Pastor’s Page

This is an amazing hymn.

Thankful for the providence of Psalm 2 in morning prayers.

Rejoicing that Christ is seated at God’s “right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and give him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” – Eph. 1:20-23

Morning prayers of late have been in Psalm 119. I’ve been newly impressed with the primacy of God’s word; that it is light and life; that it is to be meditation of our hearts; and the source of wisdom and guidance. Having grown up in the Reformed tradition, attended Reformed schools and churches, and presently serving in a Reformed church, I’m deeply thankful for the primacy placed upon Scripture. I’m thankful too for the fresh reminders; the reacquainting with long held beliefs; and the delicious irony of the Word testifying of itself.

Now, off to John 1 for the upcoming Lord’s Day….

Grabbed a copy this morning and gave it a read. Enjoyable. Not for little kids, though. “The Warlock’s Hairy Heart” makes an interesting point, and also reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe. The subtle humor in the Dumbledore commentary is reminiscent of what made him such a beloved character in the HP books, as well as the wisdom he imparts.

I’ll be interested to see what the overall impression of folks will be. At various moments, I felt as though the story might be a bit “preachy,” something I didn’t sense with HP. The stories are clever, and only time will tell if they are classic.

“In one short phrase: We are being flooded with matter about which nobody gives a damn. But the really frightening part is that the attitude begins to rub off. No home can be built without that love of detail which is the hallmark of care, yet we seem to be getting less and less able to bother. People cannot be fed without detail, children cannot be taught manners without detail, wives cannot be kept happy without detail. But in our superspirituality, we expect that a handful of good intentions and a headful of bright ideas are quite enough to make a home. The truth is, though, that matter will break us unless we love it for itself and start paying some very careful attention to its demands. We are not angels; there are not disembodied intelligences in my household. We are all things here, from the raisins in the cake to the father at his table. For the likes of us there is no middle ground between care and catastrophe.” – Robert Farron Capon, Bed and Board.

“People admit it’s hard to pray. Yet they think it’s easy to make love. What nonsense. Neither is worth much when it is only the outcropping of intermittent enthusiasm. Both need to be done without ceasing; and that puts a premium on the minor manifestations. Obviously the sexual act itself is central. But the circle that is drawn around it consists of a thousand small passes and light touches. What they lack in moment they more than make up for by sheer weight of numbers, and it is a poor bed that sees only the grand piece of business that really arrives. It is precisely the unconsummated nonsense that makes the main absurdity fruitful. Sexual intercourse is indeed society (though often not too mutual), and it is certainly a comfort, when it goes well; but it is seldom much help unless its disastrousness is softened by a vast amount of incidental tenderness.” – Robert Farrar Capon, Bed and .

This is interesting, and worth the time to listen to in its entirety:

“…just
because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or
local government can’t constrain the exercise of that right…”

“The Christian is never to be motivated by a sense of his own honor, but rather by the honor of Christ. If pride was Satan’s original sin, humility and patient faith are the Christian’s primary duty.” – JBJ

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/viewarticle.php?selectedarticle=2008.10.14_George_Robert_Obama’s%20Abortion%20Extremism_.xml

Somehow we managed
to bring back a new dog from our family reunion/vacation last week.
This little guy had clearly been on his own for a while, and latched on
to our whole gang. At first he was named “Marley.” Then we considered
“Mr. Weasley.” However, it looks like we’re going to call him
“Wizzer.” He wizzes around when he runs, and also seems to manage to
‘wiz’ on just about anything npt moving (he still needs to be fixed.)
So, here are some pics, and we’re open to finding him another home if
there are any takers (Sarah?).

“Truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love; love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth.” – John Stott