Christ the Center

We take a break from our regular format to enjoy a relaxed open forum. Nonetheless, the panel quickly focuses on the subject of preaching and sermon preparation. We ask questions such as when do you read commentaries? Should you work with secondary sources from the start or wrestle with the text on your own for a while? Should we have a preference for preaching extemporaneously or using notes or a...

The Rev. Dr. Robert McKelvey unfolds the theology of one of John Bunyan’s classic allegories,  The Holy War . Rev. McKelvey is Pastor of Westminster Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Windber, PA and has written a book on Bunyan titled  Histories That Mansoul and Her Wars Anatomize: The Drama of Redemption in John Bunyan’s Holy War . In unpacking Bunyan’s allegory, McKelvey describe...

In 1946, the faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary published a symposium on the doctrine of Scipture titled  The Infallible Word . Cornelius Van Til’s contribution, an essay titled “ Nature and Scripture ,” is an important work describing the relationship of general and special revelation. In this episode, Dr. K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theol...

Christ the Center  is pleased to welcome Dr. Brandon Crowe to speak about the themes in his book The Obedient Son: Deuteronomy and Christology in the Gospel of Matthew . The book is a published edition of Dr. Crowe’s dissertation written at the University of Edinburgh. It spans several key biblical themes, including sonship, God’s fatherly love, election, and obedience. Dr. Crowe is As...

The Christ the Center panel met with Dr. Barry Waugh, editor of the recent publication Letters  from the Front: J. Gresham Machen’s Correspondence from World War I , about the fascinating topic of Machen’s service as a YMCA secretary near the frontlines of action in France during WWI. Dr. Waugh discussed the content of some of the letters, Machen’s reasons for service, how Machen sough...

The Christ the Center panel meets with Rev. Dr. James Dolezal to discuss the much maligned doctrine of divine impassibility. Beginning with a look at Westminster Confession of Faith 2.1, that “There is but one only, living, and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions…” the panel looks at the biblical basis...

Dr. Darryl G. Hart speaks about a key feature to Reformed worship, the regulative principle. Generally speaking, the principle seeks to allow worship to be governed strictly by the Word of God. Dr. Hart is Visiting Professor of History at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI and has written several books such as A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Church and State and Deconstr...

Dr. Vern Poythress, Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary, speaks about his book Inerrancy and Worldview: Answering Challenges to the Bible (Crossway). In this important book, Dr. Poythress provides a worldview-based defense of inerrancy by demonstrating the influence various worldviews have on views of the Bible. Participants: Camden Bucey , Jeff Waddington...

The Westminster Confession of Faith 1.6 says, “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.” In...

David B. Garner, Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, visits the studio to speak about the doctrine of Scripture. Dr. Garner has edited an excellent collection of essays titled Did God Really Say?: Affirming the Truthfulness and Trustworthiness of Scripture . Many of the contributions for this book were originally lectures delivered at the 2011 PCA Genera...

Jeremiah W. Montgomery is the pastor of Resurrection Orthodox Presbyterian Church in State College, Pennsylvania. Rev. Montgomery joins us to speak about writing Christian fiction. Montgomery has written  The Dark Faith , which is the first book in The Dark Harvest trilogy and published by P&R Publishing. In light of this book, Montgomery shares his insights into the fantasy genre and its usef...

The  Christ the Center  panel discusses a forthcoming new podcast entitled  East of Eden: Discussions in the Biblical and Systematic Theology of Jonathan Edwards,  which should appear, Lord willing, this summer. The panel for this podcast will include Rev. Nick Batzig, Rev. David Filson, and Rev. Jeff Waddington, along with an occasional visit from Dr. Craig Biehl. The goal of this new venture is...

In this in-house episode, Camden Bucey leads a discussion on Trinitarian personality in the theologies of Karl Barth and Karl Rahner. Though the theologians approach the subject from different traditions, both theologies converge at several key points. The panel discusses the issues surrounding the traditional immanent/economic distinction and God’s relationship to creation before moving to...

