It’s been a week since my father-in-law passed away. I give thanks for the Body of Christ.
Read moreFormation through the practice of liturgy
I am working my way through Simon Chan’s great book, Liturgical Theology: The Church as a Worshiping Community again. This was a key book years ago when I was in the Assemblies of God. I’ve picked it up now as someone who has joined the Anglican Communion, so I’m reading it with a renewed passion.
Read moreThe power of praise
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Eph. 5:18-20)
Some thoughts on the need for praise in music from NT Wright:
Read moreOne of the beauties of liturgy
One of the things that may confound some folks who wonder about me leaving the Pentecostal denomination I grew up in is how I go to a place that has liturgy. I mean, it “repeats” every Sunday! Where is the moving of the Spirit?
(Of course, no one actually asks me these things. Silence is the code these days.)
Read moreNarrow Little Road
I believe in the love of God
It is an orphan’s wildest dream
It is a narrow little road
It is an ever-widening desert stream
Refrain:
Oh I, and I
I will leave this road
For the narrow
It is portrayed in the bread and wine
Let it fortify my bones
It is more than just a sign
It is the fountain from that desert stone
It is the path where the humble go
It is the narrow not the broad
It is the pathway down the hill
To the graveyard of the living God
The love of God is the hymn of hope
Let the needy join the throng
Let the widow hear and cope
Let the crippled rise to sing this song
— Mo Leverett, 1995, Justice Road Productions.
Listen to this powerful song HERE.
Worship TOGETHER is important
After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:9-10)
Before the Throne of God Above
This song was sung in our worship service yesterday. It’s words soak into my spirit and lift me up!
The reminder of who we are as the church
In worship yesterday our song of procession was Luther’s great hymn: “A Mighty Fortress is our God.” What a beautiful reminder of who we are as the Church of Christ! Read more
The beauty I find in liturgy
We have settled into an Anglican Church in our move south. There are several reasons for this change. It isn’t sudden for me. It’s been several years in the making. Read more
Living life fully committed
While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” (Matt. 26:6-13, NIV) Read more
