Ever since I was a kid, long before I had much of an active Christian faith, I wondered: Why do we use eggs to celebrate Easter? Why Easter Eggs? It is not at all obvious. There is only one mention of eggs in the whole New Testament, and it isn’t about Easter. Unless we paint Christian […]
That Body and Blood Thing (Heidelberg Catechism Q76)
One Sunday long ago that rarest of things happened: A woman who had never before set foot in a church came and joined us for worship. Her son had asked why they didn’t go to church. Ours was in the neighborhood. They showed up. I mean they had never, ever been in a church before. […]
A Prayer for Timothy Matthew Slemmons
Last night at UDTS we installed my friend and colleague, the Rev. Dr. Timothy Matthew Slemmons, as Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship. I was honored to be asked to offer a prayer in the service. I thought I would share it with you, especially since many of you who know him could not be […]
Okay, Why “Trespasses,” “Debts” and “Sins”? (Heidelberg Catechism Q119)
One peril of visiting a new church comes when it is time to pray. At least if the congregation of a traditional flavor they will wrap up with something like “Now let join our voices in the prayer Christ himself has taught us, saying…” It all goes fine for a while: …Father… …Name… …kingdom… …will… …daily […]
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 […]