Dr. Carl Trueman joins us once again for an exciting conversation of issues in the contemporary church. Today, we discuss Dr. Trueman’s latest book Fools Rush in Where Monkeys Fear to Tread   (P&R Publishing), a collection of essays originally appearing at Reformation21.org . Dr. Trueman leads us in a critical look at at the contemporary church with his characteristic wit and historical...

Rev. Daniel Hyde, pastor of Oceanside United Reformed Church in Oceanside, CA builds a case for paedobaptism. Hyde has written  Jesus Loves the Little Children: Why We Baptize Children , an excellent book treating the biblical, theological, and historical aspects of the subject. Join us for this insightful discussion. Participants: Camden Bucey , Danny Hyde , Jared Oliphint , Jeff Waddington , Jim...

The gospel has become a hot topic in the evangelical world, and for that all Christians should be thankful. But conversation about the gospel is only fruitful in so far as we understand it biblically. In this episode, Jim Cassidy and Camden Bucey discuss the categories Reformed theologians often use to describe the gospel – using Paul’s lesson in 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 as a foundation. N...

Camden Bucey, Jonathan Brack, and Dan Adams speak about the gospel from the steps of the historic Tenth Presbyterian Church. Reformed Forum was delighted to be invited to the annual Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology , which is organized by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals . Sinclair Ferguson, Ligon Duncan, Liam Goligher, Harry Reeder, and Rick Phillips contributed to the importan...

Gabe Fluhrer joins the panel to speak about inerrancy. The subject continues to be an issue of perennial importance. Gabe has edited a wonderful book on the subject with contributions from many well-recognized scholars and pastors. The contributions are taken from addresses at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology, organized each year by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals . Partici...

On this episode we welcome Nancy Guthrie back to the program to speak about Christ in the Old Testament. Nancy has written the latest in her series on the subject titled The Wisdom of God: Seeing Jesus in the Psalms and Wisdom Books ,  which is the center of our discussion. Nancy is a member of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, speaks at conferences worldwide, and is currently pu...

Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. and Lane G. Tipton analyze arguments for credo-baptism and discuss Reformed views of covenant and election. Many Reformed Baptists will be quick to differentiate themselves from dispensationalists. They favor a covenantal hermeneutic that seeks to take into account the redemptive-historical features of Scripture. For this reason, many confessing credo-baptists argue that the...

On this program we welcome Guy Prentiss Waters to speak about his book How Jesus Runs the Church .  The doctrine of the church is critically important for the Christian life, but often lags behind in received attention. Dr. Waters brings us back to the Scriptural foundation that shows us how Jesus Christ actively reigns in and through his body. Dr. Waters is Associate Professor of New Testament at...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. J. Todd Billings to speak about the doctrine of union with Christ and its implications for all of theology and ministry. Dr. Billings has written a new book on the subject, titled Union with Christ: Reframing Theology and Ministry for the Church , published by Baker . Dr. J. Todd Billings is Associate Professor of Reformed Theology at Western Theological Seminary in...

Notwithstanding the diversity of opinion and debate that has surfaced throughout the last century and a half surrounding the nature of the Mosaic Covenant and the Law of God, Reformed theologians have constantly emphasized—with a great measure of uniformity—what has been denominated, the third use of the Law. With almost equal uniformity, myriads of objections continue to be raised when this subje...

Today we welcome Dr. David Skeel and James Sweet to speak about recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions that impact the church.  Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC was a recent case that raised several important questions. Oyez.org asks, “Does the ministerial exception, which prohibits most employment-related lawsuits against religious organizations by employees perform...

Rev. Dr. Mark Jones joins us to speak about diversity and debates within Puritanism. A healthy view of polemics has fallen on hard times, and Dr. Jones reminds us of several fruitful discussions over several issues related to the covenants. Our conversation focuses on the book  Drawn into Controversie: Reformed Theological Diversity and Debates Within Seventeenth Century British Puritanism  (Vande...