Handel's "Messiah"

Go here to listen to Handel's Messiah on NPR.org. Everyone should listen to this around Christmastime.

Holiness - Part 3 (Merry Christmas Eve!)

I am still plugging away through Holiness, and the book is definitely becoming one of my all-time-favorites.  It's a book that you don't want to read through too quickly because you want to savor the journey and saturate your mind with as much of it as possible; I know there will be still more to be gained from this book once I finish, so at some point in time a second reading will definitely be in order.

Again, the main premise of the book is this: modern Christianity is very weak and tepid (at least in more Westernized cultures), and a great reason behind this lukewarming of Christendom is the lack of fervor in the fight for holiness.  

Two nights ago I finished the chapter dealing with assurance.  Ryle makes the claim that assurance of faith in the life of the Christian is very much to be desired, and cannot occur as it should if one is not fighting to leave behind every sin.

Now assurance goes far to set a child of God free from this painful kind of bondage (doubt and the resulting pains), and thus ministers mightily to his comfort.  It enables him to feel that the great business of life is a settled business, the great debt a paid debt, the great disease a healed disease, and the great work a finished work; and all other business, diseases, debts and works are then by comparison small.  In this way assurance makes him patient in tribulation, calm under bereavements, unmoved in sorrow, not afraid of evil tidings, in every condition content, for it gives him a fixedness of heart.  It sweetens his bitter cups; it lessens the burden of his crosses; it smooths the rough places over which he travels; it lightens the valley of the shadow of death.  It makes him always feel that he has something solid beneath his feet and something firm under his hands - a sure friend by the way, and a sure home at the end.

From chapter 7.

Advent - part 2.

My wife and I kept our Advent observances tonight - the theme was the birth of the Messiah.  This is a good year for Christmas - there's lots to think about and lots to do, but God is gracious in granting us a good deal of focus and perspective about the Christmas season.  I feel like our mindset is truly on Christ, and that's when the season becomes really great.  Nothing can give you an empty feeling like Christmas lights and Christmas trees when your sentiments are all misplaced.  

Tonight's Advent Scripture readings:

Isaiah 49:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-2:7

Advent.

Hi friends,

my wife and I began our second year of celebrating Advent tonight.  My wife did this with her family when she was younger, and we are carrying the tradition into our own family.  I love Christmas, but I often get frustrated (sometimes overly so) with the materialism and commercialism of the holiday.  Compare me to Charlie Brown all you want, but I will stand firm on my beliefs about Christmas; I will most-likely blog some thoughts about this in the near future.

When my wife and I have kids, I really do want them to grow up with a love for tradition, even though traditions can become a stumbling block when viewed incorrectly.  Warm, robust, rich-with-meaning, biblically grounded traditions should be a joy to celebrate and follow.  Forgive me for using Wikipedia, but here is a brief definition of Advent in case you were wondering about it.

Advent (from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming") is a season of the Christian church, the period of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus, in other words, the period immediately before Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western Christian year and commences on Advent Sunday. The Eastern churches begin the liturgical year on 1 September. The Eastern Christian equivalent of Advent is called the Nativity Fast but it differs both in length and observances.
The progression of the season may be marked with an Advent calendar, a practice introduced by German Lutherans. At least in the Roman Catholic calendar, Advent starts on the fourth Sunday before December 25; in other words, the Sunday between November 27 and December 3 inclusive.
Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used in reference to the Second Coming. Christians believe that the season of Advent serves a dual reminder of the original waiting that was done by theHebrews for the birth of their Messiah as well as the waiting that Christians today endure as they await the second coming of Christ.

First Sunday of Advent - Scripture readings:

Isaiah 1:1-20; Isaiah 9: 1-7

The New Atheism

I've been watching some of the debates from the past year-or-so between the prominent figures of the New Atheism, and various people who are trying to defend theism; I have to say that I am equally encouraged and discouraged.  It causes me a great deal of pain to see a certain Fox News political commentator (Bill O'Reilly),  trying to debate the verity of religion and the Christian faith with a man like Christopher Hitchens, without even truly believing it himself.  Sean Hannity did fine I suppose; although he really addressed the same questions about atheism that a great deal of other Christians probably would, while missing the real issues at the core of Hitchens' beliefs.  Douglas Wilson from New Saint Andrews University does a great job contending for the Christian faith, and I am very encouraged that Hitchens and Wilson and touring together in light of their book Is Christianity Good for the World.  

I enjoy the debates with Hitchens, mainly because he is both eloquent, and openly hostile to Christianity, and any other religious belief system (but Christianity especially - he states that the Protestant Christian faith is the least possible of all of the faith systems).  He makes me think, which is very good for me, or for anyone I suppose.  Biblical answers to the statements of the New Atheism are there, though, for anyone who would truly work to know the Scriptures.  I have said it before and I will say it again and again, that the problem with too many individuals today is this: everyone wants to have an opinion, but no one has studied; no one has done their research.

Again, I am discouraged on a certain level; however, I amend what I said above.  I am not equally discouraged and encouraged, because God is sovereign and good; He is gracious and merciful; He does not change; he is faithful to accomplish His good purposes, and will be glorified.  God would be glorified if everyone came to Christ, and He would be equally glorified if every person embraced a position of atheism.  God defines all things, and He simply 'is" in all the fullness of His character.  Amen.

Go here to watch the Douglas Wilson/Christopher Hitchens debate at Westminster Theological Seminary.

J.C. Ryle

Well, I am finally embarking on a first-time read of Holiness, by J.C. Ryle.  I'm excited - I have heard from a few friends over the years about what a great influence this book has been on them, and I have meant to read it for a while.  

To begin with, Ryle's whole premise is that modern "Christendom" has gone and lost a great deal of what it means for a person who has been born-again to fight for holiness and for his/her sanctification. 

Ryle also states that he has purposefully left out names of contemporary preachers, and contemporary works of literature that have influenced his skeptical opinions of much of modern Christianity.  By doing this, his voice seems all the more contemporary as he speaks to common problems going on within the Church.  I am surprised how current the work seems, considering the second edition was published in 1879.  

I am going to go read - I'll be posting some thoughts here and there as I go.

Adios.