Going Deeper in Daily Bible Study

Sometimes the preposition the New Testament uses is the preposition into, we believe, into Christ. And this is the fundamental thing that happens to us when we're born again, when we're converted to Christ. Our faith unites us to Him, the Spirit unites us to Him, and in that way we are bound together. And underneath all that is the fact that in everything Jesus did, He was representing us.

And because He was representing us, everything He has done is really ours. None of these things are what we work up in ourselves. All of these things we draw down from our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is everything, and He fills our nothingness. Tune in with Christ, a teaching series with Sinclair Ferguson. Visit Ligonier.org slash Teaching Series to learn more. Today on Renew Your Mind. At Ligonier Ministries and at Table Talk, we really strive to serve God's people with trusted content so that they know that when they come to this ministry that God has entrusted to us that they're really getting the same biblical teaching.

And biblical teaching doesn't change. We celebrated Thanksgiving last week, of course, and here at Ligonier Ministries we continue to be thankful to the Lord for how He has expanded our outreach here and around the world. We anticipate that by the end of this year, we will have reached more than 50 million people. Joining me here in the studio for this special edition of Renewing Your Mind is our President and CEO, Chris Larson, along with Ligonier Teaching Fellow and the Senior Pastor of St. Andrews Chapel, Dr. Burke Parsons. Chris, with more and more people listening to this program each day, we don't assume that everyone is familiar with all of our popular resources, but we want to focus on one in particular today, and that's Table Talk Magazine. Would you tell our listeners a little bit about this little magazine?

Absolutely. Dr. Sproul would refer to it as the little magazine that could. He began it in 1977, and there from the Ligonier Valley Study Center in western Pennsylvania, it was really just a newsletter that updated folks about what was happening there at this very special place, this gathering place of Christians. And then as distribution grew, they saw an opportunity to turn Table Talk into a remarkable devotional resource. And for many decades now, it has been that where it has this blend of Bible study along with very thoughtful articles about various different subjects that Christians need to think about and to think about deeply and biblically. And there's always been this view towards application in the Christian life with everything about Table Talk. I know as a college student, when I first saw a copy of Table Talk, I had never seen anything like it. And now many years later, I won't say how many years later, but many years later, I have to say I still have never seen anything like Table Talk magazine. And along with this program, Renewing Your Mind, Table Talk magazine is that twin outreach that really goes farthest for us here at the ministry, now being read by more than 260,000 readers in more than 75 countries around the world.

And the outreach is truly remarkable, and we give thanks to God for his blessing on it. Mark, you've been with Table Talk now for more than 20 years. How has the magazine changed over the years?

And what's your desire each month when the copies are shipped out around the world? Thank you, Lee. One of the things that is so amazing about Table Talk is that it really hasn't changed. Certainly, there have been changes in formatting and design and so on, but that's what is so beautiful about this magazine is that it really hasn't changed in terms of its purpose, in terms of its content. At Ligonier Ministries and at Table Talk, we really strive to serve God's people with trusted content so that they don't have to worry, they don't have to fear. They know that when they come to this ministry that God has entrusted to us, that he entrusted to Dr. Sproul, that they're really getting the same solid biblical teaching. And biblical teaching doesn't change. God's Word doesn't change.

And everything else in this crazy world of ours changes. And sometimes it changes drastically, dramatically, radically, but God's Word doesn't change. And what we're striving to do with Table Talk is to give God's people around the world the simple, straightforward, in-depth teaching from God's Word, and as Chris said, and apply it. We are not the church. We come alongside the church and serve the church and come under the church, and Table Talk is a great resource for Christians throughout the week. It gives them a daily dose of biblical teaching.

We're not trying to give anyone anything new, anything fresh, anything outside the box. We're trying to give God's people the classic traditional confessional theology from the Bible and its application for all of life. And my hope is that when people get this magazine in their mailboxes, when they get it, when they read it, they are simply striving to be faithful to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, personally, in their families, in their churches. That's what Table Talk does.

