In the not too distant past, how hosts and guests were to behave toward one another was carefully regulated by custom and tradition. Dinner guests knew what was expected of them, and hosts were bound by well-accepted and even formulaic guidelines on how to make their guests feel welcome. A mother a generation or two […]
I had seen the man before, but I could not remember where. Mr. Smith (not his real name) was middle-aged, pleasant enough, and looked like he had something important to tell me. We stepped aside to avoid the crowd coming out of the church sanctuary after our Sunday morning service. He introduced himself and reminded […]
What are the signs of the Spirit’s presence? Christians commonly ask questions like this, yet far too often the conversation immediately turns to debates about experiences of ecstasy. While these discussions are legitimate, it is surprising how often we miss one of the main indications of the Spirit’s presence in the New Testament. To recognize […]
Nowadays, "Christian community" is a highly elastic term. It can refer to anything from a homeschool co-op to members of a dating website. Rather than recognizing Christian community as a gift from heaven created by word and sacrament, we tend to view it as a voluntary association created by like-minded individuals who share enthusiasm for […]
The church's witness is necessarily political, but in its political witness the church must first and foremost be the church. Faithfulness to the gospel mission trumps allegiance to any other political agenda. Such is the general consensus among the contributors to Christian Political Witness. Beyond that, when it comes to practical Christian political involvement, the […]
By publishing their small booklet Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation, Joel R. Beeke and William Boekestein have done a great service to the church. The original intention, as stated in the preface, was to "help us more deeply celebrate [Christ's] birth, allow us to see more clearly how it is connected with […]
This sounds like the setup to a joke, but the punch line is true: What do you get when you combine an outlaw Bible professor, a runaway nun, and a dilapidated Augustinian monastery? The first Reformation parsonage. The Black Cloister, known today as Luther Haus, was built in 1504 with the support of the elector […]
It has been said that the practice of prayers at mealtimes is what separates men from animals’instead of attacking our food and tearing into it as though it could be taken away from us at any moment, humans make a point to acknowledge their Creator and Sustainer in gratitude for his provision for their physical […]
"Let love be genuine’¦ Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality" (Rom. 12:9-13). "Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers" (Heb. 13:12). As we see in just these brief examples, Scripture calls us to live a life of genuine love and hospitality. In this issue, […]
What is the history of Christianity in Romania?Archeological evidence for Christianity in the Romanian territories goes back to the third century AD when the proto-Romanians living in Dacia Traiana and Scythia Minor were part of the Roman Empire. In the first centuries of its existence, the Romanian Christian church was influenced by the Western church, […]
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back, Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-ey’d Love, observing me grow slack From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning If I lack’d anything. “A guest,” I answer’d, “worthy to be here”; Love said, “You shall be he.” “I, the unkind, the ungrateful? […]
When you are surrounded by people speaking another language, it can be a bit intimidating. The foreign language may ring beautiful like an Italian opera or scratch like fingers on a chalkboard. But if you do not understand the language, it all sounds muddled, like Charlie Brown's teacher. Languages are the walls that outline the […]
