Review: The Lord and His Prayer

N.T. Wright, in a series that was originally a set of sermons preached at Lichfield Cathedral in 1995, reflects on the Lord's Prayer. More specifically he exegetes each phrase from the prayer and its implication for Jesus people. This short work serves as a introduction to Wright's larger framework emphasizing the Gospel of the Kingdom and Jesus as the victorious King. At only 89 pages it tips the scales as one of Wright's shorter works and is very accessible. Any parishioner would be able to read and greatly benefit from this work. Although it may not seem like it on…

January 06, 2006  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

Review: Awesome God

Full Disclosure: I received this CD for free from Sovereign Grace Ministries in exchange for reviewing it. I listened to this CD a couple of times through and was pleased with the arrangements of songs with more theological depth than the typical praise choruses that are common in much children's music. I have younger siblings including a sister who is 11 and a brother who is 9. After listening to this a couple of times through I gave it the true test: allow the kids to listen. They were not as receptive initailly to this new music. Some of the…

January 04, 2006  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

Serenity and Sin

Last evening I attended a viewing of the film Serenity at a friend's house. It was an action packed film that had a fast-paced story. This film is a follow on to a failed TV series. Fox produced a series called Firefly. They botched the series by showing episodes out of order on different days of the week and even missed showing some of the episodes. Then they wondered why the viewership never picked up and canceled the show. In comes Universal who picked up rights to the film and produced a movie that continues with the story line. Don't…

January 02, 2006  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

Always Winter and Never Christmas

As I continue to reflect on Lewis' story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe I have been considering what it was like to live in a world where it is always Winter and never Christmas. As we have just finished the Advent season where we await the coming of God in the flesh, we remember what it was like for those living before Jesus and our own lives before we hailed Jesus as King of Everything. I remember what darkness and cold were like living without the reality of the greatest Christmas gift ever. We must remember that there…

December 29, 2005  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

The Power of Stories

On Friday evening I went to see the new Steven Spielberg movie, Munich. This movie is a story of a Mossad agent who was contracted to assassinate the Palestinian leaders who were part of Black September. WARNING: Small Spoiler - if you will be seeing the movie, wait to read this until you have watched the movie. One particular series of scenes in the movie drove home the idea of narrative in a powerful way. It began with one of the Palestinians who was going to be the target of an assassination. The man had recently translated the book 1001…

December 26, 2005  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrode

Last evening I viewed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for the second time. I noticed a few more subtle aspects of the film. I am amazed at how Lewis is able to use this myth to stir up different emotions upon each reading, or now viewing, of his story. Last evening it was the supper at the Beaver's house or should we say dam that stood out to me. The scene begins with Mrs. Beaver showing her hospitality and then they begin discussing the Good News about Aslan. Mr. Beaver gets so excited in telling about Aslan and…

December 21, 2005  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

The Hours

Directed by Stephen Daldry, The Hours portrays the effects of Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway on three generations of women played by Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, and Meryl Streep. Through the talented and moving cast, also starring Ed Harris, The Hours radiates a structurally sound Secular Humanist worldview. The characters in this film take their worldview to its logical conclusion, and thus, there is nothing “wrong” with The Hours from a worldview Perspective. Reflecting Mrs. Dalloway, each character struggles to find purpose and meaning in his or her life. Daldry opens the film with 1920’s character Virginia Woolf passing “the…

December 17, 2005  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

Passion: Hymns Ancient and Modern

This album is a compilation of various artists from the Passion Worship Band. They have classic hymns of the Christian faith and have rearranged them. The result is an energetic worship album with much zeal behind the music. The lead song sets the tone for this album with 'O Worship the King'. This anthem of the faith proclaims that gospel loud and clear. The matchless King Jesus is acclaimed during this hymn. He is hailed as the rightful and reigning king. The chorus enters with power and 'You alone are the matchless King' is sung loud. His attributes and character…

December 17, 2005  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)

The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion

In this short piece (as short as Tom Wright has ever written) Wright expounds upon the historical origin of the Lord's Supper and upon it's eucharistic significance. Wright begins with a discussion of a birthday party here on earth that a Martian arrives at. He discusses how funny the questions seem that the Martian is asking like why people are wearing funny hats and lighting candles on a cake. The whole ritual seems very strange to someone who has not grown up celebrating birthdays. In the same way, Wright says that we are like the earlings that are celebrating the…

December 17, 2005  |  Permalink   |  TrackBack (0)