Category Archives: Spiritual Living

Lenten Book Study – Discovering God the Creator: Third Sunday in Lent

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We begin chapter three of Mark McIntosh’s book, Mysteries of Faith, with a challenging statement: “What would you think if I told you that Christians believe God does not exist?” I was a bit startled at McIntosh’s statement for a few reasons: I suppose it’s startling to me when someone speaks for all Christianity, and to speak with such certainty about a subject that is large, complex, and mysterious…God’s creation, is a bit surprising. McIntosh goes on to develop his statement by saying that if God “existed” as other concrete realities “exist” in the world, that would imply that God was created as well. And God was not and never has been “created;” God is the eternal source of all created things. He also develops more nuanced understandings of God’s being throughout the chapter, with thoughts like, “a crucial difference between the Creator and all creatures is essence and existence: for while essence and existence are two quite different things for creatures, the very essence of God is to exist – not as something, but as the sheer loving act of existing itself.” And so, the mystery of creation is not something we might unwrap and understand in a single sentence.

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Lenten Book Study – Encountering the Trinity of God: Second Sunday in Lent

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If you were asked to assemble a list of “the mysteries of faith,” I believe most people would have a rather long list; and the mystery of “God the Trinity” would be pretty high on most people’s list. The Christian idea of a trinitarian God: “One in Three and Three in One” is an idea that often sits just beyond the grasp of most people’s minds…at least most people I know. The trinitarian understanding of God is a belief that distinguishes the Christian faith tradition from many others; and is a mystery that helps describe some of the most intimate and important characteristics of God’s eternal love. This is the mystery that Mark McIntosh takes up in this week’s chapter of his book, Mysteries of Faith. The mystery of discovering God in our daily lives is often revealed to us as we reflect on the deepest desires of our spirits…it is there we often find resonance with the Spirit of God. McIntosh writes, “The beauty and power we long to possess are only the whispers of One who cannot be possessed but who lives by giving all away freely in love.” The beauty we discover in life is often the reflection of the true and everlasting beauty of God’s love.

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Lenten Book Study – Talking with God: First Sunday in Lent

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Where do we find God in our daily lives? I guess the first part of answering that question leans on one important assumption: we are looking for God. The complex and hidden mysteries of life can be searched out with many different lenses, depending on one’s belief structure. In our discussion here, we will presume that the lens that leads to greater understanding and wholeness of life is illuminated by finding and conversing with God. And, to be even more specific, (because the divine nature of “God” is a complex thing as well), we proceed with a particularly Western Christian understanding of God. I preface all that follows with this statement because our book study group reflected on what people throughout the world might think of the subjects we will soon encounter, and we agreed that the conversation would take different paths, depending on where the conversation was held. This follows an important point made by Mark McIntosh in his first chapter of Mysteries of Faith: context provides clues to conversation and helps us to discover greater meaning.

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Lenten Book Study – 2024: Mysteries of Faith

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Once again, welcome to the holy season of Lent! As I skim through my web journal, it seems that Lent has become the time I return to this space. Maybe one of my Lenten practices this year will be to try and cultivate a more sustained practice of writing here…at least, one can hope! This year our book study is focused on one of the books in the New Church’s Teaching Series. The book we will study is Volume Eight of the Series: Mysteries of Faith, by Mark McIntosh.

This book centers itself in a discovery of the mysteries of life…the mysteries of life that are centered in the ongoing creative being of the divine presence of God. There are many, many things we can easily see in life, and there are as many (if not more) things that are invisible; things we can only imagine, or maybe theorize from clues we discover. The focus of McIntosh’s book is on the mysteries of the invisible work of God in our lives…which becomes a bit less mysterious if we dedicate ourselves to deepening our relationship with the divine source of creation. The focus of McIntosh’s book is the practice of “theology,” which for some folks might seem like a scary word. However, I appreciate that McIntosh quickly spends some time describing the “practice of theology” and, in doing so, quickly disarms the potentially overwhelming aspects of the word and brings the practice to something we all do in our daily lives. McIntosh writes in the opening Acknowledgments: “If prayer is ‘something understood,’ theology is the struggle to put what has been understood in prayer into words…Theology, I believe, is a sharing in the mystery of God’s life; it is what happens as God the Holy Spirit works within us the mystery of the Father’s Word made flesh. And it is, I believe, a deeply Anglican intuition to draw our theology from our life of common prayer throughout the ages.”

We will explore the Mysteries of Faith, chapter by chapter, as we make our way through Lent. The book also provides a few study questions for group discussion, and I will share parts of those questions throughout our journey through this Lenten book study. I hope you can join me.

Blessings on your Lenten journey, where ever it may take you. Peace be with you.

Lenten Book Study – Lent 6 Midweek Scripture reflections

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Our Lenten study book, Max Vincent’s, “Because of This I Rejoice,” provides us with opportunities to read and reflect on Scripture every day of the week. The Scripture passages listed below are the suggested readings for the week following the Sixth Sunday in Lent (Palm Sunday). I will list each day below, and fill in my thoughts as the week goes on…hoping to be a day or two ahead. Lenten blessings throughout this week and during your daily reflections.

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Lenten Book Study – Lent 5 Midweek Scripture reflections

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Our Lenten study book, Max Vincent’s, “Because of This I Rejoice,” provides us with opportunities to read and reflect on Scripture every day of the week. The Scripture passages listed below are the suggested readings for the week following the Fifth Sunday in Lent. I will list each day below, and fill in my thoughts as the week goes on…hoping to be a day or two ahead. Lenten blessings throughout this week and during your daily reflections.

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Lenten Book Study – Lent 4 Midweek Scripture reflections

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Our Lenten study book, Max Vincent’s, “Because of This I Rejoice,” provides us with opportunities to read and reflect on Scripture every day of the week. The Scripture passages listed below are the suggested readings for the week following the Fourth Sunday in Lent. I will list each day below, and fill in my thoughts as the week goes on…hoping to be a day or two ahead. Lenten blessings throughout this week and during your daily reflections.

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Lenten Book Study – Lent 3 Midweek Scripture reflections

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Our Lenten study book, Max Vincent’s, “Because of This I Rejoice,” provides us with opportunities to read and reflect on Scripture every day of the week. The Scripture passages listed below are the suggested readings for the week following the Third Sunday in Lent. I will list each day below, and fill in my thoughts as the week goes on…hoping to be a day or two ahead. Lenten blessings throughout this week and during your daily reflections.

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Lenten Book Study – Lent 2 Midweek Scripture reflections

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Our Lenten study book, Max Vincent’s, “Because of This I Rejoice,” provides us with opportunities to read and reflect on Scripture every day of the week. I will list each day below, and fill in my thoughts as the week goes on…hoping to be a day or two ahead. The picture of snow & leaves is simply an invitation to pick a simple image of natural beauty of your own to use in your reflections. Lenten blessings for this week after the Second Sunday in Lent.

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Lenten Book Study – Lent 1 Midweek Scripture reflections

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Our Lenten study book, Max Vincent’s, “Because of This I Rejoice,” provides us with opportunities to read and reflect on Scripture every day of the week. My hope is to provide some initial thoughts and maybe a reflection question or two, should you choose to take Vincent up on his offer to engage in daily reading and reflection of the Scripture passages he provides. I will list each day below, and fill in my thoughts as the week goes on…hoping to be a day or two ahead…at least, that’s my hope. The picture of snow & leaves is simply an invitation to pick a simple image of natural beauty of your own to use in your reflections. Lenten blessings for this week after the First Sunday in Lent.

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