Theology Simply Profound

The Heidelberg Catechism asks in question 69: How does holy baptism signify and seal to you that the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross benefits you? Answer: In this way: Christ instituted this outward washing[1] and with it gave the promise that, as surely as water washes away the dirt from the body, so certainly His blood and Spirit wash away the impurity of my soul, that is, all my sins.[2] [...

When I was born my mom who was not attending church and had me baptized…Anglican. My grandmother volunteered, (and I am using air quotes here) to babysit me. Her real goal was to have me baptized again…as a Catholic. When I was 10 I made a public witness in my church by being baptized…well as a Baptist. So whoever is correct about this I’m covered. But what is baptism anyway? Why do we do it and j...

In Hebrews 8 we hear the words of the writer examining the prophecy made by Jeremiah. But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he finds fault with them when he sa...

Can you imagine having been one of the people who took off their coat to lay it in front of the colt just so the King’s horse would not have to touch the ground. To have shouted Hosanna, a word that means Save now! To watch as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords came into Jerusalem to consummate the Kingdom. If we were one of these people a week later we would have been standing in front of Pilot...

How does a person determine the will of God? This question was the subject in one form or another in many of the sermons that I had growing up, especially when I was a teen. We all knew that God had a special plan for our lives and that He wanted us to have a specific job, marry a certain spouse and go to a certain college, although perhaps not in that order. So we prayed for guidance from the Hol...

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he h...

Most of us often ask the question; “Why?” It’s only natural to wonder about life. Why did I get a flat tire? Why did my friend get sick, why did I get sick? Our church friends are correct when they tell us to trust in God even though our personal understanding of the situation can’t see past the hurt, pain or just the inconvenience. Usually it is through hindsight that we can get the kind of persp...

The more we understand who we are and who Christ is the more we understand our sin. We realize that even in our best moments we are not without our own sinful desires. However; this should not lead us to believe that all that we ever do is sin. God has saved us to do good works. He even ordained our good works. Of course we look to Christ and give Him the honor and glory but to look to the good th...

Revelation 20. So much hinges on this passage. Is the Kingdom of God only 1000 years long, are their two or more kingdoms? How can anyone say that Satan has been bound when there is evil in this world? Today we are looking at a passage that has been debated for 2000 years and I don’t believe that we will put an end to that today. However, how we interpret this passage matters and I ask that the li...

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everythin...

Chapter 17 talked about this Great City that sits upon the many waters. The City we are told is the kingdom of Satan and the many waters we are told are the multitudes of people throughout the earth that worship the beast and the false prophet. This city is said to rule over the kings of the earth which is one way to know that this is not talking about one specific city. This city is called Babylo...

With the conspicuous absence of Rob, from the Rob and Bob famed duo, Bob was relegated to offering up an old sermon for this episode of Theology Simply Profound. The sermon is on Matthew 17:1-8, entitled Immanuel and the Transfiguration. Theology Simply Profound is a podcast of Westminster Presbyterian Church , an Orthodox Presbyterian Church, serving the western suburbs of Chicago, where God powe...

I am sure that everyone listening to this podcast has seen the bumper sticker that say “coexist”. Each letter symbolizes a great religion of the world. For many who proudly display this plea there is a reasoning that if they can with their roving auto-witness persuade people from one particular faith to embrace the equal status of all the other religions then peace will ensue upon the Earth. For s...

I am sure that all of us have felt time drag by, as if a second is an hour. All most of us have to do is think back to being a child trying to make it to Christmas morning. You lay there in your bed and you feel like the night will never end. The older we get the quicker times seems to go and we start to long for the days of childhood when an afternoon could feel like days, as we were locked away...

Most people have heard the name; “Lady Jane Gray”, some will even remember that she was a queen of England, albeit for only nine days. What most people don’t know is that she was a highly intelligent young woman with great faith and a great devotion to the doctrines of the Reformation. In the end she was take to the Tower of London and beheaded. True, part of her execution was political but part w...

On today’s show, Rob and Bob talk about Revelation 13, the two beasts, the number of the beast (666) and how these things relate to the Christian life. Theology Simply Profound is a podcast of Westminster Presbyterian Church , an Orthodox Presbyterian Church, serving the western suburbs of Chicago, where God powerfully speaks through his means of grace. Also, check out the work of the OPC in...

In Episode 55, we once again discuss Dispensational Theology. This time we begin by way of follow-up to a variety of questions that have come to us since our series on Dispensationalism. This is part 2 of 2 (since the episode was just too long for you to suffer through) and generally follows 3 main points: the land, the throne, and Israel and the church, concluding with a few comments on hermeneut...

In Episode 54, we once again discuss Dispensational Theology. This time we begin by way of follow-up to a variety of questions that have come to us since our series on Dispensationalism. This is part 1 of 2 (since the episode was just too long for you to suffer through) and generally follows 3 main points: the land, the throne, and Israel and the church. We hope you enjoy and are edified. Theology...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! from Rob and Bob. Join us for a casual conversation about “all things” Christmas. Theology Simply Profound is a podcast of Westminster Presbyterian Church , an Orthodox Presbyterian Church, serving the western suburbs of Chicago, where God powerfully speaks through his means of grace. Also, check out the work of the OPC in Chicagoland at Chicago Refo...

Steven stood surrounded by an angry mob. They were allowing him to speak out of tradition not because they cared about what he had to say. As he recounted the history of the nation of Israel his words condemned them for not being obedient to the Word of God, just as their spiritual forbearers killed the prophets so too did they betray and kill the Messiah. This angered the mob even more and now th...

As I talk with people of different theological leanings about the Book of Revelation there seems to be one point that they all have in common. They know that the Book of Revelation is Biblical and it is written for God’s people but in the end it is just too weird and so it is better to just leave it alone. As we continue in our series on the book of Revelation today we are in chapter 11 and a simp...

Martin Luther has famously said that even if he knew that Jesus was going to return tomorrow that he would plant a tree today. What Luther was trying to point out was that our lives are to be lived in the day that we are given and we are supposed to be responsible for what our tasks here are now. But what are our tasks? Jesus tells us in Matthew 28 verses 19-20. As we live our lives we are to thin...

In episode 49, Rob and Bob discuss chapter 9 of the Book of Revelation. There are many religions in this world and they all claim to offer truth. The Pharisees claimed to be the children of God subjects of His Kingdom but the reality was they rejected both God Himself and His Kingdom. What does this have to do with us today, most of the people that we talk with are not Jewish religious leaders? Wh...

In episode 48, Rob and Bob discuss chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation. There is something that I love about submarines. It amazes me that a metal tube filled with people can dive to depths that try their best to crush them. It amazes me. The captain of a submarine is charged with piloting this machine blind. He has maps, sonar, computers but he still must decide how far, at what degree, when to t...

In episode 47, your hosts, Rob and Bob, discuss chapter 7 of the Book of Revelation. If like most people you are listening to the radio when you drive you know that usually at the top and bottom of the hour there will be a news update. Usually this will bring tension just to hear that familiar opening music. It doesn’t help that the news media know that if they present everything as potentially li...