It helps to fulfill the Great Commission in discipling the nations. And the way we're discipled is by learning and growing in our knowledge of how to follow Christ, how to love our Lord, and how to love our neighbor as ourselves. We hear from so many pastors who use Table Talk with their congregations as that Monday through Saturday resource, because it comes alongside of the ministry of the local church, getting people into the Scriptures, helping just to saturate their minds with the Word of God. So as they encounter so many issues that come up in their families, in the workplace, in society, that they're able to think with a right worldview and filter what's coming at them with the Word of God.

I was just with some ministry friends in California earlier this week, a sweet couple who uses Table Talk in their family and has for decades and gives Table Talk subscriptions to their children and their grandchildren. And it's really interesting the way that it has created spiritual conversations in and among multiple generations in a family. I just thought that was a beautiful testimony to the truth of God's Word, because like you're saying, Burke, we're not doing anything new. We're just getting people to God's Word.

And the Spirit of God applies the Word as it goes out. But I know, Lee, you also have a story of the way that the Lord used Table Talk in your life. Yeah, it was my first touch point to Ligonier Ministries all the way back in early 1990. We had begun attending a Reformed church.

I didn't know what Reformed theology was. All I knew was that we were attracted to the preaching that we were hearing. And the pastor of that church had been one of Dr. Sproul's seminary students, and he handed me a copy of the February 1990 issue of Table Talk.

And on the cover was Gutenberg's Press, and it talked about how Gutenberg's Press, the impact that it had on the expansion of the gospel, and it dealt also with modern media. At the time, I was a news anchor for a network affiliate, and I had been in journalism for many years. But reading, I read that magazine from cover to cover probably three times, and it helped me understand what a Christian worldview was, that the gospel should permeate every aspect of my life, including what I did behind the anchor desk of that television station. It had a dramatic impact on not just the trajectory of my career, but my family life.

And I can relate to that California family, Chris, that you just referred to, because we give all four of our children subscriptions each year to Table Talk. Lee, I'm so glad you told that story. I don't think many of our listeners know of your work with the news media and how the Lord helped you to go through a period of your life that was very difficult, and it was quite a trial. Well, it was, and I have to say that that particular issue helped me understand that there was a distinct bias against Christians in the modern media. And I began to speak out about that, not just in my newsroom, but publicly, and it eventually cost me my job.

But I look back with great fondness on that time as well. Well, we're thankful for the Lord preserving you through that, and that He gave you many years of fruitful work being able to continue to be able to serve even in this capacity as host for Renewing Your Mind. And for our listeners to know that this is a resource that is changing lives. We hear weekly from people around the world expressing their gratitude for Table Talk magazine.

That's right, and we hear from so many of our subscribers, Chris. Earlene wrote in recently, and she said, as a layperson, my Table Talk opens the door for me to understand Christian doctrine and apply biblical truths. Just the other day, the question was posed, what are you doing to grow in your understanding of Christian theology?

And she said, my answer is reading Table Talk devotions. Jeff wrote in to tell us about three years ago, a friend introduced me to Table Talk magazine and Ligonier Ministries. After reading Table Talk and Reformed pastors and authors such as Dr. Sproul, I began to realize that I had only been playing at Christianity for all those years.

I'm 54 years old now and saddened that it took me so many years to realize that I was asleep in the light. Lee, I have another testimony here from Paul, who's a missionary in Uganda, and he talks about coming out of the charismatic movement. And one of the few sound doctrine resources that he received was the monthly Table Talk magazine. And so now he's there able to teach other sound doctrine so that they can in turn teach others and plant churches. He writes, I thank God for the faithful ministry of the various Ligonier staff.

Thank you and God bless you all. And another large group of folks that we hear from frequently are inmates and military chaplains, where Table Talk is one of those resources that we're sending out by the thousands to be able to support and serve those who are incarcerated, but also serving those who are in the military, who are in turn ministering to a lot of troops who are serving in difficult situations around the world. So, Table Talk is really getting out to people that we would have a hard time reaching otherwise. And so we're thankful for the utility of this resource and how easy it is to distribute. Burke, I know our listeners aren't able to always be here on the campus and meet our staff.

