All Things Seen & Unseen

In this season of Advent as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, it i s often forg otten that the season is a sharp reminder that Jesus will come one day 'to judge the quick [l iving] and the dead' (old form of Apostles' Cre ed) . The Creed draws th ese words and idea from a t least f our different scriptures of general judgement ( Acts 10.42; Rom 14.9,12; 2Tim 4.1) plus two scriptures on the specific judgement of Christians (2Cor 5.10; Jas 5.9).   We recoil at that thought that we Christians will be judge d but scripture makes this clear beyond dispute.

One of the popular, modern beliefs about Christian worship is that it primarily occurs when the congregation is led in singing by a band of musicians and singers. That view is unfortunate and takes us back to the days when the laity came to church not to sing but to listen to the beautiful cathedral choirs do the singing.  For sometimes, the use of 'worship teams' with bands' and sing ers' efforts amplified can inhibit congregational partic ipation . The 'worship te am' can become a unit set apart by its skills and volume from the congregation leading to congregants becoming passive in their invo lvement in the service.

'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' (Phil. 4.13).   All sorts of nonsense unfortunately have been inferred from these words of the apostle Paul in Philippians. One bit of silliness is the preaching that every saint of God 'can do all things they wish to do' in Christ.  I suspect that th is teaching comes from the 'health and wealth' theological quarter but wherever it comes from, that type of m otivational preaching that seeks to use this verse to encourage God's people to 'reach for the star s ' and 'fly like eag les', etc. is unsound.

The sending out of God's people into the world to work and witness for him is the last movement of the drama involving the people of God hearing the Word and receiving the s acrament which are at the heart Anglican Sunday worship. Fi ve short subsections comprise this main movement which are numbered §21 to §25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . §21    Priest: Gracious God, thank you for fee d ing us, with the spiritual food of the body and blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Thank you for assuring us of your goodness and love, and that we are living members of Christ's body. [ How do we k now that we are 'living members of Christ's body' (Rom 12.5; 1Cor 6.15; 1Cor 12.12; Eph 5.30 & etc.) ? An important question because some Anglicans at least seem to waver on whether they are destined for God's presence or not. Yet, the apostle John in his 1st letter said that he had written in order that his he arers might know that they had eternal life (1Jn 5.13 ). The whole...

I don't know how many countries celebrate this odd evening but it hasn't traditionally been part of Australian life and therefore, most Australians I think, still find it foreign and macabre.  Our American and Canadian friends seem to be wholly into it with all its paraphernalia, even Christians. The church I grew up in frowned upon it and thought it all of the devil! Last year we had some high school pupils come to our door unexpectedly 'trick and treating' but I just ignored them. They turned our outside light fixtures upside down as a punishment for not responding to them and then left us alone. This year I didn't know what to expect but I had my wife bring inside anything outside the front door that could be interfered with. She thought I was unduly anxious about a non-event but I asked her nicely anyway. Being a dutiful wife she complied.

Reigning With Christ by F J Huegel (1963) is a book of only 88 pages yet it is filled with crucial truths of the Christian faith organised around the theme of the enthroned believer . It's fair to say that the theme he concisely addresses in this small book is much neglected today. For the press of technological life with its bustle and speed is such that we can forget that present life, so ' real' to us, is temporary (2 Cor 4.18) and as in the first century, 'the form [Greek, "schema"] of the world is passing away' (1Cor 7.31). It's easy to read this work and though it has 20 chapters, they are short and pithy. However, reading it requires a meditative attitude so as to allow the Spirit to work on our hearts.

I have been reading the above title written by a Paul E Billheimer. It's a book about prayer, praise and the Church's place in the world. However, it's unlike any other book I've read on the subject because of the framework in which he places prayer. (If you look it up on Amazon you can get a reasonable idea of the contents at least.) The major thesis of this work according to the author is that: 'The one purpose of the universe from all eternity is the production [?] and preparation of an Eternal Companion for the Son, called the Bride, the Lamb's Wife'. Her creation comes by way of the new birth (Jn 3.3), a regeneration brought about by 'spiritual water' (Jn 3.5). Her preparation, a weighty matter, is the core of the book's message. Part of the preparation is learning to wage spiritual warfare which involves conquering.