The question of baptism and its recipients is truly a matter of grace and not of works. It was my Calvinism that led me to the font. I knew–though it took me a while to act on it–that grace was more than a mere soteriological category. Grace was everything and in every act of God for us. The question of an infant’s ability never crossed my mind as a barrier to accepting covenant baptism. The question of God’s grace was the key that unlocked the baptismal font.
Baptism is a heavenly Pentecost. The Spirit is poured, not we who pour ourselves. Everything is of grace; Gratia sunt omnia. God identifies us as His own from the beginning as He did with the creation, and then He christens us with His spirit. Baptism is the divine hovering. Baptism is gracious because, through it, God re-enacts the creation of the world. In baptism, we are a new creation.
God has copyrighted the world. He labels, gifts, and graces. Man does not have that capacity; man does not create in and of himself; therefore, man cannot change his own identity. We are imitators, but yet only capable of imitating because God graces us with His artistic gifts. We imitate God as we are graced into his imitative presence in the waters of baptism.
In the beginning, the world is first identified by the Triune God (Gen. 1), and then it is called to praise that God (Ps. 19). We are first identity-less (dark and void), and then God fills us with His Spirit (light and life). Baptism is all of grace. We were void and empty. God looked at us (Ezk. 16) and washed us, and clothed us with fine clothing (Ps. 45). We are Trinitarianly clothed.
Baptism is one fulfillment of the third commandment. Wherever the child goes, there he carries the Name of his God. And because God is his God, he should not take his name in vain. He takes his identity in his baptismal garments, which cover his whole body of actions, thoughts, and words.
Infant baptism is of grace because it is the re-enacting of creation. Creation begins in darkness– as in a womb– and is washed. It is like our God destroying nations with fire and creating new ones with a few drops of water.
Typological Glories of Infant Baptism
The Cut and Paste Bible
Christians are people of the book. We are a people of the corporate book called the Bible. The Bible was composed by Spirit-led men in all they wrote (II Pet. 1:20-21). But when we read the Bible, we tend to make it an encyclopedia of our favorite life verses. “You like your verses, but I have mine,” we say as if we were playing poker. You can have your own favorite theology, but that’s because you are overlooking my favorite texts. It is easier to function this way than to search for patterns and types and covenantal structures.
This is one of the greatest tragedies of our day. We have created a cut/paste hermeneutic. We have seen the Scriptures as a collection or an appendix of isolated texts. We have accepted the plague of individualism under the guise of special hallmark cards. As a result, we forget that when we read in John 3:16 that God so loved the world, that statement is only an inspired reality in the context of John’s judgment-filled theology of Jesus’ coming. God loves the world, but he does this by condemning and judging people to eternal destruction. In our day, we have decided that if John 3:16 is good enough for Tim Tebow, it’s good enough for me. We can preserve it in its own separate corpus to be pulled out for any ordinary evangelistic enterprise. The result is a Bible that is chopped, red-lettered, and mutilated by our preferences.
But the Bible is a corporate and contextual text. It is vastly different than the individualized approach many take to it. My own assertion is that the individualization of the Bible—the read-one-verse-a-day Bible programs– has created a culture that views the corporate gathering as secondary in importance. Therefore, to quote James B. Jordan, “individualism means that the Bible history is reduced to moralistic stories.” But Samson, Jacob, and Ruth only make sense in union with the rest of the Bible.
When we gather for the Lord’s Day worship, we are worshiping with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven and all the Christians on earth; true enough. But when we worship, we also worship in the context of the entire biblical story. We are participants in the corporate nature of the text. We are people of the book and, therefore, oppose the plague of individualism.
We come to worship not as atomized creatures but as restored humanity put together in a corporate body of worshipers. When we worship, we join the story of the Scriptures in all its fulness and unity.
7 Reasons to Work Hard at Worship
Liturgy comes from two words: “Work” and “people.” Therefore, liturgy can be accurately defined as the “work of the people.”
Our Lord was so righteously angry by the easy business transactions (easy worship) of the Temple that he turned upside down the world when he overturned the tables of the money-changers (John 2:13-16). Such audacity should be imitated by God’s people but cautiously exercised in light of our sinfulness. So here is my attempt to cautiously turn a few tables upside down with the hope that some will decide to keep it that way rather than try to put it back up or mend the broken pieces.
