Reformed Forum

In this episode, we welcome Leonardo De Chirico to discuss his book Ancient Landmarks: An Evangelical’s Guide to Patristic and Medieval Thought. We consider how evangelicals can receive the riches of the ancient and medieval church without either dismissing the fathers or treating their work as an unquestionable authority. De Chirico commends an appreciative yet critical approach governed by the final authority of Scripture.
We also discuss the Didache and the Epistle to Diognetus, the church’s changing public identity after Constantine, and Cornelius Van Til as a guide for theological discernment. The conversation concludes with practical ways pastors and congregations can bring church history, creeds, and confessions into the ordinary life of the church.
Book: Leonardo De Chirico, Ancient Landmarks (Apollos, 2026).
Chapters
00:00 Opening and welcome
05:54 Retrieving the church fathers with discernment
08:08 Patrophobia, patrilatry, and Scripture’s authority
14:32 How Ancient Landmarks developed
20:20 The fathers among evangelicals in Rome
25:43 Did the Protestant church begin in 1517?
32:46 The Didache and the Epistle to Diognetus
41:19 Constantine and the church’s public identity
46:39 Van Til as a guide and conversation partner
52:28 Bringing church history into congregational life
55:54 Closing thoughts and book information

Mentioned in this episode:
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This is the first lesson in Dr. James J. Cassidy’s Reformed Academy course, Romans: God’s Worldwide Outreach. This lesson covers the following topics:
00:00 Theme: God’s Worldwide Outreach
03:20 Introduction: What is the Gospel?
07:51 The Gospel of God and the Son of God (Romans 1:1–7)
18:28 The Mission of the Gospel and the Power of God (Romans 1:8–17)
23:31 The Wrath of God Revealed Against Humanity (Romans 1:18–23)
26:04 The Wrath of God Revealed in Giving Sinners Over (Romans 1:24–32)

Register for this free on-demand course on our website to track your progress and assess your understanding through quizzes for each lesson. You will also receive free access to dozens of additional video courses in covenant theology, apologetics, biblical studies, church history, and more: https://reformedacademy.org/course/romans-gods-worldwide-outreach
Your donations help us to provide free Reformed resources for students like you worldwide: https://reformedforum.org/donate/
#romans #gospel #reformedtheology #biblestudy

In this episode, we welcome Cornelis Venema to discuss Roots Renewed: Perspectives on the United Reformed Churches in North America (After Thirty Years), a collection he edited on the history and identity of the United Reformed Churches in North America. We trace the Dutch and Christian Reformed histories that shaped the URCNA, consider its relationship with the Canadian Reformed Churches, and discuss Scripture, the confessions, and church order in Reformed ecclesial identity.
We also reflect on the reform efforts preceding the URCNA’s formation, the relationship between Mid-America Reformed Seminary and the federation, and the book’s treatment of missions, evangelism, and church planting.
Reformed Fellowship is offering Reformed Forum listeners 30 percent off. Use the code ROOTS30 at checkout. The discount applies to single copies, which are $35, and to cases of sixteen, which are already reduced to $400 and ship free. A case puts the book in the hands of a consistory, session, or study group.
Chapters
00:00 Opening and welcome
03:22 How the book took shape
08:03 Dutch roots and CRC history
20:03 The URCNA and the Canadian Reformed Churches
35:10 Scripture, confessions, and Reformed identity
46:18 Reasons for forming the URCNA
51:17 Church history and catholicity across generations
56:04 A practical proposal for church unity
57:41 Reform efforts before federation
1:03:13 Mid-America Reformed Seminary and the URCNA
1:12:08 What the book hopes to preserve
1:15:00 Missions, evangelism, and church planting
1:17:38 Growth and decline in the URC and CRC
1:21:48 The book in wider Reformed conversations
1:23:01 Reformed Fellowship’s history
1:25:54 Closing thoughts and book information

Mentioned in this episode:
Call the Question! To be able to vote and see the results of our weekly polls, subscribe to our email newsletter for free at reformedforum.org/newsletter. You’ll also receive our bi-annual magazine in digital format. If you provide a US mailing address, we’ll also send you a print copy for free. Cast your vote, and we'll share the results next week.

This is the sixth lesson in Dr. Camden M. Bucey and Dr. Marcus Mininger’s Reformed Academy course, Resurrection and Redemption: A Reader’s Guide. It was originally recorded for one of Reformed Forum’s International Cohort Reading Groups. This lesson covers pages 114–143 of Richard B. Gaffin Jr.’s Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul’s Soteriology, addressing the following topics:
00:00 Introduction and Overview
08:28 Resurrection as the Redemption of Christ
12:49 The Mutual Implication of Death and Resurrection
16:18 The Positive Import of Resurrection
21:24 Adoption
33:36 Justification
42:18 Sanctification
49:36 Glorification
56:18 The Eschatology of the Ordo Salutis
58:22 Distinct Benefits as Facets of One Event
64:31 The Whole Christ and Pastoral Significance
68:59 Course Conclusion

Register for this free on-demand course on our website to track your progress and assess your understanding through quizzes for each lesson. You will also receive free access to dozens of additional video courses in covenant theology, apologetics, biblical studies, church history, and more: https://reformedacademy.org/course/resurrection-redemption-readers-guide
Your donations help us to provide free Reformed resources for students like you worldwide: https://reformedforum.org/donate/
#biblicaltheology #redemption #reformedtheology #biblestudy
Mentioned in this episode:
Christ the Center 1000
Christ the Center 1000

Jim Cassidy joins Camden Bucey to discuss the Gospel of Mark and a newly recorded Reformed Academy course, The Gospel of Mark: A Study in the Kingdom. They consider how Mark identifies Jesus as the divine King and teaches the nature of his kingdom through a fast-moving account of Christ’s ministry.
The conversation explores faith and union with Christ, Mark’s high Christology, exorcisms as signs of Christ’s conquest over Satan, Jesus’s cleansing of the unclean, the covenantal transition signaled in Mark 7, and the two-stage healing of the blind man as a mirror of the disciples’ partial understanding. They also discuss why the kingdom advances through the cross and resurrection rather than worldly power—and how that hope steadies an anxious church.
Resources
Reformed Academy
Christ the Center 1000 Summit
Reformed Forum newsletter

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
01:57 Reformed Academy courses with Jim Cassidy
04:03 Christ the Center episode 1000 summit
10:00 The Gospel of Mark as a study in the kingdom
15:14 Mark’s rapid narrative and distinctive emphasis
18:31 Faith, healing, and union with Christ
21:13 Mark’s high Christology
26:30 Exorcism and the conquest of Satan’s kingdom
32:58 Jesus, purity, and the covenantal transition
37:40 Scripture and tradition in Mark 7
42:35 The two-stage healing of the blind man
47:45 Victory through the cross and suffering
50:52 Rendering to Caesar and to God
55:45 Resurrection hope for an anxious church
59:57 Peter’s confession and the structure of Mark
62:14 Conclusion
Mentioned in this episode:
Call the Question! To be able to vote and see the results of our weekly polls, subscribe to our email newsletter for free at reformedforum.org/newsletter. You’ll also receive our bi-annual magazine in digital format. If you provide a US mailing address, we’ll also send you a print copy for free. Cast your vote, and we'll share the results next week.