Christ the Center

David Nakhla speaks about the work of deacons and how the Orthodox Presbyterian Church is working to assist the diaconate in its labors for Christ’s church. Mr. Nakhla is the administrator for the OPC’s Committee on Diaconal Ministries and the Short-Term Missions and Disaster Response Coordinator. Links OPC Diaconal Ministries Website OPC Disaster Response OPC Short-Term Missions OPC Refugee Minis...

Ryan Noha and Camden Bucey discuss Reformed Academy and the newest course to launch on the platform, titled Union with Christ: The Benefits of His Suffering and Glory . This latest course is taught by Lane Tipton, and we include the tenth and final lecture toward the end of this episode. Video Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:04:13 The Courses at Reformed Academy 00:11:49 Future Course Availabili...

After discussing their trips to Colombia with OPC foreign missions, Jim Cassidy and Camden Bucey explore the influence of modernism upon Roman Catholicism and American Presbyterianism. Modernism led to many changes in American Presbyterianism, including the reorganization of Princeton Seminary and the founding of Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. The mainline church eventu...

We turn to pages 263–264 of Geerhardus Vos’ book,  Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments , to consider the sin of Israel and the resulting rupture of their covenant bond with the Lord. Links OPC Study Committee Report on Republication , Chapter 8 Participants: Camden Bucey , Lane G. Tipton

Danny Olinger and John Muether join Camden Bucey to speak about the early history of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the forces within the young ecclesiastical body desiring broader influence throughout the culture. J. Gresham Machen gathered a broad coalition of “fundamentalists” in leading a charge against modernism at Princeton Theological Seminary and then throughout the Presbyterian Chur...

Carlton Wynne, Lane Tipton, and Camden Bucey open Cornelius Van Til’s book,  The Defense of the Faith  to pages 33–39 wherein Van Til discusses the doctrine of salvation. Van Til is insistent to maintain the incommunicable attributes of God in all aspects of theology, even here in soteriology. Throughout this section, Van Til refuses to admit any form of mutualism or correlativism in the God-man r...

Jim Cassidy and Camden Bucey discuss their experiences with catechisms among Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism , and evangelicalism and then their introduction to the Westminster Shorter Catechism. Participants: Camden Bucey , Jim Cassidy

We turn to pages 256–263 of Geerhardus Vos’ book, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments , to discuss the bond between the Lord and Israel. In this chapter, Vos considers revelation during the period of the prophets, but in this section, he specifically considers the unique perspective on covenant ( berith ) offered by Isaiah and Hosea. Participants: Camden Bucey , Lane G. Tipton

Ryan Noha poses several questions submitted by our listeners and views. Along with Jeff Waddington and Camden Bucey, the panel discusses Thomas and Van Til on the doctrine of God, how the eternal decree relates to the well-meant offer of eschatological life in the covenant of works, aspects of our union with Christ, and several matters of eschatology. Participants: Camden Bucey , Jeff Waddington ,...

Glen Clary discusses the worship setting of Revelation 4–5 and its significance for the church’s present and future worship. While on the isle of Patmos, John was given a vision of the highest heavens. While we may consider these visions as symbols conveying cryptic messages for the church, they are a picture of the worship that occurs among the heavenly host in the highest heavens. Our worship on...

We preview a forthcoming course on Union with Christ and the Doctrine of Salvation, taught by Lane Tipton. Participants: Camden Bucey , Lane G. Tipton

Jim Cassidy and Camden Bucey discuss the 48th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, which recently adjourned in St. Louis, Missouri, and look forward to the 87th General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church to be held in Sioux Center, Iowa. They then turn their attention to the covenant of works, which is the subject of our 2021 Fall Theology Conference in Pflugerville, T...

