Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the (western) Christian year, and it was also my first opportunity to perform a baptism. It was a wonderful event made even more special because the baby is the child of some good friends of ours. Advent is a curious […]
Devotional
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[As I have said in the past, the text of my sermons are not really meant to be read since they are more like a detailed outline than proper prose.] Year A Proper 27 RCL Amos 5:18-24 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Matthew 25:1-13 The Day of the Lord Thus says the […]
George F. Will has an excellent and fair summary of where the Episcopal church finds itself. You can find the article in the Washington Post: A Faith’s Dwindling Following. The summary is fairly straightforward: As the church’s doctrines have become more elastic, the church has contracted. It celebrates an “inclusiveness” that […]
That is the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism (that I had to study and reply to before I joined the Presbyterian church as a youth). Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,[1] and to enjoy him forever.[2] I […]
I have not been following the various stories very carefully about the so-called "messiah tablet" (but Jim West has a nice collection of links and his usual trenchant comments here ). Reading the Time article , however, I was struck by Israel Knohl’s quote regarding the origins of the three […]
I was doing the Daily Office this morning, something I admit to not doing daily, and as is often the case, the readings were particularly relevant. (It is amazing what a difference it makes to actually be receptive to what you reading.) The reading from Num. 11:1-23 was interesting in […]
That is what I always thing of when I hear the word “retreat.” I helped out (last minute addition) with a teen retreat in Central PA. The area was gorgeous and it was a lot of fun. Sharing a cabin with 8 barely pubescent boys, however, never gets better. The […]
So this is the sermon. I also have an audio of it, which is much more expansive, but I have not pulled it off the recorder yet. Please feel free to offer comments! Patronal Festival for St. Andrew’s, State College Genesis 28: 10-17 Romans 10: 8b-18 Matthew 4: 18-22 Jacob […]
What follows is a subsequent chapter of the work-in-progress I shared last week, Characters of God. (You can read the premise of the work and the first chapter here.) These chapters originated as meditations for a men’s and later a women’s silent retreat. The meditations originally focused upon male or […]