Gary Neal Hansen's Blog, page 57
July 19, 2014
A Better Way to Think About Heaven, via St. Gregory of Nyssa
Christians in our culture have a pretty odd default view of life after death. We call it “heaven” and tell the world they ought to make sure they get to go there, but we portray it as frankly boring. You know the schtick: sitting forever on a cloud holding a harp you don’t know how to play. […]
July 8, 2014
How Can We Make Sense of God’s “Wrath”? A Parable
Once there was, and once there was not, an artist. He was good — very good. He painted beautiful scenes and portraits. He had some wit and whimsy about him: Always, whether at the center or somewhere hidden, his paintings included the faces of those he loved. His wife and children. Or his dog. His […]
July 3, 2014
3 Insights on Freedom as Independence Day Approaches
In America we always hear a great deal about freedom. Especially so around July 4, our Independence Day. And with our convoluted mixture of religious and political thought, Christian talk about freedom becomes a muddle. The muddle shouldn’t surprise us: Scripture strongly emphasizes freedom as a gift at or near the heart of the Gospel. It starts with the […]
June 21, 2014
Presbyterian G.A. Approves New Translation of Heidelberg Catechism!
I am so very happy to share the news that Friday night, the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) gave final approval to the new translation of the Heidelberg Catechism! In 2008 I was called to participate in a national committee to resolve five translation problems in the version used by the PC(USA) since […]
June 17, 2014
6 Key Things to Know About the Holy Spirit
A week ago was Pentecost. This week was Trinity Sunday. A great time to continue blogging about the Holy Spirit. It took a while for Christians to become clear that the Holy Spirit is really and truly God. Father? Check. Son? Check. Spirit? Some ambiguity — for centuries actually. Once that was clear, though, we joyfully proclaimed and […]
June 13, 2014
Is Pentecost “The Birthday of the Church”?
Here’s a question for you: How many of you have heard or preached a Pentecost sermon proclaiming it “the birthday of the Church”? That seems to be the understanding today among Christians. What really happened in Acts chapter 2? Was it “the first Pentecost”? No. Jews from around the world were gathered in Jerusalem to […]
June 10, 2014
Want to Improve Your Praise Band? Consider St. Ephrem the Syrian
It seems like every church has a praise band leading worship these days, or wants to have one. But let’s face it: a lot of modern worship music, whether praise songs or hymns, is theologically and spiritually shallow. A lot of it focuses on us and our feelings rather than on the glory of God. When it points beyond […]
June 5, 2014
St. Boniface: Monk, Missionary, Martyr
Today the Church remembers St. Boniface who died at the hands of a violent mob on this day in 754. He is called the “Apostle to the Germans” for his work as a missionary bishop. I want to highlight three things worth learning from his life today. First, Boniface shows us the counter-intuitive power of medieval […]
June 3, 2014
Vocabulary Lesson: What’s Up with the “Ascension”? (Heidelberg Catechism Q. 49)
We just rushed by the most neglected day of the Church’s year: the “Ascension”, forty days after Easter when the risen Christ left the earth and went to heaven. Part of the problem: the original event happened on a Thursday. Churches don’t gather to take notice until the Sunday afterward. Another issue: Jesus lifting off without benefit […]
May 30, 2014
Heidelberg Catechism Group Study Now on Kindle!
I was very pleased to discover that my six-week small-group study of the Heidelberg Catechism is now available on Kindle! Apparently it came out on Kindle in May of 2013, but I didn’t hear about it. The paper copy came out in 2012. It is part of the “Being Reformed” series put out by the PC(USA)’s Congregational […]