Worship has become perfunctory in our day. The seeker-sensitive movement of the 90’s has morphed into a thousand strategic models for church growth, offering easy worship choices that would be best spread in a meal for pagan gods than the God who made the heavens and earth. Easy worship produces light Christians. Light Christians produce weak men, and weak men produce feeble societies. A worship that does not demand the body and soul is not worthy of its name.
I offer several reasons why worship is and should be hard. And by “hard,” I do not mean “mathematical,” demanding intellectual prowess and a high IQ, but simply that it is fitting for God’s people to bring their bodies as actionable beings into the throneroom of grace. In fact, the best worship is one which can be absorbed within a couple of weeks of practice. But one must be willing to invest in this effort to benefit from its glory.
So, why, then, must worship be hard?
First, worship must be hard work because God demands those who worship him to do so in “spirit and truth (John 4:24).” I take “Spirit” to mean in, “Spirit-led” form. Worship requires a Spirit-shaped liturgy. It must be guided by the inspired words of the Spirit and the indwelling presence of the Spirit. Jesus demands that we take up the cross and follow him, which is hard work lived out by the power of the Spirit.
Worshiping in truth also demands much from the worshiper. John the Baptist had borne witness to the truth (John 5:33), and that witness cost him his life. Thus, worshiping in truth is a challenging task. Our gathered assembly must be prepared to fight hard to/in worship. If worship demands little or nothing from us, it fails the John 4:24 test.
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The Spiritual Pastor
Within the life of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit has a special role. He creates and sustains bonds or relationships between people. He has been doing this forever. This is his activity in the life of the Trinity in eternity. He is the Spirit of God the Father (Gen 1.2; Rom 8.9, 14; 15.19) as well as the Spirit of the Son/Christ (Gal 4.6; Rom 8.9). The Spirit “belongs” to both the Father and the Son.
Our early church fathers described the Spirit as the “bond of love” between the Father and the Son. In the Trinitarian relationship described in terms of love, the Father is the Lover, the Son the Beloved, and the Spirit is the Bond of Love between them.
We understand his eternal ministry in the Trinity because we hear of his work with us. His work with us images his eternal ministry. He creates bonds between us and God as well as one another. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 4 that we are to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
The Spirit creates the bond with the body of Christ through baptism according to 1Corinthians 12.13: “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” The Spirit is the one who puts the body of Christ together; whether you are talking about the Person of Christ in the womb of Mary (Lk 1.35) or the body of Christ, the church (1Cor 12.11). The Spirit puts things and people in a relationship with one another.
The pastoral ministry is a Spiritual ministry. This does not mean that he has a “mystical ministry” over against dealing with the material aspects of the world. The pastor is a bond-maker. He brings people together, facilitating the creation of relationships.
The pastor/king introduced to us in Ecclesiastes is called qoheleth, normally translated as “Preacher.” But the word speaks about someone who gathers or is a convener. He brings both people and words together, and he creates bonds with people through his words. He creates bonds.
The pastoral ministry aims to reconcile God with man (2Cor 5.18-20). We exercise that ministry by gathering people for the preaching of the Word and administering the Sacraments. By the power of the Spirit, the Word is proclaimed, and people are united with Christ through baptism and the supper.
This Spiritual ministry doesn’t end there. As the Spirit creates relationships among the members of the body of Christ, joining each member to the other to work together as one body, so the pastor is given to the church to equip the saints for the work of the ministry so that each member works properly with other members for the body to build itself up in love (Eph 4.11-16).
At times this will mean that the pastor helps individuals work through personal and interpersonal relationship issues. He instructs members through the Scriptures on how to apply wisdom to their particular situation so as to restore and maintain the bond of peace.
