{"id":17084,"date":"2024-12-02T17:01:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T22:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/?p=17084"},"modified":"2024-12-07T19:26:51","modified_gmt":"2024-12-08T00:26:51","slug":"november-intermission-from-the-kingdom-of-god-to-singing-handels-messiah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/article\/concise\/november-intermission-from-the-kingdom-of-god-to-singing-handels-messiah\/","title":{"rendered":"November Intermission: From the Kingdom of God to Singing Handel\u2019s Messiah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

November is a month filled<\/em> with thanks-giving. Or at least, it should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At our house this month, November included traveling, running, eating Turkey, and giving thanks for God\u2019s many graces. At our church, we finished 2 Peter, witnessed two new believers profess their faith in baptism, and saw our pastoral assistant (Christ Over All<\/em> intern Matt Wood) preach his first sermon. Also, on Thanksgiving Eve and on the following Sunday, our church took time to share reports of grace and thanksgiving to the Lord for all the ways he has been working in our local body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, these are the plain and simple things of the Christian life. And sometimes, I think, if only we focused on our local gardens, we would be much more faithful and fruitful, much less discontented, and equally unlikely to get into online squabbles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, in our virtually-connected world, keyboard jockeying remains a reality. And while Christ Over All<\/em> participates in some measure in the Reformed and Baptist online conversations, especially those related to church and culture, Bible and theology, we are most content to let others do most of the back-and-forth on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning, our ministry has sought to engage various hot topics, but to do so more slowly and less reactivity. There is place for hot takes and hot mics, but we are happy to plan out our schedule and let the arguments of Scripture, theology, history, and philosophy\u2014yes, philosophy\u2014inform our podcasts, longforms, and other essays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To that end, we spent the last month looking at the kingdom of God. And next month, we will look at George Friedrich Handel\u2019s musical work called Messiah<\/em>. For those who are interested in setting aside the online debates, this next month especially might provide a healthy reprieve. For while there is a place for such debates, constant quarreling is good for no one. And thus, as we come to the end of this year, I would encourage you to focus on the coming of our Messiah and Handel\u2019s oratorio that delights in the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you will see below, Christ Over All<\/em> will step into some hotter waters in the new year. But for now, we are happy to let the life-giving streams of Messiah <\/em>call us back to share in the joys of singing, Hallelujah! \u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!\u201d (Luke 2:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kingdom of God<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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As we turn the corner from November to December, it is good to recall the grace and glory we have seen in the kingdom of God. For the last month, we have looked at Scripture, Church history, and biblical studies to consider how Christ\u2019s kingship is found in the Bible and applied across the ages. From Augustine to George Eldon Ladd, we considered how biblical scholars and theologians have conceived of the concept. And practically, we\u2019ve also consider ways in which Christ\u2019s kingdom informs our engagement with the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your missed last month, I would encourage you to start with the two longforms by Thomas Schreiner on George Eldon Ladd and Brad Green on Augustine of Hippo. While addressing two very different Christian thinkers, they provide important historical reflections on the kingdom of God. Then from a Baptist perspective, Albert Mohler and Tom Nettles provided key reflections on how Christ\u2019s kingdom is applied through a Baptist framework. Critically, the separation of church and state does not mean the separation of Christ and state, and in both of these articles we see how Baptist doctrine can affirm Christ\u2019s rule over all things. Then, finally, I would highlight the two articles by Joe Boot and Andrew Sandlin, as these two brothers apply the concept of Christ\u2019s rule to contemporary challenges of culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In all of these articles together, this last month offers a variety of perspectives on the kingdom of God, which in turn serves as a good entry into the glories of Handel\u2019s Messiah. Here is the full list of articles, with the longform essays in bold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n