Category Archives: Christian Life

Our faithful Queen?

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“Never speak ill of the departed” is reasonable advice, even if it sometimes leads to representing a drunken lout as ‘the life and soul of the party’, or a foul-mouthed youth as merely ‘cheeky’.

In the case of her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, a lot has been said and written in praise her charm, wit, intelligence, steadfastness and worldwide influence for good.

And her Christian faith.

After her death, church leaders scoured her Christmas messages and other utterances for signs of orthodox and vital religion. …

Psalm 46:10 – ‘Be still and know that I am God’

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NET: “Stop your striving and recognize that I am God!”

NIV: ‘Be still and know that I am God’.

The text misunderstood

In popular piety and Christian song, this injunction is often (mis)understood to be a call to quiet meditation.

The following well-known worship song (whose author and composer are unknown) is based on Psa 46:10, and is described here as a ‘meditative, chant-style hymn’:

Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God,
Be still and know that I am God.…

Jn 21:1-25 – “Do you love me?” – sermon notes

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John 21:1-25

(Notes of a sermon preached a number of years ago, revised and re-preached recently.)

The dentist had just finished fitting the bishop out with a complete set of new teeth.  As soon as the dentist had finished, the bishop went over to a mirror.  And as he looked at himself and inspected his mouthful of fine teeth, he said, “Jesus Christ.”  And again: “Jesus Christ.”  The dentist was surprised to hear such profane language coming from a man of the cloth. …

Where is the Holy Spirit in the Lord’s Prayer?

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This is the title of a recent post by Ian Paul.  What follows is based on that article.

We might well think that prayer, if it is to be regarded as distinctively Christian prayer, should be Trinitarian.

But what, then, are we to make of the Christian’s model prayer, which does not mention the Holy Spirit at all.

Ian Paul suggests that the Holy Spirit is indeed ‘present’ in the Lord’s Prayer, even though not mentioned.…

The Aaronic Blessing

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‘The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “‘”The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face towards you and give you peace.”’ (Numbers 6:22-26, NIV)

The Aaronic Blessing is very ancient. ‘In 1979, two small silver scrolls from the seventh century BC were unearthed in Jerusalem.…

Orthodox writers on transcendence, mystery, paradox

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From Christian History Magazine, Issue 54 – Eastern Orthodoxy

The transcendence of God

‘God cannot be grasped by the mind. If he could be grasped, he would not be God.’

—Evagrius of Pontus (d. 399)

‘One day some of the brethren came to see Abba Antony, and among them was Abba Joseph. Wishing to test them, the old man mentioned a text from Scripture, and starting with the youngest, he asked them what it meant.…

Grow in grace

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The New Testament writers show great concern for the spiritual growth of their readers.  Paul, for example, writes to the Corinthians, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready” (1 Cor. 3:1–2).

The writer to the Hebrews similarly: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God.…

Catechetical imperatives in the New Testament

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J.I. Packer and Gary Parrett write:

‘One of the most important arguments for ministries of catechesis today derives from the simple fact that believers have been commanded to teach others catechetically.’

In Ephesians 6:4, fathers are urged to bring up their children ‘in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.’

In the Pastoral Epistles, we find numerous exhortations:

“Charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor devote themselves to myths.” (1 Tim. 1:3–4)

“If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed.”…

The Gospels as catachetical documents

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It would seem that the four Gospels are ‘carefully crafted and culturally contextualized catechetical documents.’

Matthew seems to be explicitly catechetical, in that he arranges his material according to subject matter rather than chronological sequence.  The result is a handbook on the words and deeds of the Church’s founder.

Mark is often found, in our own day, to provide an excellent basis for catechetical courses such as Christianity Explored.

Luke (along with Acts) was written, in the first place, to provide initial or follow-up catechesis for Theophilus.…

Catachetical language in the New Testament

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That there is a body of teaching that is to be faithfully passed on is clear from the repeated references in the New Testament to ‘the teaching,’ ‘sound doctrine,’ ‘tradition,’ and ‘passed on’.

Packer and Parrett (Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way) give some examples:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.” (Acts 2:42)

“Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.”…