127 - What Are Sermons For?
Is it a lecture? Is it a TED talk? Is it an entertaining bit of folksy wisdom? People have all sorts of ideas about what a sermon is, and what it’s for — most of them quite wrong! In this episode, Cameron and Mark talk about the sermon as an act of worship, one of the ordinary means of grace. What does this signify, and how does it influence the way a sermon is prepared, delivered, and heard? Let’s find out.
126 - The Order of Worship
Your commenters are back! When people visit Grace, one of the unique features they often comment on is the Order of Worship, a multi-page printed booklet that contains our liturgy for the service, including music, prayers, texts, and all the usual announcements you’d expect to find in a church bulletin. In the first episode of 2024, Mark and Cameron explain why we produce these booklets every week rather than using screens or hymnals, and how you can use them to enhance your worship.
125 - Taking Census of the Senses
For the final episode of 2023, something a little more light-hearted than usual: Cameron and Mark review their personal bests (and in some cases, worsts) of the year through the lens of the five senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Prepare to enter a little too deeply into the minds of our hosts — and enjoy a year-end roundup to tide you over until we return in January.
124 - Finding Your Place
Mark and Cameron grasp toward a theology of "place" in this episode, looking at the way human beings are situated in places throughout Scripture and trying to apply the duties and joys observed there to our own quest to find a place in the world. As we increasingly work outside the office and have options to live wherever we choose, what does it mean to be committed to (and rooted in) a particular place?
123 - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
122 - Expecting Jesus
As we begin the season of Advent, Cameron poses a question: Is it quite right to describe this season as a time of “longing,” or would a better way to think of Advent be to to consider it a season of expectation. In this episode, he and Mark distinguish between longing and expectation, discuss the similarities and differences between Advent and Lent, and mix it up over how early in the year listening to Christmas music is permitted.
121 - Faith, Power, and Plan
Mark’s recent sermon on the cursing of a fig tree in Matthew 21 left some unanswered questions about prayer, faith, and how the power of God relates to the plan of God. In this episode, he and Cameron return to the passage to consider an interesting point: when Jesus claimed that with a little faith mountains could be moved, was he simply wrong, or is it that no one has had enough faith (even through the bar is set so low)? Or is there another explanation entirely?
120 - Enemies of the Novel
It’s hard to write a great novel these days, and those who manage find that the public isn’t exactly waiting with bated breath. In his recent book The Novel, Who Needs It? critic Joseph Epstein catalogs a list of what he terms “enemies of the novel.” In this episode, Mark tries to convince Cameron that these enemies threaten more than just the novel, though; they menace faithfulness and flourishing in general.
THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.
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119 - Anti Social Media, Or "Ad Mundus!"
Earlier this week, Cameron made the momentous announcement that he was deactivating his social media accounts — something many of us have thought about, though few carry it out. In this episode, Mark (who hasn’t followed suit) asks about Cameron’s reasoning, and together they discuss whether social media is more a tool to be used wisely or a rigged game.
THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.
Subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts or Spotify
118 - Tradition Without Traditionalism
Tradition may start as a supplement to Scripture, but it has a tendency over time to serve as a replacement. At the same time, since tradition amounts to interpretation passed down through time, its presence is inescapable. In other words, you’re going to have a tradition. The question is, what will you do with it? In this episode, Mark and Cameron will talk about how we can benefit from tradition without lapsing into mere traditionalism.
117 - Monergism or Synergism?
One of the most fundamental questions when it comes to salvation is: “Who does the work?” Is salvation entirely a divine effort, or are we called upon to contribute — and if so, how much? In this episode, Cameron and Mark unpack the distinction between monergism and synergism, and how it relates to justification, sanctification, grace, and the call to obedience.
116 - Work, Risk, and Calling
In this episode, Mark speaks to Worldview Academy co-founder Jeff Baldwin about work, risk, and the sense of calling. A longtime friend, Jeff takes a unique approach to risk, and as provost of Worldview at the Abbey, he’s counseled many young people at the start of their professional lives on how to pursue excellence and faithfulness in their work. Mark asks about the role of providence and not hedging your bets, as well as the virtue of endurance.
115 - And So We Are
When he was invited to a chapel service at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Mark spoke on 1 John 2.28-3.3. Between the text and some reminiscences about grad school days, he explored the relationship between how God names things and what they are. In this episode, we share that talk, titled “And So We Are.”
114 - The Journey to Adoption
Cameron and his wife Jenny are new parents, and in this episode they talk to Mark about the challenges and the rewards of their journey through infertility to adoption. Sometimes hardship opens our eyes to the struggles of people all around us. It also compels us to rely on God when we have no power over our circumstances. If you’ve ever struggled with the unfulfilled longing, or the need to discern a new path forward, you’ll find encouragement in this conversation.
113 - Room to Grow
If you’d asked at any point over the past few years what the greatest need of our church was, one of the top answers would have been room to grow. We’ve needed a larger space to meet, and now we have one. Grace has only been in the new digs for a little over a month, but already we have seen both the benefits and the questions. In this episode, Mark and Cameron chat about the blessings and challenges of the move.
112 - Forming A Forgiving Church
The Commentary is back after our summer break, and Mark and Cameron tackle an essential topic inspired by Grace’s study of Matthew 18: the challenge of forming a forgiving church. For individual believers to practice the forgiveness we’re called to, we need a community that supports this Christ-like impulse. But culture doesn’t just happen. It has to be cultivated. What are we doing to make our church a place where forgiveness is not just talked about but practiced?
111 - Warm Welcomes and Hard Farewells
In this episode, Mark checks in with Grace’s new associate pastor Dan Reed to hear about the back-to-back experience of graduating from seminary one day and being ordained and installed as a teaching elder the next. Then he joins Cameron in the studio to talk about the passing of Tim Keller, and the lasting legacy of his example of faithfulness.
110 - Retreat, Retrieve, and Return
109 - Learning to Read
As people of the book, Christians have a special relationship to the art of reading. In this episode, Cameron quizzes Mark with a lightning round of questions about whether audiobooks count as reading, if it’s okay not to finish books you’ve started, and what to use when you need a makeshift bookmark. There are some more serious questions in the mix, too, concerning the purpose and benefits of reading.