I think Greg Wilbur is one of the best living composers of music for worship. That he happens also to be the Chief Musician at Parish Presbyterian Church in Franklin, Tennessee means I have the privilege of hearing his music each week. (You know his music is really wonderful when your 7-year-old daughter sings it to herself when she’s coloring.) Greg recently teamed up with Ligonier Ministries to create a new CD of his songs called My Cry Ascends. Last week, Parish Pres came together to sing a number of those songs, many of which have been sung by the church for years. I am quite sure Greg’s music brings great pleasure to the Lord, who, like 7-year-olds, takes special delight in wonderful songs. If you have a minute, go to Ligonier’s site and sample some of his music for yourself. [If you'd like to watch the video in HD, just click the button in the upper right corner.]
One of the questions I have as a filmmaker is, ‘how does one film spiritual realities in an effective and realistic manner?’ Film is a notoriously physical medium, one that dominates two of our five senses to the exclusion of everything else. Since, by definition, spiritual things cannot be seen or heard, how exactly do we show the spiritual? I’m not talking about showing spiritual beings such as angels or demons: for years film has used actors or computer graphics to represent these characters; but this is more fictional than real. The average person has never seen a demon or angel, and so knows there is something unrealistic when they are used in film. Rather, I’m interested in understanding how to film daily spirituality in a realistic manner without it seeming forced or fake. How does one show the influence of the Spirit? How does one reveal the personal relationship between God and man? How does one show love between the creature and his Creator? [click to continue…]
My favorite sermon was preached by a Dutch professor of theology over a hundred years ago. Just as some of the most beautiful flowers are found in the most unlikely places, this sermon given to a handful of seminary students provides the most extraordinary perspective on the morning of our Saviour’s resurrection. I discovered it a decade ago, and now make a point to read it again every Easter weekend. Its subject is the tender relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus, and although this text from John is often found in pulpits on Easter morning, I’ve never heard anyone give such a penetrating and sympathetic explanation of it: “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Mary.’ She turneth herself and saith unto him, ‘Rabboni;’ which is to say ‘Master.’” You can read the full sermon here. But one word of warning: it is not simple reading. Yet, as Sinclair Ferguson wrote in his original introduction to Geerhardus Vos’ small collection of sermons, “Having been taken to such mountain peaks, the vision of God we have beheld in Scripture will produce in us a new and more holy and heavenly perspective on the whole of life.”
May our kind Lord’s presence and grace be upon you this Easter morning.
As I continue to read on family worship for our next curriculum series, I often run across books that are particularly good. Merle d’Aubigne’s sermon on family worship is a case in point: clear, simple, and practical, it outlines the reasons behind spending time doing it, then provides direct steps to implementing it. His sermon is filled with honest advice that makes as much sense today as in the 19th century: “Public worship is often too vague and general for children and does not sufficiently interest them. As to the worship of the closet, they do not yet understand it. A lesson learned by rote if unaccompanied by anything else may lead them to look upon religion as a study like those of foreign languages or history…. If they observe that no worship is paid to that God of whom they hear, the very best instruction will prove useless. But by means of Family Worship these young plants will grow ‘like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither.’” His small booklet on family worship can be read via Google books or in HTML. It’s a quick but encouraging little read.
I recently finished a draft of a screenplay for a short film on the roles of men and women in marriage. (We’re doing it for a family ministry to use in a new curriculum they’re developing.) One of their ideas was to use dancing as a metaphor for roles in marriage. I thought it was [...]
It’s a question I’ve heard a lot Christians ask. And it’s a legitimate question. I recently saw a blog post from Dallas Jenkins, producer of Hometown Legend and director of Midnight Clear, where he tries to answer it. He brings up some good points, but I think it’s a complex issue, one that has a [...]
That’s what Voddie Baucham quotes in the introduction to his book Family Driven Faith. It’s a sobering thought. 7 out of 10 kids who are now in church won’t be there in the future (he’s not talking about unchurched kids; he’s talking about kids whose parents assume they’re Christians until one day they reject their [...]
I have been an irregular reader of Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost For His Highest for at least 20 years. When I do pick it up, I usually find that the subject is often peculiarly appropriate to the unique situation in which I find myself. Today’s reading is a case in point. My views of predestination could [...]
I’m doing research on a new project and have been reading through a number of books on ‘family worship’ (also known as ‘family devotions’ in some circles). Over the years, I have often thought about leading some form of daily worship with my own family of girls (4 including my wife), but beyond evening prayer [...]
When I started working on the Seek Social Justice series, I realized I needed to know more about what the Bible says concerning social justice and the poor. My friend Dr. George Grant has taught on this topic for years and written numerous books on the subject, so I knew he was a good place [...]