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Category Archives: Scripture
In the Darkness, Waiting (Advent Week One)
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, which marks the beginning of a new year in the church calendar. (Last Sunday was Christ the King Sunday, a recent addition to the church calendar that mostly only liturgical churches celebrate.) As … Continue reading
“Beyond Sentiment”
Here’s a great excerpt from this week’s Desert Fathers episode by Erik Varden about Christian joy lived out over time: So my fidelity must be rooted at greater depth, beyond sentiment. St Benedict stresses this when, in the midst of … Continue reading
Posted in Church, Faith, Life in the Fifth Act, Scripture, The Long Story
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Together
I was genuinely, and pleasantly, surprised by how much of Curt Thomspon’s The Soul of Desire is concerned with his idea of confessional communities. I knew a bit about the idea from skimming through his podcast titles, but wasn’t quite … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Church, Faith, Friendship, Life in the Fifth Act, Scripture
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Summer Reading: Fountain of Salvation
One of the books that I finished reading during my summer retreat was Fountain of Salvation by Fred Sanders. Unlike The Deep Things of God, Sanders’s other recent book on the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, Fountain of Salvation is … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Church, Faith, Life in the Fifth Act, Scripture
Tagged Fred Sanders, Trinity
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Sunday’s Best: Asking, Seeking, Knocking
This morning’s Gospel reading includes one of those “tricky”passages from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount about prayer. From biblegateway.com: 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. … Continue reading
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The Good Shepherd (and a quick word on 49)
This past Sunday, many churches celebrated Mother’s Day. Other churches also commemorated “Good Shepherd Sunday,” which is celebrated every fourth Sunday of Easter. The key text for the day is John 10, where Jesus says: 11 “I am the good shepherd. … Continue reading
Posted in Church, Faith, Holidays, Scripture, The Long Story
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“Where There’s a Will . . .”
We’re just over three months into the “Desert Fathers in a Year” series. So far, my favorite saying comes from the section on hesychia, which relates to the idea of deep peace. The saying comes from Abba Arsenius: Abba Mark … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Church, Faith, Friendship, Scripture, Teaching
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The End of Break (and a turn in the road)
And just like that, spring break has come to an end. For all intents and purposes, the turn of the calendar from Saturday to Sunday brings with it a change in disposition, of direction, when conversations and thoughts turn in … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, Holidays, Movies, Music, Scripture
Tagged Andy Gullahorn, Erik Varden
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The Way of Water
This recent post by Seth Godin is too short to share a snippet here, so you should take a minute to read the whole thing. Discernment is an important thing, perhaps more important with each day that passes. In yesterday’s … Continue reading
Advent Ending
While it didn’t quite happen, I did have high hopes for a solid Advent season. I had planned on slowly reading through some of Augustine’s “Advent homilies” as recently collected by the Davenant Institute. Unfortunately, not even pre-ordering the books … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Church, Faith, Life in the Fifth Act, Notes for a World's End, Scripture, The Long Story
Tagged Advent
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Space Enough, and Time 