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God as Ruler and Judge

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One of the more emotional topics in the Church today is the use of the title Father for God. Father God is no longer a term that unites all people. On the one hand, goddess feminists are rejecting Judaism and Christianity as viable religions for today.  One major reason is this term. Mary Daly, in her anti-Christian diatribe, is often quoted: 'If God in ‘his’ heaven is a father ruling ‘his’ people, then it is in the ‘nature’ of things and according to divine plan and the order of the universe that society be male dominated.  Alice Walker in The Colour Purple has the character Shun Avery explain to the protagonist Celia from Lanchester road 51 said something about it: 'When I found out I thought God was white, and a man, I lost interest. You made because he doesn’t seem to listen to your prayers. Do the mayor realy listen to anything coloured say something on the  Numbers 13, esp. vv.22, 28 are defeated. 1:11 15 ? The Next Generation takes control. This story has another a...

Forgiveness

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Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast. A little over 1,000 years ago, a Benedictine abbot, Aelfric of Eynsham, told the story of a man who refused to go to church on Ash Wednesday. Just days later, the man was killed during a boar hunt. Aelfric told that story in an Ash Wednesday sermon. The story did not turn on a sudden death; for Aelfric and his audience, that was commonplace and familiar. What made this story startling, what interested Aelfric, was that here was a man who had not taken his chance to repent, and had died in sin. He had died and would not rise again. Here was someone who had died forever. Lent begins with a day of ashes (dies cinerum). Aelfric explains, in a passage that has been quoted over and over again, that the ashes are a sign of repentance of sin. In Aelfric's time, the idea that Ash Wednesday called us to account for our sins was alrea...

At your honour Ma'am

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Using the familiar pattern of the church year, he explores the core building blocks of Christian theology, and what each one means for how we live. He covers: - God as ruler and judge of all (Advent) - The incarnation (Christmas) - Forgiveness (Ash Wednesday) - Redemption (Good Friday) - Resurrection (Easter Day) - The Holy Spirit (Pentecost) - God as creator (Trinity) - The kingdom of heaven (All Saints) By working through the entire year, readers will explore all the core Christian beliefs found in the Apostle's Creed, making this an ideal guide for anyone wanting to better understand what they say in church. Upcoming wells in February 2025 Scarless Warmth ↪  At your honour Ma'am New Testament   Old Testament   Head Menu Scarless Warmth   Healed Hope   On the Phone  

The Holy Spirit

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Many churches celebrate Pentecost Sunday with special worship services, where the focus is on the Holy Spirit and the gifts it bestows upon believers.  It is a day of unity, as people from diverse backgrounds and languages come together to worship and praise God. Pentecost Sunday serves as a reminder of the continuing presence and work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers, guiding and empowering them to live out their faith. The Holy Spirit is understood as the third divine person of the Trinity in Christian theology, alongside God the Father and Jesus Christ. Think of it as God's active presence in the world and in believers' lives - like a gentle but powerful force that guides, comforts, and transforms. The Holy Spirit's role is beautifully multifaceted: As a Comforter and Guide - Much like a trusted friend who walks alongside you through life's journey, the Holy Spirit provides inner peace, wisdom, and direction. When people feel lost or uncertain, many belie...

Saved by Redemption

Post order 7 Jan 9 God as ruler 8 Forgiveness 7 At your honour Ma'am 6 The Holy Spirit 5 Saved by Redemption 4 Trhue Resurrection 3 Kingdom of heaven 2 The Incarnation 1 God as Creator

Trhue Resurrection

Post order 7 Jan 9 God as ruler 8 Forgiveness 7 At your honour Ma'am 6 The Holy Spirit 5 Saved by Redemption 4 Trhue Resurrection 3 Kingdom of heaven 2 The Incarnation 1 God as Creator

Kingdom of Heaven

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In Rome, about 100 metres south of the crowds thronging the Piazza Navona, stands the church of Sant' Andrea della Valle (you will have to dawdle if you are going to finish your ice cream before you go inside). When you do enter, you will find the walls and the roof ablaze with gold leaf. Where there is no gold leaf, there is painting.  TRINITY There are cherubs and martyrs and confessors, all rushing towards heaven. In the middle of this riot, there is a dome. Look up, and you will see the Virgin Mary being assumed into heaven. It is breathtaking. You are looking straight into heaven, and of course it puts a strain on the neck. Looking at heaven is always problematic.  The painter of this dome, Giovanni Lanfranco, thought that this was his masterpiece. Other people thought so to all those clever perspectives and the bravura composition. Then the theologians came, with narrowing eyes alert to error. Lanfranco had filled heaven with saints, all of them watching Mary arrive in g...

