Wednesday Tabletalk Study and Prayer:
Wednesday Evening’s Tabletalk Study meets at 6 PM
Come join us weekly at 6 pm for a study in the monthly magazine at the church. Enjoy learning and a time of fellowship…
Table Talk Study
Schedule for March 2026
The Priestly Colors
No expense was spared in making the high priest’s garments. Made of the finest materials and threads dyed with the richest of colors, they must have been very impressive to the eye. The colors of the priestly garments also had a theme…
Growing up in Christ
An important part of life is growing up. It begins when a child starts putting childish things away—packing up toys, taking on new responsibilities, and wanting to sit with the adults. Parents rejoice as their children reach new milestones. Eventually, maturity is expected…
Theology That Sings
The word doxology brings to mind a hymn for many of us, but it simply means “word of glory.” In his letters, Paul often pauses to offer up a short praise to God. His first letter to Timothy is no exception. In fact, Paul bookends his letter with praise…
Sin, Sorrow, and Joy in the Life of a Christian
I must tell you at the beginning that writing on the subject of the paradox of the relationship of sorrow and joy in the life of every Christian has been troubling. Thinking about the sorrow I should feel over my sins has been painful. Why?
We Grieve with Hope
I write this as a man freshly acquainted with grief. The last two weeks have brought a flood of sorrows. Four dear families I know well had children in the room when a gunman opened fire at their school. A friend of our daughter was shot three times…
Living as Free Servants of God
Few words carry as much weight in modern society as freedom. We invoke it to defend rights, preferences, and even whims. In the cultural imagination, freedom means self-rule or autonomy from every constraint. To be free, in this view, is to answer to no one but oneself…
What’s the State of Theology?
When I first heard the words of Jesus in the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19–20), my mind turned to distant lands. I pictured places such as Papua New Guinea,…
In All Your Ways
How precious it is to know that the God who created and actively rules over the entire universe and all the earth has adopted us as His sons and daughters and takes a fatherly interest in everything to do with our lives. The book of Proverbs is…
The Fruitful Christian
Sometimes the Christian life feels discouraging. We know Paul’s struggle as our own: not doing what we want to do, doing what we do not want to do (Rom. 7:19). Sin is always close at hand. In those moments, it is easy to sink into spiritual pessimism, throwing…
How Godliness Is Connected to Truth
After I moved to the American South in 1973, I soon realized that many professing Christians lived like pagans. What I observed over the years is that Christianity has been woven into the fabric of Southern culture in such a way that there are many professing Christians…
Jesus and the Promises of God
Throughout the course of this year, my monthly contributions to Tabletalk’s weekend devotional have focused in one way or another on promises that God makes in the Bible. This month’s article is not so much a promise as it is a statement about promises that God makes…
The Preserving Grace of God
To join the church triumphant, we must persevere in following the Lord Jesus Christ till the very end so that we die in faith and enter His presence. This entails working out our salvation in fear and trembling, believing and repenting not only at conversion but day by day…
Relating to Unbelievers
I walked into the coffee shop, feeling slightly irritated. The internet had gone out at the church building, and my work that afternoon required a connection. So there I was, standing in line to buy a cup of coffee for the sole purpose of accessing Wi-Fi…
Fear Not What They Fear
In Isaiah 8, there is a gloriously striking phrase to our twenty-first-century ears: “Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread” (v. 12). It feels like it could have been written yesterday…
I Am Coming Soon
Have you ever considered how the Bible ends? No, it’s not “The End.” Revelation 22:21 ends with the word “Amen.” It is a Hebrew word signifying agreement. It is sometimes rendered by the phrase “so be it.” John’s final thoughts come directly from the mouth of Jesus…
Men of the Book
Men of the Book TableTalk by Robert W. Carver October is my favorite month of the year. Not because of Halloween. More importantly, October 31 (in the year 1517) is the day when Martin Luther posted the Ninety-Five Theses on the Castle Church door in...
Assurance and Right Doctrine
We are nearing the end of our study of the ordo salutis—the order in which the benefits of the work of Christ are applied to the believer. Before we look at the last element in the order of salvation, glorification, we will consider one element of the Christian life that…
The Lord Is Faithful
Second Thessalonians was written shortly after 1 Thessalonians, possibly six months later, following Silas and Timothy’s return after delivering the first epistle in AD 51 or 52. Among Paul’s goals in writing the letter was to encourage persecuted Christians…
My Sin Is Ever Before Me
Think of that one sin, or those few sins, that you don’t want anyone to know about, the sin that is ever before you and you would do anything to undo. We often wonder whether there’s forgiveness for having an abortion, committing adultery, engaging in…
Adopted as Sons
Conversion brings us into union with Christ, and with that union comes several benefits. One of these benefits, justification, pertains to our legal relationship to God. God the righteous Judge of all the earth condemns sinners for transgression and…
The Creedal Attributes of the Church
We believe “in one holy catholic and apostolic church” appears in what is today known as the Nicene Creed, compiled at the First Council of Constantinople in AD 381. It was there that the Trinitarian controversy was…
An Abundance of Wise Counselors
The book of Proverbs teaches us about wisdom, applying it to a variety of situations in the Christian life. In this article, we will think specifically about the Holy Spirit’s declaration that “in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Prov. 11:14).
Learning Never Stops
As the summer draws to a close and the bells in the schoolhouse are soon to ring, we hear the words, “But I don’t wanna go back to school.” (These words are heard from many students [and not a few teachers as well]…
Face Your Fears
Because of sin, we live in a scary world. Anxiety is now natural. Even David, a godly leader and fierce warrior, admitted, “Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me” (Ps. 55:4–5). We can relate…
Pure Speech as a Witness
I once spoke with a Christian woman who was born in the Netherlands but had lived in the United States for many years. She expressed disappointment that despite her long stay in America, she still spoke with a Dutch accent. Sensing her frustration, I…
The Spirit of Truth
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). Jesus mentioned the Holy Spirit eight times in the upper room, four times using the word pneuma, or “Spirit” (14:17, 26; 15:26; 16:13), and four times using the word paraklētos, translated…
Jesus the Son of Man
To know the significance of Jesus’ person and work, we must consider what our Lord says about Himself. Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus made claims regarding who He was and what He came to do (e.g., Mark 10:45; John 8:58). He also used titles for…
Many Mansions
Jesus spoke these words to the eleven disciples in the upper room on the eve of His crucifixion: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?…
The Eutychian Heresy
In the aftermath of the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, when the heresy of Nestorianism was condemned and the unity of Christ’s person affirmed, the church had to confront yet another Christological error. This heresy has come to be known as Eutychianism, named after a monk named Eutyches…
The Heart
In our day, the heart is commonly thought of as the seat of the emotions and the affections. Most people think of it as a reliable guide to life and practice, as in the saying “Follow your heart.” In biblical usage, however, the heart is thought of very differently, primarily in two ways…
The Land
It is common to ask people, “Where are you from?” The answer tells us a lot about the person. It gives insight into who they might be related to, what culture has influenced them, even some hints about what they might like (food, pastimes, etc.). Many good conversations begin with questions like this…
