What are the Means of Grace?
When new converts are brought into the church, they are often loaded up with the need to read the Bible, pray, practice repentance, and get […]
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When new converts are brought into the church, they are often loaded up with the need to read the Bible, pray, practice repentance, and get […]
Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper and commanded the church to “do this in remembrance of me.” But why? In this episode of White Horse Inn, […]
From his own baptism by John the Baptist to his last commission to go and make disciples of all nations, Jesus’s ministry is marked by […]
What are the differences between Reformational, Roman Catholic, and Anabaptist sacramental views? And what are sacraments for? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts […]
Soteriology precedes eschatology—but how? And what will the judgment of the risen Christ look like? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, […]
The ascension seems like a really bad plan. Why would Christ leave his disciples? Is the indwelling Spirit truly better than Christ in the flesh? […]
Many people struggle with the concept of atonement. What do we make of a God who demands the sacrifice of his own Son? And what […]
Most Christians know about the forgiveness of sins, but not the doctrine of active obedience. But how do we become righteous if not through imputation? […]
Christ’s incarnation immediately sets Christianity apart from other religions and disrupts the expectations of religious leaders. So, what is this important doctrine and what do […]
Throughout this series, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland have talked a lot about the need to distinguish law from gospel, […]
Proponents of the law-gospel distinction have often emphasized the need for them to appear in the right order. But how important is that order? In […]
Is the gospel something that we do? Is it something—like a law—that we can execute or abide by? In this episode of White Horse Inn, […]
We are no strangers to the category of “law,” but how is God’s law different from man-made laws and rituals? In this episode of White […]
We have a remedy to our sin problem, declared in 1 John 2:1–2, the fourth and final Comfortable Word. Because Jesus was our sacrifice, he […]
The third word (1 Timothy 1:15) diagnoses our human condition, revealing not just the subjective feeling of burden but also the objective consequences of violating […]
The second of the Comfortable Words, John 3:16, demonstrates God’s desire and initiative to save his people. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts […]
As Christians, we often struggle to view God as one who wants to meet us with words of comfort and good news. But understanding God’s […]
Do Reformational people read their Bibles? Do they have daily “quiet times”? Is it important for them to pray every day? Sometimes we can give people the sense that all God really cares about is public worship, but what happens in our public assembly should flow down into our families and then into our individual spiritual lives as well. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller discuss the role private piety plays in our Christian life, considering how we can reclaim spiritual disciplines for our churches.
Many of us were raised in churches that downplayed the clergy-laity distinction. Every member, we were told, was a minister. Now, we’re in churches that take ordination seriously and that sees the biblical rationale for “office.” Maybe we’re even relieved to find that these churches don’t fill our calendars with a busy week of “ministry activities,” but instead prioritize Sunday worship. But where does that leave the laity? And where is the spiritual formation that happens when we live in community with one another? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller consider how the liturgy of our worship pushes back against the liturgies of the world. And they discuss the responsibility of members to exercise their spiritual gifts alongside their freedom to receive and rest on the Lord’s day.
Many churches preach that your biggest problem is that you’re not living your best life now. Rather than calling people to repentance, they call them to “try harder, do better” so that they can be fulfilled, healthy, and happy. Reformed theology provides a doctrine to help counter this wrong diagnosis of our true problem: total depravity. But sometimes, this doctrine sounds much more like “utter depravity,” leaving nothing good or redeemable about humanity. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller consider how we hold total depravity in tension with the goodness of humanity.
Is Christianity really as intellectually driven as some of us seem to think? Sermons are lectures. Bible studies, book groups, and theology discussions take on an outsized role in the life of the church. We have difficulty talking to people who don’t know our jargon. In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller discuss how we can push back against an overly intellectual approach to the faith and embrace a holistic church ministry and spiritual life.
Martin Luther once said, "Prayer, study, and suffering make a pastor." Few things can better describe the life and ministry of Tim Keller. In this episode, Michael Horton is joined by Tim Keller to discuss how his cancer diagnosis has affected his spiritual practices, why forgiveness is essential in life and society, the church's resilience amidst increasing secularization, and more.
In this final episode for the 2022 Christmas series, White Horse Inn hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller unpack the beloved Christmas text, Isaiah 9:6, considering how each phrase is truly good news of great joy: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
"Before I draw nearer to that stone to which you point," said Scrooge, "answer me one question." In this special episode, Michael Horton shares how the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in Dickens's A Christmas Carol points us to our need for a transformation, but how only the gospel can move us from behavioral change to living a new life of gratitude and joy. (Episode SP008)
What did Jesus accomplish in his first Advent? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller consider the effects of the incarnation of the Son of God—sin is atoned for, exile is over, and his reign reaches “far as the curse is found.”
"Come in! and know me better, man!" In this special episode, Justin Holcomb shares how the Ghost of Christmas Present in Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' teaches us about grace and peace and the invitation to feast in the Christian life. (Episode SP007)
As we wait for Jesus to come again, what exactly are we waiting for? What kind of kingdom will Jesus bring? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller look back to the expectations surrounding the Messiah’s coming and consider what Christ’s rule and reign look like now and in the future.
“Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner!” In this special episode, Bob Hiller shares how the Ghost of Christmas Past in Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' teaches us about guilt, the law, and how we are freed from it's condemnation through Christ. (Episode SP006)
The Advent season reminds us that we’re still waiting. But as we long and wait for God’s promised peace and redemption, we’re tempted to take matters into our own hands. On this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller discuss what Advent is and what faithful longing for God’s peace and redemption looks like.
For more than 30 years, White Horse Inn and Modern Reformation have applied the Two-Kingdoms theology recovered during the Protestant Reformation to our modern political issues. Concluding this series featuring different views on the Christian’s relationship to politics, this episode features David VanDrunen, who shares Michael Horton’s Two-Kingdoms view. Though they are not uniform in their approaches, this beneficial conversation examines the view of the Two-Kingdoms, the criticisms against it, and its practical application in the church and society.
