And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7) This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth,Continue reading “As in the Beginning, so the End”
Author Archives: Chaplainmike
Advent IV: Blessed Is She Who Believed
ADVENT IVC Micah 5:2-5a Luke 1:46b-55 Hebrews 10:5-10 Luke 1:39-45 Prayer of the Day Stir up your power, Lord Christ, and come. With your abundant grace and might, free us from the sin that binds us, that we may receive you in joy and serve you always, for you live and reign with the FatherContinue reading “Advent IV: Blessed Is She Who Believed”
Our Newest Grandchild
We have a new grandchild in the Mercer clan this Christmas. Her name is Roxy, and she belongs to my son. Funny thing is, she already has a pretty strong bite! My son brought the little one over for a photo session earlier today, and here are a few shots. You can see moreContinue reading “Our Newest Grandchild”
Saturday Ramblings 12.22.12
Well what do you know? The world didn’t end after all. As a matter of fact, here in Oklahoma we didn’t even get any rain. So we live to flip the Mayan calendar over to a new day. The doomsday predictors did leave quite a mess behind them. Just watch how many people rush toContinue reading “Saturday Ramblings 12.22.12”
Another Look: My Christmas Poet
First posted November 2010. For years now, a favorite book in my library has been an old worn copy of The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti, published in 1904. A brief note in fountain pen ink inside the cover says that it was given as a Christmas gift in 1908, and a sticker in the backContinue reading “Another Look: My Christmas Poet”
Christmas Quotes
Christmas itself is by grace. It could never have survived our own blindness and depredations otherwise. It could never have happened otherwise. Perhaps it is the very wildness and strangeness of the grace that has led us to try to tame it. We have tried to make it habitable. We have roofed it and furnished it. We haveContinue reading “Christmas Quotes”
The Gospel of the Empirical Perceptibility of Grace, or in other words, Keep it Physical, Stupid!
In my studies I am reading Ola Tjørhom, who represents what has been called “evangelical catholicism.” He is concerned that the Reformation project went seriously wrong, and one of its greatest failings was its lack of recognition that the ecclesiology of the Reformers remained essentially catholic even while they criticized Rome in terms of doctrines andContinue reading “The Gospel of the Empirical Perceptibility of Grace, or in other words, Keep it Physical, Stupid!”
Why Do We Love this Season?
Why do we love this season? I would suggest that aesthetics have much to do with the answer to that question. Advent and Christmas are made sensible to us by means of the things we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch at this time of year. Spiritual truth comes out of the closet of theContinue reading “Why Do We Love this Season?”
An Advent Sermon by Michael Spencer
Note from CM: Michael Spencer gave this sermon in the third week of Advent, 2006. In the light of yesterday’s post on the collapse of evangelicalism, I thought it timely. Michael explores the arrogance of many of us who wear the name “Christian,” and considers some of the criticisms we’ve received from one who shows a measureContinue reading “An Advent Sermon by Michael Spencer”
Was 2012 the Year of the CEC?
“The party is almost over for evangelicals; a party that’s been going strong since the beginning of the “Protestant” 20th century. We are soon going to be living in a very secular and religiously antagonistic 21st century in a culture that will be between 25-30% non-religious.” – Michael Spencer, CEC (2009) “In 2012 we witnessedContinue reading “Was 2012 the Year of the CEC?”
The Internet Monk Archives 