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During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. This week's post is a letter written by John Newton to a fellow pastor, Rev. Thomas Jones, on January 7, 1767. Newton was an Anglican minister in the 18th century, whose story of conversion from slave trader to a...

During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. The reading this week is taken from Words of Counsel to the Newly Converted, a book by Rev. George Everard (1828-1901) an evangelical minister in the Church of England. Everard noticed the effect that the thought...

During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. This week's selection comes from the writings of Jeanne Guyon (1648-1717). Born in Montargis, France, Guyon was given in marriage to a 38-year-old invalid when she was only 15 years old. Feeling dissatisfied with...

During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. This post comes from The Hiding Place, a book by Corrie Ten Boom. Corrie and her family were sent to Nazi concentration camps because of their role in hiding Jewish neighbors in Holland. In this excerpt Corrie de...

During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Christian spirituality, followed by some questions for personal reflection. This week's post is an excerpt from the memoir of the famous American abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Douglass was born into slavery in Maryland in 1817 or 1818. At the age of 20, he escaped to freedom and becam...

The traditional season of Lent consists of the forty days (excluding Sundays) that lead up to Easter. Not all Christians celebrate Lent, but for many it is a meaningful time to seek spiritual renewal from the Lord. For an interesting article on a helpful approach to Lent, click here. During each week of Lent this year, we will post an excerpt from a classic writing on Chr...

The season leading up to Easter is a time to remember the greatest act of generosity imaginable: "Christ loved us and gave himself for us" (Eph. 5:2). Every year at Easter, the members of ACC respond to Christ's generosity by giving a special Easter Outreach Offering. The purpose of this offering is to help our church fulfill its budgetary commitment to missions and outre...

In Matthew 16:5-12, we read of a discussion that took place between Jesus and his disciples one day as they crossed the Sea of Galilee in a boat. Jesus said to his friends, "Be careful. Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." The disciples did not understand Jesus. Since they had forgotten to pack bread for the journey, they assumed he was ...

Several years ago my wife and I visited a church in northern Mexico. Since our ride was a few minutes late, the service was already in progress when we arrived. Though we had never been to that church before, everything about the scene was just what we expected. The seats were arranged in rows facing forward, the people were standing together to sing a song, a group of ins...

One of the most common names for God in the Bible is Yahweh Sabaoth or Elohim Sabaoth. The name appears over 285 times in the Old Testament and is translated "Lord of hosts" or "God of armies." The title "Lord of hosts" communicates the idea that God commands a vast army of angelic beings who obey his orders to accomplish his purpose on earth. It is a name that emphasizes...