To call God “Father” is one of the great privileges of being a Christian. But this can be confusing to the world and even to some inside the church. Why do Christians call God “Father” when he is not our biological dad? The Child Calls to His Father The power of the word “Father” is…
Hymn Guide: St. Patrick’s Breastplate
St. Patrick’s Breastplate is one of the great hymns of the church, an ancient invocation of the Trinity that is relevant in every age. The hymn began as an Old Irish prayer of protection called a lorica, and the text is attributed to St. Patrick or his followers in early Celtic monasticism. Literally, lorica is the…
10 Ways to Preach the Trinity Sunday Sermon
There is a standard joke about a church rector making up the calendar for preaching. He decides to preach all the easy Bible passages. Pentecost? It’s a piece of cake! The Transfiguration? Child’s play. Christ the King Sunday? Not a problem. But then he looks at the Bible readings for the Feast of the Holy…
Ordinary Time: A Rookie Anglican Guide to the Season after Trinity
Welcome to Ordinary Time! Now, if you’re like me, you might hear “Ordinary Time” as “boring time,” but that’s not the case! The Church Year revolves around two cycles: first, the Christmas cycle (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany). Next, the cycle shifts to the Easter cycle (Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost). The rest of the year is…
What They Are Saying About The Trinity
It was the whole Trinity, which at the beginning of creation said, “Let us make man”. It was the whole Trinity again, which at the beginning of the Gospel seemed to say, “Let us save man”. — J. C. Ryle The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship…
Help for that Tricky Trinity Sunday Sermon
For many years, when I preached or taught on the Holy Trinity, I always started by saying basically the same thing, something like this: “I am as unsure as anyone how the doctrine of the Trinity makes sense or is directly relevant to daily life. However, it is a true biblical and Christian belief, and…
