November is a month filled with thanks-giving. Or at least, it should be.
At our house this month, November included traveling, running, eating Turkey, and giving thanks for God’s many graces. At our church, we finished 2 Peter, witnessed two new believers profess their faith in baptism, and saw our pastoral assistant (Christ Over All intern Matt Wood) preach his first sermon. Also, on Thanksgiving Eve and on the following Sunday, our church took time to share reports of grace and thanksgiving to the Lord for all the ways he has been working in our local body.
Indeed, these are the plain and simple things of the Christian life. And sometimes, I think, if only we focused on our local gardens, we would be much more faithful and fruitful, much less discontented, and equally unlikely to get into online squabbles.
That being said, in our virtually-connected world, keyboard jockeying remains a reality. And while Christ Over All participates in some measure in the Reformed and Baptist online conversations, especially those related to church and culture, Bible and theology, we are most content to let others do most of the back-and-forth on social media.
From the beginning, our ministry has sought to engage various hot topics, but to do so more slowly and less reactivity. There is place for hot takes and hot mics, but we are happy to plan out our schedule and let the arguments of Scripture, theology, history, and philosophy—yes, philosophy—inform our podcasts, longforms, and other essays.
To that end, we spent the last month looking at the kingdom of God. And next month, we will look at George Friedrich Handel’s musical work called Messiah. For those who are interested in setting aside the online debates, this next month especially might provide a healthy reprieve. For while there is a place for such debates, constant quarreling is good for no one. And thus, as we come to the end of this year, I would encourage you to focus on the coming of our Messiah and Handel’s oratorio that delights in the same.
As you will see below, Christ Over All will step into some hotter waters in the new year. But for now, we are happy to let the life-giving streams of Messiah call us back to share in the joys of singing, Hallelujah! “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).
The Kingdom of God
As we turn the corner from November to December, it is good to recall the grace and glory we have seen in the kingdom of God. For the last month, we have looked at Scripture, Church history, and biblical studies to consider how Christ’s kingship is found in the Bible and applied across the ages. From Augustine to George Eldon Ladd, we considered how biblical scholars and theologians have conceived of the concept. And practically, we’ve also consider ways in which Christ’s kingdom informs our engagement with the world.
If your missed last month, I would encourage you to start with the two longforms by Thomas Schreiner on George Eldon Ladd and Brad Green on Augustine of Hippo. While addressing two very different Christian thinkers, they provide important historical reflections on the kingdom of God. Then from a Baptist perspective, Albert Mohler and Tom Nettles provided key reflections on how Christ’s kingdom is applied through a Baptist framework. Critically, the separation of church and state does not mean the separation of Christ and state, and in both of these articles we see how Baptist doctrine can affirm Christ’s rule over all things. Then, finally, I would highlight the two articles by Joe Boot and Andrew Sandlin, as these two brothers apply the concept of Christ’s rule to contemporary challenges of culture.
In all of these articles together, this last month offers a variety of perspectives on the kingdom of God, which in turn serves as a good entry into the glories of Handel’s Messiah. Here is the full list of articles, with the longform essays in bold.
- Encore: A New Testament Scholar Explains What Should Be the Two Key Voting Concerns for Christians by Robert Gagnon • Concise Article • November 1 • Two idols strike at the heart of God’s creational design than others. And these idols are worth opposing with all our might.
- Encore: Voting for the Greater Good—A Biblical Perspective by Robert Gagnon • Concise Article • November 2 • In the midst of two unappealing options, why not choose the one that brings about the greater good for society?
- Encore: The Extremist Track Record of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz on Promoting LGBTQ Immorality and Abortion by Robert Gagnon • Concise Article • November 3 • A deep dive into the track record for Harris/Walz and Trump/Vance on LGBTQ+ and abortion.
- The Kingdom of God by Graeme Goldsworthy • Longform Essay • November 4 • What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall we compare it?
- 3.57 “The Kingdom of God” by Graeme Goldsworthy • Reading • November 4 • Listen in on Graeme Goldsworthy’s Essay entitled, “The Kingdom of God.”
- Romans 10:9-10—Jesus, Not Caesar, is Lord by Ardel Caneday • Concise Article • November 5 • Belief and confession of Christ’s ultimate Lordship is an essential to our life amid a world of authorities.
- The Kingdom of God and Sphere Sovereignty by Joe Boot • Concise Article • November 6 • What is Sphere Sovereignty, and how does it help Christians understand political authority in light of Christ’s lordship?
- Muddying and Muddling Church and Kingdom by P. Andrew Sandlin • Concise Article • November 8 • Why do some churches ignore politics and music and science and entertainment, while other churches take on the heavy load of overseeing hospitals and movie studios and businesses? The answer comes down to muddiness.
- The World Turned Upside Down: George Ladd on the Kingdom by Thomas R. Schreiner • Longform Essay • November 11 • George Ladd’s understanding of the kingdom of God changed the landscape of evangelicalism. Come see what’s new.
- 3.58 “The World Turned Upside Down: George Ladd on the Kingdom” by Thomas R. Schreiner • Reading • November 11 • Listen in on Thomas R. Schreiner’s Article entitled, “The World Turned Upside Down: George Ladd on the Kingdom.”
- The Role of the Kingdom of God in Systematic Theology by Christina D. Gonet & Christopher W. Morgan • Concise Article • November 13 • Find out how the kingdom of God reverberates throughout important systematic theology categories.
- 3.59 “The World Turned Upside Down: George Ladd on the Kingdom” by Thomas R. Schreiner, Stephen Wellum, David Schrock • Interview • November 14 • Listen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview Thomas R. Schreiner on his Christ Over All essay: “The World Turned Upside Down: George Ladd on the Kingdom”
- What Is Missing from Our Constitutional Order?: Our Government Should Acknowledge Christianity by Albert Mohler • Concise Article • November 15 • What was the presupposition for the American experiment? Protestant theism. And a acknowledgement of such is sorely needed today.
