I have often asked myself, where does my biblical worldview end and my culture begin? Am I guilty of reading into the biblical text ideas that are actually based in American culture or conservative politics? These questions are important to wrestle with for a few reasons. First, all who claim to follow Christ want to…
Holy Saturday, the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, stems from two distinct Christian doctrines that developed their own ways of celebrating this day. For some, Holy Saturday is the day on which Jesus “rested” from His redemptive work. As Jesus died on the cross, his cry of “It is finished”, signified the completion…
Lament is not a popular topic in the US, even among most Christians. It feels like when we are to proclaim the good news that Jesus has freed us from sin and death, there shouldn’t be any room for bad news. However, that is an overly simplistic theology. While we are living in the time…
As we celebrate the transfiguration of Christ that took place as He prepared to die on the cross, this event raises a lot of questions. What are the implications of Jesus being joined by Moses and Elijah for our understanding of what happens when we die? How does this fit with the doctrine of “the…
The following article appears on the website for the Diocese of the Carolinas of the Anglican Church in North America (https://adoc.church/the-allure-of-liturgy-for-a-new-generation-winfield-befins/). This article was written by Dr. Winfield Bevins, the new Director of Church Planting at Asbury Theological Seminary, and Canon for Church Planting for the Diocese of the Carolinas. The material below is from…
The other day, one of my sons asked, “Why did Mary Magdalene follow Jesus, but she wasn’t one of the disciples?” He was referring to the depiction of Jesus and the disciples in The Chosen, where Mary and other women are very much part of the traveling group that served with Jesus, but she was…
My congregation just completed another year’s involvement in the Angel Tree program, giving Christmas gifts to children of an incarcerated parent. In my several years of involvement with Angel Tree it seems that inmate families are almost always poor. That raises the question: Do they break the law because they are poor, or are they…
The following article was written by Fr. Paul Scalia, published on November 27th, 2022 on the website www.thecatholicthing.org. The picture is Our Lord Jesus Christ by James Tissot, c. 1890 [Brooklyn Museum] The Lord of History Fr. Paul D. Scalia The so-called Respect for Marriage Act has pushed the issue of gay marriage back into…
To Our Epworth Family, How do we begin to say “thank you” for the wonderful privilege it has been to serve with all of you for more than two decades? I am also grateful to the original Epworthies who supported me and my family and who are no longer with us, and to all of…
In case you are wondering what All Saints Day is all about, here is an updated version of a previous blog explainer: Every December, the secular and cultural celebration of Christmas overshadows the religious holiday on which it is based. Essentially the same thing happens at the end of October, when the way American culture celebrates…