hardincrowder1689.bsky.social
@hardincrowder1689.bsky.social
Husband, father, and pastor of the historic Dover Baptist Church (est. 1773). I write sermons, essays, and poetry. I am a lover of all things good, true, and beautiful (but especially the humanities).
Poetry will not fix our politics or balance the budget. But it can teach us to recognize healthy forms, respect limits, and recover the habits of attention without which nothing human lasts. #Poetry #WendellBerry open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Poetry Can Save Us
Attention, Limits, and the Recovery of Healthy Forms
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:53 PM
Poetry will not fix our politics or balance the budget. But it can teach us to recognize healthy forms, respect limits, and recover the habits of attention without which nothing human lasts. #Poetry #WendellBerry open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
minds us that the Lord is not a one-time savior. He continues to cary his people as “all the days of old.” #Sermon #Isaiah
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Carried All the Days of Old
A Post-Christmas Sermon on Isaiah 63:7-9
open.substack.com
December 28, 2025 at 7:15 PM
minds us that the Lord is not a one-time savior. He continues to cary his people as “all the days of old.” #Sermon #Isaiah
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
The first Christmas carol did not rise form earth towards heaven. It came down from heaven to earth. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” #Advent #Christmas #ChristmasEve open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
The First Christmas Carol
A Christmas Eve Sermon on Luke 2
open.substack.com
December 25, 2025 at 1:32 AM
The first Christmas carol did not rise form earth towards heaven. It came down from heaven to earth. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” #Advent #Christmas #ChristmasEve open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Every December, we light the darkest nights. This essay grew out of evening drives through Richmond and a Christmas hymn attributed to Thomas Aquinas. He reminds us that Christ is not a metaphor, but Light that truly enters the world. #Advent
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Christmas with Thomas Aquinas
Finding the Light of Christ in the Longest Nights of the Year
open.substack.com
December 22, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Every December, we light the darkest nights. This essay grew out of evening drives through Richmond and a Christmas hymn attributed to Thomas Aquinas. He reminds us that Christ is not a metaphor, but Light that truly enters the world. #Advent
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
When John Milton wrote "On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity", he was not aiming for a cozy Christmas poem. He was heralding a divine invasion where heaven breaks into history, and the old gods flee in terror. “Great Pan is dead!” And that is very good news. open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
"Great Pan Is Dead!" Christmas and the Flight of the Pagan Gods in Milton’s Poetic Imagination
A Reflection on John Milton’s "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity"
open.substack.com
December 20, 2025 at 11:52 AM
When John Milton wrote "On the Morning of Christ’s Nativity", he was not aiming for a cozy Christmas poem. He was heralding a divine invasion where heaven breaks into history, and the old gods flee in terror. “Great Pan is dead!” And that is very good news. open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Tonight's lesson was on the Christian practice of living in joy, and how joy is not anchored in circumstances but in Christ Himself. I wrote this lesson especially for anxious hearts who are learning how to rejoice while they wait. May God Bless! #Advent
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Advent Joy for Anxious Hearts
Practicing gladness while we wait for the King
open.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:09 AM
Tonight's lesson was on the Christian practice of living in joy, and how joy is not anchored in circumstances but in Christ Himself. I wrote this lesson especially for anxious hearts who are learning how to rejoice while they wait. May God Bless! #Advent
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
“For to us a child is born…” (Isaiah 9:6). The great question of Christmas is not whether Jesus entered history once long ago, but whether He has entered your life now. History settles the first. Faith answers the second. #Advent
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
A Christmas Question
An Advent Sermon on Isaiah 9:6, ESV.
open.substack.com
December 14, 2025 at 9:29 PM
“For to us a child is born…” (Isaiah 9:6). The great question of Christmas is not whether Jesus entered history once long ago, but whether He has entered your life now. History settles the first. Faith answers the second. #Advent
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Advent is a soul searching season, and in this reflection I look at Christmas through Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where the feast becomes the place God uncovers hidden fears, wavering loyalties, and surprising grace. open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...
Christmas in Camelot: What Has King Arthur to Do With Advent?
An Advent Reflection on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
open.substack.com
December 11, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Advent is a soul searching season, and in this reflection I look at Christmas through Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where the feast becomes the place God uncovers hidden fears, wavering loyalties, and surprising grace. open.substack.com/pub/hardincr...