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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…

Always Pray. Don’t Lose Heart

The Lord's Day Morning March 20, 2011 “Always Pray. Don't Lose Heart.” Luke 18:1-8 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 18. We’re going to be looking at verses 1 to 8. This passage is connected with the passage that we studied last Lord's Day, a passage that dealt with the final judgment and with the kingdom and with the coming of Christ. That discussion last week was directed to the disciples; so is this passage. But it was directed to the disciples in the context of questions from the Pharisees to Jesus about the kingdom, about the judgment, which prompted Him to speak of His own coming and to tell them that their focus on the signs of the coming of the kingdom was misdirected and that there…

What You Must Know About the Second Coming

The Lord's Day Morning March 13, 2011 “What You Must Know About the Second Coming”Luke 17:22-37 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke 17 as we continue to work our way through the gospel together. And I want you to note just a couple of things about this passage before we read it together. The first thing that I want you to notice as you look through it, we're going to be looking at verses 22 to 37, is that in some of your Bibles you may not have a verse 36, or in some of your Bibles verse 36 may be bracketed or in italics. The reason that is, your English translators of your Bible are telling you that that verse is not found in some manuscripts. Now lest that cause you some problem, I want to let you know that…

The Mission and the Mission of God’s People

The Lord's Day Morning February 27, 2011 “The Mission of God and the Mission of God's People” John 17:18 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to John chapter 17. As we prepare for the Missions Conference this week, I want to direct your attention to one sentence of a large prayer that Jesus prayed, not just for His disciples who were with Him in the Upper Room on the night of His betrayal, but for all the disciples ever who would come to faith through their ministry. That means for you and me, He's praying this great prayer in John 17. And I want to direct your attention to just one verse, one sentence, verse 18. But this is a part of a larger message that we find in the gospels. We find, for instance, this prayer…

The Kingdom of God

The Lord's Day Morning February 20, 2011 “The Kingdom of God” Luke 17:20-21 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke, Luke chapter 17. Just two verses this morning. We want to look especially at this idea of the kingdom of God and make sure we understand that Jesus means by it. The kingdom of God is an idea that even today is hotly debated amongst Christians. You will find Bible believing Christians of various sorts, for…

Got Gratitude?

The Lord's Day Morning February 13, 2011 “Got Gratitude?” Luke 17:11-19 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 17 as we continue our way through this gospel together. We’re going to be looking at verses 11 to 19 together this morning. As you turn to Luke 17, let me remind you that this is not the first time we have seen Jesus heal a leper in the gospel of Luke. We looked at some length at Luke 5:12-14 in which…

Attitude Check

The Lord's Day Morning February 6, 2011 “Attitude Check” Luke 17:7-10 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 17. We’re going to be looking at verses 7 to 10. As you turn there, I want to remind you that the passage that we're going to read today takes place in the context in which Jesus has been instructing His disciples against the backdrop of the teaching that they have heard from the Pharisees and rabbis,…

Temptation, Sin and Faith

The Lord's Day Morning January 23, 2011 “Temptation, Sin and Faith” Luke 17:1-6 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 17 as we continue our way through the gospel of Luke together. If you take a glance at these first six verses in Luke 17, I want to remind you that as we've worked our way through Luke 16, repeatedly Jesus has been dealing with a problem with both the Pharisees’ lives and their teaching. They…

The Poor Man (Who Thought He Was Rich)

The Lord's Day Morning January 16, 2011 “The Poor Man (Who Thought He Was Rich)” Luke 16:19-31 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 16 as we continue our way through the gospel of Luke together. I would remind you that in Luke 16 Jesus has been dealing especially with the problem of the love of money. The Pharisees, the religious leaders, lay leaders in Israel, who were prominent in Jesus’ day and who were…

What the Law Shows about Our Hearts

The Lord's Day Morning January 9, 2011 “What the Law Shows about Our Hearts” Luke 16:14-18 The Reverend Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to open with me to Luke chapter 16 as we continue our way through the gospel; Luke chapter 16, looking at verses 14 to 18. Now by way of introduction, I would remind you that the last thing that Luke has been talking about and that Jesus has been saying in this gospel to His disciples and to the Pharisees around…