I think the old missionary hymns leave many of us feeling a little uneasy. Those references to carrying the gospel to every dark land – was there a deliberate inference that lands where white people dwell are more enlightened and the lands where darker skinned people dwell are in spiritual darkness? I fear that idea … Continue reading Missionary hymns
gospel
Sin
“Almighty and most merciful Father, We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And … Continue reading Sin
Have we misdiagnosed the problem?
It is at least 50 years since C.S. Lewis wrote: “The greatest barrier I have met is the almost total absence from the minds of my audience of any sense of sin . . . We have to convince our hearers of the unwelcome diagnosis before we can expect then to welcome the news of … Continue reading Have we misdiagnosed the problem?
A holy appetite
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled Here is something more than mere vacuity, or penitence, or tranquil readiness. It is an ardent longing — a holy appetite for all that is right and good. Filled — The Gospel can fill the largest desire for the true … Continue reading A holy appetite
No room for boasting
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “For we brought nothing into this world” (1 Timothy 6:7). The Apostle was talking about material things, but I don't think it does his words any violence to say that no one of us came into this world with any pre-qualifications for … Continue reading No room for boasting
What makes a church attractive?
Church attendance across Canada has been declining for years. Yes, there are new churches being built, some quite large. Many more are being torn down, or re-purposed. I suspect the majority of the people in our country have never set foot in a church. Nowadays, most weddings and funerals do not take place in a … Continue reading What makes a church attractive?
Gerhard Roosen and the Amish division
The year was 1697. Mennonites fleeing persecution in Switzerland had been living in Alsace for some time. There was danger without because Louis XIV had sent his troops to annex Alsace to France. There was trouble within because Jacob Amman, one of the Mennonite ministers, accused the church of apostasy and worldliness. He demanded a … Continue reading Gerhard Roosen and the Amish division
Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets
The words of the title are taken from the eleventh chapter of Numbers. Moses had complained that he was not able to bear the load of leading and caring for all the people who were with him in the wilderness. God instructed him to bring seventy elders of the people to the tabernacle and there … Continue reading Would God that all the LORD’s people were prophets
Cultural amnesia
One hundred years ago, when the Social Gospel was well on the way to infiltrating and taking control of many of the major Christian denominations of North America, my father was already 24 years old. It has lately dawned on me that because I was born when he was 50 I have a window on … Continue reading Cultural amnesia
Activating the gospel leaven
[I am posting this again for the benefit of the email subscribers who received only half of the original post because I accidentally hit a button before I was finished.] Matthew 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures … Continue reading Activating the gospel leaven
Flatlander Faith 