No New Blog Posts This Week

Since it's Holy Week, I'm taking a few days off from the blog. See you next week!

A Prayer from the Translators of the Geneva Bible

O Gracious God and most merciful Father,

Who has vouchsafed us

The rich and precious jewel of thy holy Word:

Assist us with thy Spirit,

That it may be written in our hearts

To our everlasting comfort:

To reform us,

To renew us according to thine own image,

To build us up into the perfect building of thy Christ,

And to increase us in all heavenly virtues.

Grant this, O heavenly Father,

For the same Jesus Christ’s sake.

Amen.

Sermon Podcasts

 

Why Did Jesus Have to Die? (Part 2)

(click here to listen or right-click to download)

Having Faith like the Lame Man's Friends (Luke 5)

(click here to listen or right-click to download)

The Evangeliad (29:4-6)

(Click here for an introduction and previous installments of the Evangeliad)

Section 29:4-6 (corresponding to Mark 10:26-28; Matt. 19:25-27; Luke 18:26-28)

The disciples were startled and asked themselves,

"What hope do we have of saving ourselves?

If the highest among us cannot be saved,

Who, then, can enter through heaven's gate?"

But Jesus, he looked intently at them:

"It cannot be done by merit of men;

In mankind's strength it is impossible,

But all things for God are possible."

And Peter replied, "What about us, Lord?

For us, your disciples, what lies in store?

For all we had is now lost to our view;

We left it behind to come follow you!"

Photo of the Week

When I follow Christ my Savior

Wheresoever he may guide,

He will safely lift me over

Every dark and stormy tide.

- from a hymn by Eliza Hewitt

Quote of the Week

"The greatest honor we can give Almighty God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love."

- Julian of Norwich

A Prayer from John Baillie

O Lord,

All treasures of wisdom and truth and holiness

Are stored up in your boundless being. 

Grant that through our constant fellowship with you, 

Those graces of Christian character may more and more take shape within me: 

The grace of a thankful and uncomplaining heart; 

The grace to await your timing patiently and to answer your call promptly; 

The grace of courage whether in suffering or in danger;

 
The grace to endure any hardship in the fight against evil; 

The grace of boldness to stand up for what is right; 

The grace of being adequately prepared for any temptation; 

The grace of physical discipline; 

The grace of truthfulness; 

The grace to treat others as I would like them to treat me; 

The grace of sensitivity, that I may refrain from hasty judgment; 

The grace of silence, that I may refrain from thoughtless speech; 

The grace of forgiveness toward all who have wronged me; 

The grace of tenderness toward all who are weaker than myself; 

The grace of faithfulness in continuing to desire that you will answer these prayers.

Amen.

Sermon Podcast

 Why Did Jesus Have to Die? (Part 1 of 3)

(click here to listen or right-click to download)

The Evangeliad (28:50-29:3)

(Click here for an introduction and previous installments of the Evangeliad)

Section 28:50-29:3 (corresponding to Mark 1022-25; Matt. 19:22-24; Luke 18:23-25)

But the young man, he frowned, hung his head, sad--

To give away all that he'd ever had?--

He was rich, and his riches all kept him bound,

Unable to seize the treasure he'd found.

So he turned from Jesus, hanging his head,

And as he faded from view, Jesus said,

"How hard it is, my friends, oh, how hard,

For the rich to enter the kingdom of God!

Truly I tell you, it's a simpler thing

For a camel to pass through the smallest ring--

Yes, through a needle's eye, if you'd believe--

Than the rich the kingdom of God to receive."

Photo of the Week

He makes springs pour water into the ravines;

It flows between the mountains. [...]

He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;

The land is satisfied by the fruit of his work.

- Psalm 104:10, 13

Quote of the Week

"Every high civilization decays by forgetting obvious things."

- G. K. Chesterton

A Prayer from Thomas Cranmer

We humbly beseech thee, O Father, mercifully to look upon our infirmities, and for the glory of thy name, turn from us all those evils that we most justly have deserved, and grant that in all our troubles we may put our whole trust and confidence in thy mercy, and evermore serve thee in holiness and pureness of living, to thy honor and glory, through our only mediator and advocate, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer

Coming Next Week: Sermon Podcasts

Now that my church history series is complete, I'll be transitioning my Thursday blog post over to podcasts of the previous Sunday's sermons. These have always been available by clicking a sidebar link and navigating to my church's website, but I thought it might be helpful to provide them more directly on my own site, especially since readers who access this blog via mobile phones don't see the sidebar in their on-screen format. 

As such, next week I'll begin posting links to my sermons, of which there will usually be two, from the previous Sunday's morning and evening services. Both services usually feature expository preaching from scripture, most often as part of a book-by-book study series. The Sunday morning sermons (posted here on Thursdays) will start off with a Lenten series on the atonement, and after Easter will switch back over to an ongoing series on 2 Corinthians. The evening sermons currently feature a study in the Gospel of Luke.

The Evangeliad (28:48-49)

(Click here for an introduction and previous installments of the Evangeliad)

Section 28:48-49 (corresponding to Mark 10:21; Matt. 19:21; Luke 18:22)

Jesus looked at him, beheld him in love,

Saw clearly the yearning he'd just spoken of.

"To be perfect and whole, one thing remains,

One thing to break you free of your chains:

You must leave all behind, give it all up--

Surrender the riches you've hoarded up;

Sell what you have, pay it all to the poor,

And heaven's treasure you'll have evermore.

Then come follow me; come, take up your cross;

Throw yourself into the kingdom with us!

The cross of sacrifice will set you free,

So lay it all down, and come follow me!"

Photo of the Week

A seedling of Jesse shall flower,

A ruler descend from his line,

Instinct with the spirit of power,

The spirit of wisdom divine.

Then children the tiger shall lead;

The wolves shall lie down with the flocks;

The goat with the leopard shall feed,

The lion eat straw with the ox.

The word that goes forth from His mouth

A light to the nations shall be,

To spread from the north to the south,

And flow like the tides to the sea.

- from a hymn by William Harcourt

Quote of the Week

"As he that fears God fears nothing else, so he that sees God sees everything else."

- John Donne