Today we continue through the Apostles’ Creed with - I believe in God the Father Almighty. And the question we need to ask: “Are the coffee shop critics right to declare that since this God is unable to create a rock so big that he can’t lift it - that He’s really not Almighty?”

Key points:

• God the Father
• God Almighty
• Why does God reveal His nature to us?

Quoted Scripture:

• Gen 17:1
• Exodus 3:15
• Exodus 34:6-7
• Deut 3:24
• John 3:16-17

More sources / notes:

• The Apostles’ Creed
• R. Albert Mohler Jr., The Apostles’ Creed
• Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology
• Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion
• Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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There is no shortage of books, commentaries, or articles on Paul’s letter to the Galatians - but when it came time for me to teach a brief series on Galatians - my primary sources distilled down to four authors: two from Europe - and two with Oregon connections.  In this episode, we review one of those books from an author who was once an Oregonian.  

Key points: 

1. 123 page text, published in 2024.
2. It’s brief, concise, and topical in its approach to Galatians.
3. This book keeps the main thing the main thing. 
4. It simply brings the key points to center stage. 
5. Key themes follow the order of Galatians:
   1. Stars with the conflict that Paul is facing
   2. Moves to Paul’s Gospel presentation
   3. Renewed life in Christ that cannot be obtained by works of the law
6. I highly recommend this book

More sources / notes:

• Christ Crucified by Thomas Schreiner
• Galatians - a commentary by Thomas Schreiner

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When discussing the reliability of the gospel narratives - most of us simply appeal to the field of NTTC. But Machen, in his work, The Virgin Birth of Christ, does the heavy lifting.  In turn, that heavy lifting gives us some pretty heavy reading.

Chapter 2 outline:

1. Outside objections
   1. Drastic change in language use from 1:1-4 to 1:5-2:52.
   2. Marcion’s version of Luke that didn’t include the birth narrative.  
      1. Due to the particular view that he did not believe that Jesus had actually been born.  
   3. Another obscure example: 1195 manuscript of the Armenian translation of Ephraem’s Commentary on the Diatessaron.  
   4. Machen then points to Titian’s Diatessaron, a Gospel harmony, dated to the 2nd century, that included Luke’s virgin birth account.  
2. “Inside” objections - a critical look at Luke’s own words
   1. “Very pedantic” views of Acts 1:1 and Luke 1:1.
   2. Proper translation of Luke 3:22:
      1. “Well pleased” vs. “begotten thee”
         1. Option 1: “...with whom I am well pleased” (
         2. Option 2: “...this day I have begotten thee” (a possible reference to Psalm 2:7)
         3. Machen makes the case for Option 1.
      2. What was the significance of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus
   3. Then particulars in Luke’s words from Luke 3:23:
      1. “as was supposed” 
         1. Does this phrase presuppose (or not) the virgin birth narrative?
      2. “Began” - began what?
         1. Machen will extend into a side discussion on the importance of the baptism of Jesus as the start of His public ministry. 
   4. Parallels to the descriptions to the start of the John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ ministries.  
3. Gradual addition / agglomeration over time
   1. Machen addresses briefly. 
4. Conclusion
   1. “If literary criticism has established anything at all, it has established the fact that the narrative of the birth and infancy is an integral part of the Third Gospel.” 

More sources / notes:

• PDF of The Virgin Birth of Christ
• Paperback book of The Virgin Birth of Christ
• The Diatessaron of Tatian

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Machen’s The Virgin Birth of Christ stands as one of the best defenses of the virgin birth in print today - maybe ever.  One reviewer of his book is quoted as saying in the British Weekly: “...we shall wait long for anything fuller, abler, or more readable.”

Key points:

• Chapter 1 outline. 
• Questions that Machen asks and addresses in Chapter 1:
  1. Did the second century church believe the testimony of the virgin birth and what evidence do we have for that? 
  2. Does second century testimony point to an early date for the virgin birth narrative?
  3. Were there feasible alternative narratives in the second century that could debunk or disprove the virgin birth narrative?

More sources / notes:

• PDF of The Virgin Birth of Christ
• Paperback book of The Virgin Birth of Christ

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Today we’ll start what I plan to be a complete line-by-line series on the Apostles’ Creed.

Key points:

• Why does the Apostles’ Creed start with “I believe” vs. “We believe”?
• The Apostles’ Creed in application

Quoted Scripture: 

• Matt 16:16-17
• Matt 22:37-40
• Romans 10:9
• Eph 2:8-10
• Eph 4:22-24
• Phil 3:19

More sources / notes:

• The Apostles’ Creed
• R. Albert Mohler Jr., The Apostles’ Creed
• Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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In the simplest terms a worldview is the foundation from which each person engages and acts on life’s most important questions and decisions. And once you understand worldview - you see it everywhere.  

Key points:

• Everyone has a worldview - but what are the core components?
• Where do we begin to understand, define, and articulate the Christian worldview?

Quoted Scripture:

• Acts 17:22-23

More sources / notes:

• James Sire, Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept
• James Sire, The Universe Next Door
• CS Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
• The Apostles’ Creed
• Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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When Peter writes to the church and encourages her to make a defense to anyone that asks for the hope that they have - he’s not just writing to the church leaders - he’s writing to every person in the pews to make that defense.  

Key points:

• Apologetics is a call to every person in the church to defend the hope they have in Christ. 
• Apologetics is helpful for (1) our walk with God and (2) a tool for evangelism. 

Quoted Scripture:

• 1 Peter 3:13-17
• 1 Cor 15:12-19

More resources / notes: 

• CS Lewis, A Grief Observed
• Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Topics will include apologetics, Biblical studies, and worldview.  

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