Parish Magazine Item for July

It’s been excellent to see the installation of a number of publicly accessible defibrillators locally recently (in Bodle Street Green, Dallington, Rushlake Green, Cade Street and Broad Oak). Funds are currently being raised to place a cabinet in Warbleton. Although Rushlake Green and Punnetts Town might not seem very far away, I’m told that every moment counts towards the chances of someone who has had a cardiac arrest making a good recovery. Although training in how to use the machines is available, they talk you through what to do, so anyone should be able to operate them. They can also only be used if they detect that they are needed.  

In a way, we might say that the church’s primary mission has always been healthcare – but above all of a spiritual not a physical variety. Historically the church has often been at the forefront of caring for the literally sick and dying, for example, by founding hospitals or through nursing orders. But the Bible makes clear the priority of the soul over the body. Of course our physical existence matters greatly, but our spiritual life, which lasts for ever, is even more important.

Jesus implied that he is like a doctor who has come for the sick (Mark 2:17) – that is, for those who know their need of him and who are ready to admit that they are sinners. If we think we are spiritually healthy left to ourselves, Jesus will seem irrelevant to us, we will struggle to see the need of the cross. The incarnation was a rescue mission. Jesus would say that our situation is critical: we need emergency care and it is radical intervention, not a mere sticking plaster or a cosmetic treatment that he has in mind. All of us are spirit-sick sinners in need of the cure which Jesus offers. Without him, our prognosis is fatal because, the Bible says, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

The Christian diagnosis, then, is that we are not just spiritually a little off colour. According to the Scriptures, we all have a terminal heart condition. We are, to put it frankly, as the Apostle Paul does, spiritually dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). And it is no good telling a dead person to get a life! A dead person is, on their own, hopeless and helpless. We need someone to make them alive again. A resuscitation, or more accurately, a resurrection, is needed if we are to live.

This new spiritual life is exactly what Jesus offers. Sometimes people are dismissive of so-called “born again Christians” but the phrase comes directly from the teaching of Jesus. He told the eminent Jewish religious leader, Nicodemus, that he “must be born again” if he was to “see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The Bible teaches this new birth or regeneration elsewhere (1 Peter 1:3 & Titus 3:5). Even if we find the language unfamiliar, we must not miss the point that Jesus says that we each require radical inner transformation. The Spirit of God must breathe new life into our souls. All real Christians are born again Christians, though their conversion experience may not be a dramatic one.

According to the logic of the Scriptures, we can be confident that Jesus can give the new spiritual life which we need. In his earthly ministry, he literally raised the dead. He called himself “The Resurrection and The Life” (John 11:25) and his own rising from the dead showed his mastery over the grave. The risen Jesus would say, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and of Hades [that is, the place of the dead].” (Revelation 1:18). It is by faith in Jesus that he said we can pass over from death to life (John 5:24). This new eternal life is a spiritual reality in part now for those who trust in Jesus, but the eternal life which Jesus gives will also go on beyond death. This life is first spiritual, but it leads, at judgement day, to the resurrection and transformation of the body too.  

Perhaps when we see the defibrillators in our villages, we might think of the new life which Jesus offers.

Eternal Subordination of the Son? & Augustine

Keith E. Johnson, 'Trinitarian Agency and the Eternal subordination of the son: An Augustinian perspective' Themelios 36.1 (2011): 7–25

In a debate where there is sometimes name-calling and excessive heat, Johnson seems to attempt a careful and fair treatment of Augustine and those who have sought to enlist him in their cause.

Johnson argues that:

Augustine’s mature account of trinitarian agency involves two elements. on the one hand, the working of the Father, son, and Holy spirit is inseparably the work of the three ad extra. on the other hand, in this single act, the divine persons work according to their relative properties ad intra. The Father acts with the other divine persons according to his mode of being “from no one” (unbegotten). The son acts with the other divine persons according to his mode of being “from the Father” (generation). The spirit acts with the other divine persons according to his mode of being “from the Father and the son” (procession). Combining these two elements we might say that the divine persons act inseparably through the intra-trinitarian taxis: from the Father, through the son, in the Holy Spirit.

...

Augustine writes:

what we are saying may perhaps be easier to sort out if we put the question this way, crude though it is: in what manner did God send his son? did he tell him to come, giving him an order he complied with by coming, or did he ask him to, or did he merely suggest it? well, whichever way it was done, it was certainly done by word. But God’s word is his son. So when the Father sent him by word, what happened was that he was sent by the Father and his Word. Hence it is by the Father and the Son that the Son was sent, because the Son is the Father’s Word (De trin. ii.9, 103, emphasis mine).

"Inseparable action, therefore, intrinsically qualifies all the working of the Father and son, including the “sending” of the son by the Father. EFS proponents, therefore, misread Augustine when they sever his comments about the Father “sending” the son from Augustine’s unequivocal affirmation that the divine persons act inseparably."

Again, Augustine:

so it is that the invisible Father, together with the jointly invisible son, is said to have sent this son by making him visible” (De trin. ii.9, 103)

Johnson's conclusion is as follows:

"So where does Augustine stand on the EFs debate? we have seen that Augustine is misread by proponents and opponents of EFs alike. Moreover, important differences exist between Augustine’s trinitarian theology and the theology of some representatives on both sides in the debate. There is no evidence that Augustine believed that the hypostatic distinction between the Father and the son is constituted by eternal “authority” (on the part of the Father) and eternal “submission” (on the part of the son). to the contrary, this element of EFs is incompatible with his account of trinitarian agency. At the same time, Augustine does not explore the speculative question of whether any analogy might exist between the son’s filial mode of being eternally “from the Father” and his obedience to the Father in his state of humiliation."

