Prayer Tips: When to Pray
In the early days of his Christian walk, someone said, “I just don’t seem to have time to pray!” A mentor responded in a gentle tone with a stubborn and…
Steven McCarthy
The Rev. Fr. Steven M. McCarthy is a member of the Diocese of All Saints in the Anglican Church in North America. He works as a hospice chaplain, and lives with his wife and four children in Lansing, Michigan.
Blogging Through the Golden Book: The Life of a Christian Man
I remember the first time I saw John Calvin’s personal seal—an outstretched hand holding a heart—in a hallway on the campus of Calvin College, now University, in Grand Rapids. Surrounding…
Enabling the Lame Man
I enjoy good children’s books, and not just to read to my children, but because they can be beautiful, fun, and moving. Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss…
Justification and Preaching
The familiar words of Isaiah 40:1-2 call to mind the sonorous strains of Handel’s Messiah: “‘Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,’ saith your God. ‘Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry…
The Ordo Salutis: Sanctification
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification,” (1 Th 4:3)[1] St. Paul writes to a group of mostly non-Jewish Christians in Thessalonica who had formerly worshiped idols and…
Humiliation & Exaltation: The Procession of the Holy Spirit
After rising from the dead, ascending into heaven, and being enthroned at God’s right hand, Christ poured out the Holy Spirit on the church. The significance of this event cannot…
Humiliation & Exaltation: Christ’s Burial
Following his death on the cross, Scripture affirms that Jesus was buried. All four Gospels included an account of his burial,[1] and it is mentioned in both the Apostles’ and…
The Ten Commandments: The Sixth
The sixth commandment is “You shall not murder.” (Exo 20:13),[1] or, in the memorable KJV, “Thou shalt not kill.” The later vividly captures the word picture of the original, meaning,…
Sanctification: Justification & Sanctification, What’s the Difference?
There are several places in the writing of the Apostle Paul where he warns that “the unrighteous shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.” He goes on to furnish examples…
Deconstructing Destruction in the Church: Repairing the Breach
A rift has formed in your relationship. Perhaps the chasm has been widening for years. Perhaps the plates shifted, as far as you could tell, like a sudden earth quake.…
Incomprehensible but Knowable: A Lisping God
The writings of French reformer, theologian, and pastor John Calvin are often remembered by the Latin phrase “brevitas et claritas”. Calvin wrote to be understood, and avoided using more words…
The Apostles’ Creed: Born of the Virgin Mary
December 25 is indelibly linked in most minds with celebrations of Jesus’ birth. What about March 25 (exactly nine months earlier)? That day has traditionally been associated with “the Annunciation”,…