Carlton Wynne, Lane Tipton, and Camden Bucey open Cornelius Van Til’s book, The Defense of the Faith to pages 32–33 wherein Van Til discusses the doctrine of Christ. These are the fundamental building blocks of the consistent Christian apologetic. Participants: Camden Bucey , Carlton Wynne , Lane G. Tipton

Rev. John Fikkert speaks about providing specialized care for ministers. Rev. Fikkert is the director of the OPC’s Committee on Ministerial Care , which provides a range services for ministers such as counseling and diaconal aid, financial planning assistance, webinars on a range of topics, and funds for sabbaticals. Participants: Camden Bucey , John Fikkert

Rob McKenzie speaks about the Christian life and a variety of apologetic encounters he has woven into his book Seeker’s Progress . In this novel, McKenzie explores the world that John Bunyan created in his classic book, The Pilgrim’s Progress . There is another man from the City of Destruction who follows after Christian also seeking to find truth. With the help of Evangelist, Seeker follows...

Dr. Stephen J. Nichols speaks about the life and legacy of Dr. R. C. Sproul. Dr. Nichols has written a biography of Dr. Sproul, which has recently been published by Crossway. This biography details R. C.’s family history and early life in Pittsburgh, through his seminary education and early ministry all the way to the end of his life, reflecting on the many institutions Dr. Sproul founded and help...

We turn to the third sermon in Grace and Glory, a collection of sermons Geerhardus Vos preached at the Miller Chapel of Princeton Theological Seminary. In “Seeking and Saving the Lost,” Vos preaches from Luke 19:10, wherein Jesus describes his ministry to redeem sinners and to bring them into communion with the one true and living God. Participants: Camden Bucey , Danny Olinger , Lane G. Tipton

Lane Tipton is in the studio with Camden Bucey to discuss the doctrine of salvation and union with Christ from the eschatological perspective of redemption accomplished and applied. On the heels of recording a new course on the topic with Dr. Tipton, they discuss the foundational categories of historia salutis and ordo salutis as well as how Jesus’s resurrection was simultaneously his justificatio...

Drs. G. K. Beale and Benjamin Gladd speak about their book The Story Retold: A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament  (IVP Academic) in which they seek to couch every major passage of Scripture within the broad history of redemption, making sense of the New Testament in light of the Old. New Testament introductions typically either emphasize the history behind the text throug...

We turn to pages 255–256 of Geerhardus Vos,  Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments  to consider the ways in which the Old Testament prophets use anthropomorphism to describe God. The “emotional” or “affectional” dispositions of Jehovah’s nature is the next set of attributes. He says, as a guiding principle, “we are here in a sphere full of anthropomorphism” and says that “an anthropo...

We welcome Dr. Rita Cefalu to speak about the rich biblical-theological themes regarding Christ in Acts 2–3. Dr. Cefalu has written, “The Sufferings and Glory of Jesus the Messiah in Acts 2–3,” which appears in The Seed of Promise: The Sufferings and Glory of the Messiah: Essays in Honor of T. Desmond Alexander (Glossa House), co-edited by Dr. Cefalu and Paul R. Williamson. Dr. Cefalu...

Dr. Crawford Gribben speaks about his book, Survival and Resistance: Christian Reconstruction in the Pacific Northwest (Oxford University Press), in which he describes the migration of conservative evangelicals to the Northwest of the United States, where they hope to resist the impact of secular modernity and to survive an anticipated breakdown of society. Discussing figures such as R. J. Rushdoo...

Rev. Dr. Bruce Pass discusses Herman Bavinck as a sytematic theologian and the role Christology plays within his theological system. Throughout his career, Bavinck identified different central dogma but developed his theology around Christology as a “middle point” to which all other doctrines relate. Dr. Pass holds a doctorate in systematic theology from the University of Edinburgh. His thesis has...

The main events of the Diet of Worms relating to Luther took place from 16 to 18 April 1521. This year marks the 500 th anniversary of the Diet of Worms, and on this occasion, we welcome Dr. Herman Selderhuis to rehearse the events of the diet and share his thoughts about its enduring significance for the church. The Diet of Worms of 1521 was a formal deliberative assembly of the Holy Roman Empire...

We pick up on our conversation from episode 655 with Jeremy Boothy on covenant theology in the book of Hebrews by focusing upon Vos’s Triangle and the heavenly-centered understanding of typology expressed by the author of Hebrews. This leads us to discuss a redemptive-historical hermeneutic as well as the nature of new covenant membership in our present covenant-historical era. Rev. Boothy is past...