cross defeat victory evil Archives

The Crucifixion

I am tempted to create a blog post by simply stringing together a series of Fleming Rutledge quotes. The words she uses are often adequate to spark the mind and generate combustion. However, I shall do more than that; I shall interact with some of her writings on the atonement rendered by the death and…

The Music of the Ainur

J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion is widely recognized as a great writer. He was also a faithful Catholic whose theology appears in his writings in poetic ways. His description of the way evil came into the world, as seen in the opening chapter of The Silmarillion is a work of art…

If I Were You

If I Were You (Lyrics and Music by Wayne Watson, 1999, “Field of Souls”) If I were You, if I ran this placeThere wouldn’t be no mercy, noThere wouldn’t be no graceAnd people that wander off and go astrayI’d make real sure that they would payYeah, that’s what I’d do if I were You And…

The Crown

The Crown, Season 2, Episode 6: Vergangenheit Written by Peter Morgan Directed by Philippa Lowthorpe This post contains numerous spoilers and explanations of a current episode of The Crown. You may want to watch the episode before reading this article. The German word, vergangenheit, has many uses [1] in the German language. Its simplest meaning is “the…

Faith and Resistibility

I often find myself in situations in which people ask me questions about faith. The questions come in many forms: “Why are you a pastor and not a scientist?” “Why do you still dabble in science when you are a pastor?” “How can you believe in a Creator in this scientific world?” “How can you…

What Have We Become?

With all that is going on in the world, this DC Talk song came to my mind. It seems that there is a lot of hate and selfishness in our world today. Each of us needs to examine our hearts to see what darkness lies inside. What Have We Become? (performed by DC Talk) (listen…

Substitution

“For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.” – John Stott, The Cross…

Hansel and Gretel

As I walked to the repair shop to pick up my car, I noticed a roadside sign for the local community theatre group. They were performing Hansel and Gretel. I thought about this story and silently wondered why a group would choose this play to perform in Calgary at this time of year. As a…

Hope in Troubled Times

The following is a short excerpt from a sermon preached at Bow Valley Christian Church on October 30, 2016. The entire sermon can be heard here. In a world of fear and pessimism, Jesus provides hope. Can we proclaim that to the world? When we hear people lamenting about this weird presidential election in the…

Liquid

“Liquid” is a brilliant song by the band known as Jars of Clay. They blend an ancient 11th century chant with contemporary music and lyrics that flow together with creativity and beauty. They remind us that in the midst of the many questions and perplexities of this world, there is at least one constant. They…