In this bonus episode of White Horse Inn, Justin Holcomb sits down with Trevin Wax to discuss his newest book, The Thrill of Orthodoxy: Rediscovering the Adventure of Christian Faith.
In this White Horse Inn series, Michael Horton sits down with a broad range of thinkers—including those he disagrees with—to hear in their own words how they understand the relationship of the Christian to politics. This episode features Gary DeMar, who advocates that America once had a Christian heritage that can and should be recovered and that some of Israel’s civil laws should indeed govern American and Western society.
In this White Horse Inn series, Michael Horton sits down with a broad range of thinkers—including those he disagrees with—to hear in their own words how they understand the relationship of the Christian to politics. This episode features Susannah Black Roberts, who advocates for the view of “Christian post-liberalism,” defending her position that “the purpose of earthly government is to bring those governed to their natural end: to be virtuous men and women with justice in their souls, who participate in the common good of the city; it also has the purpose of directing us to our final supernatural end, according to its own methods, in a humble way and without stepping on the toes of the church.”
In this episode of White Horse Inn, Peter Leithart advocates for what some describe as “Constantinianism,” where the church is knit into the civic order, and where civic responsibilities are also carried out by the church and its clergy.
In this special episode concluding our White Horse Inn series on vocation, Michael Horton and Justin Holcomb sit down to discuss the call to vocational ministry. Drawing on their experiences as ordained ministers and seminary professors, they answer questions like: What are the qualifications for pastoral ministry? How do you know if you’re called to ministry? When should you go to seminary? And how can we encourage those in our midst we think may be called?
During the Reformation, “the priesthood of all believers”—considered one of the most important discoveries of the Reformation—countered the clericalism of Rome and restored the dignity of ordinary vocations. So what does the daily office of “Christian” look like today? And how are laypeople meant to engage in the work of ministry? In this episode of White Horse Inn, Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and special guest Walter Strickland discuss the priesthood of all believers, considering its different expressions and implications in the Reformed, Anglican, Baptist, and Lutheran traditions.
The apostle Paul tells us that in light of Christ’s resurrection and in view of our own, our work is not in vain. It has meaning and purpose. So how do we navigate the goodness and the promises of work in the context of a world where sin has plagued our vocations? What does the doctrine of vocation say to a generation of people who are unsatisfied, burning out, and just plain tired? Listen to Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and special guest Walter Strickland continue their discussion of vocation in this episode of White Horse Inn.
Is there a distinctly Christian way to go about our day jobs? In this episode of White Horse Inn,Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland consider what makes our work valuable. They challenge the human tendency to search for ultimate significance and satisfaction in our work, pointing listeners to God’s design for believers to live out their vocations under God’s pleasure, in the power of the Spirit, and within the rhythms of work and rest that he provides.
When we talk about work, it’s easy to jump right to the Fall and consider how work is frustrated by sin. But how does the pre-Fall creation narrative shape our understanding of vocation? And what does that mean for a post-Fall reality? In this episode of White Horse Inn, Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller are joined by special guest Walter Strickland in a new series examining the doctrine of vocation. This episode looks at the goodness inherent to work, what it looks like toimage God in our vocations, and how the Sabbath shapes our approach to the work week.
Concluding our series on the intersection of faith and science, White Horse Inn hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller venture into the social sciences, considering how disciplines like psychology and sociology fit within the Christian faith. As they do, they examine topics like primary and secondary causes, mental illness, and what happens when we have an over-realized eschatology.
What happens when our understanding of the Bible’s creation narrative contradicts current scientific theory? In this episode of White Horse Inn, Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller continue their discussion of faith and science by considering God’s two ways of speaking in creation: divine fiat and providence. As they consider the compatibility of various scientific views with the biblical account, they also outline what is essential for Christians to affirm when it comes to creation.
The first few chapters in Genesis are some of the most hotly debated in Christian circles. What did Moses intend for his readers to understand when he penned the Bible’s creation narrative? What did he know about the creation myths of the surrounding nations, and how might that impact our understanding today? In this episode of White Horse Inn, Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller model charitable disagreement as they represent and discuss different interpretations of Genesis 1 and 2.
Though faith and science are often pitted against each other, this wasn’t always the case. In fact, in the Middle Ages, theology was known as “the queen of the sciences.” So, what’s changed? White Horse Inn hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, and Bob Hiller are kicking off a new series examining the relationship between faith and science. In this episode, they consider the historical relationship between these disciplines, examining what has caused growing skepticism towards the sciences among Christians.
When we’re living in constant emergency mode, can we turn it all off on Sunday? Can we come together with our different backgrounds and experiences […]
Psalm 27:1 says, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” In this episode, the WHI hosts explore what happens when this verse is not a reality for us. Trapped in […]
All our fears can be encapsulated in three words: security, life, and justification. But the Bible repeatedly tells us, “Fear not!” So how do we […]
People today are living in a constant state of fear. The fight or flight instinct has become a routine way of life, subverting fact gathering […]
Scripture has much to say about prayer, both in its teaching about who God is as the one who enables and receives our prayers, and […]
Prayer is one of God’s greatest gifts to his people. And it’s also one of our biggest sources of guilt, confusion, and frustration. In this […]
The different traditions emerging from the Protestant Reformation each bring helpful tools and perspectives to cultivating a life of prayer. In this episode of White […]
Though not a strict model for prayer in all situations, the Lord’s Prayer is a rich resource for learning how to pray—a summary outline given […]
Although prayer is something we do, the way we pray reflects our understanding of who God is. In this episode of White Horse Inn, Justin […]