Though I’ve had my share of compliments on my preaching, there was nary a mention at my retirement dinner of any particular sermon. “Being there” counted. “Saying things” . . . not so much; at least, not as much.
Paul JanssenDecember 23, 2024
Ultimately, sport opens windows to transcendence. One can hardly watch Usain Bolt run the 100 meters, or Simone Biles do a floor exercises, or Caitlin Clark sink a three-pointer, or witness Jim Redmond supporting his injured son Derek across the finish line without recognizing that God is at work in an extraordinary way.
Paul JanssenApril 15, 2024
by Paul Janssen This white guy observes Black History Month because there is no way that I would be living the life I live today without the mostly unwilling contributions of African Americans. I am who I am because they did what they did. That might sound odd coming from a fellow who grew up in Iowa, which during my youth was one of the whitest states in the nation. I didn't meet an African American until I was in…
Paul JanssenJanuary 29, 2013
The three historic doctrinal standards of the Reformed Church in America (the Belgic Confession of 1561, the Heidelberg Catechism of 1563, and the Canons of the Synod of Dort of 1618-1619) offer up a standard Reformed portrait of the Lord of the Church. Jesus Christ was present with the Father at the creation of the world, and all things were made through him. Eternally begotten, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, he possesses both the…
Paul JanssenJanuary 1, 2010
Those who see the church as instituted by God take comfort in the ancient Latin dictum, Extra ecclesiam, nulla salus (Outside the church, there is no salvation). Indeed, prior to Vatican II (as I understand it), this was the official teaching of the Roman Catholic church, and continues to hold for those who have a high doctrine of the church. In his latest movie, Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood proclaims a kind of salvation that is decidedly outside the church--a salvation…
Paul JanssenApril 1, 2009