St. Aidan's Anglican Church, Kansas City - weekly talks

We continue our theme of Why Liturgy? Today's talk deals with countering rival liturgies, disordered desires, habits, attitudes, dispositions, impulses and actions, which come from below (the world, the flesh and the devil, the old order, the old Adam, the old creation) with the new liturgies of the Kingdom of God (virtuous habits of Christlike dispositions).

According to Colossians 3, Christlike virtues are formed within the Kingdom community at worship. It's a matter of re-habituating one's baptismal life, taking off the old and dressing in the new, Christ in all his radiant splendor.

We are drawing from the work of James K. A. Smith: Imagining the Kingdom and You Are What You Love.

May the Church of God remain in the only Story of reality, Christ. May Christ be formed within us. Amen.

We continue our theme of Why Liturgy? Today's talk deals with countering rival liturgies, disordered desires, habits, attitudes, dispositions, impulses and actions, which come from below (the world, the flesh and the devil, the old order, the old Adam, the old creation) with the new liturgies of the Kingdom of God (virtuous habits of Christlike dispositions).

According to Colossians 3, Christlike virtues are formed within the Kingdom community at worship. It's a matter of re-habituating one's baptismal life, taking off the old and dressing in the new, Christ in all his radiant splendor.

We are drawing from the work of James K. A. Smith: Imagining the Kingdom and You Are What You Love.

May the Church of God remain in the only Story of reality, Christ. May Christ be formed within us. Amen.

We continue our theme of Why Liturgy? Today's talk deals with countering rival liturgies, disordered desires, habits, attitudes, dispositions, impulses and actions, which come from below (the world, the flesh and the devil, the old order, the old Adam, the old creation) with the new liturgies of the Kingdom of God (virtuous habits of Christlike dispositions).

According to Colossians 3, Christlike virtues are formed within the Kingdom community at worship. It's a matter of re-habituating one's baptismal life, taking off the old and dressing in the new, Christ in all his radiant splendor.

We are drawing from the work of James K. A. Smith: Imagining the Kingdom and You Are What You Love.

May the Church of God remain in the only Story of reality, Christ. May Christ be formed within us. Amen.

We continue our theme of Why Liturgy? Today's talk deals with countering rival liturgies, disordered desires, habits, attitudes, dispositions, impulses and actions, which come from below (the world, the flesh and the devil, the old order, the old Adam, the old creation) with the new liturgies of the Kingdom of God (virtuous habits of Christlike dispositions).

According to Colossians 3, Christlike virtues are formed within the Kingdom community at worship. It's a matter of re-habituating one's baptismal life, taking off the old and dressing in the new, Christ in all his radiant splendor.

We are drawing from the work of James K. A. Smith: Imagining the Kingdom and You Are What You Love.

May the Church of God remain in the only Story of reality, Christ. May Christ be formed within us. Amen.

Why do Anglicans use written prayers, creeds and other forms of liturgy in worship? We seek to answer a few common objections about liturgy, namely the claim that scripted prayer and ritual repetition leads to heartless worship.

We are working with ideas found in the writings of James K.A. Smith: You Are What You Love and Imagining the Kingdom.

Why do Anglicans use written prayers, creeds and other forms of liturgy in worship? We seek to answer a few common objections about liturgy, namely the claim that scripted prayer and ritual repetition leads to heartless worship.

We are working with ideas found in the writings of James K.A. Smith: You Are What You Love and Imagining the Kingdom.

Why do Anglicans use written prayers, creeds and other forms of liturgy in worship? We seek to answer a few common objections about liturgy, namely the claim that scripted prayer and ritual repetition leads to heartless worship.

We are working with ideas found in the writings of James K.A. Smith: You Are What You Love and Imagining the Kingdom.

Our new fall series will consider why, as Anglicans, we are given to historic, catholic Christianity in light of common notions proposing "spiritual but not religious." This first message asks the question, why Church?

The very nature of God is love ... God is love, an eternal love shared within the communion of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This love has been poured into our hearts by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, we are gathered into the very communion of the Holy Trinity, a communion of love.

Why? To become, progressively, Christlike. The Eastern Church calls this Theosis, the process of divinization, becoming Godlike, Godly. God became like us (the incarnation of Christ) so that we may become like God (through the mediation of Christ). Christianity, thus, is a participation in the divine nature (2 Peter 1) ... God at work within us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure (Philippians 1).

Thus, if God is love, and the law and the prophets are summed up within the Great Commandment, perfected love of God and neighbor, then the goal of the Christian life is to become more like Christ which is to become more loving.

The Church becomes a context where we learn how to love. Marriage becomes a context where we learn how to love (Ephesians 5), and the world becomes a context where we learn how to love (neighbor, stranger and enemies). The Church is a royal priesthood, the body of Christ on earth, fulfilling the mission of God, calling all nations to love and worship the one, true God. To him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen!

We believe that being spiritual and not religious, thus rejecting historic, catholic Christianity, is a manifestation of cultural narcissism. We believe that love is cruciform and ultimately is displayed on the cross of Christ, a voluntary sacrifice for the life of the world. Since Christ laid down his life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for one another (I John 3:16). This cannot be accomplished in isolation. This is one reason that the Church, Christ's body, exists. The whole trajectory is marriage, the eschatological supper of the Lamb. The Bride is making herself ready for such!

Our new fall series will consider why, as Anglicans, we are given to historic, catholic Christianity in light of common notions proposing "spiritual but not religious." This first message asks the question, why Church?

The very nature of God is love ... God is love, an eternal love shared within the communion of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This love has been poured into our hearts by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through Christ, we are gathered into the very communion of the Holy Trinity, a communion of love.

Why? To become, progressively, Christlike. The Eastern Church calls this Theosis, the process of divinization, becoming Godlike, Godly. God became like us (the incarnation of Christ) so that we may become like God (through the mediation of Christ). Christianity, thus, is a participation in the divine nature (2 Peter 1) ... God at work within us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure (Philippians 1).

Thus, if God is love, and the law and the prophets are summed up within the Great Commandment, perfected love of God and neighbor, then the goal of the Christian life is to become more like Christ which is to become more loving.

The Church becomes a context where we learn how to love. Marriage becomes a context where we learn how to love (Ephesians 5), and the world becomes a context where we learn how to love (neighbor, stranger and enemies). The Church is a royal priesthood, the body of Christ on earth, fulfilling the mission of God, calling all nations to love and worship the one, true God. To him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen!

We believe that being spiritual and not religious, thus rejecting historic, catholic Christianity, is a manifestation of cultural narcissism. We believe that love is cruciform and ultimately is displayed on the cross of Christ, a voluntary sacrifice for the life of the world. Since Christ laid down his life for us, we ought to lay down our lives for one another (I John 3:16). This cannot be accomplished in isolation. This is one reason that the Church, Christ's body, exists. The whole trajectory is marriage, the eschatological supper of the Lamb. The Bride is making herself ready for such!

Reflecting on Matthew 16 and Psalm 2, Bill talks about the counter-intuitive way of the Cross. True greatness and joy is found in the path of Jesus' suffering - defined not as bodily illness but denying oneself primacy, laying down one's life for others, faithfully bearing whatever comes due to being an active follower of Jesus.