He adds in a final footnote:


"Thomas Aquinas, who builds on Augustine’s trinitarian doctrine, does not explore this question either. several twentieth-century theologians, however, do explore this possibility. two notable examples include karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar. Barth’s discussion of the eternal obedience of the son (see karl Barth, Church Dogmatics iv/1: The Doctrine of Reconciliation [trans. G. w. Bromiley; Edinburgh: t&t Clark, 1956], esp. 195–203) has been the subject of extensive debate. receiving almost no attention in the EFs debate, however, is an important Catholic contemporary of Barth, Hans Urs von Balthasar. von Balthasar’s theology is profoundly trinitarian and quite speculative at points (owing in part to the influence of the Catholic mystic, Adrienne von speyr). in his five-volume Theo-Drama, von Balthasar labors to show how key facets of the economy of salvation— especially the cross—are grounded in God’s immanent life. For example, von Balthasar claims that the economic self-emptying (kenosis) of the son in the incarnation reflects a kind of super-kenosis in the divine life in which the Father gives himself away wholly and without remainder in the begetting of the son. in relation to the present discussion, von Balthasar claims that the human obedience of Jesus reflects something fundamental about the son’s eternal relationship to the Father: “For [the son] simply expresses in the oikonomia what he has always expressed anew in the eternal, triune life: his complete readiness to carry out every one of the Father’s wishes” (Hans Urs von Balthasar, The Last Act, vol. 5 of Theo-Drama Theological Dramatic Theory [trans. Graham Harrison; san Francisco: ignatius, 1998], 513; see also 86–89). [Editor’s note: Cf. stephen M. Garrett, “The dazzling darkness of God’s triune Love: introducing Evangelicals to the Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar,” Them 35 (2010): 413–30.]

Doyle on the monarchy of the Father / eternal submission of the Son

I think all the orthodox would agree that there is an order amongst the persons of the Trinity. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. The Spirit, on the Western understanding, proceeds from the Father and the Son. Whether or not the distinction between the persons goes beyond their eternal relation of origins or, to put it differently, what freight we should give to that relation, is, it seems to me rather trickier.




Critiquing the work of Kevin Giles, Robert Doyle quotes this on the monarchy of the Father from Athanasius:

[Against polytheism] For we must not think there is more than one ruler and maker of Creation: but it belongs to correct and true religion to believe that its Artificer is one … Who then might this Maker be? … the God we worship and preach is the only true One, Who is Lord of Creation and Maker of all existence. Who then is this, save the Father of Christ, most holy above all created existence, Who like an excellent pilot, by His own Wisdom and His own Word, our Lord and Saviour Christ, steers and preserves and orders all things, and does as seems to Him best?

Athanasius, Against the Heathen, paragraphs 39-40; emphasis mine. See also Against the Heathen, paragraphs 6-7; also Defence of the Nicene Council/[Definition], 26, 30-31; and On Luke 10.22.

He also cites Defence of the Nicene Council/[Definition], 30, On Luke, 4-5 and Defence of the Nicene Council/[Definition], 31, On Luke, 4-5. Doyle comments: "Note that here and in Athanasius’ wider writings the priority (that is, the order) of the person and work of the Father in defining who the Son is: from the Father to the Son; from the Father who is the monarch, the one ruler as well as the one origin. In this way, Athanasius recognizes the asymmetrical, yet mutually conditioning nature of the relations between Father and Son. By locating the monarchy in the Father, and his wielding of it through that which is also truly God, his very own Word, the Son, Athanasius keeps the Son and the Father as both truly God, and safeguards this differentiation in the one God from slipping into polytheism."

"In the immanent Trinity the roles and functions of Father and Son are not interchangeable, but permanent. The Son is Lord by sharing in his own way the monarchy of the Father who gives it to him."

"the Father cannot really be the eternal Father unless he has such an eternal Son, of the same substance as himself, and to whom he gives his authority. The Father does not hand over his authority to an agent who is his essential inferior. Further, if the Father is not the final locus of authority, how indeed can he really be a ‘father’? It is proper for the divine Father to ‘give’ and the divine Son to respond to that."

"Let me say it again: a careful reading of the texts referred to above shows that in Athanasius’ writings, the giving of authority to the Son by his Father belongs to the immanent Trinity, and not the economic alone."

"Augustine is absolutely insistent that in the eternal counsels and life of God, only the Father could ‘send’ and the Son be ‘sent’. ‘Sender’ and ‘sent’ are permanent roles or functions, not interchangeable. For the triune God to act truly according to his eternal being or essence, only the Father could be the Sender, and the Son the Sent One. In Augustine’s thought there is no possibility of these being interchangeable."

For Augustine "economic subordination does speak of the eternal relations, not just the one substance. Jesus states that, “the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing” (John 5:19ff). And in that way he—at least in the economy—is subordinating himself to the Father. Augustine, however, makes it clear that this economic relation is to be tied closely to the eternal relation. As related in eternity, so the Son operates on earth.

… that the work of the Father and the Son is inseparable [inseparabilis est operatio], and yet the Son’s working is from the Father just as the he himself is from the Father; and the way in which the Son sees the Father is simply by being the Son. For him, being from the Father, that is being born of the Father, is not something different from seeing the Father; nor is seeing him working something different from his working equally; and the reason he does not work of himself is that he does not (so to put it), be of himself … ⁽On the Trinity, II.3)

For Augustine "The Father operates by the Son. The Father creates by the Son, and not vice versa. That is, the roles/functions/work are not interchangeable. This can be clearly seen in Augustine’s account of the missions: the Sending by the Father and the Being Sent by the Son.

It was not fitting that the Begetter be sent by his Son, but that the Son be sent by his Begetter. This is not inequality of substance, but the order of nature.¹⁹

The pattern seen in them is not arbitrary, but reflects the eternal relations.²⁰ It is foolish, Augustine says, to think that the Son or the Spirit could send the Father.²¹ "

"Rahner strongly insists that the Father could not die. The roles/functions/operations of the Persons of the Trinity are not interchangeable, but eternal. What happened in the economy is rooted in the eternal differentiation of the three Persons. If every divine member of the Trinity could become man, become incarnate, that would ‘create havoc with theology’ and ‘be against the whole sense of holy Scripture’. Rahner also affirms that theincarnation reveals not only something about God generally (which we already knew anyway), but particularly about the Person of the Son or the Logos, “his own relative specific features within divinity”.²⁷ Later, Rahner ties the obedience of the Son in the economy back into the immanent Trinity.²⁸

For Barth "eternal relational subordination within the Trinity, and that it is necessary to salvation!³⁰ The methodological point made by Barth, which is also that of Athanasius and Rahner (amongst others) is that unless the ordering in the relations we see in the economy actually witness to the relations in the immanent Trinity, then we are in fact not in touch with God himself. "

"Barth, in his thorough christological way, goes on to apply this to man-woman relationships...."³³

Eternal Subordination of the Son? (Frame & Letham)

John Frame argues for what he says might be called "an eternal subordination of role" amongst members of the Trinity. "Both Eastern and Western thinkers have regularly affirmed that God the Father has some sort of primacy over the other two persons." (The Doctrine of God, P&R, 2002 p719) as fons deitatis (fountain of deity) or fons trinitatis (fountain of the Trinity) citing this as a central point in the theology of the Cappadocian fathers. (See Fortman, The Triune God, p76 and Ursinus, Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, p135).

