The number 1 reason to be Anglican? “You get to be both Catholic and Protestant.” Michael Bird Cute! At least, I thought it was. If you know Michael Bird, you get it. If you don’t, you should … know Michael Bird. The following outline frames a confirmation class I hadRead More
The simplicity of this video shows the beauty in the liturgical calendar. Promoting a rhythm for spiritual formation, the calendar portrays the story of God for the people of God. (video source) See also Scot McKnight’s post on the importance of the liturgical calendar.Read More
Each Sunday after church we gather in the narthex to socialize a bit. A congregant turned to our rector and asked, “Why the change in the Apostles’ Creed from the ‘I’ believe to the ‘We’ believe?” It was a really good question and I could not help but recall BenRead More
What follows is the entire 4-week session materials from the spring, 2018, Foundations class that I taught on prayer at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Raleigh, NC. DOWNLOAD ALLRead More
Holy Scripture (and I dare say all of life) confronts us with two realities: 1) the existence of an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God and 2) the presence of suffering and evil. Perhaps the most perplexing difficulty Christians face is embracing both. This is not just an intellectual puzzle to be solved.Read More
In honor of Trinity Sunday, I’m reposting my entire review of Charles C. Twombly’s Perichoresis and Personhood: God, Christ, and Salvation in John of Damascus in hopes of drawing attention to this most important work. It is a must-read for those who wish to plunge the depths of Trinitarian theology, ChristologyRead More
Below are two presentations that I offered at Holy Trinity Anglican Church for those wishing to be confirmed in the Anglican tradition. All materials are my own, except where noted. There was so much more material that I wished to cover, but the 45-minutes I was allowed did not permit.Read More
As Eleonore Stump so carefully and rightly observes, “there is no one orthodox interpretation of the doctrine of the atonement and no one universally agreed upon interpretation of the Eucharist.” Nonetheless, “the general Christian consensus includes the conviction that something about this rite makes a powerful connection between those participatingRead More
The following remarks were offered while teaching a course for Holy Trinity Anglican Church using Confessing the Faith, chapter 7, “The Work of Christ” in which Articles II, IV, and XXXI of the Thirty-Nine Articles are addressed. First, the last part of Article II says Christ “… truly suffered, was crucified, dead, andRead More
Continuing to teach a Foundations course at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, here are my notes from Confessing the Faith, chapter 4, “The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.” Is Gen 18 evidence of the Trinity? Likely not. See my “Did Abraham Speak with Jesus?” However, there is every reason toRead More
I had the unexpected opportunity to teach an adult class on the Trinity at our church this week. Here are my notes that I jotted down. The Bible affirms the reality of one God who eternally exists in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We take this to be trueRead More