I sure wish they could stop by. But what we see with you and the editorial team here at Ligonier and within Table Talk magazine specifically is a tremendous amount of care and time and deliberate consideration of what you're going to address, how you're going to address it, who's going to write in each issue and working many times a year or more in advance as you're planning issues. Tell us a little bit about what that process is like of putting together each monthly issue of Table Talk magazine. Thank you, Chris.

And you're exactly right. The team that works on Table Talk, we put a lot of care, a lot of time, a lot of energy. One of the most important things that everyone should know is that the team working on Table Talk, we are all churchmen. That is to say, we are all men who love the church, love God's people and are all active in serving in the local church. Most of the editorial team is ordained in ministry.

We love people and we love to serve God's people faithfully. And that means that we have to pray and ask the Lord's help and wisdom as we plan Table Talk. Most people don't realize that a magazine like Table Talk, there's more work that goes into this magazine than most books. There's more effort, more words, more authors, more editing, because we really want this magazine to be done with excellence, not for our glory, but for God's glory, truly and sincerely. We want God to be honored and glorified with this issue. And that's why the themes and the topics of Table Talk are themes that we believe through hearing from our readers, hearing from those in the church, watching what's going on in the world, watching what's going on in the church, giving people not necessarily always what they think they now want, but giving God's people what they need.

We're trying to teach God's people carefully, deliberately, patiently. And we recognize that when someone picks up an issue of Table Talk, they're not necessarily going to read every page of it. Now, some people do.

I can't tell you how many people I've met over the years. I read Table Talk from cover to cover. But a lot of people, they just love the devotions. Some people love the articles that pertain to the monthly theme. Some people love the columns, the interviews, and just a wide range of subjects we cover in every issue. Back in October, you focused on justification, on the doctrine of justification. Why was that such an important issue, Burke?

Great question, Lee. And I could go on and on about that, as you know. We know that most of our readers understand the doctrine of justification. The reality of it is, is that we have so many new readers every year and every month, and different readers from around the world who are not as familiar with the doctrine of justification and the significance of that doctrine. And the reality of it is, is that the doctrine of justification is always under attack, both from outside the church and even sometimes from within.

And so we believe that the time had come, once again, we haven't dealt with the doctrine of justification in many years, that we needed to set the record straight that this is what we believe as orthodox confessional Christians regarding the doctrine of justification, which is that doctrine upon which the church stands or falls. One of the efforts where we've seen a lot of fruit is taking these table talk issues and then translating them into other languages as well. So touching on the doctrine of justification is now being multiplied as it goes out in Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Chinese, French, etc. And what you're doing there in table talk is bearing fruit even in other languages.

That's been another unintended yet fruitful part of table talk that's been delightful to see. And so thank you for the way that you and the editorial team are so careful and prayerful about these issues, because really see the Lord's blessing and we're hearing it from pastors around the world who appreciate the ministry that you're helping to steward. Could you give us a little insight as to upcoming issues?

Absolutely, Chris. So in 2022, I'm very excited about the lineup of themes and issues for the year. And really one of my favorite issues that we've done is coming out in January of 2022 on pride and humility. Now, anytime you speak about pride and humility, people are automatically going to assume that you're arrogant and prideful and pompous. So I'm not going to begin to talk about humility and pride, but to me, this is one of the most important subjects that we can talk about as Christians. Humility is foundational to who we are. We as Christians are to be known as a humble people.

Following the example of our Savior, who was humble, walked with humility, came in humility. And we believe that it's something that we all need to be reminded of regularly. And so I'm very excited about that issue. I'm excited that we're going to be studying in depth the entire book of Exodus through 2022. I'm grateful for the authors that we have lined up already through many months in the year already.

So it's going to be a great year. And for anyone who likes to study the word of God in depth, who likes to also understand the theology of the word of God and the application of the word of God, Table Talk is for them. You mentioned Exodus. Right now, we're going through 2 Corinthians for the daily devotions.

So next year for 2022, it'll be the book of Exodus. And would you explain for those who are not familiar with Table Talk, how those daily devotions work? Absolutely. Well, it's real simple. And that's one of the things I love about Table Talk.

