April 2014 New Horizons

The Feast of the Resurrection

by Gabriel N. E. Fluhrer

Reformed churches like the Orthodox Presbyterian Church have rightly frowned upon the celebration of feast days such as those found in the Church of Rome. But long before the unbiblical additions of Rome, feast days themselves were ordained by God for his old covenant people. Stated simply, the lives of the ancient Israelites were scheduled around the feasts that God prescribed in his word. Given the monumental importance of the festal calendar in the life of Israel, it is not surprising to find that this ordering of life shaped the structures of the apostle Paul’s thinking. Indeed, his theology of resurrection life in 1 Corinthians 15 is subtly yet powerfully shaped by the festal calendar of Israel. As a Pharisee and a Hebrew of Hebrews (Phil. 3:5), Paul knew much about the feasts of Israel from places like Leviticus 23. There God outlines in more detail what he previously told the Israelites (see Ex. 23:10–19), giving specific instructions for the festal calendar his people were to follow. ... Read more

The Power and Wisdom of the Cross

by Chad B. Van Dixhoorn

In the mid-nineteenth century, archaeologists digging around the Palatine Hill in Rome unearthed a house that formed one part of the palace of the emperor Caligula, an unpleasant man who reigned in Rome from AD 37 until he was murdered in AD 41. In the years following Caligula’s death, the imperial palace continued to grow, and over time this house became hidden, entombed within the foundations of the larger palace complex, and so it was preserved until its discovery in 1857. Ironically, the unearthed house soon became best known for a bit of graffiti that was found on one of its walls. Scholars discovered a kind of ancient cartoon: it showed an image of a young man looking up in admiration at a crucified figure—a figure of a man with a donkey’s head stretched out upon a cross. Underneath the picture, this was written: “Alexamenos worships his God.” Now it is possible that there was an obscure religion in Rome whose adherents worshipped a crucified donkey-man. But the Romans put ... Read more

Finding Jesus in the Book of James

by Stephen J. Oharek

The great Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, infamously referred to the book of James as “an epistle of straw” in his preface to the German New Testament. What is less well known or talked about, is that Luther also praised the book of James in the same preface. Luther said about James, “ I praise it and hold it a good book , because it sets up no doctrine of men and lays great stress upon God’s law.” Luther did have a way of using his tongue to both bless the book of James and also to curse it. And with respect to the latter, the most devastating criticism he leveled against James was that he believed it did not teach us about Christ. Luther is correct when he says, “That is the true test, by which to judge all books, when we see whether they deal with Christ or not, since all the Scriptures show us Christ.” Absolutely! Sadly, though, Luther went on to say that James does not pass that test. If you were to listen to most people talk about James, and most preachers preach through ... Read more

Remembrances of Our Old Meeting Place

by Susan Hollister

Last week a friend asked me if I would miss the Lions Community Center in New Lenox, Illinois, as our place of worship when we move into our new building in Joliet next month. “What an odd question,” I thought. “What would I miss about this community center?” There certainly are aspects of meeting for worship here that I won’t miss, such as the occasional stale cigarette smell left over from a party the night before, the loud music we have sometimes heard through the wall during our service, and the way we have been reminded that it is time to leave after the evening service, when we have lingered too long. But upon reflection, our nineteen years here at the New Lenox Lions Community Center does have significance to me. Many children of the families here today have attended worship in this humble building for most of their childhood. They have run through these halls; they have made best friends here. Two of these friends, Nate and Sonia, actually grew up here together and got married to ... Read more