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 This last Sunday service was a a tad different as we looked at the church history between Acts chapter 28 and today (Act 5 Scene 2 in the Grand Story of God).
While history may not be in the Bible, this is a very, very important topic as God did not stop working after St. Luke penned the final words of Acts. He is very much active today and He has always been active within history.
There is a reason that the majority of the Scripture is written as history – Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Jonah, Matthew, Luke, Mark, John, and Acts. They are all history books detailing the work of God among humanity… and if God deemed it important enough to include the history of the Jewish people in His Sacred Text, than I feel it is important to know the history of the Church, birthed with Jesus and infused with the Holy Spirit.
The prophet Jeremiah speaks to this in the sixth chapter:
16 This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
-Jeremiah 6:16
The “ancient paths” => we are not alone on this journey. There have been many followers of Jesus who has walked this path before us. Hebrews 12:1 says that we are “surrounded” by a “great cloud of witnesses” who are cheering us on – encouraging us to finish the race set before us by “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Continue reading Church History (Act 5 Scene 2)
 Courtesy of Wikipedia I was browsing Amazon.com the other day when I noticed that they had St. Patrick’s autobiography on sale for two bucks. Seeing that, I quickly grabbed my rife, ran outside, shot two deer and mailed them to Brazil.
Ok… bad joke (I can hear my wife booing right now…or, worse still, staring at me with those ‘eyes’ telling me that I’m not funny…not funny at all….sigh).
Seriously though, when I saw that the Confession of St. Patrick cost $2.00 via the Kindle – I couldn’t wait to buy it!
For years I have been a fan of the early Christian church in Ireland and Scotland – yet, the holy grail of books written by the patron saint himself escape me.
But no more! I can proudly say that I have read the words of St. Patrick and have found them refreshing for they were full of humanity and Christ centeredness – both noble qualities.
Perhaps the best way to review this book is to allow you to read some quotes from the hand of St. Patrick himself:
“You are an epistle of Christ in greeting to the ends of the earth . . . written on your hearts, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God.’”
“…but I know for certain, that before I was humbled I was like a stone lying in deep mire, and he that is mighty came and in his mercy raised me up and, indeed, lifted me high up and placed me on top of the wall. And from there I ought to shout out in gratitude to the Lord for his great favours in this world and for ever, that the mind of man cannot measure.”
Continue reading The Confession of St. Patrick
I first heard about Mark Batterson’s book “Wild Goose Chase” about a year ago from a friend who knew of my vision to follow the Wild Goose (i.e. the Holy Spirit) to Sweet, Idaho. Being near a bookstore at the time, I bought the book that same day…
But I didn’t read it.
Oh, [...]
 Five years ago the Lord gave me a vision of a wild goose flying over the Sweet-Ola valley. It was the harbinger of Emily and my move to Sweet from Boise – and the start of new adventure that has lead to us being the new pastors of the Payette River Vineyard.
What was so special about that vision? Why a wild goose?
In the early days of Christianity, the Gospel message flourished among the Celts of the British Isles (while no one knows for sure who brought Gospel to the Celts, I like to think that it was some of the Celts living in Galatia who heard the message from St. Paul). Instead of following the Hebrew picture of the Holy Spirit (i.e. a dove), these Celtic believers choose the picture of a Wild Goose – An Geadh-Glas.
Similar to a wild goose, the Holy Spirit can not be tamed or tracked – “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8).
Likewise, when the Holy Spirit comes – He comes in power, disturbing the status quo and setting the people into a new adventure with God.
Continue reading An Geadh-Glas
Irish Saints by Robert T. Reilly
My love for the ancient Celtic church started about six years ago when I first read Bede’s The Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Since then I have strove to learn more about these men and women of God who flourished on the edge of the world.
[...]
Ah… the good, old Celtic church. Sigh. What a group of radicals.
As some of you know, I have a "thing" for the church in the British Isles from 300 A.D. to about 700 A.D. During this time, the Celtic church was more or less independent from the larger Roman Catholic Church (or [...]
The ancient Christian monks of Ireland would establish bases next to villages or trade routes with the hope that various strangers would stop in and say “hi”.
The abbot of the monastery would stop whatever he was doing and visit with the stranger. In fact, if the abbot was in the middle of fast [...]
If you're not wearing BLUE, pinch yourself! No – that wasn't a typo – it was an historic fact. You see, up until the mid-1700s the color most closely associated with Ireland and St. Patrick was blue, not green. In fact, the Irish Presidential Standard (ie. the flag used by the President of Ireland) [...]
For those of you who don’t know me (ok – let’s face it, if your reading this, you already know me…and are probably wounding if it’s too late to deny all knowledge of the being named Ardell), I like missions history – especially as it deals with early church history. As such, I have [...]
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Who Writes This Mess? My name is Joshua Hopping and I am a Son of the Most High journeying through a foreign land following the Wild Goose (i.e. the Holy Spirit) one step at a time.
As I journey along the Way, I have the privilege of serving as the bi-vocational pastor of the Payette River Vineyard Christian Fellowship. I am also a voracious reader who loves studying church history, theology, and world missions.
This blog, "Requisite Danger", is a record of what God is teaching and showing me as I try to follow Him wherever He leads as well as occasional random thoughts. I pray that you will join me in this journey through online/offline interaction as this life is lived in community.
May His grace and peace be upon you.
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This last Sunday service was a a tad different as we looked at the church history between Acts chapter 28 and today (Act 5 Scene 2 in the Grand Story of God).
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