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Resting in the presence of Jesus
I attended a college Christmas choral concert last Sunday. It was a time of rest for my spirit. This particular song from the 18th Century (music is more contemporary, by Elizabeth Poston) gave my soul rest and worship: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree 1. The tree of life my soul hath seen, Laden with fruit and always green: The trees…
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Advent and worship
Isaiah 1:10-20 can be a reminder… SHOULD be a reminder of HOW we come before the Lord. In all honesty, I think we need to evaluate our worship in this light. There are times I think the American evangelical church just comes with noise and thinks it’s worship. Are we coming with our hearts and lives ready to HEAR from…
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Meaningful moments, meaningful songs
I was on my way to a pastors’ meeting in 2008. My soul was dying. I was trying to “fix things” in my own way with my church and ministry and while I had the best intentions, it was failing miserably. I was dying inside a little more every day. I had a Christian station on that morning and this…
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Faith and worship
Luke 7:36-50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (v. 50) The faith that saves is a faith that draws near to Jesus and lavishes love, thanks, and worship on Him. We cannot worship from afar. We cannot worship with retained dignity… The faith that saves us is the type of faith that does…
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Soon
There my soul will be satisfied. Soon and very soon.
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The King is Returning
I am preaching on 1 Thess. 4:13-18. Part of what stirs my heart is singing about the coming of the Lord. Songs that also create longing to simply see Jesus.
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Digitizing our experiences
So many of our “experiences” in and with the world… and in and “with” God are digitized these days. To have the physical touch… the physical interaction… without the manipulation of some sort of digital enhancement… just doesn’t occur to us very much.
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Why we read Scriptures in every worship service
We follow a public reading of Scripture format every service. They are designed to keep us mindful of the story. The church needs constantly to learn, and constantly to be working on, the practice of telling and retelling the great stories of the world and Israel, especially the creation and the Exodus; the great promises that emerged from those stories;…
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The IMMENSE power of the Scripture
The Revelation, extending St. John’s experience (“I fell at his feet”) puts a stop to all bookish approaches to the scriptures that merely study them out of pious duty or for intellectual curiosity. The scriptures are not a textbook on God; they are access to the living word of God that speaks a new world into being in us. —…
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Creating a healthy laboratory for the Spirit and spiritual gifts
What is the outcome of this, brothers and sisters? When you meet together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All these things must be done to build up the church. (1 Cor. 14:26, CEB) We all have fears. Even as Pentecostals, we all have fears when it comes to church services. One…
Tag: Worship
