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The article "Reciprocal Church: Becoming a Community Where Faith Flourishes Beyond High School" analyzes the abandonment of faith by young people after high school. The author, Sharon Galgay Ketcham, proposes a new vision of relationships in the church to cultivate faith. She highlights the importance of reciprocity and valuing young people in the community, aiming for the flourishing of faith. The work offers valuable insights on the role of the church in the lives of young people and the need for a more communal and interdependent approach. [Extracted from the article]

This article addresses the seventeenth-century discussion among representatives of the so-called Second Dutch Reformation about the two covenants God established with human beings, the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. This teaching was originally developed by Gisbertus Voetius and Johannes Cocceius, two great proponents of Federal Theology. More specifically, the author discusses how two disciples of Voetius, Herman Vitsius and Wilhelmus à Brakel, dealt with the covenant of works and its progressive abrogation as proposed by Cocceius. Initially the article demonstrates how these theologians defended the existence and necessity of the covenant of works. Then it presents the way in which Witsius and à Brakel argued about a key element in the covenant of works, God's law, both in its natural and symbolic aspects. Finally, it shows how the Dutch theologians considered the abrogation of the covenant of works. On one hand, such covenant is still valid, since man remains bound to the obligations of God's law; on the other hand, the possibility of achieving the promise of eternal life through human works of justice was abolished, making it necessary that a Mediator obtain such promise on behalf of the elect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many doubts regarding the place the children of believers should have in the church of Christ. Are they members of the church? If so, should they be admitted to the church's sacraments? For what reason, in most churches of paedobaptist theology and practice, the children of believing parents are not admitted to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper? The author of the present article proposes to examine the issue of paedocommunion in the history of the church, the Reformed tradition, and the Holy Scriptures, in order to argue against the participation of children in the sacrament of communion. He begins with a brief presentation of a theological current characteristic of North American Presbyterianism, the Federal Vision, which has already begun to make its effects felt in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the doctrine known as Extra Calvinisticum, which was developed in the sixteenth century during the Christological debates between Lutheran and Calvinist theologians. The discussion centers on the notion of communicatio idiomatum, or communication of attributes, both in the Lutheran and the Reformed perspectives. Initially a historical synthesis of the discussion is outlined, followed by the presentation of the doctrine's confessional, biblical, and theological foundations, with the purpose of demonstrating its veracity. The importance of the Christological doctrine of the Extra Calvinisticum is fully appreciated in the fact that it safeguards the perfection of the redemptive work accomplished by the God-man, the incarnate Word, as against the notion of a Christ with a hybrid nature, a concept derived from the Lutheran understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses what will occur to those who will be alive at the time of Jesus Christ's Second Coming. There is much discussion about the nature of the transformation that will take place in the lives of the redeemed who will not be liable to resurrection, since they will not experience death during the Parousia. Initially, the author considers the Old Testament idea of a future transformation. He also pays attention to the intertestamental period, in which one sees no common doctrine about the subject. Then he proceeds to analyze the New Testament texts, with special emphasis on the Pauline passages of 1 Corinthians 15.50-54 and 2 Corinthians 5.1-5. Jesus' transfiguration is also considered since it can serve as a proleptic manifestation of the transformation that the saved will undergo in the future. After analyzing the passages, the article discusses the need for and the nature of such transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]