Frame argues that the economic activities of the persons are analogous to their eternal relationships and that the forms of economic subordination suggest this pattern. "The Son and the Spirit are voluntarily subordinate to the commands of the Father, because that kind of subordination is appropriate to their eternal nature as persons." (p720)

See also John V. Dahmns, 'The Subordination of the Son', JETS 37 (1994): 351-64 and Stephen Kovack and Peter Schemm, 'A Defence of the Eternal Subordination of the Son' JETS 42 (1999): 461-76 and the bibliography in Grudem, ST, p251.

Frame also points to Gilbert Bilezikian, making the opposite egalitarian case in 'Hermeneutical Bungee-Jumping: Subordination in the Godhead' JETS 40 (1997):57-68

Responding to criticisms of him in Bilezikian's article, Robert Letham also argues for an order or taxis amongst the persons of the Trinity though he thinks the words hierarchy and subordination unhelpful (The Holy Trinity, P&R, 2004, p480). On p483 he describes it as an orderly disposition, rather than a matter of rank. It is akin to "a well-arranged constitution" (p491, citing Lampe, Patristic Greek Lexicon, 1372-3). "As Barth indicated, we can argue - with caution - that the submission displayed by the Son while securing our redemption reflects realities in God." (p483)

On p492, Letham points to Barth CD IV/1:192-205 for Christ's incarnate obedience suggesting an obedience in eternity.

Letham says that in On The Trinity 2.5.7-9, Augustine "expressly teaches that the Father sent the Son prior to the task about which the sending is concerned" (p483). "Eternal relations" are revealed here (p494)

Letham also points to Phil 2:5-11 as referring to "Christ's determination not to exploit his equality with God to his own advantage" as referring "to the situation prior to his incarnation." (p483).

Letham also cites Paul Rainbow, 'Orthodox Trinitarianism and Evangelical Feminism' - http://cbmw.org/uncategorized/orthodox-trinitarianism-and-evangelical-feminism/

Reviewing the work of Kevin Giles (The Trinity and Subordinationism), Letham agrees that "the phrase "the eternal subordination of the Son" is outside the boundaries of the tradition." (p490)

Letham also recommends Paul Molnar's "fine volume on the immanent Trinity", Divine Freedom and the Doctrine of the Immanent Trinity: In Dialogue with Karl Barth and Contemporary Theology (T&T Clark, 2002)

The Son - God from Himself (Calvin)

One of the things I would like to think about a little more when time and energy allow (perhaps on a rainy day in retirement) is Calvin's doctrine of the Son.

For Holmes, Calvin has "one distinctive emphasis... in stressing the autotheotic existence of the three hypostases. For Calvin, the Son is God of himself, not God by gift of the Father - similarly he Spirit. Calvin's argument is essentially that the fullness of deity possessed by the Son and Spirit must include aseity, and so that it is improper to speak of the Son's deity as derived from the Father. (Holmes, Quest for the Trinity, p169f).

Holmes says that Helm's John Calvin's Ideas is probably the best account of his doctrine of the Trinity. Sadly it is 40 quid for the Kindle version!!!

Also, Kurt A. Richardson, 'Calvin on the Trinity' in John Calvin and Evangelical Theology (ed. S. W. Chung)

Holmes also points to the then forthcoming book by Brannon Ellis, Calvin, Classical Trinitarianism, and the Aseity of the Son (OUP, 2012). That is a mere £66!

Mark Jones gives a useful clarification of Reformed thought on this subject here (proposition 11):

The Father communicates the whole Godhead to the Son, “for Essentiae communicatio facit omnia communia; the Godhead being Communicated by the Father, all things of the Godhead…only the distinction of the Persons excepted” (Goodwin). The classic Reformed position on the eternal generation of the Son includes the communication of the divine essence from the Father to the Son.  However, there is no generation of a new essence.  Hence, the Son’s deity, being communicated from the Father, is not derived from another essence, but is identical to the Father’s essence and therefore the Son is a se.  On this point, the majority position differs from Calvin’s. We may argue that although the Son is from the Father, he may still be called “God-of-himself,” that is, “not with respect to his person, but essence; not relatively as Son (for thus he is from the Father), but absolutely as God inasmuch as he has the divine essence existing from itself and not divided or produced from another essence (but not as having that essence from himself).  So the Son is God from himself although not the Son from himself” (Turretin). Turretin is making the distinction between aseitas personalis, a trinitarian heresy, and aseitas essentialis.

The Eternal Submission of the Son and Compementarianism

There is some discussion going on on the interweb (when isn't there?) about complementarianism (the relationship between men and women who are equal but different) and between the divine persons. Does the Son as Son eternally submit to the Father and so on?

As much as bookmarks for myself, here are some links (some blog posts, articles, books or sections therein):

Carl Trueman and Liam Goligher - http://www.alliancenet.org/mos/postcards-from-palookaville/fahrenheit-381#.V1e7pY-cFZW

Liam Goligher (20/6/16), A Letter to Professors Grudem and Ware

Bruce Ware responding to Trueman and Goligher, God the Son--at once eternally God with His Father, and eternally Son of the Father

Trueman also responds to Ware

Trueman has added that he is not motivated by some kind of "feminism" or ecclesial agenda.

Trueman (21/6/16), Once more unto the breach... and then no more: A final reply to Dr. Grudem

Trueman, The Ecumenical Consequences of the Peace

Michael Bird comments on the above discussion 'The Coming War: Nicene Complementarians vs Homoian Complementarians'http://cbmw.org/uncategorized/orthodox-trinitarianism-and-evangelical-feminism/

Grudem (for EFS) http://cbmw.org/public-square/whose-position-on-the-trinity-is-really-new/

Grudem, Another Thirteen Evangelical Theologians Who Affirm the Eternal Submission of the Son to the Father

Bruce Ware's response, God the Son--at once eternally God with His Father, and eternally Son of the Father

Denny Burk (who argues for EFS) A brief response to Trueman and Goligher

Jeff Waddington, Some Thoughts on the Current Complementarian Trinitarian Civil War (from Trinity to men & women, "subordination", Covenant of Redemption etc.)