Many of us pastors take it upon ourselves (whether through personal expectations or expectations imposed upon us by our congregations) that our calling is to be an expert in every area of dealing with issues; that if there is a problem in the church we must be the ones who personally “fix it.” However, this is where understanding our Spiritual ministry is extremely helpful. While dealing with issues in the church is our responsibility, dealing with the issue can take the form of helping the person make the right connections with other Christians who are better equipped to help them in particular areas. Just as a medical doctor who is a general practitioner may refer one of his patients to a specialist, so we soul doctors may need to do the same. The Spirit creates relationships with Christ and with one another, pointing to others. As pastors, we also point people to Christ and others who are better equipped to help.
Many of us pastors don’t like this for a number of reasons. Our lack of expertise in any area and not being able to fix each and every problem is viewed as weakness that will cause us to lose respect in the eyes of our people. They may believe that they no longer need us. Consequently, we try to become an expert in counseling, therapy, and/or other areas so that we can do everything ourselves. It’s job security. However, it is also a lack of love for God’s people. Though good intentions may be in there somewhere, there is a selfishness that cares more about my pride and my job than for the health and welfare of the people of God. Sometimes loving people means pointing them to others for help.
For us to fulfill our Spiritual ministry as pastors, we must be humble, recognizing our limitations. Some of us are better in certain areas than others. Each pastor comes with his own set of strengths and weaknesses. We can’t be experts in every area in which our people might need help. We may be general practitioners, knowing many of the basics so that we can help people with common problems, but we must recognize that there are specialists to whom we may need to refer our people. Connecting people with other people is not a dereliction of your duty. It is your Spiritual responsibility.
In order to connect our people with other Christians who may be able to help them better than we can, we need to get to know other people. These people may be within your own congregation. Get to know people and their skills so that you can make connections with others. This may also mean learning of resources outside of your church to which you can refer people who need help that you can’t give them.
Humility once again comes into play here. When you point people away from yourself and to Christ in other people, you will not receive the initial glory for fixing the problem. That’s okay. The Spirit was sent to glorify the Son (Jn 16.12-14). As we point to Christ in other people and help create those relationships, we are doing the Spirit’s work.
Pastor, you don’t have to know it all. You don’t have to do it all. You are not deficient as a pastor if you must point your people to others to find the help they need. You are doing the Spirit’s work.
A Prayer for the Epiphany Wine-Tasting Party
A Prayer for the Epiphany Wine-Tasting Party of Providence Church (CREC) in Pensacola,FL:
Our Father and our God, your riches abound far higher than the fortunes of Abraham and Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The cattle on a thousand hills are yours, the wealth of Egypt, yes, even the gold, frankincense, and myrrh of the nations belong to you! All glory and strength to the Epiphany King who revealed himself among the Gentiles and makes himself known even in our presence on this night.
Father, Son, and Spirit, Your majesty is adored by every square inch of creation, for even the invisible things bow down before you. As we gather this evening to celebrate the fruitfulness of life, and the abundance of kindness, the wonder of the incarnation, and now the glory of the revealed Son, we join our voices in triumphal praise to the One who befriended us and established a communion of peace in our midst at Providence Church.
We give thanks that the Nazarite vows have been fulfilled in the greater Samson and that no ruler can keep us from tasting of your goodness in wine; nor the impositions of men can bind our conscience, but only the marker of love and temperance can keep us sober and full of festive shouts in the assembly.
We drink wine tonight, for you are a God of freedom who conquered our hearts when we were enslaved to our passions. As the Apostle declares, where there is liberty, there is love and peace and truth and righteousness. Guard us against abusing your gifts, the gift of wine, and especially the gift of gratitude.
May we see these glassy chalices as signs of the overflow of heaven to earth and heartily give thanks to the giver of all good things. So far be it from us to turn our backs to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose name is blessed and worthy to be praised and who gives us all things richly to enjoy. So, we entreat you; give us hearts that flourish with thanksgiving as we toast the King of glory; who is this King of glory? Yahweh mighty in battle!
May we drink believing that our very bodies and souls are in communion with you, for your covenant promises are yes and amen! As we salute and savor the prince of peace with every glass of wine, may our fortunes be passed down to our children and our children’s children and to those upon whom your favor rests.
May gratitude overflow, may the laughter of the saints outlast and outlive the laughter of the oppressors and persecutors; may your church sing as choirs of angels in exaltation, may wine gladden our hearts, food fill our bodies, and carols fill this house with your presence.
