Faith
About this blog
Thinking the Faith, Praying the Faith, Living the Faith is written by the PC(USA) Office of Theology and Worship.
Thinking, praying, and living the faith is at the core of ministry in the Office of Theology and Worship. In the following videos, learn more about what thinking, praying, and living the faith means to the leadership of the Office of Theology and Worship. Discover why it matters and what difference it makes in our lives, work, and worship.
Charles Wiley
Barry Ensign-George
David Gambrell
Christine Hong
Karen Russell
Recent posts
- Our Challenging Way: Faithfulness, Sex, Ordination, and Marriage
- Unity, Confessions, and the Book of Order
- Come and See
- Please and Thank You
- Back to Basics on Ash Wednesday
Categories
- Theology (32)
- Worship (26)
- Faith (23)
- Spirituality (13)
- Leadership (11)
- View all categories →
Archives
Point with the Baptist
On Thursday, December 16 there was a worship service at the Presbyterian Center upon the occasion of the retirement of Joseph D. Small. The Daily Lectionary Gospel reading for the day was Matthew 3:1-12. The sermon focuses on the mission of John the Baptist particularly as understood in the theology of Karl Barth and his reflections on Matthias Grünewald’s Isenheim Altarpiece.
Here is a quotation from Barth that appears near the end of the sermon:
Barth writes, “John the Baptist too, in Grünewald’s Crucifixion, can only point—and here everything is bolder and more abrupt, because here all indication of the revelation of the Godhead is lacking—point to a wretched, crucified, dead man. This is the place of Christology. It faces the mystery. It does not stand within the mystery. It can and must adore with Mary and point with the Baptist. It cannot and must not do more than this. But it can and must do this.” [CD, I.2, p.125]
Download the entire sermon on PDF
December 15, 2010
Thank-you and Godspeed!
At the end of the year our colleague, Joe Small, will retire. Many of you know Joe; more of you have been impacted by his long service to the church in and through this denomination. We who have worked on...- Posted at 6:57 a.m.
- Permalink
December 9, 2010
Word Beyond Death
Those of you who know me know that, as a general rule, I don’t like self-revelation in public discourse. But I’m going to tell you what’s happened to me lately in order to shamelessly promote the Office and Theology’s Invitation...- Posted at 10:52 p.m.
- Permalink
December 7, 2010
Belhar, Absolutization, and Sin
Over on the PCUSA's Discussion page on the Confession of Belhar, there has been a discussion on the use of the terms "absolutizes" and "absolutization" in the confession. They are not common words for use in church documents, raising the...- Posted at 6:35 p.m.
- Permalink
December 3, 2010
Professionals and Conditioning
A few Februaries ago I stayed in the same Indianapolis hotel as several National Football League hopefuls who were attending the NFL Scouting Combine—the place where future stars are evaluated physically through a series of drills and medical evaluations. How...- Posted at 2:26 p.m.
- Permalink