Tag: matthew
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Keeping Christ in Christmas in an Incarnational Way
“Keep Christ in Christmas” is a phrase many Christians repeat this time of year. It often comes from a real concern that Christmas is being emptied of its meaning. Yet the phrase itself raises an important question. Are we talking about preserving a name and a set of symbols, or about embodying the life of…
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Christ’s Mandate
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also…
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From Dust You Are and to Dust You Shall Return
Ash Wednesday is a compelling day in the Christian calendar, one I wish more churches would observe. It serves as a reminder of our flawed, frail, and fallible nature. We are broken but not beyond repair. Ash Wednesday underscores the fact that we are made from dust, echoing the creation narrative found in Genesis 2:7,…
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Keep Singing
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” Psalm 95:1 Singing has been a defining characteristic of Christian worship since the beginning. Christians did not start this in a vacuum; they inherited the rich singing tradition of Israel found in the book of…
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Epiphany: Follow the Light
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” John 1:5 Light is a penetrating force. A single candle lights a dark room. Stars burning billions of miles from earth light up the night sky, allowing sailors of old to navigate the seas. A single star many years ago called a…
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Christmas: Do Not Fear
And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, whose forms are bending low, who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow, look now! for glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing. O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing! – It Came Upon A Midnight Clear, vs 3 The…
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Advent: Preparation for a Banquet
“I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:29 A traditionally Eucharistic passage may seem like an odd place to begin Advent. A passage from Isaiah prophesying the first or second coming of Messiah…
Joshua Strickler 