And I think as Chris picked it up in college, I myself was given a copy of Table Talk in college. And the reason I loved it is it was easy to read. It was simple. It wasn't too long.

It wasn't too cumbersome. And there are a lot of people out there who aren't big readers. They don't read a lot. And Table Talk kind of meets them where they are. It gives them just enough, but not too much. And we start with the passage of scripture for the day, and then there's an explanation of that passage. And we bring in quotes from Dr. Sproul, from our faithful forefathers from throughout the ages. And it helps them to understand the passage, some of the doctrine behind that passage or coming out of that passage. And then it also gives us a section of application called quorum Deo, where it helps us to think a little bit more deeply in how we apply this passage of scripture and its teaching to our lives. I know a lot of families who use this for their family devotions because it gives them some structure. And particularly for families where they have fathers and mothers in that family who are just first-generation Christians or just coming to understand Reformed theology, and they want to pass that on to their children. And this gives them a place to start and being able to have a conversation with their children. And so that's been beautiful to see as well. We can really jump into Table Talk and use this resource in so many different ways.

I know of men's Bible studies that get together and just talk about an issue of this. We so appreciate, too, our creative department and the work that they put in on the covers and the design, the layout. It's just really done with excellence. I was in one of our donors' homes not long ago, and I looked on their bookcase, and I think they had every copy of Table Talk magazine in that bookcase dating back to the late 80s, if I recall. You know, I said, wow, that's really a commitment. They said, we just can't throw them away.

That's the thing about Table Talk. People don't throw them away. I mean, I marked them up when I first got mine in college.

I would mark them up and make reference notes and so forth, even in my Reformation Study Bible. But it's the one magazine people don't throw away. Yeah. I've moved several houses with boxes full of Table Talk magazine. Well, we know that so many of you listening right now have been subscribers for years, and you've told us how much you appreciate this little magazine that could, as R.C.

referred to it. And if you love Table Talk, now is a great time to gift it to family members and friends. After you purchase the first gift subscription, you can get the rest of them for 50 percent off. And just note that this offer is just for this holiday season, but you can find out more and obtain these gift subscriptions when you go to GiveTableTalk.com.

Let me repeat that. It's GiveTableTalk.com. And Chris, Table Talk is really a great example of our desire here at Ligonier Ministries to come alongside the local church, to undergird the local church with these kinds of resources. That's right. And we make it very affordable for churches.

It's a dollar an issue. They can learn more at GetTableTalk.com slash church. I know of readers who've told me how they found a local church because the church had decided to set out issues of Table Talk there in the Welcome Center or the foyer or the resource table.

And people came in and they saw Table Talk and then they then knew, oh, this is a church that aligns with Reformed theology and that was a signal to them of hopefully the kind of ministry that they would be able to enjoy at that church. So we love to see the way that Table Talk works in concert with the local church and being able to get it out to churches in an affordable way. It is the heartbeat for this ministry and we would love to be able to support more and more churches in this way. So definitely give us a call or visit our website to learn more. Chris, I really appreciate what you've just said.

And I think that's so very important. We exist as a ministry, not for ourselves. We exist to serve God's people in the local churches around the world.

And that's what Table Talk exists to do. Our desire is to help Christians grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to use all that God is teaching them through Table Talk and other good resources to serve their families, to serve in their local churches for the glory of God. We've mentioned those of you who have been subscribing for years, but we also hope we've piqued the interest of those who are not familiar with Table Talk.

We want to give you an opportunity to subscribe. You can renew or start a one-year subscription for your gift of any amount to Ligonier Ministries. You can call us to make your request at 800-435-4343. You can also find us online at renewingyourmind.org. Let me give you that phone number again.

It's 800-435-4343. Dr. Parsons, thank you for being with us today. And Chris, as always, thank you. And to you, our listeners, we appreciate you joining us today. Well, the period between the Old and New Testaments is one of the most overlooked eras in biblical history. What happened during those four centuries? Tomorrow, Dr. R.C. Sproul examines this intriguing time focusing on the coming of Christ and His series, Dust to Glory. I hope you'll join us for Renewing Your Mind. .