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RTS and the Current State of Theological Education

Some of you may have seen this important article over at The Gospel Coalition about the decline and relocation of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) by Collin Hansen, who is a graduate of the school. Reformed Theological Seminary has been friends with TEDS for many years. Over the years, a number of our faculty have done their studies there before coming to RTS, and a number of our graduates have gone on to do doctoral work there. We wish TEDS all the best in this new stage of their institutional life. The last twenty years have been tough for accredited graduate theological education…

Heard Because of His Reverence

The Lord's Day Morning March 31, 2013 Better“Heard Because of His Reverence”Hebrews 5:1-10 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 5. You know, without Easter, Christmas would be just another cold day in December. Easter changes everything. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ turns us inside out and turns the world upside-down. But as David's already prayed this morning, it's possible to come to Easter and even on Easter to be a little bit jaded, a little bit cynical about the things that we're singing and the things that we're reading. “Does this Jesus, who is raised from the dead, answer my deepest needs? Is this the Savior that I really need?” Well the author of Hebrews in…

Psalm 119 Not By Bread Alone – My Soul Longs for…

The Lord's Day Evening March 31, 2013 Not by Bread Alone“My Soul Longs for Your Salvation”Psalm 119:81-88 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 119. We’re going to be in verses 81 to 88 tonight. Spurgeon says of this passage, “This portion of the gigantic psalm sees the psalmist in extremis. He is in great need. His enemies have brought him to the lowest condition of anguish and depression, yet he is faithful to the law and trustful in his God.” Spurgeon goes on to say, “This octave is the midnight of the psalm, and very dark and black it is. Stars, however, shine out, and the last verse gives promise of the dawn.” And then he gives this word of devotional application. “This passage of Psalm 119 should…

Psalm 119 Not By Bread Alone – Back to the First…

The Lord's Day Evening March 24, 2013 Not by Bread Alone “Back to the First Truths” Psalm 119:73-80 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 119. We’re looking at the tenth section of this psalm. Each of the eight stanzas begins with the Hebrew letter “yod” which you will remember from one of Jesus’ famous saying when He said that not a jot or a tittle of the law would fail; not a yodh, He was saying — the tiniest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And each of the stanzas begins with that yodh tonight. But psalmist is again teaching us about the Christian life in this passage, and let's look to the Lord in prayer before we read and hear His Word. Our heavenly Father, we thank You that we…

Mercy and Grace in Time of Need

The Lord's Day Morning March 24, 2013 Better “Mercy and Grace in Time of Need” Hebrews 4:14-16 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4. We’re beginning a new section of this book today which speaks of Jesus as a better priest. And in chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 we’ll see that theme repeatedly. This morning I'd invite you to look back to Hebrews chapter 4 verse 1 and also verse 11 because in those verses you…

Psalm 119 Not By Bread Alone – It was Good to Be…

The Lord's Day Evening March 17, 2013 Not by Bread Alone “It was Good to be Afflicted?” Psalm 119:65-72 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, would you to turn with me to Psalm 119? We’re going to be looking, as Bill said, at verses 65 to 72. By the way, the choir sounded so good tonight and I know that many of you know that they went to New York and sang at the Astoria Community Church, one of the Redeemer branches, and also at the Cathedral of Saint John the…

The Rest that Remains

The Lord's Day Morning March 17, 2013 Better “The Rest That Remains” Hebrews 4:1-13 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 4 as we continue our way through this great book. You may remember the last time as we looked at Hebrews chapter 3 verses 7 to 19 we said that that section of Hebrews, running all the way through the passage that we're going to be studying today, is in, one sense, a sermon on Psalm 95…

Psalm 119 Not By Bread Alone – The Lord is My…

The Lord's Day Evening March 10, 2013 Not By Bread Alone “The Lord is My Portion” Psalm 119:57-64 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 119. We just sang it in that metrical version from the RPCNA Psalter and we're going to read it now as we return again to this long psalm that teaches us much about the Christian life. And as you've already heard in Wiley's introduction tonight and in the…

Don’t Stop Believing

The Lord's Day Morning March 10, 2013 Better “Don't Stop Believing” Hebrews 3:7-19 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 3. It's been three weeks since we've been in Hebrews together, so allow your eyes to look back to Hebrews 3:1-6. We’re going to be concentrating on verses 7 to 19 this morning, and refresh your mind as to the content of that passage because it will help you understand why the…

More Glory Than Moses

The Lord's Day Morning February 17, 2013 Better “More Glory Than Moses” Hebrews 3:1-6 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 3. We’re going to be looking at verses 1 to 6 as we continue in a new chapter in our study of the book of Hebrews together. We've said all along that Hebrews is a book that is focused on Jesus. The theme for our series is “Better” and that's drawn from the book of Hebrews…