“…participation in Christ means abandoning our pretenses, openly acknowledging our identities as sinners in bondage, and in the same moment realizing with a stab of piercing joy that the victory is already ours in Christ, won by him who died to save us.” Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion (p. 171)
Tag Archives: Fleming Rutledge
Understanding Justice
I am working my way again through Fleming Rutledge’s marvelous work, The Crucifixion. The understand the depths of the meaning of the cross and its importance, we have to understand what is meant by injustice. Therein lies the rub.
Advent and the Apocalypse
In Luke’s gospel, when Jesus speaks apocalyptically of “signs in the sun and moon and stars” and the “distress of nations,” he ends by saying that humanity “will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:25–27). He is speaking of himself and his Second Coming. He’s tellingContinue reading “Advent and the Apocalypse”
Oh… hell
Some cheery Christmas thoughts from my favorite Advent writer, Fleming Rutledge:
God is not silent
“The Christian faith has not been invented in order for us to claim for ourselves a powerful God who will push the delete button on all our enemies. The Christian faith is, rather, grounded in the story of that One who, against all human reason, emptied himself of his glory and came into our desertContinue reading “God is not silent”
Advent — the now and the not yet
“In this season, the church celebrates two things: God has already acted definitively on our behalf, and God will act definitively in the future to bring his purposes once and for all. That is what it means to watch and wait for the second advent of Christ, not matter how long it takes.” — FlemingContinue reading “Advent — the now and the not yet”
Advent for the nonheroic
If there is a way for you to obtain Fleming Rutledge’s book, Advent, I would highly recommend it. Her compilation of sermons and articles through her years of ministry are so rich. She pulls no punches on the power of Advent and the glory of the once and future coming of Jesus Christ.
The church has its own calendar
“There is no way for the church to adjust its calendar to the world’s calendar. The church is not part of the American culture, (Read that sentence ten times!) and never should should have been. The church keeps her own deep inner rhythms.” — Advent, Fleming Rutledge Advent is a time of darkness, waiting, andContinue reading “The church has its own calendar”
Advent, darkness, and bearing each other’s burdens
“… those who are better off stand shoulder to shoulder with those who suffer. No one is fee until all are free. No one is safe until all are safe. No matter how ‘up’ I may feel personally, my place as a Christian in the larger scheme of things is not to bask in theContinue reading “Advent, darkness, and bearing each other’s burdens”
Life goals
I am working my way through Fleming Rutledge’s wonderful work on Advent (again). There was a description she gave of John Stott that stood out to me and I have set it in the form of a question for my life. Could this be my eulogy? Will I have a single-hearted devotion to the gloryContinue reading “Life goals”
Apprentice 2 Jesus 