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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…

The Great Love of God

Amen. Please be seated. As you do so, I'd invite you to take your Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 103. Now if you were here at the eleven o’clock service, you may be saying, “What possibly could he still have to say about Psalm 103 that he didn't already say this morning?” And, sadly, the answer is, “A lot, and I don't have time to say that much tonight!” Derek Kidner says of Psalm 103 that “admiring gratitude shines through every line of this hymn to the God of all grace.” I get jealous reading Derek Kidner. He just has such a way of turning a phrase, and he's so right about this passage. He goes on to say that “in the galaxy of the Psalter, these Psalms…” [and he's referring to Psalm 103 and its next-door neighbor, Psalm 104] “…in the galaxy…

A Prayer in Affliction

If you have your Bibles, I'd invite you to turn with me to Psalm 102. We return today to the Fourth Book of the Psalms. It has been almost a month, but we're back again. But we're in a very different Psalm from the Psalm that we last studied. We were last together in Psalm 101. The Psalms immediately prior to that Psalm had dealt repeatedly with worship. This, however, is a Psalm that deals with affliction. This Psalm was traditionally classed among the penitential Psalms, that collection of Psalms in which the psalmist confesses sins, repents of his sin and seeks God's forgiving mercy, but this is a mislabeling of this Psalm. It is not a penitential Psalm; it is a Psalm of someone crying out in the midst of unexplained but almost unmitigated suffering. And this Psalm is…

Hymns of the Faith: Before Jehovah’s Awesome…

Hymns of the Faith “Before Jehovah's Awesome Throne” Psalm 100 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.”… Here now with “Hymns of the Faith” is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan: Good morning, Bill Wymond, and it's great to be with you on “Hymns of the Faith.” To our listening audience, I welcome you on behalf of Derek Thomas and Bill Wymond and myself as we explore some of the great hymns of the Christian church over the last 2,000 years, and today we're in a…

Hymns of the Faith: Holy God, We Praise Your Name

Hymns of the Faith “Holy God, We Praise Your Name ” Psalm 103 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.”… Here with “Hymns of the Faith” is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan: And good…

What Deacons Are and Do

The Lord's Day Morning October 5, 2008 Acts 6:1-7; I Timothy 3:8-13 “What Deacons Are and Do” Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III Amen. If you have your Bibles, I'd ask you to turn with me to 1 Timothy chapter 3. We’re taking a break on our journey through the fourth book of the Psalms as we've been moving through from Psalm 90 to Psalm 106, and we're going to look at what deacons are and do, because next Lord's Day, God willing, we’ll begin to elect new deacons for this…

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 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.”… Here with “Hymns of the Faith” now is Dr. Ligon Duncan. Dr. Duncan: Thank you,…

Hymns of the Faith: Give to Our God Immortal Praise

Hymns of the Faith “Give to Our God Immortal Praise” Psalm 103 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.” Dr. Duncan: Thank you, Bill Wymond! This is Ligon Duncan, and it's a joy to…

The Resolutions of a Godly Leader

If you have Bibles, please open to the beginning at the Fifth Book of the Psalms. The Fifth Book of the Psalms begins at Psalm 107, but if you look at Psalm 101 all the way to Psalm 110, you will find parallels. And, as you’re opening your Bibles to Psalm 101, you may want to flip over to Psalm 110, for instance, and see both of these Psalms have to do with a king. And then if you look at Psalm 102 and Psalm 109, you’ll see that they have parallel themes and so on. So this is a little book…

Hymns of the Faith: When Morning Gilds the Skies

Hymns of the Faith “When Morning Gilds the Skies” 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: Thank you,…