http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/ Sat, 19 May 2012 08:07:24 GMT en-us Copyright 2012 Christ Presbyterian Church Santa Barbara http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/songs-52012/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/songs-52012/ Fri, 18 May 2012 08:07:24 GMT The only song that is truly new to us this week is the Red Mountain tune, "Come All Ye Pining." The lyrics were written by one of my favorite hymn writers, Anne Steele (1716-1778) who penned immensely thoughtful, rich, and articulate lyrics that ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/introducing-new-songs/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/introducing-new-songs/ Fri, 11 May 2012 23:59:16 GMT My past couple posts introduced songs written rather recently. However, today I want to introduce two older songs that may be new to some of us.The first song which may be new is a classic hymn from the mid 1800's entitled For the Beauty of the ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/song-10000-reasons/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/song-10000-reasons/ Sun, 22 Apr 2012 01:36:06 GMT Bless the Lord oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! ~Ps 103:1 Psalm 103 begins with each member of the congregation urging themselves to worship God. Yet singing to ourselves, particularly in a worship service, is ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/introducing-a-new-song-death-in-his-grave/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/introducing-a-new-song-death-in-his-grave/ Fri, 13 Apr 2012 18:16:00 GMT As I peer out my window to view a storm rolling across Santa Barbara today, I remember attending a church on a rainy day in Seattle a number of years ago. This particular weekend I had none of my normal leadership duties and I entered the church ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/a-psalm-that-rivals-anything-by-radiohead/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/a-psalm-that-rivals-anything-by-radiohead/ Tue, 03 Apr 2012 20:50:30 GMT In our worship together the past few weeks, we have been examining Psalms of lament and considering what it means to bring not only our successes and shouts of joy to God, but also our disappointments, our failures, our frustrations, and our ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/for-holy-monday/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/for-holy-monday/ Tue, 03 Apr 2012 06:32:14 GMT Opening Prayer Grant, almighty God, that, though in weakness I fail, I may be revived through the Passion of your Only Begotten Son.  Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Scripture ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/cowpers-grave/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/cowpers-grave/ Mon, 02 Apr 2012 06:16:30 GMT Today I preached on Psalm 88—the saddest Psalm in the book. It witnesses to the struggle of a man named Heman. William Cowper was another hymn-writer with a similar experience. This poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning is a reflection on ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/what-about-the-canaanites/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/what-about-the-canaanites/ Fri, 23 Mar 2012 21:54:47 GMT The Bible is a blueprint of in-group morality, complete with instructions for genocide, enslavement of out-groups, and world domination. —Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion  While the Bible never uses the phrase “holy ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/on-mortality/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/on-mortality/ Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:10:04 GMT By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. —Genesis 3:19   Remember, Lord, our mortal ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/new-sermon-series/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/new-sermon-series/ Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:02:30 GMT This week our church is beginning a new sermon series on the Psalms. The Psalms were primarily given to serve as a vehicle for the Church's corporate worship, giving varied and intimate expressions to our covenant relationship with God. The ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/renacerfaith-and-rebirth-in-quillota-chile/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/renacerfaith-and-rebirth-in-quillota-chile/ Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:30:24 GMT Click here to read the story alongside related pictures The story I want to share with you is so incredible that no human, no matter how imaginative, could have created such an amazing and multi-faceted story.  The only explanation is that ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/a-californian-in-the-caribbean/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/a-californian-in-the-caribbean/ Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:03:59 GMT A Day as a Pharmacy Tech The latest from Elise in Haiti http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/epiphany-a-reflection-from-a-former-gentile/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/epiphany-a-reflection-from-a-former-gentile/ Sat, 07 Jan 2012 02:54:38 GMT Throughout the years, Christians have celebrated the Christmas season in different ways. The Puritans, for instance, believed in the regulative principle of worship—that when it comes to worship, whatever Scripture does not command is ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/finding-community-at-christ-presbyterian/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/finding-community-at-christ-presbyterian/ Sat, 19 Nov 2011 19:33:55 GMT It’s been a year since my husband and I moved to Santa Barbara from Charlottesville, Virginia. For Jason, the move meant coming home to the city where he’d grown up; for me, it meant finding a new home in California. One of our first ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/words-for-friends/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/words-for-friends/ Fri, 04 Nov 2011 00:14:57 GMT Was Sarah’s laugh a bit cynical? If you heard Kyle’s recent sermon on Genesis 18, you may have been pondering this. After an evening e-mail chat with a friend concerning the pain of this broken world, I woke up and sent this: My ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/my-grandparents-farm/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/my-grandparents-farm/ Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:17:16 GMT It’s the end of the summer, and I’ve been thinking about summers when I was young, when my family used to spend time on the tobacco farm in eastern NC where my dad had grown up. My grandparents’ farm wasn’t particularly ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/wonder/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/wonder/ Fri, 30 Sep 2011 18:52:48 GMT In the past two months, I’ve watched Fiona hone her five senses and learn to assimilate the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and textures she experiences. Now with the ability to walk, it’s as if she’s been set loose in an ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/encountering-god-in-motherhood/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/encountering-god-in-motherhood/ Mon, 19 Sep 2011 22:18:10 GMT When I was in my third trimester of pregnancy with my daughter, I received an insight on motherhood from an unexpected source. A manager with whom I worked at the time interrupted a business-related chat we were having  in her office to ... http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/collecting-stories/ http://www.cpcsb.org/cpc-blog/collecting-stories/ Tue, 06 Sep 2011 02:16:33 GMT Blogging for His glory? When I was a little girl, I used to love to write stories and did so with abandon. I liked writing about fanciful adventures and places, and injecting my stories with vivid colors and characters. As I've grown into an ...