Acts 8:9-19 (EHV) 9Now there was a man by the name of Simon, who had been practicing magic arts in the city. He amazed the people of Samaria while claiming that he was someone great. 10They all paid attention to him, from the least of them to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power … Continue reading A Theology of Baptismal Confirmation
A Sermon on Admission to the Altar
Today, if I may (and I may), I would like to take the chance to preach to you, catechetically about admission to the altar for the sacrament of communion. That is; who can come, who shouldn’t come, why and why not? And important thing to meditate upon at least, every now and then, for as … Continue reading A Sermon on Admission to the Altar
Psalm 105:1-11: The Liturgy and Eucharistic Anamnesis; Or, Give Thanks, for Remembrance of Me.
Psalm 105:1-11 Some of you are probably by now thinking to yourselves; Pastor Connor never shuts up about the liturgy. He's obsessed and sees it everywhere. Are you thinking that? You're right. So I'm going to do it again here with Psalm 105. But not without cause. Really; Psalm 105 has a lot to teach … Continue reading Psalm 105:1-11: The Liturgy and Eucharistic Anamnesis; Or, Give Thanks, for Remembrance of Me.
The Great Mystery of God’s Divinity
As I was looking at our texts for this evening I was having to myself a bit of a chuckle to myself, pondering upon the age-old question that Atheists love to ask. If your God is supposedly omniscient, and all-powerful, and supposedly so great that He can do all things, then, let me ask you … Continue reading The Great Mystery of God’s Divinity
Pentecost Vigil Service – a suggested Liturgy
As Pentecost is coming up, pastors or "in the know" laity may be seeing the ghosts of a liturgy of time past haunting them in their lectionaries, liturgical resources, or planners as they prepare for this Holy Feast. As you may know, or may not know, just as with Christmas Eve and Easter Eve, so … Continue reading Pentecost Vigil Service – a suggested Liturgy
The Shape of the Seventh Sunday: on the theology of the lectionary’s movement from Ascension to Pentecost.
As y'all know, the lectionary (in the west) is neither a random selection of texts, nor is a comtinual progression through the scriptures. Rather, our lectionary(ies) is (are) thematic. The lectionary moves through the year, following the life and ministry of Christ. In the first half (the festive seasons), we hit the high points (the … Continue reading The Shape of the Seventh Sunday: on the theology of the lectionary’s movement from Ascension to Pentecost.
The Real Presence of the Ascended Christ
Blessed Ascension Day to you in the name of the Ascended Lord, Jesus the Christ, all praise and glory unto Him forever and ever world without end. Amen. It is on this Day of every year that Christ's church celebrates His Ascension into heaven, which, as you may know, is no small thing, but part … Continue reading The Real Presence of the Ascended Christ
The Holy Silence of Christ’s Burial
"And He was buried, and descended into Hell" - The Creed As I mentioned last week, lots of things in Holy Week end up more or less getting thrown out and thrown away. But perhaps nothing has been more ignored than Holy Saturday. And yet the irony is that perhaps of those days that get … Continue reading The Holy Silence of Christ’s Burial
The 7 Last Words
The pain of the cross is like none other. Quite literally, its the source of the word excruciating. For a pain to be excruciatingly painful, is for it to be a pain of the cross. And a lot of this pain comes from the method of crucifixion. Nails place in your feet, and in the … Continue reading The 7 Last Words
Holy Wednesday – A Love You Cannot Lose
Today we hear of the betrayal of our Lord at the hand of Judas, and by the kiss of Judas. And it’s easy to pull out of this text nothing but negative examples of what not to do (do not do _ X) and / or exhortations to be faithful to Christ (therefore do _ … Continue reading Holy Wednesday – A Love You Cannot Lose
