I've had an Epiphany!

Mark 14:61 But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" 62 "I am," said Jesus. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Who is Jesus? Some say he was a great teacher. Others suggest that he was a martyr for a good cause. If you look around, you’ll find all kinds of answers to the question of Jesus’ identity. When Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Festival of Dedication, the Jews gathered around him and said, “ ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe’ ” (Jn 10:24 ). While Jesus stood before the high priest, he was asked the same question: “Are you the Christ?” Here Jesus answered clearly and boldly. He was not shy about who he claimed to be. Nor was he shy about saying what he had come to do. What he s...

CW: #132/133 – “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty” This hymn was written when Henry H. Milman was 30 years old and shortly before he became professor of poetry at Oxford in 1821. The original tune for this hymn was called “Winchester New” and formed from an earlier well-known German tune. This is the tune for Christian Worship: #133. The name of the tune for CW: #132 is “The King’s Majesty” and it was written by Graham George for this text and first published in The Hymnal … 1940 . In reply to an inquiry about the origin of the tune, George wrote: “It originated as the result of a choir practice before Palm Sunday in – I suppose – 1939, during which I had been thinking, “Winchester New” is a fine tune, but it has nothing whatever to do with the “tragic trumpets,” as one might theatrically call them, of Palm Sunday. At breakfast the following morning I was enjoying my toast and marmalade when the first two lines of this tune sang themselves unbidden in my mind. This seemed too good to m...

A confession of faith by three generations of Lutherans in the same congregation.

John 12:20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee , with a request. "Sir," they said, "we would like to see Jesus." 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!" Then a voice came fro...

John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. The Medal of Honor is the highest honor a member of the American armed services can receive. Some medals are awarded posthumously because the service members died on the field of battle during their acts of courage. Those awarded the glory of such a distinction went beyond the call of duty to save their comrades and advance the military objective of their units. Their stories are preserved as an inspiration to others, including f...

This pensive Lenten text is by Samuel Crossman, an Anglican priest with leanings towards Puritanism. This is a wonderful, biblical and beautiful text on the passion of our Lord. Much of its popularity must also be attributed to the wonderful tune by John Ireland, the writer of the tune. Ireland was an English cathedral composer in the first half of the twentieth century, a golden period of English church music. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph dated April 5, 1950 , a Mr. Donald Ford stated that the tune was composed in a quarter of an hour. According to the report, it was written while John Ireland was having lunch with Geoffrey Turton Shaw, who requested, “I want a tune for this lovely poem by Samuel Crossman.” The composer then took the paper and picked up the menu. After writing on the back of the menu for a few minutes he handed it to Shaw, with the casual remark, “Here is your tune.” 1. Why does the hymn-writer describe the Savior’s love for us as “love unknown” and “lo...

Numbers 21:4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea , to go around Edom . But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!" 6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. A family was sitting around the dinner table one evening waiting for their dad to get in from wor...