The Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship THE WORSHIP SONGS TO POSITION OR REPOSITION MY HEART HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FAVORITE. I Like Sermons I ENJOY SERMONS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD/SOCIETY BUT THAT ALSO TIE DIRECTLY BACK TO BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES. Attraction to a Congregation COMMUNITY; WARMTH; AUTHENTICITY I’VE BEEN […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship The sermon, the hymns, and holy communion. I Like Sermons I enjoy sermons that provide what Aristotle said made for excellent oratory: Logos (some teaching), Pathos (guts and feeling), and Ethos (life application). I like sermons that clearly state the goal of a text, the roadblocks and maladies that […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship The most engaging part of a worship service, I’d say, is the sermon. We have attended a number of different churches and visited quite a few when searching for a new one. I’ve heard a lot of ho-hum sermons. But when I encounter a pastor who keeps me on […]
Read MoreThe Most Engaging Part(s) of Worship I love the music. I love the songs that are joyful and upbeat. I love the praise songs. I love old hymns. I love to feel energy and love. However, I do not care for ones that just repeat the same phrase over and over or ones that the performers drag on for […]
Read MoreOver my years of teaching new member classes, I was continually surprised that the creation story caused so little discomfort with people’s public-school training in evolutionary theory. These were adults, and maybe the implications of the modern understanding had not caught up to them, especially the older ones. I was and remain a big fan […]
Read MoreOur staff’s weekly devotions are from a book by an experienced pastor whose one-page reflections are well written and usually right on. A recent one was on advancing the kingdom of God in church life. His description of what should and can happen through grace was well said. But he missed the key ingredient—the Holy […]
Read MoreThe name of a congregation says a lot about who they are and want to be. Of late, newer congregations are showing up with variations of the Church of the Abundant Life. I take this as evidence of the shift that is occurring in American Christian churches. They recognize that the new touchpoint for outreach […]
Read MoreChristianity has a long history of reference to the Ten Commandments to identify sins that need to be exposed, confessed, and repented of. This is basic to a biblical view of sin and salvation. But in the new post-modern culture, holding unbelievers to this standard does not work so well as a starting point. Better […]
Read MorePsychologist Phil McGraw, “Dr. Phil,” made a name for himself in television interviews with advice seekers. His famous question was, “So how’s that working for you?” The usual answer is not very well. Hence the need for advice. “How’s it working for you” is the major touchpoint for relating to others in our modern American […]
Read MoreYou don’t see it when you watch the Rose Parade on TV. The cameras are located on the corner of Orange Grove and Colorado Blvd. We lived just a few blocks away and went regularly. During those years, after the last flowered float came a scruffy-looking bearded man dressed in black carrying a huge pennant […]
Read MoreGrace is the Apostle Paul’s chosen word to explain to others how his life changed on the road to Damascus. He spent many years in Tarsus, his hometown, before being invited to join the public ministries of the Apostles. Imagine him as he was out and about in those earlier years testing words to find […]
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