“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Every year at this time the attention of Christians comes back again and again to one miracle in the Bible: the Virgin Birth of Jesus. Our Christmas carols repeatedly mention this miraculous event. Handel’s Messiah rather boldly proclaims the words of Isaiah. And every time we recite the Apostles’ Creed we mention this event twice, when we say “conceived by the Holy Spirit,” and “born of the Virgin Mary.”

In response to the blog posted on the WRF website entitled, “When a Pope Really Understands Luther,” WRF member Dr. Leonardo De Chirico has submitted this document and has urged all WRF members to sign the document -   “"Is the Reformation Over? A Statement of Evangelical Convictions"

My daughter loves puzzles and, for that matter, what three-year-old wouldn’t? Puzzles capture her attention and she loves to try to put the pieces together. But if the puzzle is too hard, or she has reached her limit to where she wants to go, she will pick a few pieces and play with them, leaving the rest of the puzzle unfinished. Later, she can become angry when some of the pieces don’t fit together. The Holy Spirit, you could say, has distributed to every believer a unique piece/pieces of the puzzle of his transforming grace.

From Whitefield, we learned that trusting Jesus Christ shouldn’t wait but instead happen right now. 
 
Unbelievers are needy now, so should turn to Jesus now—but can they do that?

As we start off the new year, there are many things we might have on our minds. Where is our nation headed? What kind of person will run it? What historical events will take place compared to last year? Then there are the personal resolutions that we all say we’ll do, and for the most part; never keep. But one thought that needs to be looked at is theology.

Among the most frequently-commented-on items to appear on the WRF website are those which address the topic which our members Thomas Schirrmacher, Thomas Johnson, and Leonardo de Chirico discuss immediately below.  I will not try here to summarize the points that these men make so well.  You will just have to read their posts for yourself.

 Is the Pope the Antichrist? by WRF Member Leonardo De Chirico (ministering in Rome)

These days no one asks a question like this. It seems too arrogant, too outdated, grossly missing the mark of a honest religious conversation.

Evangelicals should actively appropriate central themes from the Protestant Reformation that provide a unified structure for faith, life, and proclamation: the nuanced relation between law and gospel. A largely unified (but not woodenly identical) perspective can be learned from a comparison of Martin Luther (1483-1546) with John Calvin (1509-1564).

There is the church of Jesus Christ and then there is God’s kingdom. The church is about worshipping the Lord by the power of the Holy Spirit; the kingdom is about fostering a world of righteousness and justice as God defines it. Many Christians see that as two very different things.

Introductory comment by WRF International Director, Dr. Samuel Logan: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to speak to a joint session of the U. S. Congress on March 13, 2015, and many evangelical Christians are responding to this planned event citing Scripture, especially the Old Testament. 

Thoroughly Uncontroversial: Sinclair Ferguson on Christotelic Interpretation

Regular readers of The Ecclesial Calvinist blog are no doubt aware of the recent involuntary “retirement” of Westminster Theological Seminary Professor of Old Testament Dr. Douglas Green. Those still unfamiliar with this controversy can find my analysis on that site (see below for the link to that site).

 On Sunday, September 22, 2013, Rev. Rick Tyson, my pastor, preached the best sermon I have ever heard on this subject.  Below is the link to the YouTube video of that sermon.  Watch it and worship! My church is Calvary Presbyterian Church in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.  Both Rick and the church are members of the WRF.