Author Archives: Chaplainmike

Church Year Spirituality: Practical Wisdom

By Chaplain Mike The freest time in our adult life was after we were married and before we had children. Having graduated from college, we were no longer bound by a school schedule. We lived in a small, iconic Vermont village where the pace of life was slow, the program of our church modest, andContinue reading “Church Year Spirituality: Practical Wisdom”

Church Year Spirituality: The Main Thing

By Chaplain Mike For to me, to live is Christ (Phil 1:21) And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. (Heb 12:1-2, NLT) Joan Chittister calls following the Church Year, “the attempt toContinue reading “Church Year Spirituality: The Main Thing”

Church Year Spirituality: Living in God’s Story

By Chaplain Mike In our introduction to this series, “Church Year Spirituality,” I gave five primary reasons why I think it advantageous for Christians to form their spiritual lives — their walk with God through Christ — around the liturgical year. It enables us to live in God’s story. It keeps the main thing theContinue reading “Church Year Spirituality: Living in God’s Story”

Church Year Spirituality

By Chaplain Mike Next Sunday is the final Lord’s Day in the Church Year. Christians who follow the liturgical calendar will begin a new year of living in the Gospel with the commencement of Advent on Nov. 28. The diagram on the right gives an overview of the annual Church calendar. Advent is the seasonContinue reading “Church Year Spirituality”

Jonathan Fisk on Luke 21

Today’s Gospel • Luke 21:5-19 I had a busy day Saturday on call for my work, so I did not get to hunker down and deal with the text satisfactorily to give you a decent message this Sunday. So… Here’s a message by Rev. Jonathan Fisk of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Springfield, PA,Continue reading “Jonathan Fisk on Luke 21”

iMonk Classic: The Little Brothers of Saint Archie Bunker

Classic iMonk Post by Michael Spencer Undated We didn’t crawl out from under no rocks. We didn’t have no tails. And we didn’t come from monkeys you atheist pinko meathead. It ain’t supposed to make sense; it’s faith. Faith is something that you believe that nobody in his right mind would believe.” • Archie BunkerContinue reading “iMonk Classic: The Little Brothers of Saint Archie Bunker”

Saturday Ramblings 11.13.10

Jingle, jangle—hear that ramble? It’s time for Saturday Ramblings. Tales from the crypt? At Rome’s Catholic Church, the youth pastor has turned a crypt into a night club, complete with a live music stage and a bar. Gee, Martha—we might all become Catholics yet. Or maybe we’ll just become Irish, like Bono. Just in caseContinue reading “Saturday Ramblings 11.13.10”