LigonDuncan.com

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…

Living in the Right Kind of Fear

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 112. I'd like you to keep your finger there at Psalm 112. I want to show you something about the two psalms on either side of it. If you allow yourself to look back at the beginning of Psalm 111, it begins with that ascription, “Praise the LORD” that Paul referred to in the prayer tonight. And then if you’d look forward to Psalm 113, it too begins with the exhortation, “Praise the LORD,” so each of these three psalms are paired with the beginning of the psalm starting with that kind of an exhortation to praise the Lord. There is another way in which these psalms parallel one another, especially 111 and 112. We said last week that Psalm 111 directs us to the blessedness of God. Psalm 112 tonight will focus on…

I do not know Him. I am not one of them. And I…

The Lord's Day Morning September 18, 2011 “I do not know Him. I am not one of them. And I don't know what you are talking about.” Luke 22:54-62 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke 22 as we continue our way through the gospel together. Last week we were looking at the betrayal of the Lord Jesus by Judas. And in this passage this week, we come to the denial of Jesus by Peter. It is a solemn passage. Jesus had only a few hours before told Peter that he was going to deny Him. Peter protested. He protested that though everyone else deserted Jesus, he would never desert Jesus. Jesus explained to him that before the sun rose, he was not only going to deny Him once, but he was going to do it three times. And this is…

Betrayal

The Lord's Day Morning September 11, 2011 “Betrayal” Luke 22:47-53 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to open them with me to Luke chapter 22 as we continue our way through the gospel of Luke. The last time we were with the Lord Jesus in Luke we were with Him as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and today we are going to see some of the effects of those prayers, those prayers which God graciously answers as He prepares to face this hour of trial. And the trial that's recorded for us in Luke 22 verses 47 to 53, the trial of Jesus as He is captured in the garden by the ambush of His enemies, shows us three scenes, and I'd like you to be on the lookout for these scenes as we read through the passage. In verses 47 and 48 we see…

The Mission of the Church: Discipleship

The Lord's Day Evening September 11, 2011 “The Mission of the Church: Discipleship” Matthew 28:19-20 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Matthew 28. I know that most of you can say these verses by heart, but I want you to keep your Bibles in hand because we're going to look at a number of passages together tonight as we focus like a laser beam on one of the great themes in Jesus’ Great Commission. We’re used to going to…

The Heartbeat of True Piety

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 111 as we continue our way through the fifth book of the Psalms. Hebrew poetry, unlike our poetry, is not based on rhyming, but you will find various devices in Hebrew poetry that indicate that it has an elevated sort of aesthetic style. One thing that you will find in Hebrew poetry is parallelism, where the same thing is said right next to one another in different words in order to sharpen our understanding of what has just…

While They Were Sleeping

The Lord's Day Morning September 4, 2011 “While They Were Sleeping” Luke 22:39-26 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 22 as we continue our way through this gospel together. We are, this morning, on holy ground as we come upon the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Luke, simply says, that we are on the Mount of Olives. The other gospels tell us that it's not only on the Mount of Olives but in the…

Messiah’s reign

As we continue to work our way through the fifth book of the Psalms, we have come tonight to Psalm 110, one of the most quoted Psalms in the New Testament. It is referenced at least fourteen times in the New Testament and when it is referenced it is always applied to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. In fact, in our study of Luke, we have seen Jesus apply this psalm to Himself as a way of rebuking the unbelief of the scribes. Do you remember when we were studying Luke 20, verses 41 to 44…

I Have Prayed for You

The Lord's Day Morning August 28, 2011 “I Have Prayed For You” Luke 22:28-38 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 22. We’re going to be looking at verses 28 to 38 today. The last time we were together in Luke we were looking at a very embarrassing discussion amongst the disciples who were attempting to ascertain which of them was the greatest. They were aspiring to positions of esteem and importance among the…

This Do in Remembrance of Me

The Lord's Day Morning August 14, 2011 “This Do in Remembrance of Me” Luke 22:14-19 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 22. We’ll be looking at verses 14 to 19 today. When we looked at the first part of this chapter last week, we said that it was the last Passover, and it is. Let me remind you of where this is happening. Jesus and His disciples are in an upper room somewhere inside the city walls of Jerusalem,…