the glory of the church

He [Jesus] said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:15-18 ESV)

"How clear that no other institution in all the world is comparable to the Christian church in point of glory! The glory of the greatest, wealthiest, most powerful and most resplendent empire of all history was as nothing, yes less than nothing, in comparison with the glory of the church of Christ.

"Small wonder that of all the countless organizations in the world the Redeemer fondly claims only the church as his very own. 'Upon this Rock,' said He, 'I will build my church.' The church alone is 'his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.' (Ephesians 1:23)"

(R. B. Kuiper, The Glorious Body of Christ, p. 40)

The stain glass window above, "New Jerusalem," is at the First Presbyterian Church in Muskegon, Michigan.

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Howard Hendricks on OT books chronology

When I was in seminary, Howard Hendricks (aka "Prof") gave us a little card with the books of the OT chronologically arranged. The scanned copy I have was a bit blurry and I wanted to make something like this available for our church class in OT theology ("Story of Redemption"). A few minor edits and here it is...

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Priest of all our offerings, the defender and he

one-liners

Here are 25 of my favorite one-liners from comedian Steven Wright: 1) I'd kill for a Nobel Peace Prize. 2) Borrow money from pessimists -- they don't expect it back. 3) Half the people you know are below average. 4) 82.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot. 5) A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory. 6) All those who believe in psychokinesis, raise my hand. 7) The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. 8) OK, so what's the speed of dark? 9) How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink? 10) If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. 11) Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm. 12) When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. 13) Hard work pays off in the future; laziness pays off now. 14) I intend to live forever ... So far, so good. 15) If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends? 16) Eagles may soar, but weasels don'

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