Tabletalk Magazine, December 2005: The First Advent

by Ligonier Ministries

Publisher:

Ligonier Ministries

, 2005

Overview

For more than thirty years, Tabletalk has existed as a magazine for laymen. Generally speaking, laymen receive either very little instruction in the weightier matters of the faith, or the instruction is too academic, thereby making the material largely inaccessible to average laymen. This is the reason Tabletalk exists — to bridge the gap between these two poles, to explain to the people of God important, biblical doctrines and events while admonishing them toward holy living.

Contributors include R.C. Sproul along with Burk Parsons, David E. Holwerda, Starr Mease, Robert Rothwell, John Sartelle, Mark Dever, Patrick Lennox, Chris Larson, Kim Riddlebarger, and Albert Mohler. Tabletalk features articles about topics central to the Christian faith and daily, in-depth Bible studies.

Contents

• "Awaiting His Return" by Burk Parsons
• "Born of the Virgin Mary" by R. C. Sproul
• "In the Fullness of Time" by David E. Holwerda
• "The Suffering Servant" by Donald Macleod
• "A Woman Richly Blessed" by Starr Meade
• "Sola Scriptura" by Robert Rothwell
• "Passing the Baton" by John Sartelle
• "Long December" by Mark Dever
• "He Is Able" by Patrick Lennox
• "With Great Joy" by Chris Larson
• "I Will Build My Church" by Kim Riddlebarger
• "The Year of the Lord" by R. C. Sproul Jr.
• "Dimness or Fidelity" by R. Albert Mohler Jr.

Top Highlights

“Advent is not about us filling our time full but rather about taking time to remember how God fills time full: ‘In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son’ (Gal. 4:4).” (Page 8)

“God uses the history of the nations to achieve His purposes.” (Page 9)

“Note Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. It lists four women who are foreigners and not especially ‘holy’: Tamar and Rahab the Canaanites, Ruth the Moabite, and Bathsheba the wife of a Hittite.” (Page 11)

“‘holy irregularity’ in Jesus’ genealogy. Although Joseph is Jesus’ legal father, Jesus was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18, 20). This creates a striking discontinuity in Jesus’ genealogy. Even though Jesus is linked to the history of His people and, as we have seen, can be understood only within His connectedness to Abraham and David, Jesus is beyond history and its possibilities. He is more than His ancestry could produce. Israel could not produce its own Savior. Instead, Jesus is born of Mary as the result of God’s gracious intervention into Israel’s history through the creative action of the Holy Spirit.” (Page 11)

“Matthew’s genealogy declares that Jesus is God’s answer to Israel’s history of disobedience, failure, and exile. Jesus comes as the true descendant (seed) of Abraham through whom Israel and all nations will be blessed. Now in this fullness of time all who believe in Jesus become the children of Abraham and share in the promised blessings (Gal. 3:16, 26–29).” (Page 10)

Praise for the Print Edition

Tabletalk has been a key ingredient in the diet of Christians conscious of their spiritual vitality.

—Michael S. Horton

Month by month, Tabletalk represents an oasis in a desert of false spirituality, mindless Christianity, and vapid conviction. Tabletalk represents theological rigor, biblical Christianity, and authentic Christian devotion. It is an antidote to the world of superficial Christianity. Read it and grow.

—R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Tabletalk has been a wonderful resource in my own daily walk with the Lord.

—Ravi Zacharias

Product Details

• Title: Tabletalk Magazine, December 2005: The First Advent
• Executive Editor: R. C. Sproul
• Editor: Burk Parsons
• Series: Tabletalk
• Publisher: Ligonier Ministries
• Publication Date: December 2005
• Pages: 63

About Ligonier Ministries

R. C. Sproul is founder and president of Ligonier Ministries and president of Ligonier Academy. He also servers as the senior pastor of Saint Andrew’s in Sanford, Fla., and he has written more than seventy books including The Holiness of God, The Intimage Marriage, Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, Following the Cross, and the R. C. Sproul Exposition Collection.

Burk Parsons serves as editor of Tabletalk and associate pastor of Saint Andrew’s in Sanford, Fla., and he is editor of the books Assured by God: Living in the Fullness of God’s Grace and John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology.