John Calvin on Matthew 15:1/Mark 7:1

We see the extraordinary insolence that is displayed by men as to the form and manner of worshiping God; for they are perpetually contriving new modes of worship, and when any one wishes to be thought wiser than others, he displays his ingenuity on this subject. I speak not of foreigners, but of the very domestics of the Church, on whom God has conferred the peculiar honor of declaring with their lips the rule of godliness.

Emphasis added. "The very domestics of the Church."

Peril

While reflecting on the lectionary gospel reading for this Sunday, Mark 4:35-41, I came across this wonderful prayer from a great little book called "The Valley of Vision: Puritan Prayers and Devotions":

Sovereign Commander of the Universe,
I am sadly harassed by doubts, fears, unbelief, in a felt spiritual darkness.
My heart is full of evil surmisings and disquietude, and I cannot act faith at all.
My heavenly Pilot has disappeared, and I have lost my hold on the Rock of Ages;
I sink in a deep mire beneath storms and waves, in horror and distress unutterable.
Help me, O Lord, to throw myself absolutely and wholly on thee, for better, for worse, without comfort, and all but hopeless.
Give me peace of soul, confidence, enlargement of mind, morning joy that comes after night heaviness;
Water my soul richly with diving blessings;
Grant that I may welcome thy humbling in private so that I might enjoy thee in public;
Give me a mountain top as high as the valley is low.
Thy grace can melt the worst sinner, and I am as vile as he;
Yet thou hast made me a monument of mercy, a trophy of redeeming power;
In my distress let me not forget this.
All-wise God, Thy never-failing providence orders every event, sweetens every fear, reveals evil's presence lurking in seeming good, brings real good our of seeming evil, makes unsatisfactory what I set my heart upon, to show me what a short-sighted creature I am, and to teach me to live by faith upon thy blessed self.
Out of my sorrow and night give me that name Naphtali - "satisfied with favor" - help me to love thee as a child, and to walk worthy of my heavenly pedigree.

[Bennett, Arthur G. The Valley of Vision A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 2003, 184-185.]

A Minister's Preaching

My Master God,
I am desired to preach today,
but go weak and needy to my task;
Yet I long that people might be edified
with divine truth,
that an honest testimony might be borne
for thee;
Give me assistance in preaching and prayer,
with heart uplifted for grace and unction.
Present to my view things pertinent to
my subject,
with fullness of matter and clarity of thought,
proper expressions, fluency, fervency,
a feeling sense of the things I preach,
and grace to apply them to men's consciences.
Keep me conscious all the while of my defects,
and let me not gloat in pride over
my performance.
Help me offer a testimony for thyself,
and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting
thy mercy.
Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people,
and to set before them comforting considerations.
Attend with power the truth preached,
and awaken the attention of my slothful audience.
May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted,
comforted,
and help me use the strongest arguments
drawn from Christ's incarnation and sufferings,
that men might be made holy.

I myself need thy support, comfort, strength,
holiness,
that I might be a pure channel of thy grace,
and be able to do something for thee;
Give me then refreshment among thy people,
and help me not to treat excellent matter
in a defective way,
or bear a broken testimony to so worthy
a Redeemer,
or be harsh in treating of Christ's death,
its design and end,
from lack of warmth and fervency.
And keep me in tune with thee
as I do this work.

[Bennett, Arthur G. The Valley of Vision A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 2003, 348-349.]

Cell Phones In Church

Very amusing. Another alternative might be to have folks download and use "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" as their primary ringtone.

Happy New Year!

I hope you have a blessed New Year.  Peace be with you, always.

Chris

Happy Christmastide!

I took this photograph on a tour of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This is the spot that marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

Fitted into the paving, shines a 14 pointed silver star marking the exact spot surrounded by the Latin inscription: HICDE VIRGINE MARIA JESUS CHRISTUS NATUS EST. 1717. (Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary). Of the 15 lamps burning around the recess, six belong to the Greeks, fiveto the Armenians and four to the Latins." [Description from atlastours.net]

UPDATE: I just ran across this beautiful carol by G. K. Chesterton:

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s lap,

His hair was like a light.

(O weary, weary were the world,

But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s breast,

His hair was like a star.

(O stern and cunning are the kings,

But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary’s heart,

His hair was like a fire.

(O weary, weary is the world,

But here the world’s desire.)

The Christ-child stood at Mary’s knee,

His hair was like a crown.

And all the flowers looked up at Him,

And all the stars looked down.

– Gilbert Keith Chesterton

O Immanuel

O Immanuel,
our Sovereign and Lawgiver,
desire of the nations and Savior of all:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Come, Lord Jesus.

The final O Antiphon is a straightforward plea for salvation. For saving. Saving from what? The news relentlessly portrays a world out of alignment. There is a pervasive sense that something isn't right. We try to cover that feeling up with shopping, endless marketing carols, and blinding displays of decoration, anything that can aid the process of distraction from the real problem.

Sin.

Sin separates us from God. Sin causes broken hearts, broken families, abuses of self and others, mind-blowing narcissism and idolatry. All of this can be traced to that first fall, that brokenness which we inherit by virtue of our humanity. This is the thing from which we need saving. And God has given us a Savior, even though we did not and do not deserve him. But because God created us, He loves us. So much so, in fact, that He offers us the only true gift that has ever been devised.

You see, the gifts that we give always invoke a need to reciprocate. You may surprised to receive a gift you did not expect. How do many people respond to such a gift? "You really shouldn't have," is the common reply. And right away the seed is planted to respond in kind at a later date.

