Mark 2:1–12 — Healing from Sin

Hebrews never pits the covenants against one another as law versus gospel; it presents them as grace and grace—the same house, the same people, the same promise. Yet the old was always preparatory: shadow giving way to substance, promise to fulfillment. Marcus A. Mininger traces that organic development and shows why the unity of the one covenant is precisely what makes Hebrews’ warning so urgent. The address closes where the letter does—on persevering within the covenant and resting in the sole sufficiency of Christ.Dr. Marcus A. Mininger is professor of New Testament at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, with research on Paul and the General Epistles—including a forthcoming study of the warning passages in Hebrews.Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, “The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose,” at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026.Watch this address: https://youtu.be/DMhQflaD8PMWatch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCAreformedforum.orgMentioned in this episode:Christ the Center 1000Christ the Center 1000

Few passages have unsettled readers like Hebrews’ warning that it is “impossible … to restore again to repentance” those who fall away. Does it teach a sin beyond forgiveness? Marcus A. Mininger clears away the common misreadings and names the real danger the author confronts: the temptation to abandon Christ and re-lay a foundation in the old covenant alone. The warning, rightly heard, is not about a sin too great to forgive but about the impossibility of going back—and it sets up the covenant question taken up in the session that follows.Dr. Marcus A. Mininger is professor of New Testament at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, with research on Paul and the General Epistles—including a forthcoming study of the warning passages in Hebrews.Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, “The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose,” at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026.Watch this address: https://youtu.be/9B4fCp9femsWatch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCAreformedforum.orgMentioned in this episode:Christ the Center 1000Christ the Center 1000

A greater Joshua has come. Benjamin L. Gladd takes another look at Jesus’s exorcisms, reading them against the Old Testament backdrop of Israel’s conquest. Where Joshua led a people into an earthly rest by the sword, Christ leads his people into a greater rest by the Spirit and the word, defeating the powers that held them captive. The kingdom does not advance by force but by the triumph of the one Savior who gathers one people to himself, and the exorcisms are a preview of that greater conquest.Dr. Benjamin L. Gladd is executive director of the Carson Center for Theological Renewal and formerly professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He edits the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology series and has written widely on the use of the Old Testament in the New, including works co-authored with G. K. Beale.Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, “The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose,” at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026.Watch this address: https://youtu.be/UeBRopgfpmIWatch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCAreformedforum.orgMentioned in this episode:Christ the Center 1000Christ the Center 1000

When does the long-promised restoration of Israel take place? G. K. Beale gives particular attention to Acts 1:8 and its use of the Old Testament and argues that the restoration is already under way in the church's Spirit-empowered witness to the nations. God fulfills his covenant promises to Israel in Christ and carries them to the ends of the earth, as the one Savior gathers one people to himself. The answer has direct consequences for how we understand the church, the nations, and the promises of the covenant.Dr. Gregory K. Beale teaches at Reformed Theological Seminary, Dallas. He is a leading New Testament scholar known for his work on biblical theology, the use of the Old Testament in the New, and the temple theme across Scripture.Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, "The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose," at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026.Watch the full conference: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJykAlOwqPCAhttps://reformedforum.orgMentioned in this episode:Christ the Center 1000Christ the Center 1000

The covenant of grace has its source in eternity, in the covenant of redemption: the eternal agreement of Father, Son, and Spirit to save a people. In "Before the Foundation of the World," Camden Bucey traces the historical covenant of grace back to that eternal counsel. Following Herman Bavinck, he shows that the covenant revealed in time rests on an unchanging foundation in the counsel of the triune God. Before creation and before the fall, God purposed one redemption with one Savior at its center, and the unity and certainty of the covenant of grace rest on that purpose. This opening address gathers up the first two conferences in the trilogy and lays the foundation for the addresses that follow.Download the handout (PDF)Dr. Camden M. Bucey is executive director of Reformed Forum and host of Christ the Center. He is the author of Karl Rahner in P&R’s Great Thinkers series and Defending Our Hope: An Introduction to Christian Apologetics.Delivered at the 2026 Reformed Forum Theology Conference, “The Covenant of Grace: One Savior, One People, One Purpose,” at Lakeland Church in Gurnee, Illinois, on September 26, 2026.Watch the full conferencereformedforum.orgMentioned in this episode:Christ the Center 1000Christ the Center 1000

Join Mark and Andrew as they discuss how to preach Ruth 3:1–10, where Naomi shows signs of new hope, leading to her and Ruth making Boaz a proposal—a proposal which points to the work of Christ himself. There are numerous points of application in this familiar passage.

Immediately after the death of Isaac in Genesis 35 we get a genealogy of Esau — an interruption, it seems, to the story of the patriarchs. Should you preach on a genealogy? Does it “preach” at all? In this episode we see how the story of Christ is found even in the genealogy of the ungodly line. Participants: Andrew Miller, Mark A. Winder

The great Reformer, Martin Luther, once said that prayer is the breath of the soul. Christians pray! We are a people called to live and to walk in close fellowship and communion with our Savior and King. And as He speaks to us in his word, so we speak and enjoy fellowship with the Lord through prayer. In Eph 3:14–21, we see the Apostle Paul at prayer. What moves him to prayer? What sustains his prayer life? What does he pray for? What is Paul’s burden for the church? What is the Lord’s burden for you and for me? Join us as we listen in and learn from the great Apostle as he goes to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need.  Participants: Mark A. Winder, Robert Arendale

The story of the healing of the paralytic is a picture of God’s work of redemption through Jesus Christ. We are healed—saved—not because we merit favor, but because of the grace of God. Their faith is demonstrated by their works, but their works do not save them. True saving faith is an instrument of justification. Participants: Jim Cassidy, Mark A. Winder

Sinners don’t deserve God’s kindness, but he raises those dead in sins and trespasses to life in Christ (Eph. 2). Hope rises from the dead in Naomi through Boaz’s kindness to her and Ruth. Join Mark and Andrew as they discuss how to preach or teach Ruth 2:14-23. Participants: Andrew Miller, Mark A. Winder