Calvin on Joy in the Christmas Message

If you have read John Calvin but have not read from his sermons, you have missed his best. I have been edified this past week in reading from Songs of the Nativity, a new translation of selected sermons from Luke 1&2 (only one of which has previously appeared in English). In commenting on the angel’s …

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J B Phillips on the Value of Communion

“We really show irreverence, we really dishonor Christ, when we refuse to believe that His Life, with its transforming and activating powers, can be resident in such people as ourselves.” (32) “It is obvious that the Christian life can be maintained without Holy Communion at all. Indeed, it is so maintained, for example, both by …

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J B Phillips on Awareness of Others in Communion

I have discussed at various other times the importance of the corporate element of our worship. This is also true in communion, as Phillips notes in these quotes: “Christians of every kind need to beware of pietistic individualism, and this no less true at the focal point of worship than at any other place in …

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J B Phillips on Lack of Appreciation of Communion

Following on from yesterday’s post, Phillips in these quotes diagnosed (50+ years ago) a problem which is common in evangelical churches. I cite these quotes as a part of the call to reconsider our practice of communion so that we might appreciate anew the value of this practice which Christ Himself commanded, and which He …

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Jonathan Park and the Secret of the Hidden Cave

Jonathan Park and the Secret of the Hidden Cave, Sandy & Pat Roy (Master Books, 1999), pb., 110 pp. This is a fun little story which is intended to teach some points about creationism and the biblical flood. It is not great writing. The plot is obvious and the stereotypes in the characters are so …

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