Lightning from the East now available on Amazon

For those tracking the RCL, there is still plenty of Year A to go. Order now, have it for Holy Week and Resurrection Day. 

Lightning from the East: Liturgical Elements for Reformed Worship, Year A

I'm happy to introduce the latest volume in the Liturgical Elements series, this one for Year A, available now from Cascade Books. 

 

Coming soon to Amazon. Check back soon.

The Spirit at Work

Here's a new thing: a theologically meaty daily devotional that covers the whole Bible in 365 daily readings; starting mid-year (at Pentecost), it focuses in particular on what we can learn of the Holy Spirit.

UPDATE: By the same author, a prequel/sequel. Highly recommended for those who have worked  through similar devotionals (Chambers, Tozer, et al.) and are ready for a rigorous trek through the Bible. [NB: As far as I know, the author is no relation to Sarah Young of Jesus Calling.]

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time [Proper 2]*

Job 35:1-16

Psalm 119:(1-16) 17-32

Matthew 7:13-20

2Peter 2

         

DECLARATION FOR FORGIVENESS [From GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]

Yes, people are slaves to whatever masters them, but those who repent and confess their sins in true humility have a good Lord who is unsurpassed, the Master who has bought them for freedom by the gift of his own Son. And if this same God, who saved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood on the world of the ungodly; if he rescued Lot, a righteous man greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the lawless, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trial; for indeed the one who calls us to enter life through the narrow gate has struggled through that gate ahead of us, has opened the way for us, and in this way has delivered us from death to life. Know that, in Jesus Christ, we are given the victory over sin that he himself gained on our behalf. Therefore, be at peace in the knowledge that in Christ we are forgiven and free to enter into the fullness of life.  

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time [Proper 1]*

Job 34:21-37

Psalm 12

Matthew 7:1-12

2Peter 1:1-15

CALL TO CONFESSION [from GREATER ATTENTION: LERW, YEAR D]

The eyes of God are upon the ways of mortals, and he sees all their steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves. But all human vision is obscured and inverted, for people find fault with others for the very things they themselves do and have done. This is why Jesus said, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?” Friends, in humble obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ, let us first take the logs out of our own eyes in confession and repentance, and then, by God’s grace, we may perhaps see clearly enough to assist our neighbors. Let us confess our sins.

On the economic debate raging behind a Christmas classic

Never mind that the author makes the common mistake of confusing the spelling of "etymologist" and "entomologist," this is a very salient angle on the economics underlying Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol. 

Would that the design of the RCL and the committee that designed it were more inclusive

In light of the comments Steve Thorngate's recent article in The Christian Century has generated from those defending the RCL, a couple of thoughts spring to mind: 

(1) The insistence that RCL has a specifically eucharistic aim does not square with a theology of Scripture that views the whole of the written revelation as nourishment for the people of God (which is the point I am driving at in Chapter 3 of Year D); in other words, we should ask, what makes a text sufficiently eucharistic? A proper answer should recognize the broader sense in which the word of God as such is life giving when it is preached in such a way that leads us to Christ, but the selectivity of RCL does not evince such an inclusive theology of the word.

(2) One wonders if the composition of the Consultation on Common Texts over the years is, or has been, part of the problem. From its own website, the consultation is described as: "an ecumenical consultation of liturgical scholars and denominational representatives from the United States and Canada, who produce liturgical texts for common use by North American Christian churches." My question is this: Where are the Bible scholars, the systematic theologians, the church historians (other than liturgical historians), the ethicists, the pastoral counselors, the evangelists, the missiologists, the Christian educators, and the homileticians? Would the broader church be satisfied with a calendar of readings designed by a committee composed of denominational leaders and a group of experts chosen solely from one of these other disciplines, say, Old Testament scholars? No. Why should they? So—I say this as one who teaches worship and produces liturgical texts—what the CCT can boast in terms of ecumenical inclusiveness does not seem to be matched by a corresponding inclusiveness where different fields of study are concerned. 

Twenty-three-years ago today ...

I went in to the studio (Woodland West) to record this track, " … And They Were Given Seven Trumpets."

The rest of the album was recorded in two additional sessions, though I don't remember the exact dates. For more on this track, see the background comments at the link.