Jacob was a perfect man (not a plain or quiet one)
The original X thread referenced in this video: https://x.com/holzenkrieger/status/1857422361256989157
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Rightly ordered affections: natural vs covenantal identity
As Western civilization collapses, Western Christians are struggling for identity. For some, the pendulum is swinging from woke radical individualism to ethnic allegiances. But without recovering these natural bonds as covenantal categories, we are trading one form of identity politics for another. To rightly order the bonds of blood and soil, they must ultimately be fitted together under the covenantal arche of Christ.
Repentance, part 16: the forward-looking nature of biblical happiness
As with all sanctification, the pursuit of happiness is already and not yet. It is a forward-looking anticipation of the perfection we already have in Christ, which will become ours when we are glorified. By faith, we anticipate the perfect bliss of eternal union with God, but we also know we already are united to him in Christ. And so we seek to participate in that union now, as practice for what will become fully ours then.
Repentance, part 15: what is happiness?
Scripture has much to say about the happiness of those who consume God’s word. But how should we understand this, when antidepressant usage is common among Christians and non-Christians alike? Part of the answer is that biblical happiness is not a feeling, but an action of faith ordering the affections.
Repentance, part 14: three applications of biblical meditation
To consume God via his word, he tells us to be speaking the scriptures to ourselves, singing the scriptures to ourselves, and dialoging the scriptures between ourselves.
Covenant bodies & hospitality (Ro 12:9-13; Mt 25:31-40)
Hospitality is a natural function of bodies. Giving the best of yourself for others works out not just at the personal level of individuals or families, but also in churches and even nations. What are some ways that New Zealand is hospitable, what does this hospitality reveal about its religion — and how should we then live?
Repentance, part 13: to consume God, he must first consume us
We become like God by consuming him. But this pattern does not originate with us. To understand what it means to eat God — and how to do it — we must first know what it means that he eats us.
Receiving your national inheritance with gratitude (Dt 21:1-9)
Our nation, and everything that makes it unique, is Christ’s own inheritance. We therefore cannot despise it, ignore it, or reject it—but rather love it and build it up for him. An exposition and application of Deuteronomy 21:1–9.
Romans 1: Why idolatry makes you gay
Rejecting the creator/creature distinction logically and naturally leads to rejecting the male/female distinction. This follows necessarily from the biblical logic of “you become what you worship.”
Romans 1: A Christian response to pride month
An exposition and application of Romans 1:14-32.
Repentance, part 12: the fallen vs redeemed pattern for consumption
Mankind fell through an act of thankless, selfish consumption: take, eat, give. Christ gives us a redeemed pattern of thankful, sacrificial consumption in the Lord’s Supper: take, bless, give, eat. We should cultivate this liturgical pattern in everything we take hold of to consume.
Psalm 132: Driven to establish worship
An exposition and application of Psalm 132.
Repentance, part 11: we’re always consuming either life or death
Even more elemental than light and eyes are food and mouth. Scripture teaches us that we are always consuming something, and that the first sin was a sin of consumption. In the modern day, we are especially tempted by the unearned wisdom, and unearned glory, of the tree of knowledge. But we must learn first to feed upon the tree of life.
Psalm 124, part 2: Cannibalism—not whether, but which
An exposition and application of Psalm 124.
Repentance, part 10: attention as worship
All of life is worship, and we become what we worship; therefore, we are continually being conformed to the image of whatever it is we serve. Let us make sure that this is God, and not a black mirror.
Psalm 124, part 1: God sides with the baptised
An exposition and application of Psalm 124.
Repentance, part 9: sanctification via sustained attention
When we fix our attention on something, we are caring for it. This is why the heart follows the eyes, and our affections are transformed by our attention. Unfortunately, we live in an age where sustained attention and deep thinking are harder than ever.
2 Timothy 3, part 3: the scope of the postmil pulpit
An exposition and application of 2 Timothy 3.
Repentance, part 8: look where you want to go
Man is designed to go where he looks, and to become like what he looks at. For this reason, scripture instructs us not only to fix our attention on God through prayer and reading of his word, but also to think upon whatsoever things will direct our attention upward to the true and the good and the beautiful.
Acts 16: How a household is saved
An exposition and application of Acts 16.
Repentance, part 7: how Christ models peace and joy in Gethsemane
Gospel peace and joy are not necessarily tranquility or happiness in very situation. Christ models for us how to rejoice in God and find peace even in circumstances where what we naturally feel is great turmoil and agony.
2 Timothy 3, part 2: Timothy’s lesson from the last days
An exposition and application of 2 Timothy 3.