Stephen Holmes' review of Bruce A. Ware and John B. Starke (eds), One God in Three Persons: Unity of Essence, Distinction of Persons, Implications for Life (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015).

Fred Sander's response to the Holmes review, Generations Eternal and Current and also Sander's response to Ware and Starke (ed.s), God in Three Persons entitled Things Eternal: Sonship, Generation, Generatedness. Sanders also wrote on The Trinity in Gender Debates back in Oct 2012.

Sanders has written 18 Theses of the Father and the Son, which Michael Bird has commented on briefly.

Sanders reviews his writing on the Trinity relevant to this debate and gender issues - A Plain Account of Trinity and Gender

Mike Ovey has responded to Goligher, Should I resign? (Tom Watts discusses Maximus and the two wills of Christ in the comments)

Mike has also responded to Michael Bird, arguing that his position upholds a version of Homoousios similar to Hilary of Poitiers, not a Homoian theology: Can Michael Bird read my mind? Alas, it seems not

Mike Ovey also has a relevant new book out published by Latimer: Your Will Be Done: Exploring Eternal Subordination, Divine Monarchy and Divine Humility

Liam Goligher has responded to Mike Ovey.

Some of this goes back to Kevin Giles' work which Ian Paul discusses here.

Robert Doyle also reviews Kevin Giles in an article Doyle calls, "Use and abuse of the fathers and the Bible in trinitarian theology"

Keith E. Johnson, 'Trinitarian Agency and the Eternal subordination of the son: An Augustinian perspective' Themelios 36.1 (2011): 7–25

D. Glenn Butner Jn., 'Eternal Functional Subordination and the Problem of the Divine Will' JETS 58/1 (2015) 131-49. - argues that we should reject EFS as we should not think of the Son as having his own will but in sharing the divine will since wills are classically attributed to natures not persons in Trinitarian and Christological thought. He has also written Eternal Submission and the Story of the Seven Ecumenical Councils

Scott Swain on the covenant of redemption and orthodox Trinitarian theology (the question of the one divine will so how can the persons agree)

Scott Swain and Michael Allen, 'The Obedience of the Eternal Son' International Journal of Systematic Theology Volume 15, Issue 2, pages 114–134, April 2013 (requires access / payment) - a response to Barth, argues that the obedience of the eternal Son can be combined with a traditional Trinitarian theology.


The key section in Barth is Church Dogmatics IV.1 §59.1. Swain and Allen summarise Barth's proposal: "Son’s obedience to the Father in accomplishing the work of salvation is not merely a consequence of the humble existence he assumed in the incarnation but rather constitutes his opus proprium within the opera Trinitatis ad extra, the Son’s distinctive manner qua Son of executing God’s undivided saving will."

Michael Allen, ‘From the time he took on the form of a servant’: The Christ's Pilgrimage of Faith' IJOST Volume 16, Issue 1, pages 4–24, January 2014 (requires access / payment) - argues that the economic relations between Father and Son flow from their eternal relations.

Mark Thompson, 'Eternal Relational Subordination: Is there order in the Trinity?' - argues that ERS need not undermine an orthodox doctrine of the Trinity nor lead to Arianism

Michel R. Barnes and Lewis Ayres (interacting with Ware) have commented.

Owen Strachen (who argues for Eternal Relations of Authority and Submission, responds to Trueman and Goligher)

Mark Jones, Why Did The Son Become Incarnate? Because He Submitted?

And: God's Will and Eternal Submission Part 1: God's Will; Eternal Subordination of Wills? Nein! Part Two; Biblicism, Socinianism and "Arid" Scholasticism

Mark Jones has also written: Some Propositions on God, the divine essence, the Trinity, and the covenant of redemption and some questions for Fred Sanders

And: Subordination in the Pactum? (And the irony of ESS) - Owen on the divine will & Witsius

And: Wayne Grudem’s Historical Theology Analyzed

Andrew Wilson, Eternal Submission in the Trinity? A Quick Guide to the Debate - 10 questions involved in the discussion

Donald Macleod, Subordinationism (out of the blue) - rejects EFS

Alistair Roberts had written this before this round of exchanges irrupted, The Eternal Subordination of the Son, Social Trinitarianism, and Ectypal Theology

Alistair Roberts has also written: The Eternal Subordination of the Son Controversy: The Debate so Far

And also: The Eternal Subordination of the Son Controversy: Survey of Some Relevant Material

A brief comment from Douglas Wilson (a complementarian who does not hold to EFS), Being Careful on the Trinity

Andrew Moody on The Gospel Coalition Australia website: The Ordered Godhead: (1) Commending Nicea - defending the eternal generation of the Son

Andrew Moody & Mark Baddeley have continued the series with The Ordered Godhead: (2) The Beauty of Ordered Willing

Mark Baddeley, The Ordered Godhead: (3) Speaking of God… - seven reflections on the current debate on the legitimacy or otherwise of speaking of the eternal begetting of the Son and an eternal obedience of the Son to the Father

Stephen D. Kovach and Peter R. Schemm Jr., 'A Defence of the Doctrine of the Eternal Subordination of the Son' JETS 42 1999 461-76.

Jowers and House (ed.s), The New Evangelical Subordinationism? Perspectives on the Equality of God the Father and God the Son (Pickwick, 2012)

Daren O. Sumner, 'Obedience and Subordination in Karl Barth's Trinitarian Theology' (PDF) published in Advancing Trinitarian Theology: Essays in Constructive Dogmatics.  Edited by Oliver D. Crisp and Fred Sanders.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014

Sumner has also blogged: What Is the Immanent Trinity? A Clarification for the Eternal Subordination Debate

Paul Helm on Warfield's doctrine of the Trinity

Peter Leithart, Are The Divine Persons Persons? (discusses the divine will(s!))

