Resources by Charlie Wingard
“This is our wisdom: duly to feel how much our salvation cost the Son of God.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T. McNeill; trans. Ford Lewis Battles; vol. 1 (Louisville, KY: Westminster Press, 1960), 519.
Read MoreHow Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds in a believer’s ear! It soothes our sorrows, heals our wounds, and drives away our fear.* I thought of this hymn yesterday while reading Calvin’s Institutes: The name of Jesus is not only light but also food; it is also oil, without which all food of the soul is dry; it is salt, without whose seasoning whatever is set before us is insipid; finally, it is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, rejoicing in the heart, and at the same time medicine. Every discourse in which his name is not spoken is without savor.** _______ * John Newton **Bernard of Clairvaux in John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. John T.…
Read MoreCooper was a remarkable dog, a beloved member of the family of my Alabama friends, Matt and Rebecca Harnesss. For years, he was at my side as I trained for several marathons. He passed away earlier this month and will be sorely missed. In recent years when I visited, he was unable to run. Still, whenever I showed up, he found his way to me and stood beside me. Becca remembers how protective he was of Anne Marie after she was born, hovering close by and keeping a watchful eye whenever visitors held her. She summed up well Cooper’s life: “He was a good friend and a loyal companion.” This picture was taken in 2011. I wrote then: It’s fall,…
Read MoreLike all Christians, I follow the Lord’s example and give thanks at meals for the food I receive (Matthew 15:36), the food that our generous heavenly Father “created to be received with thanksgiving” (1 Timothy 4:3). One of Willa Cather’s remarkable characters, missionary Bishop Latour, labors far from his native France in the American southwest. His traveling companion, fellow French priest and dearest friend carefully prepares a bowl of onion soup with croutons and places it in front of him. The Bishop reflects: I am not deprecating your individual talent, Joseph . . . But when one thinks of it, a soup like this is not the work of one man. It is the result of a constantly refined tradition.…
Read MoreDay of all the week the best, Emblem of eternal rest.* Preparing for the Lord’s Day is the obligation of every Christian, and especially gospel ministers. A part of that preparation means cultivating the right attitude toward Sunday. Yes, it is the best day of the week! Francis Grimké has just the attitude we need: Sunday is a great day for the minister; and if he is the right kind of a minister, it will also be a great day for his flock. Sunday is the day particularly on which he is to meet his flock, on which he is to feed them, to lead them into green pastures and beside still waters. It is the day particularly in which he…
Read MoreMy first attempt to become a candidate for ministry stalled in the early 80s. I was a member of a rural church in Middle Tennessee, and my session enthusiastically recommended me to Presbytery. We were an evangelical congregation in a theologically liberal Presbyterian denomination and that was a problem. Far from home, studying at Princeton Theological Seminary, the Presbytery informed me that my candidacy would not move forward. I was so disappointed. Soon, notes and letters began arriving from members of my congregation telling me how proud they were of me, assuring me of their prayers, and urging me to persevere. Notes and letters from caring people were God’s gift to me – just at the right moment when I…
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