Repentance, part 6: war as the precondition of peace
Whereas the modern church has become convinced that appeasement and avoiding confrontation are required to ensure peace, scripture requires us to wage war against everything that opposes Christ in order to be peace-makers.
Repentance, part 5: why peace surpasses understanding
Whereas we tend to think of peace as just one of many fruits of the Spirit, it is in fact central and foundational to the gospel itself. The gospel is described as the gospel of peace, and this peace is said to exceed our ability to understand it, not just experientially, but doctrinally. This is because biblical peace gathers up every blessing of God’s presence, and in fact is shorthand for heaven itself.
Repentance, part 4: the head, the chest and the belly
To live in repentance, our reason must rule over our appetites. But this is only possible if we become men with chests, ordering our affections and passions toward the true and the good and the beautiful, so that they in turn can rule over our animal desires.
2 Timothy 3, part 1: Wolves are after our women
An exposition and application of 2 Timothy 3.
Repentance, part 3: its sorrow
While God leads us to repentance through discipline, we must be careful not to let our obedience become a matter of mere outward observance, nor be deceived into thinking that he is far from us.
Psalm 134: Blessing the members of your body
An exposition and application of Psalm 134.
Repentance, part 2: its exhaustiveness
Our deceitful flesh would have us treat repentance as one-and-done, or at best intermittent. But unless we are continually working at it, we are in grave danger.
Repentance, part 1: what actually is it?
Whereas Christians tend to think of repentance as an occasional act, scripture describes it in terms of the continual renewal and transformation of the mind.
Psalm 126 (part 2): Covenantal Concern for Disobedient Brethren
An exposition and application of Psalm 126.
The subtle snare of lifted eyes & false tongues
Bnonn preaches from Proverbs 6:16–19 on how to avoid being someone God hates in 2024, focusing especially on the subtle ways in which modern culture tempts us toward lifted eyes and false tongues.
Psalm 126 (part 1): The laughter of the liberated
An exposition and application of Psalm 126.
Walking into a new year of wicked days
An exposition and application of Psalm 121.
How we participate in Christ through gift-giving and Christmas trees
Since we should be celebrating Christmas, the question is how. Are the forms of our celebration good? What spiritual patterns do they embody? We examine the scriptural symbolism of gift-giving and Christmas trees, to show that they are indeed good forms of liturgical practice that involve us in the incarnation of Christ.
Liturgical conquest through celebrating Christmas
Since Christ is Lord over time as well as space, and the church is authorized to act on his behalf to establish his reign on earth, it is our responsibility to determine the liturgical times and seasons to observe. The church throughout history has included Christmas in this.
Psalm 121 (part 2): Who does God keep?
An exposition and application of Psalm 121.
Vocation, part 13: the call to rest
Because sacrifice is built into creation, we are always living sacrificially. But what are we giving up, and to what? Christians are called to live in a way that puts the right things in the right places, and gives up the right things in the right way. This can only be done by placing God in his proper place.
Psalm 121 (part 1): The Wisdom of Faith in the Invisible
An exposition and application of Psalm 121.
Vocation, part 12: living sacrificially
Because sacrifice is built into creation, we are always living sacrificially. But what are we giving up, and to what? Christians are called to live in a way that puts the right things in the right places, and gives up the right things in the right way. This can only be done by placing God in his proper place.
Psalm 120 part 1: A Song for the Christian in a Lying Land
An exposition and application of Psalm 120.
Vocation, part 11: the calling to sacrifice
Although we tend to think of sacrifice in terms of atonement, it is actually built into the nature of creation before the fall. The pattern of giving something up to a higher thing is found in everything from seeds to offerings.
Psalm 129 part 3: Fruitfulness from Flogging
An exposition and application of Psalm 129.
Psalm 129 part 2: Voting in Gutter Grass
An exposition and application of Psalm 129.
Vocation, part 10: the calling of mothers
If women image God especially by being life-givers, how does this affect how they live? Is it just a question of having babies, or are there implications that should direct how they order their whole lives?
Vocation, part 9: how God calls mothers to image him as life-givers
If men image both the Father and the Son as name-givers and dominion-takers, how do women image God? When we examine Eve's creation and naming, we find patterns that strikingly resemble the Holy Spirit's eternal procession and economic work.
Psalm 129 part 1: Kids and Covenantal Identity
An exposition and application of Psalm 129.
Psalm 130 part 3: The Sanctification of Israel
An exposition and application of Psalm 130.