John Stevens, Are We All Heretics Now? Reflections On The Furore About Eternal Subordination Within The Trinity

Matthew Barrett, Better late than never: The Covenant of Redemption and the Trinity Debates

Gleaned from The Face Book:

Jim Packer on "the entire submission of the Son to the Father’s will” says: "It is the nature of the second person of the Trinity to acknowledge the authority and submit to the good pleasure of the first. That is why He declares Himself to be the Son, and the first person to be His Father. Though co-equal with the Father in eternity, power, and glory, it is natural to Him to play the Son’s part, and find all His joy in doing His Father’s will, just as it is natural to the fir...st person of the Trinity to plan and initiate the works of the Godhead and natural to the third person to proceed from the Father and the Son to do their joint bidding. Thus the obedience of the God-man to the Father while He was on earth was not a new relationship occasioned by the incarnation, but the continuation in time of the eternal relationship between the Son and the Father in heaven. As in heaven, so on earth, the Son was utterly dependent upon the Father’s will.” — JI Packer, Knowing God (chapter 5).

John Owen: "the will of God in each person, as to the peculiar acts ascribed unto him, is his will therein peculiarly and eminently, though not exclusively to the other persons, by reason of their mutual in-being. The will of God as to the peculiar actings of the Father in this matter is the will of the Father, and the will of God with... regard unto the peculiar actings of the Son is the will of the Son; not by a distinction of sundry wills, but by the distinct application of the same will unto its distinct acts in the persons of the Father and the Son.” — Commentary on Hebrews (Banner edition 2:88)

Wilhelmus a Brakel: "The Christian's Reasonable Service" Volume 1, p252. - "Since the Father and the Son are one in essence and thus have one will and one objective, how can there possibly be a covenant transaction between the two, as such a transaction requires the mutual involvement of two wills? Are we then not separating the Persons of the Godhead too much? To this I reply that as far as Personhood is concerned the Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Father. From this consideration the one divine will can be viewed from a twofold perspective. It is the Father‟s will to redeem by the agency of the second Person as Surety, and it is the will of the Son to redeem by His own agency as Surety." available at https://biblicalspirituality.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/reasonableservicevol1-indexed.pdf

Peter Lombard (1100-1160):  “And so the Father is not said to have sent the Son and the Holy Spirit because he is greater and they are lesser, but especially for the commendation of the authority of [the Father’s role as] the beginning.” Sentences, Book 1, Distinction 15.  (“Non ergo ideo dicitur Pater misisse Filium vel Spiritum sanctum, quod ille esset major, et illi minores; sed maxima propter auctoritatem principii commendandam.") cf. Augustine's De Trinitate, Book 4, chapter 21, section 32

(There is a list of sources similar to the above (in chronological order of their appearing) at: http://www.bringthebooks.org/2016/06/trinity-controversy-omnibus.html?showComment=1465696905789&m=1#c227883384734109915)

Help from Stephen Holmes on the will of the Son

I have recently been pondering the patristic and classical consensus that the eternal Son does not have his own will. Rather, each of the divine persons shares the same divine will (and wisdom and power and so on). This of course has a bearing on if and how the Son (as Son) submits to the Father since what sense does it make to say that the Son submits to the Father if he does not have his own will? If you hold to a Covenant of Redemption by which the members of the Trinity agree that the Son will become incarnate to save the world, what would this look like if the Persons do not have their own wills?

It was with this question in mind that I read Stephen Holmes, The Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and Modernity (IVP Academic, 2012) and I wanted to capture here the material most relevant to the issue.

Justin Martyr calls the Logos “a second God” but qualifies this by saying that he is distinct in number not in will p61 citing Dial. 56

According to Tertullian, the divine monarch is not compromised by the existence of the Son, since the Father and Son share one will and intention (Prax. 4, citing Jn 5:19) p70f

For Origen, the Son is the perfect image of the Father. Every quality of which he is possessed is identical with that possessed by the Father…. This even applies to mental faculties, if God may be spoken of in these terms. So against Celsus Origen insists that the Father and the Son share the same mind, speak with one voice, and are one “in the identity of their wills”.  (Cels. 8.12) p77

Gregory of Nazianzus – the three “are not sundered in will or divided in power” (Or. 31.14) p115

John of Damascus, Holmes says, “sums up the received doctrine of the Trinity in the mid-eight century” and “no serious scholar has disputed this to my knowledge”. The three “having the same essence and energy and will and concord of mind… I do not say similar but identical – and then movement by one impulse. For there is one essence, one goodness, one power, one will… one and the same, I repeat, not three resembling each other.” De fid. Orth. Ch 8. P120

“East and West alike are united in insisting on the unity of the divine will and knowledge” (p145)

See also p173 on Biddle

Though Charles Hodge “seemingly unwittingly” “accepts a redefinition of the word ‘person’” “he holds to the singularity of the divine intellect and will” (p191)

On Dorner and the turn to the person see p194f on self-determination and volition as important aspects of modern understanding of personhood but problematic when applied to the Persons

Pet Service Sermon

I think this is my 6th year of preaching at the Pet Services. Not that I'm struggling for material, you understand. Today it went something like this:

Genesis 1 & Ephesians 3-4

(1) Unity and variety in the creation, including in humanity (and our pets)

(2) Unity and variety in the Creator, the Triune God

(3) Unity and variety in New Covenant Community, the church

Calvin's absolutions

Facebook tells me they took the following form:

"To all those who repent in this way and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, I declare that absolution of sins has been given in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.'"

Or, in the French Reformed liturgy: "To all those who repent and seek their salvation in Jesus Christ, we declare in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, that God forgives now their sins."

Book Group Notes on Foundtions by Peter Mead

Foundations: Four Big Questions We Should Be Asking But Typically Don’t

By Peter Mead

(Christian Focus, 2015)

Book Group Questions and Notes

What did you make of the book?

Do you agree that there are big questions which we should ask ourselves which perhaps typically we don’t?

What do you make of the big questions Mead suggests?

Would you suggest other questions?

(What questions, if any, do you think the non-Christians you know typically ask themselves?)

(Identity – who am I?

Purpose – why am I here?

Destiny – where am I going?)

(How might a non-Christian typically answer these questions?)

Foreword

We all have some kind of ultimate allegiance – a God (p7)

Contrast other religions and Christianity (p8) – They offer some ways in which human beings can solve their problems. Christians believe that our situation is hopeless unless God, in his love, comes to our rescue.

Introduction

Do you agree that in a sense everyone is a believer? (p12)

Part 1 – The Four Questions

1: Which god is God? (p17ff)

Lystra – Acts 14:8-20 (p19ff)

Athens – Acts 17:16-34 (p20ff)

Do you agree that it is dangerous to assume that we know what we mean by “God”? (p21)

Do you think that when people say they don’t believe in God, we might not believe in quite the God they are rejecting either? (That is, they might very well misconceive the God they reject – perhaps they think of him as a cosmic kill-joy or a kindly old grandfather in the sky, or some kind of force) (p17)

How does Mead particularly think people might often misconceive God?

