Deus Misereatur

The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church Todd D. Hunter InterVarsity Press P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426 http://www.ivpress.com/ Copyright: 2010 ISBN: 978-0-8308-3839-4; $15.00 3 1/2 stars Wayfaring through the Ecclesiastical wilderness is becoming a hot past-time for many wanderers in North America. Todd Hunter’s small, 138 page paperback, “The Accidental Anglican: The Surprising Appeal of the Liturgical Church” is another story of such a journey. This book is written to tell his tale in a way that may resonate with others who are floundering in a dry and weary land where there is no water. “The Accidental Anglican” breaks down into two sections. The first portion recounts the author’s pilgrimage through the Jesus People of the early 1970s, then Calvary Chapel, later the presidency of Vineyard Churches USA, afterward into a non-churchly church plant, and most recently into the episcopacy of The Anglican Missions in the Americas (...

As I prepared for this Sunday evening’s Vespers, I was pondering the Heidelberg Catechism section covered under Lord’s Day 14. Question and Answer 35 address the full divinity of Jesus, while affirming His full humanity: “What is the meaning of these words " He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary "? That God's eternal Son, who is, and continues true and eternal God, took upon him the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, by the operation of the Holy Ghost; that he might also be the true seed of David, like unto his brethren in all things, sin excepted.” As important as that answer is, it’s the 36th Question and Answer which caught my attention. “What profit dost thou receive by Christ's holy conception and nativity? That he is our Mediator; and with His innocence and perfect holiness, covers in the sight of God, my sins, wherein I was conceived and brought forth.” The significance of this answer is how the writers o...

Below is the announcement for the 40 Days of Life in Midland Texas. I'll be part of this again & would encourage you to come join us. Mike Philliber _____________________ What is it? As some of you know, “40 Days for Life” is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to entreat God’s power through prayer, fasting and peaceful vigils outside abortion clinics all across America for (roughly) the 40 days prior to Easter. The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance and seeking God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in America. This is a national effort and we here in Midland have registered with the national group and therefore have our own web address: www.40daysforlife.com/midland How did it start? The origin of “40 Days” began in 2007 in College Sta...

I heard part of this piece from A.W. Tozer quoted on Mars Hill Audio Journal #104 & was pleasantly surprised. I hunted it down & here it is. "The accent in the Church today," says Leonard Ravenhill, the English evangelist, "is not on devotion, but on commotion." Religious extroversion has been carried to such an extreme in evangelical circles that hardly anyone has the desire, to say nothing of the courage, to question the soundness of it. Externalism has taken over. God now speaks by the wind and the earthquake only; the still small voice can be heard no more. The whole religious machine has become a noisemaker. The adolescent taste which loves the loud horn and the thundering exhaust has gotten into the activities of modern Christians. The old question, "What is the chief end of man?" is now answered, "To dash about the world and add to the din thereof." And all this is done in the name of Him who did not strive nor cry nor make His ...

[ This was my introduction for the new series we're doing at Providence Presbyterian Church (PCA), Midland Texas ] What in the world would possess me to do such a foolhardy thing??? My mother-in-law recently related that her pastor was taking off on a series through Genesis & my heart sank. What labor, what endurance, what hardship to not only prepare the series, but the burden it will bring on the people. Well, here I stand before you announcing that we’re going to launch off in a series on 1 & 2 Kings. What in the world would possess me to do such a foolhardy thing??? Well, today I hope to show you, & to even stir up a bit of excitement. 1st-The Place of 1 & 2 Kings : In Luke 24.44 (“the Law of Moses & the Prophets & the Psalms”) Jesus mentions three sections of the Hebrew Scriptures. These are the scrolls-collections in which the writings were bundled. The “Law of Moses” was the scroll with Genesis through Deuteronomy. The 3rd scroll was called “The Ps...

(The following article is located at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/communitylife/visiondirection/unspoiledview.html Monday, December 27, 2010) In September 1540, Spanish conquistador Garcia López de Cárdenas and a handful of comrades happened upon something no other European had ever seen before: the Grand Canyon. It's difficult to imagine what they must have felt. López didn't keep a journal. We only know that he hurried back from the edge of that chasm as soon as he saw it, gripped with "awe that was almost painful to behold." Novelist Walker Percy believed that López was not only the first European to see the Canyon. He was nearly the last to see it as it truly is, the last to see it for himself. This is because the explorer—tired and thirsty after a 20-day march across the Colorado Plateau—stumbled upon the gorge with no expectations. He was just trudging along, and there it was. As for the rest of us, our experience of the Grand Canyon is largely d...

Here's the link to the op-ed: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/opinion/31brooks.html?_r=1 I do believe he has hit the target in the 10! Mike