Vocation, part 8: how God calls fathers to image him as name-givers
Just as the Father gives his name to the Son, so human fathers confer identity and meaning upon their children—and the name of Christ himself, the greatest inheritance possible.
Vocation, part 7: how men are to rule their houses
Knowing how sin wars against our calling to image God as Father, ruling over our houses on his behalf, we now turn to the positive vision that scripture provides of how to do this, by learning to rule over ourselves.
Vocation, part 6: obstacles to husbands obeying their calling
Like women, men are cursed by God, and that curse combines with their fleshly desires to war against ourselves and our households. We must know our enemy to defeat our enemy—so we must understand all the ways in which sin tries to sabotage us in obeying our calling as men.
Vocation, part 5: obstacles to wives obeying their calling
Because Eve comes from Adam, and is called to help Adam, when God curses her, he curses that work. Just as he made Adam’s work toilsome by setting the ground against him, he makes Eve’s work toilsome by setting her against him. The curse creates a paradoxical ambivalence in woman: by nature she desires to serve her husband, but in the flesh she is no longer willing to give herself up to him. Fortunately, scripture gives us guidance to understand what this looks like, so as to avoid it, and models virtuous women like Abigail, so that wives may know what to strive for instead.
Vocation, part 4: household calling
If a wife is to glorify her husband, there must be something he is doing for her to glorify. How can a husband know God’s particular calling for himself and his household—and how can he cast a vision for that to his wife and children?
Psalm 130 part 2: Eagerly Waiting for Final Salvation
An exposition and application of Psalm 130.
Psalm 130 part 1: Out of the depths to mountain air
An exposition and application of Psalm 130.
Vocation, part 3: the calling of women
While the vocation of mankind is to glorify God in the work of dominion on his behalf, women have a special place in this, as they are called to be the glory of their husbands. While the vocation of men is focused outward to building the world, the vocation of women is focused inward to building their own houses.
Vocation, part 2: the end of our work
Contrary to common pop-theology, what God is preparing us for in glory is not a purely spiritual state, but a complete, embodied joining of heaven and earth. In eternity, we will continue to participate with God in the work of stamping his will into the world—a work no longer cursed by toil, but restful, blessed, and fruitful.
Vocation, part 1: the calling of mankind
Mankind through Adam, and redeemed in Christ, is called to exercise dominion on God’s behalf, impressing the heavenly pattern into the physical world, so that his will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. Yet this grand, cosmic vision is fulfilled through ordinary, daily work.
Psalm 127 part 5: Open Carry with a Full Quiver
An exposition and application of Psalm 127.
Psalm 127 part 4: The Renovations of Sanctification
An exposition and application of Psalm 127.
Hermeneutics and Christianese
In obeying our duty to read scripture well, we must sometimes identify key points at which translators obscure the text, rather than clarifying it. Certain terms have become like jargon in modern Christianity, with their own meaning which we import to them. Using these terms in translation can skew our understanding, or even obliterate how the text would have been understood by its original audience. Two examples of this are the words Christ and baptize.
Psalm 127 part 3: Building a Lasting Heritage Through Babies
An exposition and application of Psalm 127.
Psalm 127 part 2: Security in Yahweh or the State?
An exposition and application of Psalm 127.
Psalm 127 part 1: The Beams That God Builds With
An exposition and application of Psalm 127.
Psalm 131: Having faith with an uncertain future
An exposition and application of Psalm 131.
Psalm 123: Singing with Eyes to the Skies
An exposition and application of Psalm 123.
How should we worship? Part 14: song and warfare
We conclude our series by looking at how, as earthly members of the heavenly host, God fights for us, and with us. We especially look at the unique role that music plays in this, and how our own songs seem to affect the spiritual realm, repelling evil spirits, and rousing righteous ones.
How should we worship? Part 13: the Lord's Day as the Day of the Lord
From the voice of God walking in the garden in “the spirit of the day,” to John hearing the same voice when in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, the pattern of the Sabbath has always included the fear of judgment to those who are unfaithful. Despite the obfuscation of English translations, scripture uses the same term for “the Day of the Lord” and “the Lord’s Day,” which means that worship is not just about praise, instruction, and communion—it is also about judgment and punishment. God summons his church to participate in this as heavenly council members.
What makes a church a church? Part 6: Christians as divine council members
In the Old Testament, God divided up the kingdom of Adam into nations, and placed them under members of the divine council. But these angelic princes were more interested in receiving worship than in ruling on God’s behalf, and so God raised up the Lord Jesus to replace them. Through Christ, these heavenly powers are disarmed, the nations are re-inherited, and the church becomes the earthly contingent of the divine council in heaven.
