The Epiphany of Love
Although for many churches, the celebration of Christ’s Nativity is over for another year, for many others it is yet to come. They will celebrate the Feast of Epiphany on January 6th and on into the Sunday that follows. In…
Tag Forgiveness
Young Luther’s Christmas
On December 22, 1898 the New York Observer wished its readers a “Merry Merry Christmas to All.” Following that wish was a wonderful gift. On every page of the Observer was something to direct the reader’s thoughts to the reason…
A Reason to be Thankful
I was in a store just a couple of days ago when a smiling clerk asked if she could help my wife and me with some pictures we were admiring. However, talk about beautiful pictures gave way to a less…
39 Articles—Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude (7)
Because we’ve had a month’s pause for #Reformation500, it would be good to review the previous seven articles that concern our salvation before we continue. Articles 9 and 10 set the extent of our guilt before God. They explain the…
Augustine, Happiness, and a Birthday Cake
If Augustine of Hippo was with us today, he might spend his birthday as he did shortly after his conversion, when he lived in Cassiciago, 25 miles north of Milan, Italy. “After a meal light enough as not to hinder…
The Marks of a Healthy Church: The Great Commission
Last words are important and often intriguing and none more so than the last words of Jesus. They are best remembered as expressed by Matthew at the end of his Gospel where Jesus tells the Eleven, “All authority in heaven…
A Healthy Church: The Aim of Discipline
Discipline is hard–giving it and receiving it. Knowing the reasons and realities behind it doesn’t necessarily help, either. Perhaps you’ve cringed when reading: “Endure discipline; God is dealing with you as with sons. For what son is there whom a…
A Healthy Church: A Family that Eats Together…
One of the more visible repercussions of the Protestant Reformation was a reconfiguration of the furniture found within local churches. Throughout the Medieval period it was the Table of the Eucharist that sat center-stage, the literal and liturgical focal point…
A Healthy Church: A Disciplined People
The term discipline is an elastic term. We can speak of the discipline of a particular subject, activity or skill, such as the discipline of music, or running, or brick laying. Still further we can speak of discipline in terms…
The New Perspective on Paul: Justification is Moral Remedy
Eight years-ago this month a friend gave me a copy of N.T. Wright’s new book, Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision (IVP, 2009). The handwritten note inside the cover said: “To John, A provocative and edifying read.” Those words…