Monday, December 15, 2014

Spiritual and Sacred Links - Monday 15 December 2014

Supplied by a UK colleague:

Advent links remain available here:

Meanwhile I hope some of this may be of interest:
#1 Kendall Harmon on John the Baptist and the call to repentence; #2 Bishop Tom Wright on Joy; #3 Andrew Hay continues to look at Christianity in politics; #4 John Lennox on Discipleship and the Book of Daniel; #15 a new website 'Christmas starts with Christ' is getting some coverage.

Prayers for you this coming week.

SERMONS AND TALKS
1. St John the Baptist and the danger of cheap grace - Kendall Harmon [Mark 1:1-8]

2. Theology of Joy: N. T. Wright with Miroslav Volf - Yale Video

3. God and Government: the characteristics of a good political leader - Donald Hay - St Andrew's Oxford Audio [Deuteronomy 17:14-20 and Mark 10:35-45]

4. Four talks on Daniel and Discipleship - Professor John Lennox - FOCL Video
Standing Strong for God in a Secular Society
Identity and Intecrity [Daniel 1-2]
Revelation and Reason [Daniel 3-5]
Power and Truth [Daniel 6-12]

Commentary for Sunday 14th December
5. Preaching Ideas and Commentary - Rev Peter Carrell

6. The Sunday Readings - Rev Stephen Trott

WORSHIP
7. The bells of St Michael's, Kingsteignton in Devon - BBC Radio 4

8. Sunday Holy Communion livestreamed from St Helena's Church, Beaufort, South Carolina at 10:15 am Eastern Time, 3:15 pm London Time

9. Advent Carol Service still available from St John's College, Cambridge – BBC Radio 3

10. Sunday Hour - BBC Radio 2

11. Archived Choral services during the holidays from the chapels of King's College Cambridge
and Trinity College, Cambridge
and St John's College, Cambridge
and New College, Oxford

PRAYER
Please pray for the Ebola Crisis and for those working for a cure; for Christians and all facing persecution and crime in Iraq; for the persecuted church and in particular in Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan and Egypt; for peace in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; and for the Diocese of South Carolina.

12. Topical Prayers - Church of England
Nigeria: Dozens killed in double bombing in Jos - BBC News
Iran: Second appeal hearing for three Iranian clergymen – CSW
Pakistan: Three more cases in which Pakistani Christians accused of blasphemy – WWM
Report referred to
South Carolina: Decision in South Carolina Case Expected Soon - Alan Haley
Prayers from Lent and Beyond

CURRENT AFFAIRS
13. Sunday Programme - with Edward Stourton - BBC Radio 4

Food for thought
14. Wake up for Advent - Archbishop Sentamu - BBC Radio 2 Pause for Thought
Waiting is more than unfulfilled longing - Dr Martyn Atkins
Christmas Observance – BRIN
Good without God? Morality's Foundations Crumble in the Absence of Christianity - Peter Hitchens - ABC Religion
CIA torture: What should the Christian response be? - Roy Jenkins - Christian Today
Did Luke get the date of Jesus’ birth wrong? - Ian Paul

15. Christmas Starts with Christ - Vic van den Bergh
Giggling baby Jesus goes viral in Christmas Starts with Christ campaign - Ruth Gledhill - Christian Today
Christmas Starts with Christ website

FINALLY
16. Advent 2014 Week 2 - Sharon Dirckx from the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics - UCCF Video

17. Christmas Video 2014 - All Souls

18. O Sing Joyfully - Adrian Batten - Royal Holloway Choir

19. Joy to the World - Rend Collective

20. Soaring lights over Norway - Ole C Salomonsen Vimeo

God bless you

4 comments:

Father Ron Smith said...

Good video - no.17 - from All Souls, Langham place.

Don't suppose you have one from the church around the corner: All Saints, Margaret Street? More solemn music.

Pageantmaster said...

I don't know what they are up to nowadays Fr Ron, but this is from their heyday when they had their own boys choir school
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAlIrBabYE4
Their website has samplers from the modern choir, which has replaced the boys with sopranos.
http://www.allsaintsmargaretstreet.org.uk/music/recordings
Even the cathedrals which have started girls choirs rarely mix them as it gives a very different, though not necessarily bad, sound.

The interesting thing listening to old recordings is how much the sound of choirs has changed, even among those which are all male.

Father Ron Smith said...

Thanks, Pageantmaster, for the link to ASMS. Season's Greetings to you and Yours.

Interesting to realise that Sir Lawrence Olivier was once a chorister at All Saints. And that the father of Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber was one-time Organist and Choirmaster & resident Composer.

Pageantmaster said...

Happy Christmas Father Ron