Our so-called gift giving should be referred to as an exchange, because that is what it is.

The only true gift is one that isn't deserved. The only true gift is the one for which there is no possibility of reciprocation. And that is precisely the gift we receive in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, a little infant born in a manger.

Are you weary and tired? Are you stuck in some kind of sin that you think is insurmountable? Do you wonder if there could possibly be a way out of the trap of putting on the painted smile every day to evade notice that something inside is deeply out of sorts? Jesus Christ came for people just like you. That is the Good News. And as you read these words, it is my hope that the Holy Spirit will move upon you and open your heart to Jesus Christ, that you may be adopted into the new family of love and forgiveness by submitting to his Word in a baptism of water and of Spirit. It is my prayer that you will receive the true gift of eternal life with Him. Amen.

O Ruler of the Nations

O Ruler of the nations,
Monarch for whom the people long,
you are the Cornerstone uniting all humanity:
Come, save us all,
whom you formed out of clay.

Come, Lord, Jesus.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Phil 2:9-13 NRSV)

That baby born in a manger? Him? He is, in fact, the universal Lord of all that is. How can this be? Because God's power is made perfect in weakness. By using what has been formed from clay to accomplish mighty acts, God ensures that there will be no confusion over who the real Saver is.

O Radient Dawn

O Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light,
Sun of justice:
Come, shine on those who live in darkness
and in the shadow of death.

Come, Lord Jesus.

As I write this, the sun is shining brightly outside. We so often fool ourselves into thinking the light is something easy to grasp. We need only capture it and use it for our own purposes. Alas, such light is, in fact, the darkness of a lost humanity. What we really need is a Light that cuts us to the heart, so that the illusion of light, the light that we think we control and use to our own ends, might be revealed as the falsehood that separates us from God. And once that falsehood is revealed, let it be put to death, that we might receive the grace of the eternal true light of Jesus Christ. And may we, by our obedience, reflect the the true Light into the world.

O Key of David

O Key of David,
Scepter over the house of Israel,
you open and no one else can close,
you close and no one can open:
Come to set free the prisoners
who live in darkness and the shadow of death.

Come, Lord Jesus.

The Key of David. The Shepherd who, by his mercy, admits us into the house wherein the Lord God lives. The Almighty King who gives unmerited grace to those who are prisoners to their sin, captives to their iniquities, convicted in their crimes. He comes for those who are so convinced of their unworthiness that the potential of release seems unfathomable. And yet, as Gabriel said to Mary, "For God, nothing is impossible." What has been destroyed by sin can be redeemed, because Christ destroyed the power of sin and sin's chief symptom, which is death. May be come soon!

O Root of Jesse

O Root of Jesse,
rising as a sign for all the peoples,
before you earthly rulers will keep silent,
and nations give you honor:
Come quickly to deliver us.

Come, Lord Jesus.

The genealogies of the New Testament are important because they are the thread of the story of salvation. Obed's son would have David as a son. David would become king of the people that were called to be the instrument of salvation for the whole world (as first revealed to Abraham). There is but one Word, just as there is one name by which we are saved - Jesus Christ - the heir to David's throne, and the one in whom the promised role of Israel was perfectly fulfilled.

O Adonai

O Adonai,
Ruler of the house of Israel,
you appeared in the burning bush to Moses
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come with outstretched arm to save us.

Come, Lord Jesus.

The Lord is the Ruler of the house. As adopted sons and daughters of our heavenly Ruler, we are brought under the wings of Christ's fulfillment of the law through our baptisms into His death and resurrection. Only by His perfect fulfillment of the law are we set free from sin and sanctified by his Holy Spirit, so that we may not be found wanting when we are justly judged on the last day.

A Morning Offering

THE VALLEY OF VISION

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,
Where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
Hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
That the way down is the way up,
That to be low is to be high,
That the broken heart is the healed heart,
That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
That the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
That to having nothing is to possess all,
That to bear the cross is to wear the crown
That to give is to receive,
That the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
And the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.

(from The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions)

O Wisdom

O Wisdom,
coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
pervading and permeating all creation,
you order all things with strength and gentleness:
Come now and teach us the way to salvation.

Come, Lord Jesus.

Wisdom comes from the mouth of the Most High God. The Almighty speaks, and matter comes into being from nothing. The Lord whispers, and by whispering saves.

Preview: Second Sunday in Advent

A Sermon on Mark 1:1-8



Given on the Second Sunday in Advent, 2008
First Presbyterian Church
Jackson, Minnesota

For Those Who Desire to Preach...

... here is a quote attributed to Bruce Theilman:

There is no special honor in preaching, there is only special pain. The pulpit calls those anointed to it as the sea calls its sailors. And like the sea, it batters and bruises and does not rest. To preach, to really preach is to die naked a little at a time and to know each time you do it that you must do it again.

Amen.

A New Thing

Here is Brit Hume, on what he'll be doing now that he's retiring from his 40-year, wildly successful career in television news, and leaving his highly rated Fox News show behind:

The Hollywood Reporter: WHAT OTHER THINGS WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO IN RETIREMENT?

Hume: I certainly want to pursue my faith more ardently than I have done. I'm not claiming it's impossible to do when you work in this business. I was kind of a nominal Christian for the longest time. When my son died (by suicide in 1998), I came to Christ in a way that was very meaningful to me. If a person is a Christian and tries to face up to the implications of what you say you believe, it's a pretty big thing. If you do it part time, you're not really living it.

About those implications, Paul wrote these words:

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Cor 5:17-21 NRSV)