Christ the Center

Bill Dennison returns to Christ the Center to bring the fire about the eschatological structure of Paul’s thought and its relation to apologetics. Dr. Dennison has written a wonderful book title Paul’s Two-Age Construction and Apologetics which was originally his ThM thesis at Westminster Theological Seminary. This is a fantastic discussion regarding the interconnectedness of the theol...

Dr. Joseph A. Pipa, Jr. visits Christ the Center to speak about William Perkins’ role in the development of Puritan preaching. Pipa argues that Perkins’ overall influence and his book The Arte of Prophecying were significant factors in shifting the dominant Puritan model for preaching. Bibliography Perkins, William. The Art of Prophecying, or, A treatise concerning the sacred and only...

The Christ the Center corporal’s guard spoke with Matthew Patton, PhD student in biblical studies at Wheaton College Graduate School in Wheaton, IL about his paper “Searching for a Truly Repentant Israel: Ezra-Nehemiah and Restoration Prophecy.” A very fascinating discussion was had about such things as the already/not yet eschatology of Ezra-Nehemiah and how even though Israel w...

Burk Parsons visits Christ the Center to discuss two books he has edited. A majority of the discussion centers on Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God’s Grace , a wonderful collection of contributions on the reformed doctrine of assurance. Burk explains the importance of the doctrine for the Christian life. The second book is John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology...

Christ the Center was pleased to welcome Dr. Thomas R. Schreiner to discuss New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ . Dr. Schreiner’s book has been warmly welcomed by many respected scholars in the reformed community and listeners will understand why when they hear Dr. Schreiner detail his project. Bibliography Ridderbos, Herman. The Coming of the Kingdom . Edinburgh: Christian Worl...

Richard D. Phillips visits Christ the Center to discuss his new book The Masculine Mandate: God’s Calling to Men . The book is a reaction to recent cultural trends as well as John Eldredge’s mega-hit Wild at Heart . Much more than a simple reaction, Rev. Phillips promotes a positive, biblical approach to masculinity by touching on biblical anthropology and God’s specific call tha...

Christ the Center had the pleasure of interviewing Ted Kluck , author and athlete, about his recent publication, Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion , co-authored with Kevin DeYoung and published by Moody Press. We discussed the recent wave of books, blogs, articles, and interviews calling for the rejection of the institutional church in favor of an individuali...

Mark A. Noll discusses his latest book The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith . Dr. Noll is Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame. In addition to Dr. Noll, Christ the Center was pleased to welcome back Darryl G. Hart. Hart has written several books including A Secular Faith: Why Christianity Favors the Separation of Chu...

The Christ the Center panelists revisit with Rev. Martin Downes, minister of Christ Church Deeside in north Wales, about his new book Risking the Truth: Handling Error in the Church (Christian Focus). The nature of error and heresy is delineated and the best approach to handling it pastorally in the life of the local congregation and in the larger church is discussed at length. The interview forma...

The panelists of Christ the Center recently talked with Rev. Dr. Guy Richard, senior minister of First Presbyterian Church (PCA) of Gulfport, MS, about his new study, The Supremacy of God in the Theology of Samuel Rutherford, published by Paternoster/Wipf & Stock. The historical context of the rising tide of Arminianism in Scotland in the 17th century was discussed as was the substance of Ruth...

Thabiti Anyabwile, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Grand Cayman joins the panel to discuss Lemuel Haynes and black theology. Anyabwile has edited May We Meet in the Heavenly World , a book of Haynes writings which includes a helpful biography. Haynes (1753-1833) was an influential African-American pastor during the American Revolution. He was a devoted Calvinist who argued against slavery...

Divergent approaches to foreign missions have been employed for centuries. Disagreements over various approaches have been at the heart of many historic events in modern church history. Indeed, one such disagreement was critical to the founding of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church . Christ the Center was pleased to welcome Mark Bube and Doug Clawson, General Secretary and Associate General Secretar...

