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When we come before God in prayer, it ought to be with a deep sense of honor and privilege. It is easy to take this for granted and for our prayers to become rote and routine. But we come before the King of kings, into His very throne room, with the promise that He will surely hear the prayers that are brought in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. This is a tremendous honor that He has given us. In ancient times, the common people would very rarely, if ever, have any chance to go before the king or the emperor with their petitions;Read More →

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Hymn #334 is our hymn of application this Sunday, and it is a prayer to the Holy Spirit for His influence in our lives. The word “Spirit” in Hebrew and Greek is the same word as “breath” or “wind”, leading to the hymn writer using this figure. The Scripture text in the Trinity is John 20:22, where Jesus breathes on the disciples, symbolizing the gift of the Spirit. Frequently in the Old Testament, the promise is made that one day the Spirit of God would be poured out on God’s people and that the result would be that their sinful natures would be changed andRead More →

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Hymn #353 in the Trinity Hymnal is our hymn of the month for June. As we focus on the Lord’s Supper this month, we have selected a hymn that expresses our joy and gratitude at being part of the kingdom of God. The Psalms often praise God for Israel or for Zion or Jerusalem. Sometimes this is phrased as praising Jerusalem itself; Psalm 50 for example calls Zion the “perfection of beauty” and Psalm 48 says that Zion is the “joy of the whole earth.” In one sense this might be disturbing, since on the surface it might appear that the Psalm is praising men,Read More →

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Catechism question #60 has always been one of the most beloved questions in the catechism. “Question 60. How are thou righteous before God? Answer: Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ; so that, though my conscience accuse me, that I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God, and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil; notwithstanding, God, without any merit of mine, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me, the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ; even so, as if I never had had, nor committed any sin: yea, as if I had fully accomplishedRead More →

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In the Old Testament law, people could offer gifts to God as part of vows that they made. These were usually promises made to God as acts of thanksgiving for some blessing God had given. There were restrictions on what could be offered as such an offering: nothing torn, broken, maimed or sick. They were taught to offer God only their best, as should we. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed– Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.” (EccRead More →

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We were very grateful to God for the installation of the pastor and the first elder for Christ Reformed Church of Casper by a commission of the South Central Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States.  Rev. Jon Blair, Rev. George Horner, and Rev. C.W. Powell were there, along with most of the elders and deacons from the overseeing congregation in Rock Springs, and other friends and family.  Greg Hager was installed as an elder of the congregation; Greg was an elder in the RCUS for many years in Rock Springs, and we’re very grateful to have him here in Casper now. AudioRead More →

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(Crossposted from Wheat and Chaff) We talk a lot in Christian circles about how to love our wives, and rightly so.  But I fear that we neglect another command of our Lord, which is that we must hate our wives.  And I do not believe these are separate commands in tension, which we must learn to balance; I do not believe we can learn to love our wives until we learn to hate them first. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (LukeRead More →

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Pastor Lee Johnson of Lincoln, NE interacts with another article bemoaning the decline of Reformed and Presbyterian influence, blaming it on a lack of academic strength.  This is a great article and puts the focus right where it belongs.  We might know the big names, the scholars, the writers and seminary professors.  But it is pastors on the ground, many of whose names we will never know, who actually do the work and build the church.  Thanks, Lee.Read More →

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According to James, the way we talk about God says less about the state of our heart as the way we talk about our fellow man. It’s easy to talk nice about God. Talking lovingly and respectfully about our fellow man is what’s hard, and reveals the real condition of our hearts.   Listen to our study on James 3.Read More →