Cast Away the Works of Darkness

Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty, to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Ghost, now and ever. Amen.

This is the opening prayer for the first week of Advent. Traditionally, in most Anglican churches it is said in every service during the season of Advent, and as a result it has become one of my favorite regular prayers within the Book of Common Prayer. This prayer establishes the reason that Christians remember Advent, and also it reminds us of just what it is we are seeking during this time of waiting.

Why Advent?

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and I think more than any other year I remember, I welcome this season of the church. It is first week of a new year in the Christian calendar. I know not all my friends keep advent, so I suppose I should explain why it’s so important and why, if you do not already, should remember this time of the year as special in the life of the church.

Unless Worship Is for Us, We Cannot Worship with Our Whole Heart—part 2

Our worship is almost always not biblical. By that I mean if you look at the psalms, a model of worship songs, the songs we pick often don’t line up. The reason for this is that the psalms are not an abstract regurgitation of God’s character and blessings. They are not only outwards towards God […]

Worship is about us-Part 1

For those who grew up singing Hillsong and Tomlin, we can be often reminded that worship is not about us. For example, in his song, “Jesus, Lover of My Soul” Paul Oakley writes that “all this [worship] is for you, for your glory and your name. It’s not about me.” Similarly Tomlin writes “It’s not […]

The beauty of catholicity

As a protestant, the word “catholic” is not the first word I’d use to describe myself. Indeed, for many of us who do consider ourselves to be fairly conservative protestants, holders of the gospel of salvation by grace through faith alone (with some measure of asterisks around the word “alone”), the very word “catholic” might […]

Devotions are not enough.

For me, as an Evangelical, I have always been told to “do your devotions,” to “set aside time every night/morning to read and meditate on the word of God.” But the more I have come to love the Word, the more I believe that devotions are at best a stopgap, and at worst unbiblical. Devotions, […]

What does it mean to be Christian?

Lately I’ve been thinking more about this question, and I think I’ve come up with an [unsatisfactory] answer that shows what I think it means to be Christian. To be Christian means that I have been bought with a price and that price is the blood of Jesus Christ which has been shed for me […]

Defined Faith

dominus pascit me — the Lord is my Shepherd

Church