Deus Misereatur

  [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 brother, for bl

  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 pru

  As a dad of daughters and sons, I've always looked for resources to read with them and help bring about discussions. As they got older we went this way, and then that to try and achieve some aspect of "covering all our bases," as the saying goes. Even though my children have all moved on into adulthood, I still look for resources for other parents. So I was interested in "Call to Action: Become the Man God Designed You to Be." This wee 128-page manual looked to be something I would have used when the kids still lived at home. Alun Ebenezer, CEO and Executive Headmaster of Fulham Boys School in London, England, has given parents and youth ministers a little handbook they might just find useful. The working assumption in the book is, if "you get the men, you get the home, the church, and the culture" (viii), and that seems right to me. This small compendium includes 30 short chapters that cover a number of aspects fathers, mothers, and pastors would li

From my interactions with Protestant parishioners over the years, it seems to me that there is this high brick wall between the present and the past. Most are fairly in-tune with recent history (sort of), barely in-tune with Reformation history up to the near present, and utterly out-of-tune with anything before 31 October 1517. That's where the high brick wall looms, with no perceptible way to climb it and gaze on the other side. But recently Christian Focus has happily published a handy, 152-page paperback, "Reclaiming the Dark Ages: How the Gospel Light Shone from 500 to 1500." The authors, Iain Wright, pastor of Covenant OPC, and Yannick Imbert, who holds the William Edgar Chair of Apologetics at Faculté Jean Calvin, Aix–en–Provence, southern France, and serves on the theological committee of the National Council of French Evangelicals, have sought to give Protestant Christians a boost so they can gaze over the wall, and a nice boost it is. Wright and Imbert don't