Articles for tag: Poetry

December 25, 2019

Christmas Poems from 1877

(Christian Standard featured poetry for many years. This Christmas Day we share three poems by Marie Radcliffe Butler. All of these poems appeared at the top left column of the front page of the December 22, 1877, issue of the magazine. Fun fact: Butler’s poem “The Christian Standard — on the Field of Armageddon” was in the very first issue of Christian Standard, April 7, 1866, and occupied that same top-left position.) _ _ _ (Written for the Christian Standard.) CHRISTMAS POEMS. _ _ _ MARIE RADCLIFFE BUTLER. _ _ _ WHEN SHILOH CAME. (Luke i. 7.) A light in

August 30, 2017

Christian Standard

Devotionals

We Fear No More

By Jackina Stark John Donne, 17th-century poet and preacher, wrote some of the most beautiful poetry in the English language. His Holy Sonnet X, “Death Be Not Proud,” may be the greatest expression of Christ”s victory over death since Paul wrote, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). When Donne turns to the issue of sin, his poetry isn”t always so victorious. In “Hymn to God the Father,” the speaker asks if God can possibly forgive all of his sin: Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run, And do run

October 22, 2014

Christian Standard

Devotionals

Poetry Is Useless

By Jim Tune The wonderful thing about poetry is that it is at once both useless and utile. I love poetry. I am pulled to words in a powerful way. They draw me in with an almost physical intensity. Many of the greatest masters of the English language throughout history have been Christian poets. Think of John Milton, who composed the magnificent epic poem Paradise Lost in order to “justify the ways of God to man.” Think of John Donne, who wrote such memorable lines as “Death be not proud,” “No man is an island,” and “Never send to know

December 21, 2011

Christian Standard

Devotionals

Bethlehem: Inspired by a Preacher”s Renewal

By Bob Russell Phillips Brooks was nearly burned out. The man many regarded as the most inspirational preacher of his time had lost his fervor and couldn”t seem to recover. He requested and was granted a sabbatical from the church and took a trip to the Holy Land. On Christmas Eve in Jerusalem, he and a couple of friends mounted horses and took off riding. It was a wonderful, life-changing afternoon for him. He prayed and spent time alone with God. At dusk, when the first stars came out, he rode into the tiny village of Bethlehem. The town had