Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. (Westminster Catechism) Our God is infinitely more worthy of any praise and worship that we could possibly offer. It seems right, then, that we employ our best imagination, gifts and skills to help one another worship well, to help us see increasingly more of God’s beauty. Over the course of history, … [Read more...] about Beauty art kingdom: part 3 Beauty and art in worship
Faith
Inspiring a deeper walk of faith in God, expressed as Father, Son, and Spirit. Living out our shared experiences of life in Christ.
Beauty, art and the Kingdom part 2 Beauty, art and culture
In the opening chapter of For the Beauty of the Church (W. David O. Taylor), Andy Crouch highlights the distinction between creation and culture. The story of creation is about creatio ex nihilo – the creation of something from nothing. In extension, culture is about creation out of what has already been created (creatio ex creatis). Culture – God’s idea In the … [Read more...] about Beauty, art and the Kingdom part 2 Beauty, art and culture
Beauty, Art and the Kingdom Part 1 Perceptions of beauty
Although the word ‘beauty’ evokes such varied impressions for each of us, we all desire it in one form or another. Even if we don’t think about it much, there are certain encounters that take our breath away. The subject of beauty is expansive, wrapped in endless forms – nature, music, speech, colour, form, ideas and ethics, all originating in God’s creation of the … [Read more...] about Beauty, Art and the Kingdom Part 1 Perceptions of beauty
Christmas: the richness of presence
It’s now the second Christmas of COVID. Last year, celebrations were curtailed. We saw our daughter and son-in-law only briefly, distanced around a fire-pot in our wide-open garage, eating a Christmas breakfast we’d each cooked separately in our own kitchens. Memorable, but not ideal. From those depths of isolation orders and social distancing, we learned (in an inverted way) … [Read more...] about Christmas: the richness of presence
Gift Giving: the gifts of grace, mercy and understanding
As an Indigenous person who feels caught in the middle of all the tension on social media over the mass unmarked graves, and a plethora of other issues, I’ve been having some deep thoughts. I’ve also been measuring what I’ve been hearing, seeing, and experiencing through the lens of scripture, and specifically the New Testament and the writings of the Apostle Paul. … [Read more...] about Gift Giving: the gifts of grace, mercy and understanding