We pray these things in the name of the Lord of glory, the Savior of Israel, the prince of Salem, the Lion of Judah, the One who came, is coming and shall come again, and the One who exults over us with singing, and delights in our pleasure, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
The Death of Mainline Churches
One of my predictions in 2023 is a relatively certain one. It pertains to the continual decline and fragmentation of Mainline Protestant Churches.
In the late ’90s, Thomas Reeves warned the liberal, mainline churches against “smug denominationalism.” He used C.S. Lewis’ language as a cautionary tale about the direction of liberalism both in the political and religious spheres. His book was aptly entitled “The Suicide of Liberal Christianity.”
In 2020, mainline Protestants were bleeding numerically, shutting down their ornate buildings, which were ironically transformed into modern pubs all over Europe. They possessed one of the “lowest retention rates in any tradition” (Pew Research). From 2007-2017, they lost over five million members, and the children of these members were going farther and farther away from any religious manifestation. But even back in 1996, Reeves noted that the decline of mainline churches has “been eroding for better part of this century.”
The culprit in the 20th century is the same in the 21st. According to Reeves, “their defining theological doctrines have been largely forgotten.” While there is a modicum of hope in Reeves’ 26-year-old book, he concludes with profound pessimism. Should the mainline churches continue unchanged in their direction, they will proceed “on their steady slide toward complete irrelevance (211).”
The mainline consisting of PCUSA, ELCA, American Baptists in the USA, United Methodists, etc., have taken trajectories of death throughout. They have sought to bestow power on inclusivism and anointed corrupt priests to lead the way, and to hell, they led.
Conservative ecclesial bodies must invest in catechetical discipleship and build a reservoir of resistance against liberalizing forces without and battle locally and nationally against such forces that seek to crawl their way into the midst of the assembly.
Reeves was right that smug denominationalism is a temptation for many of us. Many of our conservative churches have grown during supposed crises created to ensure complacency among the populace and within the church. But, in God’s kindness, never was reading leaves such an easy task.
The task of the conservative corpus is to seek the good of the city by building on that eternal city. In the midst of the tranquility of growth and theological prosperity, may we not grow weary in well-doing. Smugness tickles our vanity, but humility steadies our march.
A Postmillennial Christmas!
Merry Seventh Day of Christmas!
Have you noticed the optimistic nature of Christmas hymns? They are abundant in virtually every story-telling of carols. They are absorbed into the very fabric of carols. In fact, to sing Christmas is to sing an eschatology of victory.
A few examples will suffice:
The famous Isaac Watts’s “Joy to the World” says:
No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow,
Far as the curse is found.
He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove,
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love.
R.J. Rushdoony commented on this hymn when he wrote:
“The Christian religion is a faith of ultimate victory, where the very gates of hell cannot prevail against Christ and His chosen people (Matt. 16:18).”
What makes the postmillennial hope so distinct is that it views the gospelization of the world in history as a central feature of its eschatology. It does not believe in an utterly spiritualized Church whose voice only speaks to internalized religion.
Watts argues that nations are tested by the wonders of his love. Where the Gospel of Christ goes, people are tested in their loyalty. As C.S. Lewis so aptly describes: “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.”
Another great optimistic hymn is: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” which says:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With Peace On Earth, Good Will To Man.
Again, the language of a prevailing peace on all the earth is crucial for a postmillennial eschatology. These hymns do not merely predict a post-parousia peace at the end of history but a first-parousia peace that brings about peace on earth in time and history.
Or, the language of Isaiah 11 is made clear in that famous hymn: “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” where the final verse boldly rejoices:
For lo, the days are hast’ning on,
By prophet bards foretold,
When with the ever circling years
Comes round the age of Gold,
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendor fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing.
Before the language of “postmillennial” came as a systematic category, the phrase “age of Gold” was used as a descriptor of a victorious eschatology in history. The carols spoke of a time in this world when the glory of the Lord would cover the seas.
Similarly, “Hark! the Harold Angels Sing” also joins in with the testimony of carols to the Kingship of Christ:
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies,
With angelic host proclaim,
Christ is born in Bethlehem.
