Heidelberg Catechism

Question 35. What is the meaning of these words: “He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary”?

Answer: That God’s eternal Son, who is and continues to be (a) true and eternal God, (b) took upon himself true human nature from the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary, (c) by the operation of the Holy Spirit; (d)so that he is also be the true seed of David, (e) and like his brothers in every way, (f) except for sin. (g)

(Click through to see scriptural proofs.)

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Sunday's Hymn: Let Us With a Gladsome Mind

Let Us With a Gladsome Mind

Let us with a gladsome mind,
Praise the Lord, for he is kind:

     For his mercies aye endure,
     Ever faithful, ever sure.

Let us blaze his name abroad,
For of gods he is the God:

He with all-commanding might
Filled the new-made world with light:

All things living he doth feed;
His full hand supplies their need:

He his chosen race did bless
In the wasteful wilderness:

He hath with a piteous eye
Looked upon our misery:

Let us therefore warble forth
His high majesty and worth:

—John Milton

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• His Eye Is On the Sparrow at The Happy Wonderer
• Lifting Up Our Hearts - 24 at The Upward Call
• When I die, will I be missed? at Blogging Theologically
• God Shall Be Our Strength at Tried With Fire
• Lord’s Day 19, 2014 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: Encouraging mendicancy at Pyromaniacs

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

The Hole in the World

There’s a hole in the world tonight.
There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow.

It’s this Eagles’ song that played in my mind the night my husband died. There was a deep hole where he had been, and that hole will be forever unfilled, at least in this life.

He left a young son to grow through his teen years without a father, and, believe me, every boy needs a dad. My youngest son has an empty spot, a hole, where a dad should be, and he will always feel it. I know this because my husband had a hole, too, left by his own father, who died when he was a child. He always longed for something he could not have.

But the hole in the world is bigger than the empty spot left when a son loses his dad, although there’s nothing quite like the death of someone you need and love to reveal the all-encompassing hole—the big hole made up of all the smaller holes and more. Everything is quite wrong and nothing is quite right.

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