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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…

Healing and Forgiving

The Lord's Day Morning May 17, 2009 Baptism Sunday Luke 5:12-26 “Healing and Forgiving” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Dr. Duncan: As we prepare to worship, let me invite you to take your hymnals in hand and turn to No. 34. Our opening hymn is going to be The God of Abraham Praise, and it's a perfect hymn for Baptism Sunday because it reminds us of the covenant of grace made with Abraham, which the Apostle Paul says is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. And so it's perfect for a service in which we will worship by both the preaching of the word and by the view of baptism as a sacrament, or means of grace. Please note also in the course of the service that after the baptism you will join the choir in singing the two stanzas of Hymn 213 that are printed in your bulletin. Now if you’re a…

How Jesus Makes Disciples

The Lord's Day Morning May 10, 2009 Luke 5:1-11 “How Jesus Makes Disciples” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. If you have your Bibles, I would invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 5. As we continue to work our way through this Gospel, let me remind you that the last time we were with the Lord Jesus in this Gospel, at the end of Luke 4, Jesus was preaching in Galilee and in Judea and was proclaiming the kingdom of God. We talked about what that meant for His proclamation to be about the kingdom of God, and we talked about how that was a theme in the Gospel of Luke. Today, we encounter Jesus in a great miracle. He is teaching the multitudes on the shore of what the other Gospels call most frequently the Sea of Galilee (which John sometimes will refer to as Tiberias, which Luke…

A Preacher with Power

The Lord's Day Evening May 3, 2009 Luke 4:31-44 “A Preacher with Power” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III I'd like to invite you to turn with me to Luke 4 as we continue our study of the Gospel of Luke. The whole service conspires together to help us understand the passage. We always try and take care to relate some of what we sing to the substance of what we're reading and preaching, but tonight the C125atechism question that you've already heard asked and answered and meditated upon actually goes right along with the main theme of this passage. Remember, the last time we were together in the Gospel of Luke, we saw Jesus having come out of the wilderness and the temptation by Satan and into Galilee preaching. And we saw an example of His preaching in His home synagogue. He was…

An Unwelcome Prophet

The Lord's Day Morning April 26, 2009 Luke 4:14-30 “An Unwelcome Prophet” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III If you’ll open your Bibles to the the Gospel of Luke, the fourth chapter. I remind you that when we were in this chapter last, we were looking at the temptation of the Lord Jesus Christ. We saw parallels between Adam's temptation in the garden and Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. Adam was tempted once in the garden, failed immediately, and three curses followed against the…

Hymns of the Faith: My God, How Wonderful Thou Art

Hymns of the Faith “My God, How Wonderful Thou Art” Psalm 113 A Presentation of First Presbyterian Church Jackson, Mississippi With Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. Derek Thomas, and Dr. Bill Wymond Dr. Wymond: Good morning, this is “Hymns of the Faith,” brought to you by Jackson's First Presbyterian Church. The minister of the First Presbyterian Church is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Stay tuned for “Hymns of the Faith.” And now here with “Hymns of the Faith,” is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan:…

Tempted, Tried and Never Failing

The Lord's Day Morning April 19, 2009 Communion Sunday Luke 4:1-13 “Tempted, Tried but Never Failing” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III CALL TO WORSHIP: O come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. Let us worship Him. Our Lord and our God, we need You more than food. We love You more than life. We treasure You more than anything. We come today by the gospel; we come today by the…

Hymns of the Faith: For the Beauty of the Earth

Hymns of the Faith “For the Beauty of the Earth” A Presentation of First Presbyterian ChurchJackson, MississippiWith Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. Derek Thomas, Dr. Bill Wymond Dr. Wymond: Good morning! This is “Hymns of Faith,” brought to you by Jackson's First Presbyterian Church. The minister of the First Presbyterian Church is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Stay tuned for “Hymns of the Faith.” Here with “Hymns of Faith” now is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan: Thank you, Bill Wymond. Derek,…

Resurrection and Mission

The Lord's Day Morning April 12, 2009 EASTER SUNDAY Luke 24:45-48 “Resurrection and Mission” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III CALL TO WORSHIP (Dr. Duncan): The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Let us worship God. ~~~ Dr. Thomas: Now let's look to the Lord in prayer. Let us all pray. Lord our God, as we come now again this Lord's…

Hymns of the Faith: Of the Father’s Love Begotten

Hymns of the Faith “Of the Father's Love Begotten” A Presentation of First Presbyterian ChurchJackson, MississippiWith Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. Derek Thomas, Dr. Bill Wymond Dr. Duncan: Thank you, Bill. It's great to be with you and with Derek on Hymns of the Faith. And we're into an age of hymn writing this morning from which we don't have many remains that still circulate commonly in the hymn singing churches but this is one of my very favorites. It's very old. It dates…