“Hello darkness, my old friend.” Can you imagine singing that lyric during a worship service? No? Me neither. It’s the start of the Simon & Garfunkel song “The Sound of Silence.” Great song, but we probably wouldn’t sing it as a praise to God in a worship service. What about this line: “Why, O Lord,Continue reading “A Lament for Dark Days – 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11, Preview”
Tag Archives: Prayer
How God can transform tragedy – Matthew 21:1-11, Part 3
Editor’s Note: This week at Faith Church we welcomed one of my current students, Molly Stouffer, as guest preacher. Molly is from Hagerstown, MD, studying Pastoral Ministries at Lancaster Bible College. Here is the third in her series of posts guest blogging her Palm Sunday sermon! Nobody told me that my mother’s survival meant immenseContinue reading “How God can transform tragedy – Matthew 21:1-11, Part 3”
A family tragedy had me questioning God – Matthew 21:1-11, Part 2
Editor’s Note: This week at Faith Church we welcomed one of my current students, Molly Stouffer, as guest preacher. Molly is from Hagerstown, MD, studying Pastoral Ministries at Lancaster Bible College. Here is the second in her series of posts guest blogging her Palm Sunday sermon! “God please don’t let her die.” These were theContinue reading “A family tragedy had me questioning God – Matthew 21:1-11, Part 2”
How can you spend more time praying with others? – Praying together, Part 5
The enduring practice of the earliest Christians was gathering for prayer. It was essential to their meeting together. They didn’t just demonstrate praying together, they also taught it. Consider a few passages that provide a foundation for churches to gather for prayer. Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” 2Continue reading “How can you spend more time praying with others? – Praying together, Part 5”
The effect of church families gathering for prayer – Praying together, Part 4
The first Christians spent the better part of three years observing Jesus’ practice of prayer. They heard him teach about prayer. Years later when they instinctively gather for prayer over and over and over, they demonstrate for us their commitment to do what Jesus did and taught. In Acts 4, as we saw in the previous post,Continue reading “The effect of church families gathering for prayer – Praying together, Part 4”
Prayer as an instinct – Praying Together, Part 3
I visited my son, daughter-in-law, and two grandkids in Pittsburgh recently. Though my kids live in Lancaster, my granddaughter was born four hours away in Pittsburgh because she has a heart condition. So I got to meet her for the first time in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit of UPMC Children’s Hospital. She was hookedContinue reading “Prayer as an instinct – Praying Together, Part 3”
What happened when the first Christians gathered for prayer – Praying together, Part 2
In the previous post, we observed the prayer meeting the followers of Jesus held right after he ascended back to his father in heaven. The book of Acts tells us that at the 10-14 mark of their nonstop prayer meeting, something powerful happened. Look at Acts chapter 2, verses 1-4: “When the day of PentecostContinue reading “What happened when the first Christians gathered for prayer – Praying together, Part 2”
What kind of prayer meetings does God desire? – Praying together, Part 1
Do you remember the Asbury outpouring that happened last year? From February 8, 2023, all the way to February 24th, 2023, that’s 17 days, there was a continuous, 24/7, worship and prayer event at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Throughout history there have been numerous such extended prayer efforts. In fact, the International House ofContinue reading “What kind of prayer meetings does God desire? – Praying together, Part 1”
Why I decided to cancel our church’s weekly prayer meeting, and why I told people I would not start it back up – Praying together, Preview
When I started as Faith Church’s Youth/Associate Pastor in 2002, Faith Church held weekly Sunday morning worship, Sunday evening worship and Wednesday prayer meeting. A few years later the Sunday evening service had dwindled to the point where maybe a handful of people attended, and we canceled it. At that time Wednesday prayer meeting wasContinue reading “Why I decided to cancel our church’s weekly prayer meeting, and why I told people I would not start it back up – Praying together, Preview”
The earliest Christians were not perfect. But they do help us think about… Meeting together, Part 4
It is normal for pastors and church leaders to be idealistic about church, as we want our churches to be all that God wants us to be. In pursuit of the ideal, we often look to the early church as perfect. They were not perfect. But they definitely give us an excellent example, especially about how to meetContinue reading “The earliest Christians were not perfect. But they do help us think about… Meeting together, Part 4 “
Engaging Scripture 