Brandon's Blog

Tomorrow is All Saints' Day, when we celebrate that great cloud of witnesses of all those saints who have gone on before, especially those who died as witnesses of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tonight, however, while we contemplate all the nasty stuff of life at Halloween (including cats), let us remember that the point of Halloween is not to glorify the bad or make evil seem attractive. The point of tonight is to render praise and thanks to God who has conquered sin, death, and the devil through Jesus Christ and has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

A prayer for Hallowe'en:

Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and praise that in Jesus Christ death has lost its sting and that the grave no longer has the victory. As we live in this life, may we never fear the grave, knowing that in death we shall cross the threshold into true and everlasting life, where we shall worship Father, Son, and Holy Ghost for all eternity . In Jesus Christ's name. Amen.

A good man was ther of religioun
And was a povre Persoun of a toun;
But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
He wayted after no pompe and reverence,
Ne maked him a spyced conscience,
But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve,
He taught, but first he folwed it himselve.

(Note the spelling. I think Chaucer had something going. Maybe we can go back to it. At any rate, that's a first rate description of a good pastor.)

Our Father in Heaven,

We thank you for the example you have given us in Bishop Ryle.
May we be like him in our commitment to evangelical doctrine
And his zeal for lives lived in Christian holiness.
Help us, Lord, to also follow his example of one
Who was ever bold yet ever gracious.
Grant, Father, that we may worship alongside
Bishop Ryle in your Heavenly kingdom,
where you are forever worshiped in the company of angels and saints,
With Your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Here's a good little paper on the life and work of Bishop John Charles Ryle. I've read some of his work and always found it invigorating and helpful.