Deus Misereatur

  I love the biblical book Job . One year I spent all twelve months reading and rereading it. I have even preached a 5-part (gasp!) sermon series through the book. So I was intrigued when I saw the newly published, 248-page hardback "The Book of Job in Wonderland: Making (Non)Sense of Job's Mediators." Ryan M. Armstrong, Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Oklahoma State University (OSU), and initiator of a Hebrew Language program at OSU, explores the motif "of mediation in the book of Job" and argues "that it all comes down to honesty." I was hooked! Armstrong uses Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland  as his playful companion on how Job  works or unfolds. The introduction quickly shows the ways  Alice's Adventures can aid a reader in grasping the flux and flow of Job  without getting one distracted. Armstrong exhibits ways both books' "skepticism of pat answers provides a lesson about being honest....

  [My letter to the congregation, sent out today - 16 October 2024] Many years ago I stumbled on this ancient prayer (4 th Century) written by Ephraim of Syria, a Christian thinker. I have found it increasingly valuable, especially as it becomes progressively simple these days to fault others and spread fault-finding (the darker side of social media, 24/7 media, and the ease of the internet). But the prayer settles in where our blame-games should almost always start. Every time we point a finger, there are three more pointing back at us. And that’s how the prayer works, so to speak.   It has three section: (1) take away these faults; (2) give me those virtues; and (3) help me. It goes like this:   O Lord and Master of my life, Take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk; But give rather the spirit of chastity, humility, patience, and love to Your servant. Yea, O Lord and King, grant me to see my own transgressions and not to judge my b...

  If you've ever stumbled across anything written by Bishop J.C. Ryle, who served as a minister in the church of England from 1841 to 1880, and Bishop of Liverpool from 1880 until his death in 1900, you know he can be helpful, hard-hitting, straightforward, and sometimes a bit wordy. And yet much of what he wrote is worth the time to read. Thankfully a new 385-page hardback devotional has surfaced that will give readers bit-sized doses of Ryle's thought. Bryan Schrank, executive director of Rescue the Preborn , has compiled a year-long devotional from Ryle's sermons and works in "Our Great Redeemer: 365 Days with J. C. Ryle." Each day begins with a passage from sacred Scripture, normally a verse or so. Then the editor pulls out a portion of an exposition Ryle did on that verse. Then, at the bottom of the page there is the notation of the origin of the passage quoted. It's a very simple devotional. If only used by itself it may lack the necessary punch a soul n...

When I became a Christian I was part of a charismatic house church meeting on the Air Base where I was stationed in Turkey. A few months later I shifted over to the Campbellite Church of Christ. My early Christian years were spent in traditions that had unwritten codes of faith and conduct, and it was often like walking through a minefield. You never knew when you were about to cross the (doctrinal or ethical) line and set off an explosion. That's what makes the old teaching technique of catechizing so helpful to me. A catechism, as it was traditionally practiced, had a series of systematic questions that used short answers. This approach helped to pass on, in memorable ways, the Christian faith to future generations. You can see it in Roman Catholic history with the Baltimore Catechism , and in the Lutheran stream with Luther's Small Catechism . So, I have always enjoyed the Reformed version laid out in several catechisms, and especially the Westminster Shorter Catechism . The...

  O our God and Father, who is making the first last and the last first, and who has made little children the measure of your kingdom, we pray for your church here and worldwide, including Newchurch, Nicoma Park Christian, North MacArthur Church of Christ, and North Pointe Baptist Church. Please give us that wisdom from above which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (James 3:17). As we operate, deliberate, and at times, remonstrate, may it not be as enemies and adversaries, but as fellow human beings made in your image, made to have unending fellowship with you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit. May we grasp right from wrong and choose that which is right for ourselves, our families, and our people. May partiality and prejudice be put far from us, and integrity and equality gain the upper hand. Lord, as we pray for our local, State and National leaders, we affirm with the Sage in Proverbs that the wisdom of the...