Reformed Forum

Latest Episodes:

Genesis 31:22–55 — Jacob’s Covenant with Laban Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

The narrative portions of Scripture serve to highlight the paradigm established by Genesis 3:15. In the story of Jacob and Laban we see primarily not a conflict between two human beings but a conflict between the one true God and the gods of Laban. Laban’s gods are helpless and put to shame. Jacob’s God fulfills his covenant and provides a redeemer to cleanse Jacob—and us—from sin.

Participants: Jim Cassidy, Mark A. Winder

Summary of Christian Doctrine: Man in His Original State, Part 1 Feb 15, 2023

Show notes

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss Louis Berkhof’s little book, Summary of Christian Doctrine. We come to the third section of this book entitled, “The Doctrine of Man in Relation to God.” This third section begins with chapter 11, “Man in His Original State.” We discuss the first two topics concerning the nature of man and the origin of the soul.

Participants: Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

[2 Peter] The End of the Path: The Entrance (1:11–15) Feb 13, 2023

Show notes

This episode is a lesson from Exploring 2 Peter: The Promise and the Path, a course taught by Daniel Ragusa.

Daniel Ragusa is the pastor of Messiah's Reformed Fellowship (URCNA) in New York City. He received his M.Div. from Mid-America Reformed Seminary and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Westminster Theological Seminary.

But along the path are cunning enemies, scoffers and mockers, who would cause us to turn back in unbelief, misattributing eternity to the present world order rather than to the kingdom (3:4).

Peter exhorts the church not to overlook the Holy Spirit-inspired history of special revelation as it foreshadows this coming reality (1:21), including Noah and the flood (2:5), Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:6–8), the restraint of Balaam (2:15–16), the approaching Day of the Lord (3:11), and even the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the mountain as a witness to his royal sonship (1:17–18).

This course will demonstrate what Geerhardus Vos meant when he said, “The Bible is not a dogmatic handbook but a historical book full of dramatic interest.” It will also explain the typological use of the Old Testament. Finally, it will shape and transform us as our minds are set on the eternal kingdom—where Jesus is and so our hearts too.

Video lessons and supporting course materials are available at https://reformedforum.org/courses/exploring-2-peter-the-promise-and-the-path/

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

A Theology of Luke Feb 10, 2023

Show notes

Benjamin L. Gladd speaks about From the Manger to the Throne: A Theology of Luke, which is published by Crossway in the New Testament Theology series edited by Thomas R. Schreiner and Brian S. Rosner.

In the gospel, Luke demonstrates a rich knowledge of the Old Testament and points to Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection as the culmination of Old Testament prophecy. Dr. Gladd explains the dominant biblical-theological themes in Luke and demonstrates how drawing from the Old Testament, Luke affirms Christ’s long-awaited redemption.

Benjamin L. Gladd is professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. He is the author of Handbook on the Gospels (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2021) and From Adam and Israel to the Church: A Biblical Theology of the People of God (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2019). Along with G. K. Beale, he is the co-author of The Story Retold: A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2020). Dr. Gladd is also series editor for IVP’s Essential Studies in Biblical Theology and Baker’s Handbook on the New Testament.

Chapters

00:07 Introduction
00:41 Cultivating an Intellectual Life
14:53 Approaching this Project
20:54 Who Was Theophilus?
27:04 The Early Chapters of Luke
29:47 Titles for Jesus
33:17 The Theme of Reversal
38:54 An Apostolic Hermeneutic
40:12 The Exodus Theme in Luke
47:31 The Wilderness Theme in Luke
54:29 A Conference on the NT use of the OT
58:04 Conclusion

Participants: Benjamin Gladd, Camden Bucey

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Christ the Center 1000

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

[2 Peter] The Middle of the Path: The Endeavor (1:5–10) Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

This episode is a lesson from Exploring 2 Peter: The Promise and the Path, a course taught by Daniel Ragusa.

But along the path are cunning enemies, scoffers and mockers, who would cause us to turn back in unbelief, misattributing eternity to the present world order rather than to the kingdom (3:4).

Video lessons and supporting course materials are available at https://reformedforum.org/courses/exploring-2-peter-the-promise-and-the-path/

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

A History of Presbyterianism in Wisconsin Feb 03, 2023

Show notes

Brian DeJong explores the history of Presbyterianism in Wisconsin by focusing on several key figures in the development Presbyterian churches in the area.

In 1821, the Stockbridge Mohican Indians relocated to the Fox River area, just north of Appleton. These Indians had been under the Christian ministries of David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, and John Sergeant in Massachusetts. They eventually moved to the eastern shore of Lake Winnebago. The Rev. Jesse Miner came to minister among them in 1825. Later, Mr. Cutting Marsh served among them as well.

Rev. DeJong also describes the ministries of Rev. Moses Ordway and Stephen Peet in Green Bay and beyond and Peter Zonne in what is known today as Cedar Grove. Overall, we gain a sense of the pioneering mindset and strong commitment to missions and church planting among these early Wisconsin Presbyterians.

