The Commentary

It’s time for an update from Mark and Cameron on how daily worship has been going since we introduced Be Thou My Vision in Episode 50. What has it been like to use the liturgy, and what happens when you miss a day? Also, Mark recommends another book that touches on topics we’ve discussed in the past: baptism and the Sabbath.  Mentioned in this episode: Be Thou My Vision (hardcover at Westmins...

In this episode, Mark talks to Cameron about an upcoming talk he’s going to give for Worldview Academy. The topic is “Creative Christians in a Cancel Culture.” It’s a conversation aimed at helping Christians with creative gifts think about how to make a worthwhile and faithful contribution to the world.  Mentioned in this episode: Creative Christians in a Cancel Culture (Worldview Academy)

Does God require us to rest on Sunday? Is the Fourth Commandment still in effect, or has it been fulfilled — and done away with — by Christ? What did Jesus mean when he said the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around? We tackle these questions and much more in this episode.   Mentioned in this episode: Westminster Confession of Faith (scroll down to Chapter 21, Section 8) Principl...

In this episode, Cameron and Mark talk about anger — specifically the rights and wrongs of being angry at God. As we’ve worked our way through the Sermon on the Mount at Grace, it’s impossible to ignore Jesus’ teaching on anger in Matthew 5. Yet we are angry people, shaped by a culture that puts a premium on being angry. If you’re not angry, we’re told, then you’re not paying attention. And w...

During last year’s episode on prayer, Mark pined for some kind of “liturgy for daily worship,” a set pattern for Reformed devotion that fell somewhere between the complexity of the Book of Common Prayer and the informality of simply reading a daily dose of Scripture followed by extemporaneous prayer. With the publication of Jonathan Gibson’s Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship , has thi...

It’s 2022 and if there’s one thing we should have learned by now about people in the twenty-first century it’s that they have an aversion to old-fashioned commitments. Oh, and to ritual. In this episode, Mark and Cameron unpack why, despite this knowledge, Grace continues to receive members in a formal way, administering ancient vows before the gathered church. They even argue that modern people l...

In the final episode of The Commentary for 2021, Mark and Cameron discuss two guardrails for “doing” in the beatitudes, resolutions for the New Year, and the beauty of gift-giving at Christmas. 

Have we finally jumped the shark? In this dog-eat-dog world, it was bound to happen sooner or later. In this episode, Mark and Cameron — both “cat people,” by the way — discuss pets (and animals in general) from a theological perspective. Why do human beings have pets? Will we be reunited with those animals in heaven? These questions are more are explored. 

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we observe the season of Advent, a time to reflect on our longing for Christ’s return. Like the Israelites who waited for the Messiah to come, we too are waiting for his return. In this episode, Mark and Cameron cover the basics of Advent — what it is, how it relates to the rest of the calendar, and how this time of preparation changes the way we celebrate Chris...

Keeping with the theme of our last episode, sanctification, Cameron and Mark dig deeper into the role of our emotional responses — particularly when it comes to “feeling” God’s presence. Is there a difference between feeling close to God and being close to God? Could it be that the way to draw near to God — both for those struggling for a sense of God’s presence, and for those whose faith has neve...

The word is complicated, but the idea is simple: sanctification is the process of growing more and more like Jesus Christ. In other words, growing in holiness. In this episode, Mark and Cameron unpack the basics — what sanctification is, what it isn’t, and (perhaps most importantly) who does the work.  

With the holidays approaching, Cameron and Mark discuss the theology of eating and drinking in anticipation of a season of, well, eating and drinking. The Bible’s teachings about food and drink are complex, but by thinking in terms of how creation, fall, and redemption impact our dependence on food, we can appreciate how to eat and drink to the glory of God.  Mentioned in this episode: For th...

Mark was featured on the cover of the November 2021 issue of Bible Study Magazine , prompting Cameron to ask some follow-up questions on designing, reading, and even annotating the Bible.  Mentioned in this episode: A Revolution in Bible Design: Meet the People Who Designed Your Bible , by Mark Ward

What is it, exactly, that we celebrate when we remember Reformation Day? Cameron and Mark explore that question in this episode, with a focus on why the Reformation still matters more than five centuries later, and what it means to be “always reforming.” 

This is the 40th episode of The Commentary , and we are returning to a topic we tackled back in Episode 16 — politics! What happens when the Bible challenges your deeply-held political convictions? What are the signs that you’re letting your politics override your faith? Cameron and Mark dig into these questions and try to understand the right place of politics in the larger conception of the true...

In this episode, Mark and Cameron share their love of the Reformation-era theologian John Calvin, one of the unsung shapers of the modern world. Specifically, they discuss the pleasures of reading Calvin, and the insights to be gained not only from his systematic theology but from his expositions of Scripture.  Mentioned in this episode: J. I. Packer’s introduction to Owen’s The Death of Deat...

How does the design of a printed Bible influence the way it’s used? That’s the question Mark and Cameron pick up on in this episode. Traditionally, Bibles have been been designed to make it easier to look things up — like a dictionary! — with the unintended consequence of making them harder to read. The good news is, that's beginning to change. Mentioned in this episode: Bible Design Blog (Mark’s...

The more information bombarding us, the more our capacity to pay attention seems to shrink. Could the process of regaining your ability to tune out distractions be as simple as reading a poem? In this episode, Cameron lays out the case for reading poetry now more than ever, while Mark asks how the same approach can be applied to Scripture.  Mentioned in this episode: “Training Our Attention:...

Is there more to presbyterian church government than just having elders? In this episode, Mark and Cameron discuss another key factor: the checks and balances provided by the church’s “higher courts.” In addition, they talk about why Grace’s adult Sunday School class is tackling the Westminster Confession line by line.  Mentioned in this episode: A Good Confession: Sunday School Recordings

In this week’s episode, Mark and Cameron take a look at the Gospel According to Matthew — the subject of Grace’s new sermon series — from a 30,000 foot perspective. They talk about how this book relates to the other Synoptic Gospels, and how its unique structure informs our reading. There are also a few tips as we get started in this inaugural New Testament text.

Cameron returns after a two-episode break with questions on Mark’s two most recent sermons. First comes the suggestion that Joseph, husband of Mary, despite his relatively brief time on stage in the gospel narrative, may offer an excellent model for biblical manhood. Then the conversation turns to the “mark of the beast.” Is it a literal marking of the flesh, or should we interpret the mark differ...

Mentioned in this episode: Grace Women’s Discipleship Fall 2021 Reading Group

Mentioned in this episode: The Ten Minute Bible Hour The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

Mentioned in this episode: What We Lose When We Livestream Church , by Collin Hansen

If music in Christian worship serves as “sung prayer,” then it makes sense that we should pay close attention to the lyrics we sing. In this episode, Cameron and Mark unpack the theological layers of a hymn sung recently at Grace, and try to explain how lyrical theology can strengthen us just as much as the systematic kind.