Posts Tagged “grace”
Wretchedness, Pascal and Grace
by i.burgess on November 11, 2011
If there were no obscurity, man would not be sensible of his corruption; if there were no light, man would not hope for a remedy. Thus, it is not only fair, but advantageous to us, that God be partly hidden and partly revealed; since it is equally dangerous for man to know God without knowing [...]
Wineskins Part 5
by i.burgess on May 10, 2011
This is the final part of a discussion on Church Planting. Go here for part 1 It’s Church, Jim, but not as we know it So said John Wesley who had traveled three hundred years into the future with his close friend, Jim, and walked into the nearest church. Last time I wrote celebrating the [...]
Wineskins Part 3
by i.burgess on May 4, 2011
This is part three of a lively discussion on church planting. It started when I came out and admitted I don’t believe in church planting. Yesterday a commenter framed this discussion with the terms ‘appointed’ and ‘anointed’ That is to say, the traditional church could be guilty of trusting itself more than the leading of [...]
Against Hate
by i.burgess on April 20, 2011
Last week I took part in a protest against Westboro Baptist Church. Westboro are of course infamous for their hateful picketing and proclamations that God has doomed America. Every dead soldier, every teen who commits suicide, even the tragic events of the eleventh of September 2001 are occasions to thank and praise God. This cult [...]
Protesting Westboro: The Aftermath
by i.burgess on April 14, 2011
The protest went really well. We stood together to proclaim love in the face of such hate. We sang and prayed together. Amazing morning. Praise God. Possibly Related Posts: Concern for the nation Dead Words It’s a bit like this Between reason and faith The Briefest Glimpse
Protesting Westboro Tomorrow
by i.burgess on April 13, 2011
Tomorrow morning at 6:45 AM the Westboro Baptist Church will stage a protest outside a local high school. They have targeted this high school in their hateful sights due to an apparent high proportion of students who identify themselves as gay. Tomorrow morning I will stand with a whole lot of local Christians who will [...]
Blessed are the Merciful
by i.burgess on January 21, 2011
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Does this contradict the previous point, for what is mercy if not the mitigation of the expectation of righteousness? When I have heard teaching on God’s mercy, I have been told that is it the relenting of God from his own righteous indignation. In other words, [...]
Anniversary, or ‘Love song for a Saviour’
by i.burgess on June 7, 2010
One year ago two of the best people I know got married. It was their anniversary recently, and as I saw the status update on Facebook, my memory was filled with images of a flowing white dress, a church packed with loved ones, tears rolling down the strong cheeks of the groom. I remember the [...]
What do you mean, ‘saved by grace’?
by i.burgess on March 14, 2010
If you’ve been around church at all, you might have begun to pick up the language we use there. I like to call it ‘Christianese’, a strange tongue made of strange words and phrases no one else understands. “Cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb” “Washed by the Living Water” etc Preachers are the worst [...]
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