All Tags Resource Type Academic Article Article Audio Bibliography Book Excerpt Conversation Enacted Scripture Feature Story Image News Item Online Discussion Podcast Prayer Reflection Resource Guide Slideshow Topic Showcase Video Website Worship Service Category All Christian Year Daily Prayer/Reflection Dance Drama Grants Interdisciplinary Intergenerational Worship Language Arts/Words Music Preaching Sacraments (Baptism and Lord's Supper) Teaching Technology Visual Arts Worshipers Worship- Leading Worship- Meaning of Worship- Planning Worship- Preparing for Occasion All Funerals Symposium Resources War Lessons and Carols Ascension Hymn Festival Advent Weddings Weekday Services Epiphany Natural Disasters Pentecost Teaching Worship Commissionings Thanksgiving Easter Christ the King Christmas Healing Services Anniversaries Taize Ordination/Installation Heidelberg Catechism Summer Passion Week Lent Dedications Search results 1 - 11 of 11 Sort by: Title | Date Psalms Retreats Invite Vulnerability, Build Hope and Trust When a congregation in Long Beach, California, designed a psalms retreat as part of a worship renewal grant, they had no idea how it would grow and blossom. Engaging with psalms of confession, praise and thanksgiving, lament, and hope and trust has helped hundreds of Christians develop a new language of prayer. Feature Story | September 12, 2023 Keith M. Douds on Creating Safe Space for Church Groups Church retreats, church governance meetings, and church small groups require honesty, vulnerability, and transparency to collectively draw closer to God. Psychologist Keith M. Douds explains how and when to step in with grace and preserve safety so that everyone has a chance to share and be listened to. Conversation | September 01, 2023 Nine Tips to Effectively Embed Dwelling in the Word The communal practice of Dwelling in the Word has great potential for building congregational bonds with God, each other, and neighbors. These nine tips can help your church discern God’s promised and preferred future for you as you wait for Christ to return and make all things new. Feature Story | August 18, 2023 Children and Youth Can Dwell in the Word Too Dwelling in the Word is a tool for helping people of all ages—even children—to read and reflect on the Bible together. Doing so helps them to see the Bible as an ongoing story in which God invites us to participate in God’s mission for the world. Feature Story | August 18, 2023 Dwelling in the Word: Simple Practice Leads to Spirit-led Mission Explore Dwelling in the Word, a communal way of engaging Scripture that helps people encounter God, fellow dwellers, and other neighbors. The change happens over time as people repeatedly listen to and discuss the same passage. Feature Story | August 18, 2023 From Isolation to Encirclement: Finding the Preaching Voice Among Peers By preaching to trusted peers and hearing their reflections, even veteran pastors can find transformation in the practice of preaching. Reflection | July 23, 2018 Lessons from a Donkey Mark Charles looks at how one's voice can be heard above all the noise of the world. Article | September 28, 2011 Symposium 2011 - Someday You'll Be a Good Preacher The journey to good preaching is as filled with twists and turns as a Rocky Mountain highway. Stan Mast is a veteran road warrior who shares hard-won insights into what it takes to become a good preacher. Special attention is paid to the sharp-tongued critics who can drive aspiring preachers off the road. Audio | January 28, 2011 Coop's Column - Cultivating Attentiveness There’s a world of difference between hearing and listening. Reflection | November 19, 2010 When God Speaks Through You Based on his book, When God Speaks Through You, Craig Satterlee explored how "holy and active listening"—listening for God's voice speaking in and through the faith community can occur when church members talk to one another and to their pastors about preaching—and especially the faith convictions they bring to the sermon, which influence both the preaching and what is heard. Audio | January 01, 2009 Writing Sermons in an Oral Style The rhetorician James Winans once wrote, "A speech is not merely an essay standing on its hind legs." Yet many speakers—including preachers—write their messages in a style better suited for reading rather than hearing. To be an effective oral communicator, one must learn to write for the ear, not the eye. Audio | January 01, 2006