Derek Thomas joins Josh Walker and Nick Batzig to discuss the regulative principle of worship. Derek Thomas is the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi. He is also the minister of teaching at First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi. Archive.org Participants: Derek Thomas , Josh Walker , Nick Batzig

Miles Van Pelt , Associate Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, MS speaks about the importance of the original languages for biblical study. Miles has helped produce several popular books and resources for original language study including Basics of Biblical Hebrew and Vocabulary Guide to Biblical Hebrew . Dr. Van Pelt encourages pastors and sch...

The Christ the Center panel had the pleasure of revisiting Rev. Dr. John Fesko, now the academic dean and associate professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California, abut his new Reformation Heritage Books volume, The Rule of Love: Broken, Fulfilled, and Applied . Fesko explains how the Christian is to understand and appropriate the Ten Commandments. The role of the law in the h...

Christ the Center is pleased to welcome Dr. Richard C. Gamble to talk about volume one of his systematic theology. Many people have looked forward to The Whole Counsel of God v.1: God’s Mighty Acts in the Old Testament and the panel had the pleasure of discussing the influences and aims of this great book. Dr. Gamble incorporates the best of the reformed tradition into a highly enjoyable bib...

Christ the Center discusses some aspects of the life and thought of Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas. Specifically Thomas’ doctrine of God and the nature/grace distinction come in for consideration. Especially useful is the discussion of the nature of Scholasticism and what value there is in reading Thomas. At the end of the day, the lesson is, do not throw the baby out with the bathwater....

In honor of John Calvin’s 500th anniversary, the General Assembly of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church held a pre-Assembly conference on the subject of John Calvin. The Rev. Dr. Richard B. Gaffin of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, spoke on Calvin’s soteriology. The Rev. Glen J. Clary, pastor of Immanuel Orthodox Presbyterian Church, West Collingswood, New...

Christ the Center discusses the theology of the influential Roman Catholic Karl Rahner. Rahner’s theology is a composite of Kantian, Hegelian and Heideggerian philosophies. The panel discusses these philosophic influences and compares Rahner’s approach to apologetics with a Reformed approach – particularly the system taught by Cornelius Van Til. This episode will prove useful not...

Nick Batzig sat down with David Robertson pastor of St. Peters Free Church in Dundee, Scotland recently at Twin Lakes Fellowship where he lectured on Emergent Calvinism . David spoke with Nick about his book The Dawkins Letters: Challenging Atheist Myths . David has been actively debating Dawkins supporters throughout the UK and shares his experience. This is an interesting discussion about how ap...

Our doctrine of Scripture is extremely important and drives the discussion of practically all other topics. Since we hold Scripture to be our principium cognoscendi externum it is our rule by which we are to judge and interpret all other truth. There are, however, many issues surrounding the role of Scripture and our understanding of it, particularly as they relate to life in the church. The panel...

The Christ the Center panel discussed the nature of philosophy and theology and how they relate to each other. Among the topics discussed were whether theology is a science and if so, whether is it a theoretical or practical science. The guys even tackled the question of what science is. Like the discussion about the simplicity of God, this is not for the faint of heart but is worth pondering. Rem...

Daniel B. Wallace discusses the challenges facing New Testament textual criticism in the 21st century. Join us for this interesting discussion of this fascinating discipline. Many listeners will be familiar with Dr. Wallace from his introductory textbook and his textbook on intermediate Greek grammar . Dr. Wallace is the senior New Testament editor of the NET Bible and coeditor of the NET-Nestle G...

We had the pleasure to discuss the preaching ministry with noted Scottish minister Eric Alexander. Rev. Alexander has spent his adult life serving Jesus Christ, in His Church, as a minister of His Word having been ordained as a minister in the Church of Scotland for over fifty years. Rev. Alexander shares his wisdom regarding the preaching ministry. This episode is brought to you in part by the Co...

Nick Batzig sat down with Jon Payne at the Twin Lakes Fellowship to talk about the subject of Reformed Worship. Jon deals with the various aspects of this topic in his newest release, In The Splendor of Holiness: Rediscovering the Beauty of Reformed Worship for the 21st Century . Dr. Jon D. Payne is minister of Grace Presbyterian Church in Douglasville, Ga. Dr. Payne has been serving as minister o...