A Two-Week Break from Blogging

I'm taking a couple weeks off from the blog for a family vacation and to spend a little time working on my book manuscript and a research article. Normal posts will resume on Monday, July 8.

A Prayer from a Traditional Collect

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sermon

 

Put Your Hope in the Lord (Psalm 130)

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

The Evangeliad (29:32-34)

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

Section 29:32-34 (corresponding to Matt. 20:6-8)

And then when the day was nearly complete,

He went yet again to the marketside streets

And there he found, upon looking once more,

Still more men standing in alleys and doors.

'Why are you standing here idle?' he asked.

'Because we weren't hired to do any task.'

'Then come,' said the man, 'I'll put you to work,

And you'll get what's right for thus having served.'

When evening came and the labor was done,

The man had his steward call everyone

To come and line up for receiving their pay,

Starting with those who came late in the day.

Photo of the Week

He careth for the lilies,

He gives each brilliant hue;

O children, weak and faithless,

Shall He not care for you?

- from a hymn by Fannie E. Davison

Quote of the Week

Don't let yourself forget that God's grace rewards not only those who never slip, but also those who bend and fall. So sing! The song of rejoicing softens hard hearts. It makes tears of godly sorrow flow from them. Singing summons the Holy Spirit. Happy praises offered in simplicity and love lead the faithful to complete harmony, without discord. Don't stop singing.

- Hildegard of Bingen

A Prayer from Catherine of Siena

Wash away our sins, O Lord, and purify our souls in the blood which Thy only-begotten Son shed for us, so that with joyful countenances and pure hearts we may return love for love, and, dying to ourselves, live for Him alone. Amen.

Sermon: A Living Sacrifice

 A Living Sacrifice (Rom. 12:1)

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

The Evangeliad (29:27-31)

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

Section 29:27-31 (corresponding to Matt. 20:1-5)

And Jesus continued to teach in those days,

"The kingdom of heaven is like an estate

Where the vineyard owner sought help with his crop,

And went out to round some laborers up.

He hired some workers and gave them the rate

Of a day for a denarius' wage.

With three hours past, he went out once more

And saw more men by the market-gate doors.

'Go to my vineyard and work there today,

And then whatever is right I will pay.'

At midday, and afternoon once again,

He went back out and enlisted more men.

Photo of the Week

 
There's a balm for every sorrow, there's a rose for every thorn,

There's a note of joy the wounded heart can sing;

There's a stream that brings refreshing to the spirit faint and worn

In the love of our Redeemer and our King.

- from a hymn by Eliza Edmunds Hewitt

Quote of the Week

“The point of course is to be a great saint, to love greatly, rightly, and with passion, until we burn ourselves up in service to God and to others. Our wholeness, our integrity, depends on the health of our friendship with God. It was he who fashioned us from the dust. It was he who breathed his life into our bodies. So when we ignore God’s Word, we violate our own identity.”

- Archbishop Charles Chaput

Update: New Book in the Works!

I'm happy to announce that I've just signed a contract for another book! Like my previous one, this will be a work of historical missiology. It focuses on the story of how the earliest English hymns, through the skill of their writers and the grace of God's providence, succeeded in transforming the entire missional culture of English-speaking churches in less than a century and prepared the way for a global mission movement. We're still a long way from any release date, but I will post that information here when we come to it. Thanks to William Carey Publishing for their continued partnership! (With all this going on, there will be no regular blog posts this week, but I'll try to get back on track next week.)