The Scriptorium Daily

Year: 2012

  • The Trinity: Yes, A Doctrine About God

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

      Today was Trinity Sunday, as observed by churches who follow the western liturgical calendar. There wasn’t always a Trinity Sunday, and even when (well into the middle ages) it was proposed, some popes argued against it on the grounds that (a) feast days are supposed to commemorate events, not doctrines, and (b) every Sunday…

  • When You Hear "Mystery"

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    When you hear the word “mystery” in a sermon or in the Bible, what do you do? What do you expect to happen next? In a sermon on 1 Timothy 3:16 (“great is the mystery of Godliness”), John Calvin said that we should have two responses: When we hear this word, mystery, let us remember two…

  • Sanctification: Two Meanings

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    First you’re justified, then you become sanctified, and finally you’ll be glorified. To make progress as a disciple is to grow in sanctification. Right? Yes, this is how we talk. And when we talk this way, we know what we’re talking about. The word “sanctification” points to a process of development, a growing “in the…

  • What I learned from John Mark Reynolds

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    by

    Robert Llizo
    in

    I can still recall the day, seventeen years ago. We were introduced one Sunday by a mutual mentor of ours, the late, much lamented Fr. Michael E. Trigg. After the morning liturgy, we three talked for quite an extended time in the parish hall during the coffee hour, talking books, ideas, and Socratic pedagogy. By…

  • Prayer for the Class of 2012

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    (For Torrey graduation, May 25, 2012) Father God, we bring these seniors, this class of 2012, to you today. We lift them up before you, and call their names in your presence, and call on your name in their presence. Because this is the moment of the handoff. We are passing them on to you.…

  • What John Mark Founded

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in ,

    Today Biola held a special farewell reception for John Mark Reynolds, who is becoming provost of Houston Baptist University after 18 years as director of the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola. The Dean of Humanities emceed the university-wide event, at which the president gave Reynolds a genuine Jim Rice homerun baseball that he caught himself…

  • An Invitation to Education

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    by

    Greg Peters
    in

    Most people, if they think about it, probably live their life around some kind of rhythm. As a kid I remember my dad working seven days a week at the paper mill with a week off in the spring to do some home maintenance and a week off in the summer so that we could…

  • The Ascension: Christ’s Kind Absence

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    by

    Peter David Gross
    in

    Preached at Redeemer Church on May 17, 2012. See a previous Ascension sermon here. John 16:7 – Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to…

  • Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz (1943-2012)

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    This past weekend (on May 13), the hispanic feminist liberation theologian Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz died. Is “hispanic feminist liberation theologian” too much of a mouthful? She thought so, too. Each of those adjectives is accurate as a description of her work, but all strung together like that, they sounded like a tangle of disparate threads.…

  • Imitating Jesus' Dependence on the Father and the Spirit

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    Klaus Issler‘s new book Living into the Life of Jesus: The Formation of Christian Character (IVP, 2012) is a  unique product. It looks like a spiritual formation book, and it is. From its green cover with a picture of a lone figure walking down a path into a gauzy landscape, you can tell it’s going…

  • The Ascension: Christ Among Us, Christ Above Us

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    by

    Peter David Gross
    in

    My awesome little Baptist church follows the church calendar (Yes, that’s right.), and this Thursday is Ascension Day. After preaching at our midweek service last year, I became the church’s unofficial Ascension nut, and I’m getting ready to preach again. It’ll be our third sermon on the Ascension, each with a different approach, and between the…

  • How to Teach Salvation: Three Mysteries

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    by

    Fred Sanders
    in

    There are three great mysteries in Christian theology: the Trinity, the incarnation, and the atonement. These three mysteries are all mysteries of unity: The mystery of the Trinity is how the three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) are the one, only God. The mystery of the incarnation is how the divine nature is united to…