Monday, December 09, 2019

Quote of the Week

"[God's] essence is incomprehensible; hence, his divineness far escapes all human perception. But upon his individual works he has engraved unmistakable marks of his glory, so clear and so prominent... Wherever you cast your eyes, there is no spot in the universe wherein you cannot discern at least some sparks of his glory."

 - John Calvin, 16th-century Protestant Reformer
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Sunday, December 08, 2019

A New Volume of the Evangeliad is Now Available

I'm happy to announce that the latest installment of my ongoing poetry project, The Evangeliad, is now available for purchase. This volume represents the third year of my work to render the story and contents of the Gospels into poetic form. Click this link to go to the Amazon.com page for the book, or click here for more information about this project.
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Saturday, December 07, 2019

Saturday Synaxis

Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Your love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Your mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trials I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to You, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Your love. Amen.

- a prayer of the Puritan movement
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Friday, December 06, 2019

Hymn of the Week: It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (adapted & expanded)

One of the most common Christmas carols (at least in the American tradition) is E. H. Sears' old hymn, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear." Nevertheless, it's a hymn that I don't tend to make much use of in my church--while it doesn't necessarily say anything wrong, it's in the odd position of being a Christmas carol that makes no reference to Jesus at all. This may be, at least in part, because Sears was a Unitarian, and thus came from a tradition that questioned the doctrines of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ. To rectify this, I've added a few verses and adapted a couple others so that the song clearly states what we believe about Jesus and his central role in the Christmas story. (Other writers have done this before, at least in a small way--for instance, if your hymnal has a final verse which includes the line "when the new heav'n and earth shall own the Prince of Peace their King," you're looking at a later emendation of Sears' original text.) For my version, I've kept Sears' first verse unchanged, added verses 2-4 of my own, and amended Sears' work in verses 5 and 6. (The traditional lines will appear in regular font below; mine in italics). Naturally, six verses are a bit too much for easy congregational singing, but I'll leave it to worship leaders to choose which ones to use.

 It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

 It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold.
"Peace on the earth, goodwill to men, from heaven's all-gracious King."
The world in solemn stillness lay to hear the angels sing.

 And on that night in Bethlehem, the Prince of Peace was born,
The Maker of unnumbered stars awoke to Judah's morn.
The Infinite was rendered small, Almighty born a babe;
In great humility he came to bring peace and to save.

 The angels' song proclaimed his birth, Desire of Ages come!
Messiah-king of David's line, the long-sought Holy One,
Fulfillment of the prophets' call and of the royal crown,
With tidings of our God-with-us the angel-song comes down.

 "Let glory be to God on high!" they sang upon that night,
For God himself has come to earth to set all things at right.
As fully God and fully man, he bears the weight of sin,
And he forgives us by his grace, and welcomes sinners in.

 And we, beneath life's crushing load, whose forms are bending low,
Find rest within Christ's endless grace, and peace beneath his yoke.
Look toward the cross and empty grave, the vict'ry of our King!
Then rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing.

 And now the days are hastening on, by prophets seen of old,
When with the reign of Christ our Lord shall come the time foretold:
When peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.
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Thursday, December 05, 2019

Heroes of the Faith

(Links to all available episodes will appear at the bottom of this post)

These talks give the stories of some of the most influential "heroes of the faith" in the Christian tradition. I'll be posting them in roughly chronological order (beginning next week with the Maccabees, from the 16os BC), but some of these sermons were recorded earlier than others, and the quality may vary somewhat between them. Each week I'll post a set of notes and quotes that accompanies a downloadable podcast of that particular talk: please note that the audio content (that is, the sermon podcast) is really the best and most helpful part of the resource. While the accompanying notes will be valuable in some small way, you'll get the most information and enjoyment out of these posts by listening to the audio, either right on your computer or downloaded to an MP3 player or smartphone. Should you want a PDF handout-style copy of the notes, I can provide those if you contact me via social media or the email contact listed at calaisbaptist.org. 

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Tuesday, December 03, 2019

Photo of the Week

My soul, thy great Creator praise;
When cloth'd in His celestial rays
He in full majesty appears,
And, like a robe, His glory wears.

 How good Thy works! How great Thy skill!
And every land Thy riches fill:
Thy wisdom round the world we see,
This spacious earth is full of Thee.

 Thy works, the wonders of Thy might,
Are honor'd with Thine own delight:
How awesome are Thy glorious ways!
Thou art majestic in Thy praise!

 - adapted from Isaac Watt's hymnographic rendering of Psalm 104
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Monday, December 02, 2019

Quote of the Week

"Let every day, therefore, be a day of humility. Bear graciously with all the weakness and infirmities of your fellow creatures, cover their frailties, love their excellencies, encourage their prosperities, compassionate their distress, receive their friendship, overlook their unkindness, forgive their malice, be a servant of servants, and condescend to do the lowest offices to the lowest of mankind."

 - William Law, 18th-century British clergyman and writer
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