We entered the Christmas period yesterday with sermons on The first Christmas lights and The first Christmas card looking at Matthew 2 and Luke 2 respectively. Eddie preached in the morning and it was me in the evening. Typical say in that the morning congregationwas large (40?) but could have had more along and the evening small (15?). We were both enabled to preach well.
The similar phrase 'Worldly Christianity' is one used by Bonhoeffer. It's J Gresham Machen that I want to line up most closely with. See his Christianity and culture here. Having done commentaries on Proverbs (Heavenly Wisdom) and Song of Songs (Heavenly Love), a matching title for Ecclesiastes would be Heavenly Worldliness. For my stance on worldliness, see 3 posts here.
Lord's Day December 14 2025
We entered the Christmas period yesterday with sermons on The first Christmas lights and The first Christmas card looking at Matthew 2 and Luke 2 respectively. Eddie preached in the morning and it was me in the evening. Typical say in that the morning congregationwas large (40?) but could have had more along and the evening small (15?). We were both enabled to preach well.
10 Metareferences in the movie Elf
I have just finished watching the movie Elf as I do at this time of the year each year. I was struck by one particular scene where Buddy the eld looks out from a bridge on a snowy night and how it references James Cagney in the Frank Capra film It's a wonderful life. Others have noticed similar things and the movie is described by some critics as being a "meta film" in the way it acknowledges and plays with audience expectations of the Christmas movie genre, tying familiar tropes together to create an original story wrapped in a "holiday classic bow".
- It's A Wonderful Life Buddy's bridge scene references George Bailey contemplating his purpose in life.
- Miracle on 34th Street Buddy's trip to Gimbel's is reminiscent of the scenes in Macy's. Gimbel's was Macy's store rival.
- Edward Scissorhands Buddy makes snowflakes like Edward. He doesn't have the same tools but he achieves the same result.
- A Christmas Story Buddy's snowball fight is a reference to this film. Buddy saves Michael from school bullies just like Ralphie.
- A Christmas Story The Ralphie actor has a cameo. Peter Billingsley plays Buddy's elf supervisor Ming Ming.
- Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Leon The Snowman resembles Rudolph's Sam. The snowman Leon and Sam are both mentors to elves
- Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer Buddy's elf costume recalls Hermey the mistfit elf's costume.
- The Santa Clause Elf plays on the theme of nonbelievers being converted by the irrefutable evidence of the Christmas spirit and Santa Claus's existence, with a normal man being thrust into the North Pole environment.
- The Christmas Star Edward Asner plays Santa again not a crook this time but the real thing.
- National lampoon's Christmas Vacation Once again there are antics with an oversized Christmas tree.
These metareferences are sometimes referred o as Easter eggs. So Easter at Christmas!
Day Off Week 50 2025
Had one of my reading days last Tuesday. There are a number of books that I am reading day by day at the moment. With those I am reading other Chrstmas books including this Washigton Irving book that I picked up recently and have now finished. The book contains the most beautiful writing in a most beautifully illustrated book. American Irving simply describes a few days in England at Christmas, staying at an old house whose lord is a great lover of the old traditions, especially at Christmas. The book is charming and also provides a limited amount of information on the background, partcualrly ina series of footnotes at the end of the book. Undoubtedly, the Puritans took a wrong turn when they banned Christmas. They certainly meant well and it would be a mistake to suppose that an Irving Christmas is typical of pagan celebrations but the idea of enjoying yourself in winter is not something any Christian should have too many qualms about.
Lord's Day December 7 2025
I was preaching somewhere where I have never preached before on the Lord's Day, in Wellington Chapel in Herefordshire. We went Friday night to a place called Kington where we stayed Friday and Saturday night. We enjoyed the Christmas market in Kington on Saturday morning adn a sixtieth birthday party in Newtown on the Saturday night. Then on the Lord's Day I preached in Wellington on John 5:28, 29 and 1 Peter 5:7. An elder, Mark Gray, led for me in the morning. We had lunch with people from the church in between. On Sunday night we drove back to London. Turing then but a lovely weekend.
Midweek Meeting December 3 2025
Six of us gathered last night with one online. We looked at Romans 12:3-8 and then prayed. We all prayed one after the other.
Westminster Conference 2025
So I have spent the last two days at the annual Westminster Conference and thoroughly enjoyed it. We are now well settled inSt Giles Christian Mission, strange as it seemd to be there away from centrl London the first time we did it. We tried something new this year. Normally most of the papers are followed by discussion time but this year on day one we had most of the diiscussion at the end of the day after the three papers had been given. This was only a partial success, among the problems being that speakers tended to produce over long papers, despite their best efforts. We kicked off with Mark Thomas on the Puritans and original sin - a solid and useful paper, quite demanding to listen to. Then Paul Levy took us through Machen's magisterial Virgin Birth of Christ. The third paper was from Donald J MacLean on the temptation of Christ from Thomas Manton but ending with Hodge and Shedd. Jeremy Walker led the discussion but it was hard to focus anywhere.
Day 2 was more traditional with Andy Young on the active obedience of Christ, covering pretty uncharted territory regarding Karh, Piscator et al. We then had a marathon from Sinclair Ferguson on Samuel Rutherford. We closed, in contrast, with a fresh, very lively and brief life of Athansius given by Gavin Kinnaird. Great numbers resnet. We meet again next year, God willing, around the same time.
Day Off Week 48 2025
Nearly a week gone by since my day off but I do want to record it. I won't really be having one this week. Four things - 1. Reading. I read a large chunk of Dianarama, a new book about the infamous interview and the facts surrounding it. Finished that now. 2/3. Watching. First, the new Frankenstein on Netflix, which I enjoyed. Director Guillermo Del Toro takes the Mary Shelley idea and does his own take. It's a great film (apart from some of the cgi) but misses a few tricks that a Christian worldview might provide help in. Great pre-Christmas film with all that snow. (I now recall that I have also seen his Shape of Water but not his Pinocchio, which I met get on to). Second, a couple of episodes of Prisoner 951 (there are four altogether). It is interesting becasue the family whose story is related lives nearby (I have met her) and we have a lot of Iranians in the church. 4. Eleri came home with a coat for me, from Costco. She's so kind.
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