The tidings of great joy are not good feelings during the Christmas Season; the tidings of great joy are comfort and joy to the world. This is what animated these hymn writers as they echoed the biblical message.
The Incarnation did not bring a spiritualized peace–though it is included–but rather a physical and cosmic peace far as the curse is found, a peace that is revealed as the world receives the incarnate Christ.
And this is what exhorts us to sing loudly and confidently the words of the incarnation.
“Give ye heed to what we say: Jesus Christ is born today…calls you one and calls you all to gain His everlasting hall.”
Family Worship and Chaotic Schedules
Family Worship Inquiry
A question I love getting from Husbands and Fathers is general advice about family worship. As Fathers, the leaders in covenant homes, we are commissioned by God’s word to teach our covenant children the ways of the Lord every day, and all throughout the day (Deut. 6). We are also instructed in the Proverbs to train up a child in the way they should for when they grow old, they will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6). All of this is reiterated by the Apostle Paul in Ephesian 6 when he commands Fathers to “not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” The weight Fathers feel concerning the task of discipling their families is good and right. Husbands and Fathers have been given a high calling to water their wives with the water of the word of God and to also raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 5 & 6).
I recently received a question about this joyous duty. The central point of this man’s question was about how to achieve family worship consistently when you have a hectic or random schedule. The following is my reply to this concerned Husband and Father with some minor adjustments and additions.
Answer Part 1
The first part of my answer: I think one of the most important things to remember about family worship is that it does not need to look like a Lord’s Day worship service. Remember, that this is family worship with a lowercase ‘w’. It could also very well be called Family Bible study or family discipleship. This does not mean it is unimportant. It is important, like really important. But it is still not equal to Lord’s Day capital ‘W’ Worship. I want to make this distinction so that you know that you need not don a clerical collar, call your family to worship, preach a sermon, assign a son to help distribute the Eucharist, and take an offering before anyone is allowed to brush their teeth and head to bed.
The main thing for you to remember is that you are discipling your family during your time of family worship. This should of course mean reading through books of the Bible with your family and singing Psalms, Hymns, and spiritual songs together. But also, add into the mix books of/on church history, learn Psalms chanting or a new Hymn together, read through The Chronicles of Narnia, or simply pick from many other helpful Christian books to read through and discuss. There are many ways to crack this egg.
Another important thing to practice (which, in turn, is not good for a Lord’s Day Worship setting) is to allow and encourage rabbit trails about our faith and how it applies to every area of life. If your wife or covenant kiddo has a question, spend time answering it. Whatever you do, do not brush it off or move on too quickly. You do not want anyone in your family to feel uncomfortable asking their spiritual leaders questions about their faith. When this happens, that family member is displaying much-valued humility and trust in their spiritual leader. Don’t crush that. That is something to be cultivated, water, and protected.
You specifically mentioned consistency. This is huge. My simple encouragement is to pick a time that works and stick with it. You may need to try a couple of different times before figuring out what works best. That’s OK. If you miss a day, do not grieve as the Gentiles who have no hope. God’s mercies are new every day and His steadfast love endures forever. Get back up and continue mission.
Answer Part 2
Question: What about random schedules?
Answer: Yeah, schedules, especially random ones, are sometimes difficult dragons to slay. The first thing I would figure out is if the randomness is a symptom of something deeper. Some diagnostic questions might be helpful. Do you lack basic time management? Do you lack self-discipline? Beyond that, it might be helpful to choose a form of family worship that works for each context. Decide to do something shorter/easier on the days with less time and extend it for days/contexts that are less busy. If you did that and were able to get something in every day, you and your family would benefit tremendously. Additionally, take advantage of the many audio versions of content that are available to the Church today.
Finally, whatever you do, do it, and don’t ever give up. Giving up teaches a much worse lesson to your family than trying to faithful lead your family and for one reason or another it doesn’t go perfectly. Turns out, on this side of glory, it will never go “perfectly”. Look to Christ in everything you do, and bring your family along with you.
I hope that helps.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV)
Pluralism, David French, and Creational Apologetics
Back in 2015, David French observed rightly:
“Especially among Evangelicals, there is a naïve belief that if only we were winsome enough, kind enough, and compassionate enough, the culture would welcome us with open arms. But now our love … is hate.”