How should we worship? Part 12: worship as divine council meeting
Most of scripture’s depictions of the heavenly court involve deliberations between God and his angelic princes, the divine council. Since we enter the heavenly court in worship, it is important to understand this aspect of its function—and when and how human beings are also involved in it.
How should we worship? Part 11: covering our glory to magnify God's
The central logic of 1 Corinthians 11 is that only one glory should be on display in worship: God’s. Veiling still matters in the modern day because God’s glory still matters in worship—and that is what is at stake.
How should we worship? Part 10: the sacrificial significance of bread and wine
Why did Jesus choose bread and wine as the elements of the Lord’s Supper? Although some of the symbolism is obvious, understanding the sacrifices of Moses reveals a great deal more about the nature of the Eucharist; especially about the wine, and why we symbolically drink blood—something always forbidden, even to the priests, in the old covenant offerings.
How should we worship? Part 9: the Lord's Supper as the center of life
If life flows out from worship, and worship culminates in communion with God, then the Lord’s Supper in some deep sense is the pinnacle and center of Christian existence. Correctly participating in the form and timing (liturgy) of the Lord’s Supper is not only critical to right worship, but to right living. This involves a sixfold liturgical pattern—rougly: taking, thanking, breaking, giving, judging, and integrating.
How should we worship? Part 8: the Lord's Supper as covenant remembrance
Although the Lord’s Supper is a deep mystery, Christ’s words of institution make it plain that it is a mystery of remembrance. When we trace the use of such language throughout scripture, it becomes clear that the Eucharist gathers up all of the feasts and sacrifices of the Old Testament into a single sacrament that brings God’s covenant to his remembrance, and reaffirms it between him and his people.
How should we worship? Part 7: the covenant logic & obligation of infant baptism
The covenant with Abraham finds its fullness in Christ: both the sign and the promises are fulfilled in the church. Since the sign and the promises are universally given to children in the various administrations of the old covenant, certainly they are given to children under the new—unless otherwise rescinded.
Psalm 20: Sing for Your Kings
An exposition and application of Psalm 20.
How should we worship? Part 6: worship as the center of life
Scripture views all of life as worship—it is impossible to avoid religious service to some god or other in everything we do. Although Christians think of worship exclusively in terms of the Lord’s Service, this is really the pinnacle from which weekday service to God flows. All of life is liturgical, with Sunday worship at the center. The Lord’s Service teaches us how to participate in the heavenly patterns, so that we can embody those patterns in our own everyday service, fulfilling “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”
Psalm 29: The Glory of Wild Weather
An exposition and application of Psalm 29.
How should we worship? Part 5: body language & song
What we do with our bodies always communicates something, and so our body language in worship matters a great deal. Even the word that we translate as worship in scripture really means to prostrate or bow down, and this is an essential posture toward God that we need to recover. Similarly, men should be lifting their hands in prayer.
Psalm 18: Coming on the Clouds Once More
An exposition and application of Psalm 18.
What makes a church a church? Part 5: enrollment by covenant
Scripture models for us in many places that there is an enrollment in heaven—a book of life consisting of all the members of God’s covenant people. As in heaven, so on earth: in the New Testament, elders are required to know who is enrolled under their care, and church members are required to submit to their elders. The only way for this structure to have moral force is through membership vows.
Psalm 104: Let Creation Please Its Creator
An exposition and application of Psalm 104.
How should we worship? Part 4: the meaning of what we wear
Clothing is a kind of language, and we cannot avoid speaking it. God provides careful patterns and instructions about fitting attire for worship. We must honor and revere him with our clothing, without magnifying ourselves against his own glory, or other brothers. Dressing for worship therefore requires a balance between modesty, and bringing the best of our substance before God’s throne.
How should we worship? Part 3: liturgical order of worship in scripture
The Bible reveals a clear sequence to how we should worship, which has been used as a general structure for Lord’s Day services throughout the history of the church: call; cleansing; consecration; communion; commission.
Psalm 19: The Perfections of God's Speech
An exposition and application of Psalm 19.
How should we worship? Part 2: liturgy as true magic
Arranging our worship to mimic and echo the heavenly reality is critical, because it creates a kind of “resonance,” where by expressing and embodying spiritual patterns, we actually enter into them.
Psalm 2: Fitting Kings with Fetters
An exposition and application of Psalm 2.
