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  Bible reading for May 31 -- June 1 May 31 -- Isaiah 32 and Rev 2 Jun 1 -- Isaiah 33 and Rev 3 Take some time today to pause, remember, and thank God for the many soldiers who died in military service for our country. Here's the USAF band performing Dvorak's "Going Home" at the National Cemetery in Culpeper, Virginia. ================    "Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land." (Isaiah 32:1-2) LOOKING FOR FEW GOOD MEN (ch 32). Don't we all long for good leadership? Good leadership in homes, in businesses, in the church, in communities, and in the nation? How much suffering and misery comes from corruption, bribery, conflicts of interest, immoral decisions, unjust laws, bribery, and favoritism.  Whether leadership is weak or overbearing, all of the people s...

“Fierce was the wild billow  Dark was the night; Oars labored heavily  Foam glimmered white; Mariners trembled  Peril was nigh;  Then said the God of God --  ‘Peace! It is I!’ “Ridge of the mountain wave,  Lower thy crest! Wail of Euroclydon,  Be thou at rest! Peril can none be –  Sorrow must fly –  Where saith the Light of Light --  ‘Peace! It is I!  “Jesus, Deliverer!  Come Thou to me: Soothe Thou my voyaging  Over life’s sea! Thou, when the storms of death  Roars, sweeping by,  Whisper, O Truth of Truth! --  ‘Peace! It is I!’” ~ Anatolius of Constantinople (d. 458),     Hymns of the Eastern Church  (J. M. Neale, trans.)   "We need our brothers and sisters down through the ages.  We need the whole church for this task of explaining God's word."   (Michael Horton) Summer reading suggestion:   Church History in Plain Language (4th. e...

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."   (Matthew 28:19 ESV) "As the Father is God, so is the Son,  And as the Son is God, so is the Holy Spirit;  And the Three are likewise One God when seen together.  Each is God because they are of the same essence,  And they are One God because of the single principle of Deity. And when I see the Three together, I see only one torch,  And I cannot divide or share out the Undivided Light." ~ Gregory of Nazianzus (AD 329--390)  [Cited by Nick Needham in Daily Readings – The Early Church Fathers ] Image above: an icon of the three Cappadocians -- Gregory of Nyssa, Basil of Caesarea, and Gregory of Nazianzus.   Continuing this Sunday: "Highlights in Church History", a summer adult class, meeting first hour (9:45 am) in the fellowship hall.  Topics include Council of Nicaea, Chalcedon, the gre...

Above, No Compromise was the second album by Christian singer/song-writer Keith Green, released in 1978. WHY STUDY CHURCH HISTORY? "For the past two-thousand years of our history, Christians have wrestled with Scripture. They have preached sermons, written commentaries,  defended orthodoxy (right belief) against heresy (false teaching), and articulated biblically faithful statements of doctrine in form of the historic  confessions of the faith.  If we disregard all this, choosing instead to remain ignorant of this treasure-trove of spiritual wisdom, is that not arrogant  of us?"   REDISCOVERING FORGOTTEN CLASSICS Here's a treasure trove of lesser known works that you may want to investigate. PASTORAL CONCERN ABOUT EVANGELICAL PROPHECY "The belief that God continues to grant special revelation through personal experience fosters unhealthy experientialism." THOMAS MORE'S ANTIDOTE TO MODERN IDEOLOGIES "By now, the recipe is sadly famil...

I'm enjoying reading An Exhibition of the Law, the Gospel and the Holy Spirit , by Charles Simeon (1759-1836).  This is a selection of sermon outlines taken from his Horae Homileticae Commentary (21 volumes).  Simeon served faithfully as pastor at Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge (UK) for 53 years.  The many trials and oppositions he faced are related by John Piper in "Brothers, We Must Not Mind a Little Suffering"   Bishop Handley Moule's biography of Simeon can be downloaded for very little cost.  It's a very readable account of the life of Charles Simeon, who is an outstanding example of faithfulness in ministry, as well as, a preacher of great simplicity, clarity, and power.   Here are some highlights from Simeon's teaching on the gospel... It is the pride of the human heart which interposes the great obstacle to men's reception of the Gospel. They are averse to see the extent of their necessities: they will contend for some remnant of goodness ...

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90.  This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3.  Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I.   Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews.  Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews.  Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches.  Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos.  The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90:    CHAPTER 36  ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ,  the High Prie...

Kenneth Scott LaTourette, church historian, writes about the success of Christians in the early centuries... Inevitably the question arises: Why, from being the faith of a small, persecuted minority in competition with other religions which appeared to have better prospects of success, did Christianity eventually enroll the large majority of the population of the Roman Empire? To that outcome several factors contributed. In the disintegration of the existing order which by the end of the second century was becoming obvious many individuals were seeking spiritual and material security and believed that they could find it in the Christian faith.  By the end of the third century, while enlisting only a minority, the Church was Empire-wide, was more comprehensive than any institution except the state, and gave to its members a sense of brotherhood and solidarity. Christianity assured its adherents what many in the ancient world were craving -- high ethical standards, a spiritual dy...

Ben Witherington on Constantine.  Fifth in a series of blogs , evaluating Peter Leithart's Defending Constantine and various responses.  Helpful distinction of building culture, rejecting culture, transforming culture...  Yoder [ an Anabaptist writer ] would have it that when Christianity loses its beleaguered underdog status it loses something essential, it loses for example its counter-cultural element.    But Christianity was never intended to be counter cultural in the full sense of that term.    Counter-cultural is simply reaction to the dominant culture.  As Andy Crouch reminds us,  Christianity at heart is about building its own positive culture,  and rightly or wrongly that is what Constantine was trying to do.    There is a difference between building culture and transforming culture and rejecting culture and to some degree Christianity was about all three of these things from the start.   I...

In my studies today I came across these quotes by two prominent, early Christian writers (aka "church fathers")... "But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, [as] the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare." (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho , chapter 80, ca AD 150) "Our inquiry relates to what is promised in heaven, not on earth. But we do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem, 'let down from heaven,' which the apostle also calls 'our mother from above;' and, while declaring that our citizenship, is in heaven, he predicates of it that it is really a city in heaven. This both Ezekiel had...

I came upon a stimulating article by Mack Stiles, former InterVarsity staff worker, on "What's Happening to InterVarsity?" There is definitely a tension in postmodern evangelicalism brought in by emergent church proponents (and others). Some of the criticisms are warranted, but there may be danger in throwing out the historic gospel and its centrality to the church's mandate. Here is an insight that applies to any church or ministry... "...you don't need much more than a cursory scan of history to see that solid Christian organizations can easily lose the gospel if they are not attentive. Losing the gospel doesn't happen all at once; it's more like a four-generation process. "The gospel is accepted --> The gospel is assumed --> The gospel is confused --> The gospel is lost . "It is tragic for any generation to lose the gospel. But, as Philip Jensen says, the generation that assumes the ...

Sometimes people think the doctrine of the Trinity is a speculative and irrelevant formula, far removed from daily life. But here's how Patrick (aka St. Patrick), missionary to the Irish in the fourth century, applied God's Triune nature at the beginning of the day. Very realistic and practical... I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through the belief in the threeness, Through confession of the oneness Of the Creator of Creation. I arise today Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism, Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial, Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension, Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom. I arise today Through the strength of the love of Cherubim, In obedience of angels, In the service of archangels, In hope of resurrection to meet with reward, In prayers of patriarchs, In predictions...