Single solitary monad, not Trinity

Glory-hungry law-giver (not the whole story, a distortion on its own)

According to Mead, how can we know what God is like? (p25)

Do you agree?

Questions on p26

2: What is a Human? (p27ff)

(How would a non-Christian in Britain today typically answer that question?)

We are God’s offspring – Acts 17:28f

Humanity made in the image of God, not vice versa

Relational

Equal but different

1.      A CV World (p33ff)

i.e. concerned about our performance / achievements / what we know / can do / status / success

2.      Life measured by the Family Portrait (p34ff)

Life defined in part by relationships as people made for relationship with God and with others in the image of God

“in him we live and move and have our being” (p35)

Reflection questions (p39)

3: What is Sin? (p41ff) [What is wrong with our world / what’s our big problem?]

A deeper account of sin than sometimes doing wrong things

Paul on sin (p42ff)

Acts 26:18-20

Repentance is not primarily about behaviour but about relationship – turning to Christ (p43)

Back to the beginning – Genesis 3 (p44ff)

Great question: will we trust the Word of God or the devil’s lies? (p45)

Sin is basically relational rebellion (p48) – the heart

The Sin Story – Lk 15 (p48ff)

Sin could take a respectable religious form as in the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son – both are alienated from the Father although one doesn’t go far from home

The Good News for Us All (p52ff)

Reflection questions p55ff

4: What is Salvation? (p57ff) [What is the answer / solution to our big problem?]

The problem summarized (p58ff)

Legal guilt & broken relationship, dead hearts, the absence of the Holy Spirit. Not only forgiveness but also friendship and a changed heart.

Good news worth guarding (p61ff) – Acts 15

Defending the Gospel of Grace (p66ff)

God’s Grace Really Is Good News (p67ff)

Reflection questions (p70ff)

Part 2: Building on the Four Questions (p71ff)

5: Christian Life & Growth (p73ff)

Is the way on in the Christian life the same as the way into the Christian life, i.e. response to Christ by the grace of God in the power of the Spirit?

At the beginning of the journeys: instruction for new believers (p73ff)

Acts 13 esp v49ff – filled with joy and the Holy Spirit

Do you think it’s tricky to fit together deliberate purposeful effort to be godly and the grace and power of the Spirit?

How do they fit together?

(Fixing our gaze on Christ and living in response to him) – p76

At the end of the Missionary Journeys: Instructions for Established Christian Leaders (p76ff)

Acts 20 esp 22-24, 32 – grace to build you up etc.

Reflection questions (p80)

6: The Four Questions Applied (p81ff)

The Four Questions and You (p82ff)

The Four Questions and Evangelism (p88ff)

The Four Questions and Church (p90ff)

Some headings for Trinity Sunday

Romans 5:1-5

(1)   God the Father sent the Son to save us (vv1-2)

(2)   God the Father sent the Spirit to live in our hearts (v5)

John 16:12-15

(1)   The Holy Spirit connects the Apostles to Jesus and his words (v12-14)

(2)   Jesus connects us to God the Father (v15)

And we could add:

(3)   The New Testament connects us to the Apostles, and therefore to Jesus

And stolen from Radio 4 this morning - it's not the whole story, of course, but I thought there was something to be said for this:

God the Father, above us

God the Son beside us / along side us or with us

God the Holy Spirit within us

Selling their homes....

The church in Jerusalem in the first century sold their homes to meet the real needs of other believers with extra-ordinary, Spirit induced generosity. I once sat through a sermon on how it was a very bad idea to use up one's capital in this way! But as The Revd Douglas Wilson points out, if the Christians had grasped Jesus' teaching that within a generation the temple and the city would be destroyed and they would have to flee, it makes sense that they were so ready to liquidate their assets. After all, house prices in Jerusalem were about the experience a cataclysmic collapse.

Some headings for Hebrews 1:

From the speaker at today's Men's Breakfast:

Christ the revealer, the Son who perfectly expresses the God Father
Christ the ruler of creation, who is its focus
Christ the rescuer / redeemer who saves us from sins
Christ the reigning Lord
(Christ the returning judge)

Alec Motyer's Psalms By The Day (Christian Focus, 2016)

looks really excellent. Intended for devotional use, this book which covers all 150 Psalms in 73 days would be a gift to any preacher too. There is a fresh working translation of the Psalm, a title, analysis into sections (e.g. A, B, C; or, A1, A2, B; or, A1, B1, C1, C2, B2, A2) with headings for each, notes on particular verses and a pause for thought at the end. I'm certainly going to consult it next time I preach on a Psalm.

Nice roomy hardback book (notes around and below the text) with a ribonny thing too! Carl Trueman, Mark Dever and Jonathan Lamb liked it. ISBN 9781781917169, 422pp, RRP: £16.99 but from about £11 delivered on Amazon.

Acts and Church Life

One of the speakers at Bible By The Beach this year helpfully suggested that some of the accounts of church life in the book of Acts are not strictly prescriptive nor merely descriptive but deliberately instructive.

An Ascension Day Sermon Idea

What would you say were the most significant events or the great turning points of history?

[Discuss]

For the Christian, that ought to be a fairly simple question. The great events of history are:

Creation
Fall
Redemption
New Creation

The author and director and centre of human history is Jesus Christ. We could discuss each of those four great moments with reference to him. But that is another sermon. Or perhaps another sermon series.

What if we zero in on the history of Jesus?

We would have:

His eternal heavenly reign
His incarnation, birth and life
His death
His resurrection
His ascension
and his return.

So, today, what of the ascension, that great moment in the history of the world and in the history of Jesus, which millions celebrate today, but of which millions are ignorant?

Perhaps even as we celebrate it, we don't really grasp it's meaning - we are not gripped by it.

[Discuss meaning of ascension especially in relation to the other moments of Jesus' life and world history]

The Sermon on the Mount

David Cook's headings for Matthew 6:19ff:

Wealth is fleeting
Worry is futile

Maybe one could add:

Worldly display / prayer is foolish

Some pairs in Revelation

gave some structure to today's sermon & all age talk:

The Lion & The Lamb (Rev 5)
The Bride & The Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev 21-22)
Heaven & Earth
God & His People
Welcome & No Entry
The Garden & The Garden City

Lion & Lamb, Bride & City

In Revelation 5:5-6, John hears about a lion and sees a lamb.

