my thinking. Paul Tripp’s latest post is a post I … Continue reading →

Posted in Counseling/Pastoral Issues | Leave a comment

Assurance, Examination, and Community

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Uri Brito

There was a period in my life when I wondered quite frequently whether I was a Christian or not. Thankfully that period is gone. It is not that I don’t examine myself, but that the examination does not take on … Continue reading →

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Exhortation: The God Who Laughs

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Uri Brito

G.K. Chesterton once wrote that “It is the test of a good religion whether you can make a joke about it.”[1] Keep in mind that the Christian faith is no joke, but at times quite humorous. This is an interesting … Continue reading →

Posted in Exhortation | 1 Comment

Exhortation: God as Cosmic Mr. No?

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Uri Brito

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis writes about a schoolboy who was once asked what God was like. He replied that, as far as he could make out, God … Continue reading →

Posted in Exhortation | 2 Comments

Communion Meditation: Our Sabbath Rest

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Uri Brito

We sit down and relax and enjoy each other’s company because Jesus has endured the awful shame of the cross. He finished his priestly task, so that we might sit with Him and feast in his presence by eating bread … Continue reading →

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How to Disagree While Being Both Faithful and Winsome

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Uri Brito

This is a helpful discussion.

Posted in YOUTUBE VIDEO | 2 Comments

First Century Questions About Infants

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Uri Brito

“The modern debate over infant baptism frequently shows how far removed we are from the debates of the first century. Our debates center around a question like this: ‘Do you mean to say that you think the Gentiles in the first century … Continue reading →

Posted in Infant Baptism/Biblical and Early Church Practices | 1 Comment

DeYoung, DeRestless & DeRealLiteralLutheran Ninjitsu

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Uri Brito

I am a happy Calvinist, but I have a particular love for my Lutheran brothers. This is a fine response to Kevin DeYoung’s question in his post What’s Up With The Lutherans? Fisk makes a couple historical assumptions such as the fact … Continue reading →

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Samson, the Comedian

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Uri Brito

Leithart observes about Samson: He goes about tearing lions like lambs, posing riddles, lighting foxes on fire, and so on and on. Only moralistic Christians could rob these stories of their inherent humor and interest. Frowning and finger-wagging only makes … Continue reading →

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Trinitarian Laughter

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Uri Brito

One principle of presuppositionalism is that man is fully dependent on God. He thinks and meditates based on God’s creative standard of thinking and meditation. Ungodly man cannot do either without first borrowing from God. As Van Til once put it: … Continue reading →

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Taming the Bible

Posted on July 4, 2011 by Uri Brito

From my sermon The Sacred Violence of Judges: Our evangelical culture has tamed the Bible. They have kept our covenant children away from the sacred violence of Judges. Jesus has become the gentle shepherd holding his sheep, instead of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Judges, Sermons/Pentecost | Leave a comment

Exhortation: What does it mean to be a citizen?

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Uri Brito

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it mean to be a citizen of a nation? This is a question we consider at this time of the year. There is … Continue reading →

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Communion Meditation: The Song of Victory

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Uri Brito

In the song of Deborah we read: “So let all Your enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goes forth in his might.” This is a song of victory; a song … Continue reading →

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Judges and Laughter

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Uri Brito

Judges is a story of laughter, because history is God’s big laugh. In Psalm 2 we remember that Yahweh laughs at the plans of the wicked. For some of you who are cable-news driven; who love to be aware of … Continue reading →

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Biblical Interpretation

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Uri Brito

Jim Jordan writes in the Introduction to his Judges’ commentary: We do not need some specific New Testament verse to “prove” that a given Old Testament story has symbolic dimension. Rather, such symbolic dimensions are presupposed in the very fact … Continue reading →

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What is the Biblical Case for Ordained Ministers Ordinarily Serving at the Table?

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Uri Brito

Note: I have updated this article to include a few additional arguments. At the outset, I want to make clear that my case is for the ordinary administration of the Table by an ordained minister. It is also important to … Continue reading →

Posted in Word/Sacrament | 2 Comments