Light (10)

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV

Light (9)

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart…. [E]ven if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:1, 3-6 ESV 

Vintage Christmas Images: Meat in a Dead Heat

This is a Christmas card found in an English scrapbook preserving the years 1870-1880. The text around whatever it is riding the black porker reads “A Dead Heat for the Plate.” So, as far as I can tell, you have two hogs racing for my oven, one carrying a turkey on its back and one carrying what looks like nothing I’ve ever seen.

You thought they didn’t do humourous cards back then, didn’t you? 

Don’t ask me to explain the joke to you. The best I can do is point out that it’s British humour, which might be all the explanation there is.

But surely there must be more. What’s your explanation?

Sick As a Dog

That was me all day yesterday. Just like the picture, except there’s no way I would have had any soup and crackers near me.

 

I’m glad to be a little better today, but I’ve got a whole lot of work to catch up on.

Light (8)

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 3:19-21 ESV 

Light (7)

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

Hebrew 1:1-3 ESV

Sunday's Hymn: Incarnation

This week’s hymn will feature the doctrine of the incarnation again. This time it’s an oldie but goodie by Charles Wesley.

Hark The Herald Angel’s Sing 

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”

Refrain

Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart. (Listen)

More on the doctrine of the incarnation:

• Immanuel, a sermon by Dan Phillips (mp3)
• Thinking about the Incarnation: The Divine Word Became Flesh by Kenneth Richard Samples
  

Today is going to be a really busy day for me. If I can manage it, I’ll go around later, collecting links to other hymns and post them, but I can’t promise anything.

Light (6)

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

John 1:14-18 ESV

Vintage Christmas Images: Insist on Slinky

Yet another old Christmas ad, this one for Slinky Toys, with pictures of the Original Slinky, the Slinky Soldiers, the Slinky Seal, the Slinky Handcar, the Slinky Spiral, and the Slinky Dog. For Christmas 1957, you could place an Original Slinky, the Spiral Slinky or the Seal Slinky under the tree for only one dollar. The other pictured slinky toys would set you back two bucks.

I really like that Spiral Slinky. The other variations on the original are pretty silly, if you ask me. I remember the Slinky Dog from the movie Toy Story, but I still think it’s silly.

In one of the few photos of me as a toddler, I am holding a slinky. That photo would have been taken about 1957, so perhaps some child in Trailerville got a slinky for Christmas. (It wasn’t mine, because the only toys I had then were a little broom, a little red wooden rocking chair, and a piggy bank that I would soon drop and break into a million pieces.)

At the time of this ad, a good chunk of the resources from the Slinky empire were being funneled by Slinky founder Richard James into some sort of Bolivian religious organization. Details about the organization are sketchy. Some say it was a religious cult and others say it was just a group of Episocopalian enthusiasts. (Is Episcopalian enthusiasts an oxymoron?) Whatever it was, by 1960, Richard James had left everything behind, including his wife and six kids, in order to move to Bolivia. His company was near bankruptcy, but brave Betty James managed to turn things around, partly with the help of a new advertising jingle.

Do you remember the Slinky jingle? I’ll start it for you, and you see if you can finish. “It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, For fun it’s a wonderful toy. It’s Slinky, it’s Slinky, It’s fun _______.” How’d you do?

Today, you can buy an Original Slinky for about $3.50 US or $5.00 Canadian and rest easy knowing that none of your money is going to fund Episcopalians, gung-ho or otherwise.

What is the duty which God requireth of man

The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will.[1]

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