The Birth Of Christ
Being Human at the Intersection of Embodiment and Technology: An Interview with Jens Zimmermann
An interview with Jens Zimmermann, the J. I. Packer Professor of Theology and director of the Houston Centre for Humanity and the Common Good at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. [...]
See, resting softly, in Bethlehem’s manger
There is a Savior, as God had long-sworn.
Mighty Messiah, to keep us from danger,
Now, come in weakness, is finally born. […]
*** Baylor University Press | 2021 | 253 pages (hardcover) | $44.99 James K. A. Smith’s readership has surged in recent years through accessible books, such as You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit (Brazos Press, 2016). You Are What You Love argues persuasively for Christian discipleship focused on habits, virtues, and […]
Before I leave my house, I engage in a ritual of sorts. I pat each of my pockets, feeling my wallet, phone, and keys. It isn’t until I actually touch them that I am confident I have them. Even though it’s common to say “Seeing is believing,” touch is the most important sense we use […]
Within the heart of the Christian faith is an astounding truth. God—who created and sustains the universe—became incarnate. The immortal and perfect Son of God shared our messy, sin-prone death-ridden lives of flesh and blood; he became human, walked with us, suffered with us, and subjected himself to our temptations. Ultimately, he died for us, […]
The term “incarnational ministry,” like “missional” or “Emergent Church,” is used in a wide variety of ways. Sometimes “incarnational ministry” means ministry that crosses cultural barriers to be an embodied presence to people in need. At other times, it’s used to talk about culturally relevant analogies for the gospel. In still other contexts, “incarnational ministry” […]
In the incarnation, we encounter the mystery J. I. Packer writes about in his classic book Knowing God, when he says that this was “the great act of condescension and self-humbling.” God the Son, coequal and coeternal with the Father, submits to the limits of flesh as Mary’s baby boy—and to his young mother, he must […]
The Christmas season is a time for music. It would be difficult to think about the traditions surrounding this time of the year without having the familiar songs echoing in our ears. Unfortunately, a lot of mediocre songs have crept into the repertoire of this holiday season. “Frosty the Snowman” and “I’m Dreaming of a […]
For the past year, each issue of Modern Reformation has followed the theme, “The Story of God’s People.” We began by retelling the stories of key characters in the Old Testament, showing how their individual stories pointed forward to the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. Then we explored key moments in the life […]
In Christ two natures met to be thy cure. George Herbert’s elegant line captures two essential features of Christian teaching about Jesus Christ. The first feature concerns the consequence of the incarnation: ‘In Christ two natures met.’ At the Father’s sovereign behest, by the Spirit’s power, the Son of God became one of us, assuming […]
My parents sent me off to college with, among other things, a copy of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Despite the majesty of Calvin's theology, reading through the Institutes can be a difficult endeavor. Most difficult are the parts where Calvin engages in extended refutations of his contemporary opponents. As a college freshman, I […]
Why Christ Came: 31 Meditations on the Incarnation by Joel R. Beeke and William Boekestein
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 […]
You're pregnant! It's a boy!" This is one of the sweetest reports a woman can receive in her life. The notice that she is going to be a mother, to have a child of her own, is a potent joy. These tidings were like angels singing to Eve after Abel was stolen from her. It […]
