Your pastors are always learning and growing in their faith as well. Feel free to check in on this page from time-to-time to see what's been helping to shape them as disciples of Jesus lately.
Welcome to my study!
"O Lord, how shall I meet You?" With these few words you see what I value. I know I will see our Lord Jesus in the life to come, so each day I give thanks for His forgiveness and mercy. He is answering our prayers even now. We believe in Him who is risen from the dead, who intercedes for His people whom He has bought with His own blood.
I will date each entry and keep all my posts, in case you would like to spend more time in the future looking and learning.
May 6, 2021
The Book of Esther. I'm reading and re-reading this account in Scripture, since this is the Bible class I'm teaching on Wednesday mornings. I teach using the ESV (English Standard Version) and also read the NLT (New Living Translation) which sounds more like someone telling the account. Esther is a woman raised as a believer in the Lord. She found herself in a position to intercede for others of her nationality. She is an example of faith and courage.
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, by Carl Trueman. The author shows how our current culture, which values the self as its own truth, is the result of long-held cultural teachings. The sexual revolution of our times isn't new, but individual choices are now affirmed as inarguable truths. Trueman walks the reader through sources of philosophical thought which brought us to this era. He wrote the book to answer a question: If someone says, "I am a woman trapped in a man's body" we would have found humor in this 30 years ago; or, if an individual said this sincerely it was regarded as gender dysphoria. But in the present time, cultural opinion and legal decisions lean toward accepting such a statement as one's expression of his identity, and those who question it are more likely to be accused of a moral evil. Trueman's book is neither a rant nor a lament, but a thoughtful observation about holding absolute moral truth in a culture that sees truth located in self.
Strange Rites, by Tara Isabella Burton. This is an examination of groups which adopt rituals and create meaningful social connections. Rejecting institutions that historically have given identity to large population groups, smaller groups of like-minded people are affiliating around trends that give them a temporal sense of meaning. Smartphones and social media give access to micro-worlds of subject matter and life themes as diverse as those who initiate them--those who adopt worldviews from internet-led workouts, Reiki, dramatic performances, Moon Juice, 4chan boards, queer culture, oat milk, protests and benefits, etc. This book is introducing me to subcultures I didn't know existed, helping me become aware how people raised in stable environments become engaged in peculiar activities that give significance to their lives.
The Chief Divine Service, by Friedrich Lochner. This German book, written in 1895 to describe the Lutheran worship service, was finally translated into English and printed in 2020. It is a commentary on the Christ-centered nature of how Lutherans worship, which uses liturgical verse and Scripture to form faith so its object is Jesus Christ. The book shows origins of spoken and sung responses, and variations in the history of Christian worship. While the introductory chapters cover historical and practical worship concerns, the body of the book is technical. For instance, there is a full chapter on spoken and musical variants of Christ's Words of Institution, illustrating differences between the Latin Roman Mass, the German Deutchemesse, and English-language translations and musical arrangements. It's helpful because I teach Adult Information Classes, explaining why we worship the way we do.