A week ago was Pentecost. This week was Trinity Sunday. A great time to continue blogging about the Holy Spirit. It took a while for Christians to become clear that the Holy Spirit is really and truly God. Father? Check. Son? Check. Spirit? Some ambiguity — for centuries actually. Once that was clear, though, we joyfully proclaimed and […]
Is Pentecost “The Birthday of the Church”? (Heidelberg Catechism, Q54)
Here’s a question for you: How many of you have heard or preached a Pentecost sermon proclaiming it “the birthday of the Church”? That seems to be the understanding today among Christians. What really happened in Acts chapter 2? Was it “the first Pentecost”? No. Jews from around the world were gathered in Jerusalem to […]
Want to Improve Your Praise Band? Consider St. Ephrem the Syrian
It seems like every church has a praise band leading worship these days, or wants to have one. But let’s face it: a lot of modern worship music, whether praise songs or hymns, is theologically and spiritually shallow. A lot of it focuses on us and our feelings rather than on the glory of God. When it points beyond […]
St. Boniface: Monk, Missionary, Martyr
Today the Church remembers St. Boniface who died at the hands of a violent mob on this day in 754. He is called the “Apostle to the Germans” for his work as a missionary bishop. I want to highlight three things worth learning from his life today. First, Boniface shows us the counter-intuitive power of medieval […]
Vocabulary Lesson: What’s Up with the “Ascension”? (Heidelberg Catechism Q. 49)
We just rushed by the most neglected day of the Church’s year: the “Ascension”, forty days after Easter when the risen Christ left the earth and went to heaven. Part of the problem: the original event happened on a Thursday. Churches don’t gather to take notice until the Sunday afterward. Another issue: Jesus lifting off without benefit […]
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