The four Advent collects offer both a concise introduction to the season and a rich overview of the grace God offers to sinners.
The 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Do you want to pray with the church and immerse yourself in the Bible? Then the Book of Common Prayer is for you. But there are lots of different versions. If you crave simplicity, then consider The 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition. This book can be a structure for your spiritual life. It’s…
My Spirit Rejoices: Reflections on the Magnificat
Our God is a God of music. He does not sit in his high and noble tower, eternally contemplating his own existence, as some philosophers have hypothesized. He is, rather, always engaged in the drama of his own glory, bursting into the human world with shards of joy that inspire souls to sing out in…
Making Music with Jeremiah
It may seem odd to others why I would write and record an entire album from the Book of Jeremiah. As a singer-songwriter who writes music for the Church, this certainly isn’t typical. Many albums, especially of music written for worship, focus on themes within Scripture, but rarely does an album focus on one book…
We Praise You, O God: Reflections on the Te Deum
The Early Church has furnished us with a wellspring of liturgical resources. Studies in this area have seen a minor renaissance as modern Christians, particularly Evangelicals, have expressed a desire for a living tradition to hold on to. [1] They desire for this tradition to not simply be the accepted beliefs and practices of those…
Why Anglicans Kneel in Worship: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Anglicans kneel a lot: in prayer, in confession, and at Communion. We often surprise visitors from other traditions with our frequent kneeling. But why do we kneel so often? In short, kneeling is Biblical Worship, Bodily Worship, and Beautiful Worship. Kneeling as Biblical Worship The Bible associates kneeling with worship, especially prayers of confession, thanksgiving, and petition. Kneeling in the Old…
Getting Started with the Daily Office: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Let’s face it: to the modern ear, “Daily Office” sounds more like your workplace than your prayer routine. However, while this “office” is not the workplace that it sounds like, it is, in a certain sense, a task or, more appropriately, a vocation. The odd name comes from the Latin officium divinum, which means “divine…
The Liturgy Will Pray for You: A Journey Through Grief with the Book of Common Prayer
I did not become a Christian in a liturgical tradition, but I was introduced to liturgical prayer and worship very early in my walk. I found liturgy especially helpful in giving me words and phrases to cling to when my own prayers felt “stuck.” Now, after 21 years as a Christian, having shifted into the…
Midday Prayer: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Our days are busy. Life is a nonstop hustle from the time we finish breakfast until we get home from work or school. Lunch itself may be eaten on the go. In the midst of it all, we often neglect Paul’s instruction to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17). However, Midday Prayer is here to…
When Two or Three Are Gathered: Reflections on the Prayer of St. John Chrysostom
Introduction Few preachers in the Patristic Church are as admired and enduring as John Chrysostom.[1] Born in A.D. 349, John developed a love for the written word that his mentor, Diodore, heavily influenced. In response to the rising trend of allegorical interpretation, Diodore and his apprentice emphasized that the Bible should be taken in its…
Compline: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Compline as Night Prayer Many of us are accustomed to saying a quick prayer before bed. The church has a formal tradition of doing this called Compline, the final of four prayer times collectively called the Daily Office in the Book of Common Prayer. Unlike the two principal offices, Morning and Evening Prayer, Compline (as…
10 Reasons for Anglican Optimism
When we observe the world—the sin and disbelief and conflict surrounding the church, together with the sin and disbelief and conflict within the church—it is easy to grow weary of the “changes and chances of this life” (BCP, 60). But take heart: our Lord Jesus Christ is on his throne, his Kingdom is at hand,…