- Encore: Big Ed, Too Big to Fail by Benjamin Merkle • Longform Essay • November 18 • Propped up by state and federal grants—and beholden to whomever holds the strings—big education will one day face a reckoning.
- 3.60 “Big Ed, Too Big to Fail” by Benjamin R. Merkle, Stephen Wellum, David Schrock • Interview • November 18 • Listen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview Benjamin R. Merkle on his Christ Over All essay: “Big Ed, Too Big to Fail”
- The Kingdom of God in The Baptist Faith and Message by Tom J. Nettles • Concise Article • November 20 • What can we learn about the particulars and implications of the Kingdom of God from the Baptist Faith and Message?
- Psalm 2: In Context, Interpreted by the Apostles, and in Contrast with Postmillennialism by Peter J. Gentry & Knox Brown • Concise Article • November 22 • When we allow the apostles to interpret Psalm 2, what does it mean, and what are the implications for postmillennialism?
- Excerpt: Peter Leithart’s Against Christianity by Peter J. Leithart • Concise Article • November 25 • There is an inescapable connection between the Kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world—how so?
- Augustine’s The City of God and Why It Matters Today by Brad Green • Longform Essay • November 25 • What hath the City of God have to do with the Kingdom of God?
- Augustine’s The City of God and Why It Matters Today by Brad Green • Longform Reading • November 28 • Listen in on what the City of God hath to do with the Kingdom of God.
Singing Scripture’s Hallelujah
And now for something completely different.
In December, Christ Over All is going to step back to the eighteenth century to retrieve George Friedrich Handel’s Messiah. Performed for the first time in Dublin, Ireland in 1742, Handel’s Messiah quickly became a global sensation. Composed of Scripture alone, Handel’s oratorio chronicles the promises of the messiah and his glorious fulfillment. And in the month of December we are going to consider the symphony and the Scripture.
Over the last two years, we’ve tackled many different subjects, but this is our first foray into music. Truly, if Christ sings over us in love (Zeph. 3:17) and he commands us to sing songs of praise to him (Eph. 5:19), then Christ’s lordship extends to music as well. And so for the last month of 2024, we are going to focus on the music of Handel’s Messiah.
Growing up outside of the church and with more attention to sports than symphonies, the classical music—and especially the operatic music of Handel—feels a bit strange to me. Yet, as Handel’s three part symphony moves from promise to fulfillment, he brings to us a biblical theology in the Baroque style. Accordingly, this month we are inviting you to “Sing Scripture’s Hallelujah” by way of reflecting on Handel’s Messiah.
So, take some time to find a copy of Handel’s Messiah. You can listen to the full syphomony on YouTube. Or, if you have Hoopla (a library streaming service), you can listen to the full concert there. I’ve done that (and my children have been very thankful). Equally, you might find a local concert hall that is performing Handel’s Messiah. Or you can just read the essays we put forward. However, as we will continue to stress, Messiah really is something you should listen to—even if it is on the tin speakers of a portable CD player. More on that in this month’s first podcast.
Christ Over All News and Notes
As I close, let me highlight three things.
First, we have finished outlining our plans for 2025, and the next year will look something like this. Lord willing.
January 2025: The Image of God: In Scripture and Society
February 2025: Whatever Happened to Sin?
March 2025: The Ethics and Religious Liberties Conundrum
April 2025: The Cross in the Old Testament
May 2025: Speech: Sacred, Serrated, Simple, and Sanctified
June 2025: The Paterfamilias: Making Fatherhood Great Again
July 2025: The Nicene Creed: 1700 Years in the Making
August 2025: The Gospel of John
September 2025: The Doctrine of Vocation
October 2025: Angels, Demons, and the Supernatural
November 2025: Do the Reading: Selections in Political Theology
December 2025: Christmas Medley, Part 2
If you have an interest or essay to run in any of these months, please reach out to us. We have begun putting together the earlier months, but we are always happy to receive other submissions and/or ideas.
With the Nicene Creed celebrating its 1700th Birthday, we are looking forward to engaging that glorious declaration of our faith. And in addition to biblical meditations on the Cross of Christ and John’s Gospel, and a host of theological reflections on Humanity, Sin, and the doctrine of vocation, we hope to tackle some more challenging issues, too—such as the ERLC, the use of language, and importance of reading political theology. So, stay tuned and let us know if there are questions we should answer on the given subjects.
Second, we want to continue to say ‘Thank You’ to all who support this ministry. We could not provide the resources here without your help. And as we plan for the new year, and you do the same, if you would be interested in partnering with us for 2025, we would love to talk to you.
As the year winds down, we would ask you to consider giving on Giving Tuesday (December 3, 2024) or to make a year-end contribution. Equally, if you or your church benefits from this ministry for your own labors in our Lord’s vineyard, would you consider becoming a monthly supporter? As we budget for 2025, having monthly partners helps us plan for the future. You can sign up to be a monthly giver here, or to give one-time as 2024 comes to a close.
Third, we invite you to join us in January at the Founders Conference in Cape Coral, Florida from January 23–25. Our friends at Founders will be considering the prayer, “Revive Us, O Lord.”
If you are planning to attend, we’d love to see you there.
Also, Christ Over All will also be hosting booths at the King’s Domain conference in Cincinnati, Ohio (May 8–10), as well as G3’s National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia (September 11–13). If you are planning to go to either of those events, we’d love to see you there as well.
Until next time, let us all remember that Christ is Lord and all things are under his feet, so in all things let us exalt Christ.
Soli Deo Gloria!
