Weekend Walkabout: December 13, 2008
December 13, 2008
26 posts from the week that escaped mention (almost!):
Alan Hirsch Responds to Kimball’s ‘Missional Misgivings’ - Out of Ur
Book Review: Sacramental Life - Trevin Wax
“Sacramental Life: Spiritual Formation Through the Book of Common Prayer … takes the reader through The Book of Common Prayer as a method of spiritual formation.”
Changing With the Times - Philip Schroeder
“You all probably know the truism: ‘Methodology changes, but the Message remains the same’ …”
Download Nine Advent Worship Goodies - TallSkinnyKiwi
Evangelicals Lose Ecumenical Friend in Catholic Theologian’s Death - Jeremy Weber
Futures for Anglicanism: aka Breaking Up is Hard to Do (But Sometimes Necessary) - Chris Dierkes
Going Old School, sort of - Launching A Radio Show - Doug Pagitt
Happy Birthday to ME! - Carla Rolfe
“If you’re a fellow 24 fan like me (or know of someone who is), this makes a great Christmas gift idea.”
I Need a Blogging Buddy and So Do You - John Saddington
The Jesus Project - Dan Wallace
“Reading between the lines, it seems that this group will offer up an even more radical fare than the Jesus Seminar did.”
Kate Gosselin of ‘Jon & Kate Plus 8′ Shares Her Favorite Christmas Traditions - Dena Ross
Little Drummer Boy - Jake Bouma
Muslim Lawyer: ‘Christmas is the pathway to hell’ - Cranmer
NRB head: Sex abuse scandal? It’s history. Really. - David Gibson
Obama’s Iranian observers - Erin Manning
“I was never very appreciative of the saber-rattling on the right over Iran; but the threat of a nuclear Iran is a serious one, not something to take lightly.”
Pumpkin Squares - Rebecca Stark
Q Conference Meetup & Discount - Kevin D. Hendricks
“This is not a bells and whistles hipster event with big names and games. It’s a strategic gathering of thinkers and doers who want to see change and bring change.”
Radiocarbon dating contradicts geological time scale, supports young earth - Daniel G, two or three
So long, Sola? - Nic Paton
Ten Differences Between the Reformation and Rome - Guy Davies (Reformation Theology)
The Uniqueness of Jesus’ Birth - Darrell Bock
Vanilla Holiday - Pseudo-Polymath
What?! (Rick Warren on Hannity & Colmes) - Dan Phillips
Xmas Has Pagan Roots ::: So What? - Theophilogue
“The music you listen to, the way your calendar and clock measures time, the names you use to refer to various planets in the universe, etc., all have ties to pagan religion.”
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up - Justin Wise
“You are looking at a picture of some Christians praying over the Bull outside of the New York Stock Exchange …”
Zimbabwe: Time for South African Government To Do Something - Mark Daniels
Video: “That’s Christmas”
December 10, 2008
Excellent evangelistic short from the folks at St Helen’s Bishopsgate in London, UK:
That’s Christmas! from andy pearce on Vimeo.
(HT: Adrian Warnock)
Beliefnet Virtual Christmas Hunt
December 10, 2008
Beliefnet invites readers to search for and click on 10 objects hidden around their site. “Once you do,” they say, “you’re eligible for a drawing to win a spectacular basket containing delicious goodies from Cheryl & Co.”
Virtual Christmas Hunt page (begin here).
Santa delivers …
December 10, 2008
Awesome!:
“Is Advent Biblical?”
December 6, 2008
Mark D. Roberts discusses the rite:
“But I’m not concerned merely with whether Advent is not disallowed in Scripture. I want to know if observing Advent is consistent with biblical themes and priorities. Is Advent biblical in this grander sense? I do believe it is.”
Offended by Xmas?
December 5, 2008
Don’t be. R. C. Sproul discusses the origin of using X (’chi’) in place of Christ in the word Christmas:
“First of all, you have to understand that it is not the letter X that is put into Christmas. We see the English letter X there, but actually what it involves is the first letter of the Greek name for Christ.”
‘Twas the Night before Jesus Came’
December 5, 2008
I first heard this from my in-laws. Whether it jives with your end-times framework perfectly or not, I hope you can still appreciate it:
‘Twas The Night Before Jesus Came
Audrey Patricia Woolverton
‘Twas the night before Jesus came, and all through the house
Not a creature was praying, not one in the house.
Their Bibles were lain on the shelf without care
In hopes that Jesus would not come there.
The children were dressing to crawl into bed.
Not once ever kneeling or bowing a head.
