Confident Prayer (Philippians 1)
The relationship between Paul and the Philippian Christians is a model for all congregations. Paul and the Christians in Philippi recognized the deep work of God in each other, prayed passionately for each other, and fervently desired to see God-glorifying fruitfulness in each other.
October 19, 2010
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9 min read
Writing a Congregational Worship Statement (Bible Study)
This Bible study looks at and goes through the steps to creating a worship statement. It suggests that a properly authorized group of leaders decide and articulate the worship values of a congregation.
October 19, 2010
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6 min read
Participants in Worship: Seen and Unseen (Bible Study)
Remember that you are getting a view of the throne room of heaven. Notice the throne, the One on it, the crowd around it, and the nature of the worship they are bringing.
October 19, 2010
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6 min read
The Service of Baptism (Bible Study)
This Bible study lesson looks at baptism and how it becomes the sign of washing in Christ, the entrance into discipleship, and inclusion in the Christian church.
October 19, 2010
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8 min read
The Prayers of the People (Bible Study)
Reformed worship is built on the conviction that congregational worship is essentially a conversation with God. In some elements of the worship service, such as the greeting, scripture reading, sermon, and benediction, God speaks to us. In other parts of the worship service, the worshipers speak to God through songs, commitments, and prayers.
October 19, 2010
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7 min read
Coop's Column - Prone to Wander
Rarely—almost never—do married persons make it their aim to get into an extra-marital relationship—to have an “affair.”
September 24, 2010
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3 min read
Coop's Column - Glorify the Lord with Me
Modernity has a kind of airy weightlessness, a lack of seriousness and significance. So, when it comes to the matter of “setting their minds on things eternal”—that is, of paying any heed to the world beyond sight and sound—most contemporary people are pretty breezy and airy.
September 17, 2010
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3 min read
Coop's Column - Declaration of Dependence
To be human is to be in need—in need of God and of one another. And to remain fully human—indeed, to flourish in it—requires that we stay in touch with, remain keenly aware of, that need.
September 10, 2010
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3 min read
Coop's Column - A Heart-Stoppingly Grand Invitation
In his Word God declares that it is he, the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth, who welcomes his creatures into his presence and invites them to worship him.
August 30, 2010
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2 min read
Coop's Column - Jesus Yes-Church Yes!
In the Western hemisphere, especially in Europe and considerable sections of North America, vigorous contempt toward and sleepy disregard of the Christian church are widespread and increasing at an ever-accelerating rate.
August 23, 2010
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2 min read
Coop's Column - Simply Fellow Strugglers
My years as chaplain among college students have convinced me that many young people suffer from what I call the "immortality virus": "Death-accidents, illness, and weakness, too-can, and sometimes do, happen to others. But it won't -read: cannot- happen to me." Or so they foolishly imagine.
August 16, 2010
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2 min read
Coop's Column - O!
It's easy just to go through the motions of love without one's heart really being in it.
August 9, 2010
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3 min read
