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September is a time of new beginnings. The new school year, the new church school year, and a new year of church ministries and activities are all worth remembering, celebrating, and dedicating in worship.
Sermons usually say in other words what Scripture says, and do in other words what Scripture does --assure, warn, encourage, inform, inspire--. But they say and do Scripture in a great many ways and they can sound very different from each other depending on the acoustics of time, place, and audience.
While defenders of Christianity attempt to barge through the front door of reason by arguing the case for Christ, the Holy Spirit has been slipping through the back door of the imagination without the church's permission or even notice.
This study of Matthew 5-7 investigated the main teachings of the whole sermon and their relation to us, the Church, and the world.
Sermons usually say in other words what Scripture says, and do in other words what Scripture does --assure, warn, encourage, inform, inspire--. But they say and do Scripture in a great many ways and they can sound very different from each other depending on the acoustics of time, place, and audience.
Preachers are always searching for illustrations, and if you know where to look, short stories are an excellent resource.
In a post-postmodern, high-tech, super-hyped, and anti-institutional world, how should we be Church and how should we be the Church at worship and in mission? How will our means match the ends so that worship is faithful to the Jesus of the cross?
An absentee father with a son of blistering hate; a frightened man pimping his wife; a penniless mother left to die; a husband beaten down by his wily woman. The stories from Genesis read like last night's news.
So many churches have recently done a series of worship services on the seven deadly sins that you can find ample ideas for your setting. You can plan the whole service to help worshipers frame their experience of vice within the overarching story of God’s forgiveness and reconciling grace.
It's time for the church to reclaim and apply the concept of the Seven Deadly Sins or Capital Vices to spiritual formation. A feature story exploring the Seven Deadly Sins.
Jesus told parables that were far more than simple stories with one heavenly meaning. Here's how preachers, musicians, and worship leaders can plan parable-based worship that lingers in people's lives.
A feature story exploring Pastoral and Worship excellence. David J. Wood and Paul Ryan offer a biblical framework for cultivating congregational conversations about pastoral excellence and standards for worship excellence.
