In my previous post on Lent and the accompanying video, I focused on fasting and abstinence (“giving something up for Lent”) as central elements of...
The Seven Penitential Psalms
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The Twelve Days of Christmas
In American culture, we think of the Christmas season as the time leading up to Christmas. Christmas celebrations frequently last only a few days,...
Christmas Paradoxes
The infinite became finite, the eternal and supratemporal entered time and became subject to its conditions, the immutable became mutable, the...
Medieval Advent and Christmas Traditions
Advent is my favorite season of the church year. It makes me feel connected to the past in ways that other times of the year do not. As a historian...
Advent and the Many Comings of Christ
For My Non-Liturgical Friends: A Quick Introduction to the Church Year The church year takes us on a liturgical journey through the story of our...
Life and Death in the Negative World
I went to the Touchstone Conference last week. The theme, “At Cross Purposes: Life and Death in the Negative...
The Christian and Holistic Health
In the fitness world today, yoga is big business. Classes are popping up all over, and some are even marketed as “Christian yoga.” But at the same...
Best of Breakpoint: What Music Is For in Corporate Worship
Today, January 13, we remember the Hussites who, on this day in 1501, published the first hymnal in history written in the language of the common...
Advent through the Ages: The O Antiphons
As Christmas approaches, I always find myself connecting to the past, both my family’s history and beyond that to the more distant history of the...
A Brief Introduction to Fasting
Fasting is a spiritual discipline that was practiced by Jesus and early Christians and that today is practiced in many places around the world today...
The Believer’s Three Callings, Part 1
When evangelical Christians think about God’s purpose for the church and for their lives, they often think almost entirely in terms of evangelism....
The Believer’s Three Callings, Part 2
In the previous article, I argued that a fully-formed biblical worldview recognizes three callings on the life of the believer: the Great...
The Believer’s Three Callings, Part 3
Dominion in Proper Context In the previous articles in this series, I discussed the Great Commandment and the Great Commission and argued that these...
Biblical Theology and the Arts: Music and the Bible
Music is, or should be, a vital part of the Christian life. I suspect most Christians have never considered how big a role music plays in...
Advent Devotional: December 23
December 23: These are based on the O Antiphons, traditionally said during church services from December 17 to December 23; they are also the basis...