Why Christmas carols are so postmillennial
We divide history into BC and AD—Anno Domini, “in the year of the Lord.” But is Christ currently reigning—and if so, why do we mark the beginning of this “year,” this age of Christ, from his birth, rather than his resurrection or ascension? It is because his reign, carried out through his body on earth (his church), is not like the heavy-handed lording of the gentile rulers. It follows the same pattern in the whole world as it does in the life of the individual believer: tender sanctification unto maturity and perfection.
How should we worship? Part 1: the regulative principle
When we come to our Father’s house, we ought to greatly fear transgressing the rules for appearing before him. Lest we worship presumptuously, we must be careful to pattern everything we do after what is laid down for our instruction in the Bible. Scripture alone must regulate our worship.
Psalm 128: Praise Yahweh for The Patriarchal Blessing
An exposition and application of Psalm 128.
What makes a church a church? Part 4: communion with God
Since the church is the house and temple of God, a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices, its ministry is actually the substance of the shadows modeled in the temple worship of the old covenant. The nature of Old Testament sacrifices are therefore of great importance for showing us that the very end and purpose of worship is table fellowship with God himself—fellowship that we have by entering into heaven itself through Christ and the Holy Spirit.
What makes a church a church? Part 3: key ingredients
There are certain fundamental elements, without which a church cannot be (or fails to properly be) a church at all. Three of these elements are: (1) Gathering together physically on the Lord’s Day; (2) Holding fast to and instructing its members in the full counsel of God; (3) Discipling its members to apply that counsel to all of life.
Psalm 125: Saints as an Immovable City
An exposition and application of Psalm 125.
What makes a church a church? Part 2: duty & jurisdiction
Although the church is exclusively governed by Christ, and is commissioned to disciple and train the nations in righteousness, it is not the only authority that Christ has instituted in the world. It must co-exist with, and uphold the lawful authority of, the natural institutions of household and state.
Psalm 122: Praise God for Christian Prosperity
An exposition and application of Psalm 122.
Psalm 133: The Blessing of an Oily Beard
An exposition and application of Psalm 133.
What makes a church a church? Part 1: governance
A church is a body that participates in the universal church—a body, a self-regulating nexus of powers, governed exclusively by Christ, its head. This exclusive government, and all that it implies about who does not govern us, is foundational to our existence.
Psalm 17: The Pleas of a Righteous Man
An exposition and application of Psalm 17.
Scriptural patterns should shape our thought patterns (John 3:22-4:3)
We are taught to listen to what Scripture says, but we are not generally taught to listen to how it says it. But the structure of Scripture reflects the mind of God just as much as the content, and we should be paying careful attention to both. The ending of John 3, for instance, “rhymes” or “resonates” with many themes developed in the beginning of the gospel, and teaches us how to discern patterns between like ideas.
Psalm 14: Fools that Deny the Obvious
An exposition and application of Psalm 14.
Psalm 13: Singing of Someone Else's Sorrow
An exposition and application of Psalm 13.
Psalm 100: Marked by Thankfulness
An exposition and application of Psalm 100.
Psalm 65: Breaking the Untenable Silence
An exposition and application of Psalm 65.
Psalm 12: In the Midst of Apostates
An exposition and application of Psalm 12.
Psalm 29: Praise God for Destructive Weather
An exposition and application of Psalm 29.
Qualifications for pastors that pastors won’t preach
The biblical qualifications for elders in the letters to Timothy and Titus are well-known—but some of their implications are carefully avoided by the many preachers who don’t meet them. The requirements for rulers in the church were not invented out of whole cloth in the first century. They are grounded in the law of Moses.
Psalm 15: The Works of the True Worshipers
An exposition and application of Psalm 15.
Psalm 119: Loving a Minister of Death
An exposition and application of Psalm 119.
Guardian angels & ghosts
The common assumption that Matthew 18 and Acts 12 give us glimpses of guardian angels is probably mistaken. Rather, the term angel in these passages is referring to human spirits.
Psalm 96: Singing Outside the Church
An exposition and application of Psalm 96.
Psalm 11: A Remedy for Escapism
An exposition and application of Psalm 11.
Psalm 6: How to Sing Through Troubles
An exposition and application of Psalm 6.
Psalm 1: A Song that Teaches Happiness
An exposition and application of Psalm 1.
Psalm 9: Nations Sinking into Their Own Pit
An exposition and application of Psalm 9.
Psalm 8: The Intangible Strength of Children in Church
An exposition and application of Psalm 8.
Psalm 7: Give Me Justice, Even if it Hurts
An exposition and application of Psalm 7.
Psalm 5: The Hatred of God Toward Sinners
An exposition and application of Psalm 5.
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