I was just telling my kids this week that the “Gregorys” from history were popes, and none of them were all that great. But I forgot about the desert fathers! And here’s a great Christmas sermon from my namesake from Nazianzus: Christ is born, glorify …
Read MoreSt. John Chrysostom
John became Archbishop of Constantinople, known as the “golden mouthed”…this is what “Chrysostom” means. It will not be difficult to see where this name came from. What shall I say to you; what shall I tell you? I behold a Mother who has brought forth; …
Read MoreSt. Augustine of Hippo
The pastors and theologians of the early church caught on quickly to the paradox and the beauty of the incarnation. He is the One through whom all things have been made, and, on Christmas, Who has been made in the midst of all things… He …
Read MoreSt. Isaac the Syrian
Seminary friend Tony Jones posted the first Christmas sermon (by St. John Chrysostom in AD. 386), and that sent me on a big hunt to see what else the ancient church fathers and mothers have said about Christmas. Wow. I’ll probably use some of these …
Read MoreMerry Christmas, Everyone!
Here in soggy Newberg Oregon, we’ve been frozen up for about a week. Tonight the table on our deck has 9 inches of snow, by far the most I’ve ever seen here. School’s been closed, things at the office have been mellow…and I asked Elaine …
Read MoreSpend Less…Advent Conspiracy
The biggest “sting” of the conspiracy is to fight back against the power of consumerism and worship God fully. One way to do that is to spend less on Christmas gifts…not just because it’s a good or prudent thing to do, but as a way …
Read MoreWorship Fully…Advent Conspiracy
I’m really excited that we’ve joined the Advent Conspiracy full force at NFC this year. This seems right in so many ways, and the feedback we’re getting from folks is great. If you haven’t heard about it, please do follow the link and learn about …
Read MoreAre we really going to talk about pacifism?
Newberg Friends is an interesting Friends meeting. We have many, many committed Quakers; and we have many committed Christians from other backgrounds. I’ve been feeling nudged more in the last couple of years to talk more about our specific core values as Friends, and yet …
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