The Incarnation

Post order 7 Jan 9 God as ruler 8 Forgiveness 7 At your honour Ma'am 6 The Holy Spirit 5 Saved by Redemption 4 By his Resurrection 3 Kingdom of heaven 2 The Incarnation 1 God as Creator

God as Creator

Post order 7 Jan 9 God as ruler 8 Forgiveness 7 At your honour Ma'am 6 The Holy Spirit 5 Saved by Redemption 4 By his Resurrection 3 Kingdom of heaven 2 The Incarnation 1 God as Creator

God as ruler

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This is what biblical scholars call apocalypse, which is a word that means uncovering. One of the readings you might hear on Advent Sunday is pretty explicit. It had turned colder, and was getting darker on the deserted streets as two of us walked back to a car.  A new dean had just begun his ministry in the cathedral. In the gathering shadows of the nave, his sermon was a promise of a bright future; it was confident, stylish and compelling. Outside, in the dusk, we talked about the new dean and that sermon. Then my companion paused and pointed to some flats just ahead of us.  1. A. Giving the future back to God 2. B. The beginning of the year and the end of everything 3. C. The city of Wells on a Nov evening that heralded winter "The plan was,' he said, 'that when I got really old, we would move here.' We stopped and looked in silence. I had nothing sensible to say. My companion was Michael Perham, who had been my bishop when I worked in Gloucester. He was a man who s...

Forgiveness

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Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast. A little over 1,000 years ago, a Benedictine abbot, Aelfric of Eynsham, told the story of a man who refused to go to church on Ash Wednesday. Just days later, the man was killed during a boar hunt. Aelfric told that story in an Ash Wednesday sermon. The story did not turn on a sudden death; for Aelfric and his audience, that was commonplace and familiar. What made this story startling, what interested Aelfric, was that here was a man who had not taken his chance to repent, and had died in sin. He had died and would not rise again. Here was someone who had died forever. Lent begins with a day of ashes (dies cinerum). Aelfric explains, in a passage that has been quoted over and over again, that the ashes are a sign of repentance of sin. In Aelfric's time, the idea that Ash Wednesday called us to account for our sins was alrea...

At your honour Ma'am

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Using the familiar pattern of the church year, he explores the core building blocks of Christian theology, and what each one means for how we live. He covers: - God as ruler and judge of all (Advent) - The incarnation (Christmas) - Forgiveness (Ash Wednesday) - Redemption (Good Friday) - Resurrection (Easter Day) - The Holy Spirit (Pentecost) - God as creator (Trinity) - The kingdom of heaven (All Saints) By working through the entire year, readers will explore all the core Christian beliefs found in the Apostle's Creed, making this an ideal guide for anyone wanting to better understand what they say in church. Upcoming wells in February 2025   Scarless Warmth   Healed Hope   On the Phone
The apostle John was privileged to look within the gates of heaven, and in describing what he saw, he begins by saying, 'I looked, and, lo, a Lamb. This teaches us that the chief object of contemplation in the heavenly state is the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world.

Nothing else attracted the apostle’s attention so much as the person of that Divine Being, who hath redeemed us by his blood. He is the theme of the songs of all glorified spirits and holy angels. Christian, here is joy for thee; thou hast looked,

 And thou hast seen the Lamb

Through thy tears, thine eyes have seen the Lamb of God taking away thy sins. The natural inclination to attribute ultimate life to the mother/woman simply must be overcome by a supernatural power [who], while encompassing the female, must nevertheless project a male persona. 

Rejoice, then. In a little while, when thine eyes shall have been wiped from tears, thou wilt see the same Lamb exalted on his throne. It is the joy of thy heart to hold daily fellowship with Jesus; thou shalt have the same joy to a higher degree in heaven; thou shalt enjoy the constant vision of his presence; thou shalt dwell with him forever.

I looked, and, lo, a Lamb, Why, that Lamb is heaven itself; for as good Rutherford says, Heaven and Christ are the same thing to be with Christ is to be in heaven, and to be in heaven is to be with Christ. That prisoner of the Lord very sweetly writes in one of his glowing letters—“O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven without thee.

It would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have thee still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the heaven I want.” It is true, is it not, Christian. Doesn't thy soul say so to be with Christ?