Once there was, and once there was not, an artist. He was good — very good. He painted beautiful scenes and portraits. He had some wit and whimsy about him: Always, whether at the center or somewhere hidden, his paintings included the faces of those he loved. His wife and children. Or his dog. His […]
3 Insights on Freedom as Independence Day Approaches
In America we always hear a great deal about freedom. Especially so around July 4, our Independence Day. And with our convoluted mixture of religious and political thought, Christian talk about freedom becomes a muddle. The muddle shouldn’t surprise us: Scripture strongly emphasizes freedom as a gift at or near the heart of the Gospel. It starts with the […]
6 Key Things to Know About the Holy Spirit
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 […]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- …
- 36
- Next Page »