Ancient-Future Time (Ancient-Future) , livre ebook

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149 pages

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Millions of Christians worldwide follow the liturgical Christian calendar in their worship services and in their own personal devotions. The seasons of the Christian year connect believers of diverse backgrounds and offer the sense of unity Jesus desired.Robert Webber believes that we can get even more out of the Christian calendar. He contends that through its rich theological meanings the Christian year can become a cycle for evangelism and spiritual formation. He offers pastors, church leaders, and those of the "younger evangelical" mind-set practical steps to help achieve this end, including preaching texts and worship themes for Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Advent, and Christmas.

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Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 octobre 2004
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441242129
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0576€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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A NCIENT -F UTURE F AITH S ERIES
Current Titles
Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World (1999)
Ancient-Future Evangelism: Making Your Church a Faith-Forming Community (2003)
Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year (2004)
Forthcoming Titles
Ancient-Future Spirituality
Ancient-Future Communion

© 2004 by Robert E. Webber

Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com

Ebook edition created 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-4212-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NEB is taken from The New English Bible . Copyright © 1961, 1970, 1989 by The Delegates of Oxford University Press and The Syndics of the Cambridge University Press. Reprinted by permission.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NRSV is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.
To my grandchildren
Tommy Welch
Ben Welch
Jack Welch
Lexi Welch
Quinn Wilson
who fill my life with the joy
of childhood once again.
Contents

Cover
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
List of Tables
Introduction to the Ancient-Future Series
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. Ordering Your Spiritual Life

Part 1 The Cycle of Light
2. Advent: A Time When God Breaks In on Us
3. Christmas: A Time When Christ Is Birthed Within
4. Epiphany: A Time to Manifest Christ

Part 2 The Cycle of Life
5. Lent: A Time to Repent
6. The Great Triduum: A Time to Die to Sin
7. Easter: A Time to Be Resurrected
8. After Pentecost: A Time to Experience God’s Renewing Presence

Epilogue
Notes
Bibliography
Subject Index
Scripture Index
About the Author
Back Ads
Tables
1. Christian-Year Spirituality at a Glance
2. A Summary of Christian-Year Spirituality
3. A Summary of Advent Spirituality
4. A Summary of Christmas Spirituality
5. A Summary of Epiphany Spirituality
6. A Summary of Lenten Spirituality
7. A Summary of the Three Great Days Spirituality
8. A Summary of Easter Spirituality
9. A Summary of Spirituality after Pentecost
Introduction to the Ancient-Future Series
This book, Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality through the Christian Year , belongs to the Ancient-Future series. In each book of the series I present an issue related to faith and Christian practice from a particular point of view, namely, that of drawing wisdom from the past and translating these insights into the present and future life of the church, its faith, worship, ministry, and spirituality.
In these books I address current issues in the context of three very significant quests taking place in the church today. First, these books speak to the longing to discover the roots of the faith in the biblical and classical tradition of the church. I affirm the Bible as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. However, instead of disregarding the developments of faith in the church, I draw on the foundational interpretation of the church fathers and the creeds and practices of the ancient church. These are sources in which Christian truth has been summarized and articulated over against heretical teaching.
Second, this series is committed to the current search for unity in the church. Therefore, I draw from the entire history of the church together with its many manifestations—Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant—particularly the Reformers and evangelicals like John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards. I weave insights from these traditions into the text so the reader will understand how other deeply committed Christians have sought to think and live the faith in other places and times.
Finally, I use these biblical, ancient roots together with insights and practices from Christian history to constitute the foundation for addressing the third issue faced by today’s church: How do you deliver the authentic faith and great wisdom of the past into the new cultural situation of the twenty-first century? The way into the future, I argue, is not an innovative new start for the church; rather, the road to the future runs through the past.
These three matters—roots, connection, and authenticity in a changing world—will help us to maintain continuity with historic Christianity as the church moves forward. I hope what I cull from the past and then translate and adapt into the present will be beneficial to your ministry in the new cultural situation of our time.
Acknowledgments
No one is fully able to acknowledge all the sources and people who contribute to the writing of a book. Many unnamed books, people, and even institutions have formed my life and challenged me to be sensitive to the work of the church as it moves into a post-Christian world. The fact that I mention only a few of these people and institutions here in no way diminishes my appreciation for the unnamed.
First, I need to thank Northern Seminary for my appointment as the William R. and Geraldyne B. Myers Professor of Ministry. This generous chair has substantially reduced my teaching load, allowing me more time to write. I am equally grateful to Baker Books and especially to Robert Hosack for the support given to this series and for the freedom they have given me to develop this book in a way that reflects my convictions.
Next, there are those special people who have encouraged me and helped me with research and the process of many rewrites and editorial changes. A special word of thanks to Lois Stück and Chad Allen for their careful editing. Thanks to Ashley Gieschen and Barbara Wixon at Northern Seminary for their cheerful and willing help. Finally, and certainly not the least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my wife, Joanne. The freedom she gives me to spend long hours at writing and editing is a gift without which this book would be no more than unfinished thoughts.
Introduction
I have written Ancient-Future Time to introduce the Christian year and the spirituality it orders. As the subtitle declares, the goal of this book is to help individual Christians and local churches learn how their spiritual lives may be formed through the practice of the Christian year. I draw on both Scripture and the ancient Christian practices of the church to show the reader how personal devotion and corporate spiritual worship may be ordered by the Christian year.
We live in a time of great cultural and spiritual transition, a time when many Christians are growing weary of a faith that is shaped by culture and the practices of the world. Many younger evangelicals and older ones as well are searching the past to find ways of spiritual formation that have deeply affected the spiritual lives of many generations. The Christian practice of time is one of the most powerful means of ancient spirituality, and it is currently being rediscovered by the church.
Because the purpose of this book is to encourage individual Christians and congregations to practice Christian-year spirituality, I have not attempted to deal with the historical origins of the Christian year nor have I pursued the developments of the Christian year through the centuries. Readers who want this information will find it from books I have listed in the bibliography.
Let this book serve as a primer. To help the beginner in this ancient discipline, I have included a chart at the end of each chapter. The chart summarizes the main points of each chapter for quick review. Following is a seasonal prayer and then questions for personal or corporate reflection. Finally, some resources on preaching and worship are presented. All these resources are found in the book Services of the Christian Year and include Christian-year texts, prayers, confessions, music and the arts, and model services.
Begin your pilgrimage into Christian-year spirituality by reading and reflecting on the chart Christian-Year Spirituality at a Glance . This will provide you with a quick overview of the entire discipline. As you delve into each season in future chapters, it will be helpful to have the full year in mind.
I hope you will discover the deep evangelical nature of the Christian year and find spiritual inspiration for your personal life and helpful ancient resources for congregational worship.

Table 1: Christian-Year Spirituality at a Glance Season Emphasis Spiritual Challenge Advent (coming) Readiness for the coming of Christ at the end of history and at Bethlehem (the four Sundays before Christmas day). Repent and be ready for the second coming of Christ. Allow an eager longing for the coming of the Messiah to be birthed in your heart. Christmas The fulfillment of Israel’s longing. The Messiah has come. The prophecies have been f