In Revelation 21:9-10, John hears about the bride, the wife of the lamb and sees the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

(A point made by Beale, NIGNTC, , p1063)

Nothing lost

Michael Wilcock comments on Revelation 21:26,

'The glory and the honour of the nations' contribute to the magnificence of the city; all that is truly good and beautiful in this world will reappear there, purified and enhanced in the perfect setting its Maker intended for it; nothing of real value is lost.

BST (IVP) p211

Abraham's test (Genesis 22v1)

You may have seen this week that the government has had to cancel the spelling, punctuation and grammar tests that half a million 7 year olds had been due to take.

One of the teachers carrying out an official trial of the test paper noticed that one of the pupils seemed to know what was coming.

It turned out that the actual test paper had been available for months on the Department for Education website and parents and teachers had been encouraged to use it as practice for the real thing.

In Genesis 22v1 we’re told that God ‘tested Abraham’.

But it’s not that sort of test.

As readers of Genesis we know this is a test, but Abraham doesn’t.

If I can put it this way, Abraham doesn’t know this is only a drill!

We know that God steps in at the last moment to stop the sacrifice of Isaac, but of course Abraham doesn’t know that’s going to happen.

For Abraham this isn’t just a test.

This is a real matter of life and death.

In fact, as we’ll see, all God’s plans and promises seem in the balance here.

We’re told God tested Abraham but of course God knows all things.

He already knows Abraham’s heart completely.

He knows and rules the future.

This test isn’t for God’s sake, so that he can find out information about Abraham that he doesn’t already know.

Rather, this test is for Abraham’s sake and for God’s glory.

By this test, Abraham’s faith is tried and proved.

It’s established.

This test gives Abraham an opportunity to exercise his faith, to put it into practice.

And as he uses his faith muscles, they’re strengthened.

This is a major faith work-out for Abraham.

God might also test our own faith.

The letter to James says:

‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.’

(James 1:2-3)

When life is all plain sailing, we hardly know whether we’re trusting God or not.

It’s when some difficulty comes, that we’re forced to depend on God.

God may test our faith.

Not because he wants us to fail.

Not because he doesn’t already know our hearts.

But because he wants to test and establish our faith: he wants us to put it into practice.

It’s perhaps worth saying that I don’t think we should expect God to test our faith quite like this.

This event is unique in the whole of Scripture.

I guess we might differ on how God speaks and guides today.

Certainly you would find different views amongst Bible-believing Christians.

But it’s worth noting that even in Bible times, as far as we know, it was pretty unusual for God to give direct instructions to individuals like this.

Abraham was the head of the Covenant family, and God spoke to him like this on relatively few occasions in his long life.

And, of course, Abraham had little or no Bible to go on.

We have God’s full and final Word concerning Jesus Christ.

The Bible is sufficient to thoroughly equip us for every good work and God directly forbids child sacrifice later in the Bible.

(Leviticus 20:2-5)

We can be sure that God won’t ask us to do something that he’s forbidden in his Word.

Genesis 22v13

The ram caught by its horns in the thicket might remind us of the curse of Genesis 3:18 which causes the ground to produce thorns and thistles in judgement on man's sin. The curse of God will fall on the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Perhaps it is too fanciful to see the thicket around the horns of the ram as pointing forward to the crown of thorns which the Lord Jesus will wear.

Genesis 22:1-18 - A handout / outline

You may wish to look away now if you are expecting to hear me preach tomorrow:

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Genesis 22:1-18 (page 22)

(1) Abraham’s test (vv1-2)

God tests (proves, establishes) our faith (James 1:2-3)

Isaac the promised seed / offspring

Would we give up what we most cherish / what we pin our hopes on?

(2) Abraham’s trust (vv3-12)

Prompt (v3a), thorough (v3b), sustained (v4), complete obedience (v10)

The obedience of faith – real faith acts (James 2:20-24)

Faith in the resurrection power of God (Hebrews 11:17-19)

(3) God’s provision (v13)

A substitute sacrifice

Cf. the thorns of Genesis 3:18; Crown of thorns?

(4) God’s promise (vv14-18)

V14 – The mountain, Mount Moriah = Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 3:1)

Cf. Isaac carrying the wood to the place of sacrifice (v6) and Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary

Jesus The Lamb of God, the ultimate sacrifice, the offspring seed of Abraham who brings blessing to all the nations

God does not withhold his only Son, whom he loves (Romans 8:32)

There's a place where the streets shine

In a couple of week's time I am planning to preach on Revelation 21-22. I am wondering if we should sing 'There's a place where the streets shine'.

It's hard to know how much to quibble with song words. One wants to allow some poetic licence. And in introducing them the service leader has to make a judgement call about how much to explain, or perhaps explain away.

From the point of view of Revelation 21-22, There Will Be A Place Where The Streets Shine might have been more accurate since the text speaks of the New Creation and a New Jerusalem coming down to earth from heaven.

The line 'we can live there beyond time' might cause confusion. I don't think we should regard heaven or the new creation as a timeless eternality. We will always be temporal creatures. We would have to understand that line as 'we can live there beyond the ravages of time' or with unlimited time, everlastingly.

And personally I have my reservations about dancing ('we'll dance together / In the city of our God')! Perhaps my two left feet will be transformed. In any case, I guess there'll be plenty of time to practice.

Parish Magazine Item on The European Referendum Debate

From The Rectory

You may well be sick of hearing about the European Union Referendum debate. I can promise you that I won’t be banging on about it from the pulpit or in these pages. For what it’s worth, I have my opinions about the EU. And I think some of them have some Scriptural warrant. If you were to buy me a beer, I might be persuaded to share them with you, if you like, but the Rector isn’t publicly advocating either Leave or Remain.

There are many Bible-believing Christians who are enthusiastic Brexiters and committed Federalists. Likewise you will find fine Christians in all sorts of political parties. In this context I think there is probably some wisdom in the clergy being nervous about endorsing particular candidates or taking party political positions in their sermons. Nevertheless, I think it is good for us as Christians to engage in the political process and to exercise our democratic rights. Of course we’ll want to do that Christianly.  

