HELL
During Advent I have been writing about The Four Last Things: the traditional subjects of the four Sundays in Advent – Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. The fourth of the four last things is the theme of Hell. This is a subject rarely heard of today. Sermons tend to...
SPIRITUAL RESOURCES FOR THE NEW YEAR
What spiritual resources do you have as you approach the new year? This past year has strained our ability to maintain our Christian resilience in the face of the pandemic. The social fabric of community has been kidnapped by social distancing, mask wearing and fear...
ADVENT WREATH 4
The fourth Sunday in Advent reminds us of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and we light the pink candle in her honor. Timothy Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, in his book, Hidden Christmas, The Surprising Truth Behind the Birth of Christ,...
HEAVEN
John Martin, The Plains of Heaven. I have been writing about The Four Last Things: the traditional subjects of the four Sundays in Advent – Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. The third of the four last things is the theme of Heaven. St. John receives a vision in...
MY SERIOUS READING IN 2020
Destined For Glory: The Meaning of Suffering, Margaret Clarkson, 1983 Evangelical Preaching: An Anthology of Sermons by Charles Simeon, edited by James Houston, 1986 Napoleon: A Biography, Andrew Roberts Eerdman’s Book of Famous Prayers Through the Centuries, 1983...
ADVENT WREATH 3
The third Sunday in Advent reminds us of John the Baptist who proclaimed the coming of the Messiah. He was the last in a long line of Hebrew prophets sent to prepare his listeners for the coming of the promised Messiah. He struck a chord in the hearts of his...
THE LAST JUDGMENT
The Advent Prayer Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to us in great humility; so that, at the last day, when he shall come again in his...
ADVENT WREATH 2
The second Sunday of Advent reminds us of the Prophets who prepared for the coming of Christ by their witness. “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned…For to us a child is born, to us...
THE FOUR LAST THINGS
In Advent we look forward. We rekindle the eager hope and fear with which the Old Testament prophets looked forward to the coming of the promised Messiah; we prepare ourselves to celebrate his birth at Christmas. When the Lord Christ came to live among us, he taught...
THE ADVENT WREATH
The Advent Wreath is meant to visually remind us of the themes of the season through the increasing coming of light to dispel darkness in the coming of the Messiah. Each Sunday a candle is lit with readings and prayers to emphasize the theme of the day. For example,...
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