Sometimes, a 65-year-old quote is just what we need to shake us into reality. “What! Are we so engrossed in the merchandise and merriment of the yearly commemoration that our Saviour is obscured by the very season which ostensibly honours Him? Oh, strangest mockery! While eastern sages travel miles and months to spread their rich … More “Oh, Strangest Mockery!”
Yesterday evening, I attended a Christmas service that included a wonderful message and an impromptu children’s reenactment of the Christmas story. Just before the message, the pastor gave the microphone to anyone in the congregation who wanted to answer the question, “What does Christ mean to you?” “Here’s the catch,” he said, “you have to … More Christmas: What does Christ mean to you?
Churches all around the country are working through the “Four Songs of Christmas” on the four Sundays leading up to Christmas this year. For many, this week’s text was Zechariah’s prophecy on the day his son, the future “John the Baptist,” was born (Luke 1:67-79). The backstory of this prophecy is in Luke 1:5-25, 36-66. … More Zechariah’s “Song” of Wonder
I read my first Carl Henry book around 1975. I remember where I was and that Carl Henry’s words were both challenging and precise. The year was 1975. I was at my parent’s house at 4200 Spruce Street and stole away into my Dad’s office for a quiet place to read. The book was a … More A Christmas Homily from Carl Henry
Mary’s Song (Luke 1:46–55) When we look at a tapestry, we often forget that it began with a single thread. I tell you, there is a tapestry being woven in the pages of Scripture. It began with a single thread, but God, the weaver of the tapestry is skillfully weaving every thread together to complete … More Mary’s Song and the Tapestry of Redemption
Christmas was on the horizon. For seven months, Bonhoeffer had been leading the soon to be outlawed preachers seminary at Finkenwalde. He was pioneering a seminary that in many ways was the pattern of the seminary I attended in California. A community of scholars living as closely together as they could, and studying together for … More Bonhoeffer on the Gospel at Christmas Time
This evening was the special Christmas song service at our local church. We were filled with visitors, mostly young families and college age, which is also the makeup of our church. We are, in many ways, a perfect example of the oft observed sociological principle that a most churches tend to reflect the age of … More Singing Latin and Weeping for Joy
First post of the New Year (2023) Two great quotes shared with us by a friend and supporter of our ministry that I didn’t want to wait until next Christmas to share. “Without the Incarnation, Christianity isn’t even a very good story, and most sadly, it means nothing. ‘Be nice to one another’; is not … More Christmas is Past, the Incarnation is Forever
I am continuing my reread of the classic collection of essays by C.S. Lewis, THE WEIGHT OF GLORY AND OTHER ADDRESSES. The two paragraphs below are actually just a portion from one long paragraph that is almost two pages long! They are among two of the most quoted passages Lewis ever wrote but are even … More Thinking About Glory, and Neighbors and Christmas
I am working on editing a book for a friend and at the same time listening to some music from the husband and wife team called “Poor Bishop Hooper”. I cannot recommend this more highly for a day of rest, or a day of prayer, or on a loop for your Sabbath day respite from … More Instrumental Music for a Day of Rest, a Sabbath
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