It is not as if the Bible is uninterested in what we would call political matters. It is true that your immortal soul and your eternal destiny are infinitely more important than the retail prices index or the right to buy. Yes, the spiritual matters more than the physical, but the two are not so easily divided up. God made and cares for this world. Christ was born into it to redeem it. He taught us to pray to our unseen heavenly Father, “your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” We believe in the resurrection of the body and that God will make all things new – he will renew and restore this creation.   

On my reading, at least, the Bible does not envisage a somehow neutral public square closed off from God. Jesus is Lord and every inch of the universe belongs to him. He claims the allegiance of politicians, civil servants, bureaucrats and administrators in their worldly vocations as much as private individuals. As the earliest Christians saw, if Jesus is the Son of God and the Saviour of the World, that is a challenge to Caesar if the Emperor has claimed those roles for himself. How we order our common life together as citizens can’t be unaffected by our most ultimate conclusions about what it means to be human and what human flourishing looks like – questions which are at the heart of the Christian faith. The gospel transforms and saves the heart, but it has implications for all of life, including national life and international relations.   

So, for the next few hundred years, one of the jobs of the church should be to study the Bible and think hard about political and public life. Perhaps then we will see greater consensus in the church and it would be appropriate for the Rector to preach about these things much more fully.  

Many politicians are telling us that in or out of the EU is Britain’s biggest political decision for generations. I agree it’s important. But I don’t think any of us really knows how far reaching the effects of leaving or remaining would be. Amidst all the confident predictions, the Christian will remember that only God really knows the future – indeed, he governs it. The Prayer Book reminds us that the Lord, our heavenly Father is “high and mighty, King of kings, Lord of lords, the only ruler of princes”. From his throne he beholds all the dwellers upon earth. His kingdom is everlasting and his power infinite. We are taught by his holy Word, that the hearts of Kings (and, we might add, Prime Ministers and Presidents of the European Council and so on) and in his rule and governance and that he disposes and turns them as it seems best to his godly wisdom. The nations are but a drop in the bucket to him (Isaiah 40:15). Righteousness exalts a nation (Proverbs 14:34). Far more important than the EU referendum is our nation’s attitude to God. That is the most fundamental and far-reaching issue of all.

As great claims are made for leaving or remaining, God would say to us, “put not your trust in princes” (Psalm 146:3). No politicians can bring about heaven on earth. The position of Messiah is already taken! The ultimate hope for our world is neither Great Britain nor the European Union. We should not pin all our hopes either on the nation state, nor on international organisations. Ultimate security, prosperity and freedom can be found only under the loving rule of Jesus Christ.  

The war on Christians

John L. Allen Jr claims on his Spectator blog that 'the global war on Christians remains the greatest story never told of the early 21st century.'

The Week (2/4/16, p5) reports the post thus:

'Christians now rank as 'by far the most persecuted religious body on the planet'. One recent study estimated that 100, 000 a year have been killed over the last decade 'for reasons related to their faith'. Yet their fate goes largely unreported, mainly because Christians are still often seen as the 'oppressor rather than the oppressed'.'

Acknowledging the kids' helpful use of scrap paper

I normally read the Acknowledgements with interest. Sometimes they are boring and bland. Much better to include some life. I enjoyed this from Lewis Ayres', Augustine and the Trinity (CUP, 2010):

'Anna Catherine Edith, Thomas Francis Augustine and Iain Harry George Gabriel have not been much concerned with Daddy's book: it is not in rhyming couplets, it does not concern Jedi knights and does not come with pictures. But they have been delighted that I have been willing to provide so much paper, with one side oddly used, for colouring and drawing. Their productions on this paper - from treasure maps to 'sacry things' - have frequently been wonderfully diverting. (p.xi)'

My own children often pop into the study to collect my old sermon notes to use as scrap paper, so it struck a chord. I am praying for grace always to embrace the diversion!

Oh, and Thomas Francis Augustine counts as some good theological Catholic names, eh?

The Regulative Principle of Public Worship

If you had a really strict view of The Regulative Principle of Public Worship (that is, that everything done in the Lord's Day service requires an explicit and clear New Testament command), what New Testament text would you appeal to for that?

If there isn't one, then this form of RP is self-defeating, isn't it? The Regulative Principle rules out the Regulative Principle, one might say?

Christian walk?

There is something to be said, I think, about the Christian life as a walk with the Lord. And a purposeful one: yes, we may stroll with the Lord in the cool of the day, but the Christian life is not an aimless amble: it is a journey, a pilgrimage with a destination. It is a race, but a marathon, not a sprint. And since it is a battle, it is also a march. Perhaps too it is a dance.

Zeal without Burnout

Christopher Ash, Zeal Without Burnout: Seven Keys to a Lifelong Ministry of Sustainable Sacrifice (The Good Book Company, 2016) hardback, 123pp

A really helpful practical little book which I imagine would be worth the time of most pastors and many others. It's not a hard read but it deserves thinking about. Ash suggests taking the time to seek to do a self-check.

Ash's advice is biblically and theologically grounded and born of long experience, both personally and in helping others. As well as being honest about being on the brink of burnout or worse himself more than once, Ash includes the moving and instructive stories of various other Christians. There is undoubtedly much wisdom mere.

Even if there is not much here that is new, the book is a helpful reminder and because it gives big principles as well as a few specific tips, it could have a profound impact.

Medical doctor and pastor, Steve Midgley, gives a short appendix on what burn out is, warning signs and practical steps.

The book goes something like this:

Distinguish between sustainable sacrifice and burnout
Remember that you are a creature of dust
We need sleep, days off*, friends an inward renewal
Beware celebrity / ungodly ambition / pride
Christian service is worth it
Rejoice in the grace of God not just in the gifts he may have given you

* - Ash calls this a Sabbath but doesn't get into debates about the nature of the Christian Sabbath. What he is talking about is the principle of normally sticking to a day off a week.

Roger Scruton on Atheistic Ingratitude

http://thinktheology.co.uk/blog/article/happy_monday#When:07:00:00Z

Easier Easter All Age Talk

Friends have noticed that if you take the 't' out of Easter and add an 'i' you make it Easier. And that the 't' could be said to be cross-shaped. I wonder if there is the germ of an educational all age Easter talk here on Jesus' words in Gethsemane: not what I want, but your will be done. Thank God that Jesus didn't take the easy way out but that he went to the cross for us.

This could perhaps be combined with some kind of anagrams or acrostic thingy or something.

There is at least almost a whole year to think about it!