seeing in a mirror dimly

It was Steve and my great privilege to have Dr. Ashley Null as our guest on the Pilgrim’s Podcast this week! We sat out on the rooftop of our building on a beautifully sunny morning and drank sparkling mineral water whilst we talked about God and life.  What could be better!

Ashley is a fantastic guy and an encouraging brother in the Lord.  Formally, he is the canon theologian of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, visting fellow at Cambridge University, visting research fellow at Humboldt-Universitat in Berlin, and recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.  One of the foremost experts on Cranmer and the English Reformation, he is the author of Thomas Cranmer’s Doctrine of Repentance: Renewing the Power to Love.

In the interview we get to know him, and hear all about his growth in love for the Lord Jesus.  We ask Ashley what sort of relevance the Anglican church has for young ‘post-denominational’ Christians in Sydney, and get a fascinating answer!  One of the highlights for me though, was hearing Ashley’s thoughts on worship: he clearly explains some of they key differences between the Anglican and Presbyterian understandings of worship – the normative and regulative principles, respectively.

This was such a good interview it was for about an hour! So, this is part one.  Enjoy!

Listen here:
 

Download this episode of the Pilgrim's Podcast!

Having just preached at a wedding on the weekend, I was amused to find this as I studied for Church History:

“List of princesses, royal, electoral and of other most distinguished houses of marriageable age.

The princess royal of Sweden, fifteen years of age.  She is very tiny, and a Lutheran.

The princess royal of Denmark, eighteen years of age, tall, of excellent disposition, well-bred and graced with the best qualities of her sex.  She is a Lutheran, like the king her father; but the queen her mother, who is Reformed, has inspired her with the same opinions.

The princess electoral of Brandenburg, fourteen years of age, very well-bred, of a sweet-tempered disposition, extremely devout, and of the Protestant religion.

The princess of Hesse-Cassel, sixteen years of age, well endowed both in mind and body, of moderate height, of a gentle and kindly disposition and of the Reformed religion.

The princess of Saxe-Eisenach, twenty-five years of age, with a striking appearance and charming temper; Lutheran.

The princess of Holstein-Gottorp, twenty years of age, of excellent reputation; Lutheran.”

And none of them made the cut – William never remarried after Mary’s death!