And Mom in her rocker with baby on her lap
Was watching the Late Show while I took a nap.
When out of the East there arose such a clatter.
I sprang to my feet to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash!
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But angels proclaiming that Jesus was here.
With a light like the sun sending forth a bright ray
I knew in a moment this must be THE DAY!
The light of His face made me cover my head
It was Jesus! returning just like He had said.
And though I possessed worldly wisdom and wealth,
I cried when I saw Him in spite of myself.
In the Book of Life which He held in His hand
Was written the name of every saved man.
He spoke not a word as He searched for my name;
When He said “it’s not here” my head hung in shame.
The people whose names had been written with love
He gathered to take to His Father above.
With those who were ready He rose without a sound.
While all the rest were left standing around.
I fell to my knees, but it was too late;
I had waited too long and thus sealed my fate.
I stood and I cried as they rose out of sight;
Oh, if only I had been ready tonight.
In the words of this poem the meaning is clear;
The coming of Jesus is drawing near.
There’s only one life and when comes the last call
We’ll find that the Bible was true after all!
Christmas Roundup
December 4, 2008
Nicki Adams shares a list of links she and her cohorts at titus2talk have compiled over the last few years, including a provocative post entitled, “Down With Santa Claus!”
“The First Christmas: Myths and Reality”
December 3, 2008
Paul Copan offers a lengthy but very helpful post at Parchment and Pen:
“Over the centuries, the Christmas story has been re-cast and romanticized into a kind of Christian ‘mythology.’ But what do the Scriptures really tell us about Jesus’ birth? …”
“Tis the Season to Argue!”
December 3, 2008
Listen to the latest podcast from Christ and Culture:
“This week: Rich and Ben take the gloves off and go head to head! Duels commence over the following topics: how Christians should celebrate Christmas, Twilight, and Redemptive themes in film. (SPOILER: They are still friends in the end.)”
Still need to argue? Carlos Whittaker wants to know: “Do/will your kids believe in Santa Claus?”
Not in the Gospels …
December 1, 2008
(HT: Alive & Young)
Christmas specials schedule
November 30, 2008
They’re all here, courtesy of USA Today.
Eggnog recipe
November 24, 2008
Courtesy of Abraham Piper.
Noel Piper doesn’t just make good eggnog – she also writes good books, like Treasuring God in Our Traditions
Free download: Sara Groves’s “Toy Packaging”
November 24, 2008
Joanne Brokaw at Gospel Soundcheck has the details and a link to the download.
Sara Groves’s page at INO Records.
Weekend Walkabout: Nov. 21, 2008
November 21, 2008
[Friends, I'm pressed for time today – please pardon the dearth of posts. May your weekend be a joyful one. You can help it in that direction by making time to seek Him. See you Monday, Lord willing. - HC]
26 posts from the week that escaped mention (almost!):
- The Addict in Us All, Carolyn McCulley
- Benedict on Monasticism, The Anchoress
- Considering Servant Leadership (parts one, two, three), Jan Lynn
- Dear Church Member, Ragamuffin Soul
- The Empty Promise of Meditation, Al Mohler
- Five by Five, Defending. Contending.
- Great Ideas for churches to make the most of Christmas, what’s next
- Happy 100th Birthday, Irene Peterson!, John Piper
- If not consumerism, what?, Rod Dreher
- Joshua Guthrie: Dollar for a Drink, Alex Harris
- Korea - 14 Days - Questions, Questions, Questions…, John Saddington
- Lately, I’ve Been Rethinking My Position on Gay Marriage, Locusts & Honey
- A Mother’s Hope, girl talk
- New Archaeological Evidence for the Old Testament?, Aaron C. Rathburn
- Operation 513: In Memory of a Fellow Evangelist, Reformed Evangelist
- Puritan Reformed Journal, Vol. 1, Michael Dewalt
- Qeiyafa, Looting, and Buried Secrets, Todd Bolen
- The Realism of the Supernatural, Sally Thomas
- Study: Two Thirds of Americans Believe Their Values Not Shared by Hollywood, Sharper Iron
- Ten Dollar Blessings and a Lesson in Circles, Billy Coffey
- The Unresolved Tensions of Evangelicalism Part 1: The Biblical Worldview, Michael Spencer
- Videos of the Week - 11/20/08, Collide
- Why I Gave Up ‘Humility’, John Stackhouse
- X-Ray Discovery Sparked 19th-Century DIY Craze, Wired Science
- Your ‘past’ year resolution?, Eugene Cho
- Zondervan Acquires Online Community-Building Resource for Churches, Justin Taylor
