The Sunday Collect – Easter VI

Sixth Sunday of Easter

O God, You have prepared for those who love You such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards You, that we, loving You in all things and above all things, may obtain Your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

The Cure: And Jesus Prayed… Part 4

I think the cure for Christian disunity is a focus on Christ and an avoidance of the extremes.

Could I be more simplistic? “Allow me to ’splain… No, no time. Allow me to sum up.”

Okay, as I see it, there are two extremes that damage Christ’s Bride, the Church: one is rampant error, and the other is theological snobbery.

The Sunday Collect – Easter V

All right… I’m late today.

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth and the life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

“There is one Faith…” – And Jesus prayed, part 3

“One Faith”, a song by John Michael Talbot, is one of my favorite anthems of Christian unity. I love calling Talbot my brother, even though he is Roman Catholic and I am, well, not (sorry – I hate the word “Protestant”. We Anglicans have an uneasy relationship with that label, too; “mere Christian” will do just fine, thanks).

Maybe Jesus’ prayer for one Church will again be answered in our lifetime.

Christianity Today has been doing some fine, intriguing articles of late about the evangelical tradition’s rediscovery of the ancient Faith, and I just got sent another neat one – spawned by the Pope’s visit to the White House – about how relations between the Roman and evangelical traditions are warming a bit…

To which I have to give a cautious, but enthusiastic, w00t!

The Sunday Collect – Easter IV

Hi again; a blessed Lord’s Day to you all.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

O God, whose Son Jesus is the Good Shepherd of Your people: Grant that when we hear His voice we may know Him who calls us each by name, and follow where He leads; who, with You and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

A Worthwhile Link…

I don’t normally do this, but when I saw this post, I decided I needed to pass it on to you all. Powerful reading in light of the recent anniversary (April 4) of Dr. King’s tragic assassination.

The Passion on Powerpoint

Hi. I know it’s Easter, but I wanted to share a few things I did with the high schoolers in Chapel on Good Friday. Take a little trip back to the cross with me.

As the kids came in, a silent (bilingual) presentation of Christ’s passion was playing on the screen. After that, and some singing, and then our campus pastor’s own brief testimony about what the cross means to him, I shared what the Scripture says about the cross. The above presentation is simple, and goes through the last words of Jesus on the cross. Feel free to click on it, open it, save it, edit it and use it now or next Good Friday.

The Sunday Collect

I’ve gotten away from praying and sharing the collects (prayers) of the Church. However, Easter is a time for starting anew. Great. Here goes:

Third Sunday of Easter

O God, whose blessed Son made Himself known to His disciples in the breaking of bread: Open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold Him in all His redeeming work; who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.