J.S. Bach: The Music Lives On
Each year on July 28, the church commemorates Kantor J.S. Bach. It was on this date in 1750 that Bach — musician, composer, and servant of the church — entered into eternal rest.
When I think of Bach and his death, the first thing that comes to mind is the closing chorale to his St. John Passion. He closes this Passion with the final stanza of Martin Schalling’s hymn text “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart.”
Bach in Today’s Parish: Still the Evangelist
Some of you may have had the opportunity in November 2009 to attend the Good Shepherd Institute’s conference on “Bach in Today’s Parish: Still the Evangelist.” While I wasn’t able to attend, I patiently await the publication of their annual journal of papers presented at the conference (and hoping that they might post MP3s of the presentations). In the meantime, the folks at GSI have posted two of the conference papers on their website. They are interesting readings for musicians and non-musicians alike.
Bach and Japan
Over at Cyberbrethren, Paul McCain is featuring a fascinating article by Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto on Bach’s music as a servant of the Gospel in Japan. It’s a great read worthy of your consideration.
Interview Between An Atheist & Unitarian
While I’m taking a slight detour from the standard fare of worship and music with this post, I think you’ll be intrigued by it.
This last week, noted atheist Christopher Hitchens lectured in Portland, OR. In preparation for the event, local magazine Portland Monthly had a feature interview between Hitchens and Marilyn Sewell, a retired Unitarian minister. You might think a discussion between an atheist and Unitarian wouldn’t be too interesting. Guess again. Hitchens, in certain respects, appears to have a stronger grasp of Christianity than Sewell. The intent of the article was to focus on Hitchen’s views, but I finished it thinking more about Sewell’s beliefs.
The Lutheran Study Bible: ESV++
After much anticipation, my copy of The Lutheran Study Bible arrived about two weeks ago and I’ve spent some time getting to know it. The ESV has been my translation of choice since CPH released their hardback ESV Reference Bible a few years ago and I have appreciated the readable and rhythmic translation.
Fourth Sunday in Advent
The Fourth Sunday in Advent, especially if we are in Series B of the lectionary, is a Sunday that has special memories for me. Nine years ago my dad was planning to preach a sermon on the Gospel text Luke 1:26-38. But God had different plans for him on that Fourth Sunday in Advent. God was calling him home to be with Him.
The sermon was never preached, although it had been written. Over the years I’ve read and reread that sermon. This sermon wasn’t intended to be a “farewell”. Yet, it has provided me comfort then, as it still does today.
Walther and Small Churches
In a culture fixated on bigger is better, it was refreshing to read a selection from C.F.W. Walther over at Mercy Journeys with Pastor Harrison on the relative unimportance of congregational size.
The highlight from Walther was this:
The smallest congregation is just as important as the largest one, and the largest is no more important than the smallest, because every congregation is great only because Christ is present in it.
The Treasure of the Lutheran Church (according to Lohe)
For those of you not familiar with Wilhelm Lohe, the current edition of Logia focuses on the Lohe Bicentennial and has a number of good articles.
This evening I was reading the article entitled “Why Do I Declare Myself for the Lutheran Church?” by Lohe himself. He enumerates a number of reasons of why he holds fast to the Lutheran Church. The following excerpt caught my eye.
Survey Says Part 2: What about the LCMS?
In my post yesterday regarding the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey I noted that 66% of Protestants believed that many religions lead to eternal life. Of those classified as Protestants – Evangelical, 57% believed likewise.
In a comment to that post, blog reader Ben noted that the actual report also broke down the data based on denominational affiliation. Ben’s comment/research deserves to be more than just a comment, but a full fledged blog post.
God’s Own Child, I Gladly Say It
Today (May 6) I celebrated the 29th anniversary of my baptism when my parents brought me to the font. With the water and God’s word my dad baptized me in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and marked me with the cross upon my forehead and upon my heart as one redeemed by Christ.
Share your thoughts . . .