Then, yesterday, he offered this cumulative expression supporting a constitutional right to same-sex marriage:
The magic of the American republic is that it can create space for people who possess deeply different world views to live together, work together, and thrive together, even as they stay true to their different religious faiths and moral convictions. The Senate’s Respect for Marriage Act doesn’t solve every issue in America’s culture war (much less every issue related to marriage), but it’s a bipartisan step in the right direction. It demonstrates that compromise still works, and that pluralism has life left in it yet.
French’s pluralism has been absorbed into his very framework. Drag Queen hour, same-sex marriage, and now there is no limit for which he will not trespass in favor of a pluralistic society. All of this stems from the winsome strategy, which David rightly abhorred in 2015, but now endorses lexically and logically.
So, I would like to offer an overview of a biblical approach as a strategy and policy in an age of winsome apologists. Several recent essays have offered a rich description of what has happened to the winsome phenomenon. Evangelical writers and theologians once known for defending the good have sought to minimize Gospel realities by maximizing opportunities for ecumenical endeavors.
These endeavors did not produce the fruit expected, and, instead, it has led inevitably to the prodigalness of the evangelical left. The result is a Babylonian conundrum leaving these figures defending the other side instead of protecting the voices most closely aligned with the cause of the Gospel.
The winsome project has led to the adulteration of the good by compromising the good. My premise is that these authors have failed to see the Church’s role as that of protecting the creational order and priorities at all costs. These priorities negate the winsome strategy and advocate for something more distinctly assertive regarding our relationship with ungodliness in this world.
To provide a bit of a rationale for what I call “A creational apologetic for mockery,” let me begin by offering some propositions and then conclude with some observations about the state of things in the Church.
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Which Calendar? Thoughts on the Church Calendar
Dear friend,
You expressed so much joy in coming into a liturgical understanding of time. As you and I have experienced growing up in non-liturgical traditions, the Church Calendar is a tough sell in our evangelical culture. You inquired further about where you should begin communicating these thoughts with family and friends.
The first point to consider is that a lack of calendar knowledge is not a lack of godliness. So, you should avoid chronological snobbery when considering these issues, and you should remember just how long it took you to get here.
I don’t think the denial of a church calendar stems primarily from historical illiteracy, though it may at times. The issue is not “to calendar?” but rather “which calendar?” Most in our culture have chosen calendars of their own making. They are fond of national, localized, athletic festivities over and above other ecclesiastical memorials.
As I’ve said, it’s not a poor keeping of time; it’s a selected keeping of time. I want to argue that there is a time that supersedes civic time, which is Church time. Of course, some take strict positions based on confessional commitments. I have little beef with them, and they are not my audience. My audience is those still uncertain about this business and eager to contemplate its place in their lives.
Now, I know that once we begin this conversation, there will be all sorts of fears about celebrating days for saints, angels, and other such things. But I am simply arguing for a celebration of the basic church calendar, namely the five evangelical feast days: Advent, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter (Ascension), and Pentecost. If most churches cherished and celebrated a general outline for the calendar, we could begin to see a greater harmonization of themes, topics, and vision for the church universal.
If some were to say, “Why can’t we sing Christmas carols whenever we want to; after all, every Sunday is Christmas?” The answer is: “For the same reason you don’t sing “Happy Birthday” to your child whenever you want to. Every Sunday is indeed Christmas, but every Sunday is also Easter and Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, etc.”
You can do those things, but it takes away from the appointed observance of such a time. If some were to say: “Why am I bound to observe this church calendar?” Answer: “You are not bound to. Your church is not bound to; simply, history has shown its wisdom, and its longevity has shown its importance.” But most importantly, the Bible offers a rich theology of time, and God’s people throughout sacred history have followed such patterns in remembering and commemorating defining moments in the lives of our forefathers.
There is a historical harmony established on these general feast days that all churches of all ages share. This alone should be a persuasive argument.
In sum, my point is that patterns and rhythms, and feasts play a role in the rationale of the Scriptures, and this is a good place to begin these dialogues.
Many blessings as we approach the final Sunday of the Church year.
Pastor Uriesou Brito