Chapters

00:00:08 Introduction
00:05:01 Presbyterianism in Wisconsin
00:16:16 Edwards, Brainerd, and the Stockbridge Indian Tribe
00:26:20 Moses Ordway
00:35:57 Stephen Peet
00:44:58 Pieter Zonne
00:50:29 The OPC in Wisconsin
00:58:15 Takeaways from Studying Wisconsonites
01:06:57 Conclusion

Participants: Brian DeJong, Camden Bucey

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Summary of Christian Doctrine: Providence Feb 01, 2023

Show notes

This week on Theology Simply Profound, Rob and Bob discuss Louis Berkhof’s little book, Summary of Christian Doctrine. Within the second section, The Doctrine of God and Creation, chapter 10 continues the section called, “The Works of God,” where Berkhof opens up the doctrine of providence.

Participants: Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

[2 Peter] The Beginning of the Path: The Escape (1:3–4) Jan 30, 2023

Show notes

This episode is a lesson from Exploring 2 Peter: The Promise and the Path, a course taught by Daniel Ragusa.

But along the path are cunning enemies, scoffers and mockers, who would cause us to turn back in unbelief, misattributing eternity to the present world order rather than to the kingdom (3:4).

Video lessons and supporting course materials are available at https://reformedforum.org/courses/exploring-2-peter-the-promise-and-the-path/

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000

A Theological Introduction to Neo-Calvinism Jan 27, 2023

Show notes

Today we welcome Cory C. Brock and N. Gray Sutanto to speak about their book, Neo-Calvinism: A Theological Introduction (Lexham Academic), which is an excellent initiation and explication of neo-Calvinism as a nineteenth- and early twentieth-century movement in the Netherlands. It was “a revival of Reformed confessionalist theology in the Netherlands roughly beginning with the rise of Kuyper as a theology, with the founding of the Vrije Universiteit in 1880, the formation of the Gereformeerde Kerken in 1892, and its systematization in the theological output of Herman Bavinck (p. 4).”

Cory C. Brock is minister at St. Columba’s Free Church of Scotland in Edinburgh and adjunct lecturer in theology at Edinburgh Theological Seminary and Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. Heh is the author of Orthodox yet Modern: Herman Bavinck’s Use of Friedrich Schleiermacher.

N. Gray Sutanto is assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., and the author of God and Knowledge: Herman Bavinck’s Theological Epistemology of God. He is an associate fellow at the Neo-Calvinism Research Institute.

Chapters

00:00:07 Introduction
00:01:24 Grace in Common
00:04:26 Defining Neo-Calvinism
00:15:08 What Is “Neo” about Neo-Calvinism?
00:21:37 Grace Restores/Perfects Nature
00:32:13 Anonymous Neo-Calvinists
00:40:54 Catholicity and Ecumenicity
00:48:45 Worldview
01:00:34 Developing a Global View of Christianity
01:08:45 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Cory Brock, Nathaniel Gray Sutanto

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000 Live in Austin, TX

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

Christ the Center 1000

Christ the Center 1000 Summit

[2 Peter] Introduction and Overview (1:1–2) Jan 23, 2023

Show notes

This episode is a lesson from Exploring 2 Peter: The Promise and the Path, a course taught by Daniel Ragusa.

In this course, Rev. Ragusa explores 2 Peter with special attention to Peter’s use of redemptive history in his depiction and defense of the Christian life as oriented toward Christ and the future. By the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we have embarked on an eschatological pilgrimage down a path out of this world (1:4) and into his eternal kingdom (1:11). But along the path are cunning enemies, scoffers and mockers, who would cause us to turn back in unbelief, misattributing eternity to the present world order rather than to the kingdom (3:4).

Alert to this danger, Peter mounts a defense that will endure these “last days” (3:3) in which we find ourselves by reminding the church of Christ’s promise to come again in power with new heavens and a new earth—a promise given long ago through the prophet Isaiah (1:4; 3:13) but now more fully confirmed by the corroborating witness of the apostles (1:19; 3:1–2). Peter exhorts the church not to overlook the Holy Spirit-inspired history of special revelation as it foreshadows this coming reality (1:21), including Noah and the flood (2:5), Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (2:6–8), the restraint of Balaam (2:15–16), the approaching Day of the Lord (3:11), and even the transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the mountain as a witness to his royal sonship (1:17–18). This course will demonstrate what Geerhardus Vos meant when he said, “The Bible is not a dogmatic handbook but a historical book full of dramatic interest.” It will also explain the typological use of the Old Testament. Finally, it will shape and transform us as our minds are set on the eternal kingdom—where Jesus is and so our hearts too.

Video lessons and supporting course materials are available at https://reformedforum.org/courses/exploring-2-peter-the-promise-and-the-path/

Mentioned in this episode:

Christ the Center 1000