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Worship Leader, Play for Your People Tomorrow
As a worship leader, I am more anxious about Easter Sunday than any other service of the Church Year. I suspect I am not alone in this. On Easter, worship leaders and church musicians often feel pressured to perform for once-a-year crowds. Easter services can feel like our one chance to impress visitors in hopes…
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Questioning Easter
Did my title surprise you? No, I’m not questioning the reality of the resurrection or whether Easter was originally pagan or any of the usual questions that pop up this time of year. Instead, I want to question some things we take for granted on and leading up to Easter that deserve more thoughtful examination.…
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“O Come, O Come, Behold Emmanuel”: A Sonnet for Good Friday
I was reflecting on the “O Antiphons” today, those ancient prayers that inspired the familiar Advent carol, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” As it is Good Friday, though, I began to wonder how the Messianic titles of the “O Antiphons” might inform a consideration of the cross. As so often happens, this contemplative exercise produced…
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Reblog: Answering the Hymn “Were You There?”
“Were You There?” is one of my all-time favorite hymns, and I play it every year during Holy Week. A few years ago, though, I was struck to realize that the refrain of “Were you there?” is not a rhetorical question; it actually demands answering… Click the link below to read more…
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A Poem for the Day after Palm Sunday
I recently saw the sharp contrast between Palm Sunday and Passion Week described as “liturgical whiplash,” which seems just about right. The day following Palm Sunday always leaves me contemplative, struck anew by the fickleness of the crowd as they turn from cheering to jeering, from “Hosanna!” to “Crucify him!” But because we know how…
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Reblog: The Real Context of a Popular “Bookish” Quote
It’s National Library Week, which means that bookish quotes are popping up all around the internet. Mostly, this is a good thing. But I admit that when I saw Penguin Classics share a Pride and Prejudice quote without any awareness as to its real context in the novel, I could not sit idly by. I…
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On Netflix and Narnia: Three Questions and a Convicting Scene
You may have heard that Meryl Streep is in talks to potentially voice Aslan in Greta Gerwig’s new Narnia adaptation. At first I thought this was an April Fool’s joke, so I thought little of it. But when April 1st came and went without a “Gotcha!” my only reaction was grim resignation. I wish I…
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For Narnia and for Aslan: Reclaiming Running as Play
I run nearly every day, which leads many people to assume that I have always been into fitness. While I have always enjoyed a good walk or hike, it might surprise you to discover that I am not naturally athletic. My mom once jokingly described me as “an indoor cat,” and some of my earliest…
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Nostalgia & Narrative: My Review of “Sunrise on the Reaping”
As a reviewer for several Christian publishers, I regularly post my thoughts on non-fiction releases. However, I am also constantly reading fiction from a wide variety of genres. Because so many readers are talking about the latest Hunger Games prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, I thought I’d share my thoughts below. Backstory I was a…
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Review: “Did the Resurrection Really Happen?”
Did the Resurrection Really Happen? by Timothy Paul Jones is the most recent installment in The Gospel Coalition’s Hard Questions series. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to read and review it far in advance of Easter so I can recommend to my church families, social media followers, and blog subscribers. It is…
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The Season of Broken Things
I have found that there is power in singing about our oddly-specific woes and worries. Yes, it can feel silly at times, but that is partly why it is so efficacious; it puts our concerns in perspective and forces us out of our own heads. Singing personal little songs is even more helpful when we…
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Review: “The People of Paul’s Letters”
I was very excited to receive an early copy of The People in Paul’s Letters: A Compendium of Characters by Guy Manuell, which is set for release tomorrow, March 11th. Something my husband and I have in common is a shared love of theological resources, and this is one I am very grateful to have…
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Ryanne Molinari 