Do you know how to pray? Before we talk about that important question, let me back up a bit. It took me a while to find this image. To be honest, it almost always takes longer than I want to find the right image for my posts, or for the PowerPoint slides I make toContinue reading “Do you want to learn how to pray?”
Tag Archives: Prayer
Could prayer meetings and hand-raising be the worship that God really wants?
Last week I mentioned the massive investment Christians have made in building-centered, staff/program-heavy, Sunday worship. I wondered if God might evaluate us concluding, “I wish you would have done something different.” But how do we know what God would say? Most of us involved in leading church worship do want to know God’s evaluation of our worship.Continue reading “Could prayer meetings and hand-raising be the worship that God really wants?”
The extremely important teaching of Jesus that Google (and maybe your church) is missing
Today while writing this post, I googled “the one thing Jesus taught us to do.” I was looking for an image to illustrate the reflection that I usually write about the previous Sunday’s sermon. The results of my image search were very interesting. Can you predict which result was the most frequent? Prayer. I guessContinue reading “The extremely important teaching of Jesus that Google (and maybe your church) is missing”
Why our worship will be silent this Sunday at Faith Church – May 8, 2016
A few years ago we started holding Silent Sunday around the time the Christian Church world-wide observes Jesus’ Ascension. We’re told in the earliest historical account of the first followers of Jesus, the Book of Acts, in chapter 1, that after Jesus ascended to heaven, the very first act his followers decided to do wasContinue reading “Why our worship will be silent this Sunday at Faith Church – May 8, 2016”
Why an increasing practice of prayer is so important – Luke 18:1-17
If we never or rarely pray, what are we saying? Maybe that we are Christian atheists, unbelieving, like I mentioned last week? It is not enough to believe intellectually that Jesus is God and that he died on the cross and rose again for the forgiveness of our sins, we also show that our faithContinue reading “Why an increasing practice of prayer is so important – Luke 18:1-17”
Are you a Christian Atheist?
I need to make a confession: I have been weak in prayer lately. Does that make me a Christian atheist? What I mean is that for the past number of years, five or so, I haven’t prayed much. I lead Faith Church’s weekly prayer meeting, we pray before Serve Team and Leadership Team meetings, andContinue reading “Are you a Christian Atheist?”
Overcoming our fears, Part 2 – God’s role in calming our fears – Luke 12:1-2
People say that their two greatest fears are death and speaking in public. In Luke 12:1-12 Jesus talked with his disciples about these two fears. Perhaps what he said will help you overcome those fears! In Verses 4-7 he refers to the fear of death. Do not be afraid, but do fear God, he lovesContinue reading “Overcoming our fears, Part 2 – God’s role in calming our fears – Luke 12:1-2”
How to get out of a spiritual rut – Luke 9:37-45
I asked last week in the intro post if you might be blinded by your assumptions about God. Sometimes we can get stuck in spiritual rut, and in that rut we can’t see God for who he really is. In the passage we studied this past Sunday, Luke 9:37-45, the disciples were stuck. The nineContinue reading “How to get out of a spiritual rut – Luke 9:37-45”
When the world throws crazy at you, put on headphones – Luke 6:12-16
Today we welcome Phil Bartelt as guest blogger! Phil is a pastor in the EC Church, who, along with his family, are part of the family of Faith Church. After taking a couple weeks to fast-forward in Luke to the stories of Holy Week, Phil resumed our teaching series through Luke. With this post PhilContinue reading “When the world throws crazy at you, put on headphones – Luke 6:12-16”
Clock, Retreat folder, Envelope – Monday Messy Office Report – 11/24/2014
My office is tidy Friday, mysteriously messy on Monday. Here’s what I found today: 1. A Clock hanging on my wall, with the correct time, ticking. I didn’t notice it right away. A clock on the wall is very normal thing, and I suppose it just seemed to be a normal part of the decor. Continue reading “Clock, Retreat folder, Envelope – Monday Messy Office Report – 11/24/2014”
Engaging Scripture 