A few years ago, a community family visited Faith Church, and after that visit they told me they would not be returning because in their words, “You’re not ready.” They weren’t saying I personally wasn’t ready. They were saying that Faith Church wasn’t ready. Not ready? What were they saying? By declaring that Faith ChurchContinue reading “That time someone said, “You’re not ready” about my church’s worship service – John 4:1-26, Part 1″
Tag Archives: worship service
Why we played the Silent Game in worship yesterday – Ezekiel 33:1-20, Part 1
Have you ever been with your kids or grandkids and played the Silent Game? It’s a contest to see who can be quiet the longest. No talking, no laughing, no noise of any kind. We parents and grandparents bring up the idea of the Silent Game usually because the kids are being noisy, and weContinue reading “Why we played the Silent Game in worship yesterday – Ezekiel 33:1-20, Part 1”
How to have the right kind of worship service – Ezekiel 6, Part 5
I’ve heard a variety of opinions about Faith Church’s worship service over the years. Maybe you’ve heard similar sentiments about your church’s worship. “We should be more liturgical.” “We should be more traditional.” “We should be more contemporary.” “We should be more professional…” including the suggestion that we hire instrumentalists. Lot of opinions. Often theyContinue reading “How to have the right kind of worship service – Ezekiel 6, Part 5”
Idolatry in the church? – Ezekiel 6, Preview
Earlier this year in one of the Current Events sermons, I talked about Ravi Zacharias and his moral failure, which came to light over the last few years. (You can read the sermon blog posts starting here.) He was deeply abusive to many women, and there was a leadership culture in his organization that didContinue reading “Idolatry in the church? – Ezekiel 6, Preview”
Worship services are not enough – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 5
I recently saw a conversation between two people on social media. One is often outspoken about their Christian beliefs. That person began the conversation by writing a post angrily condemning people who are of a different political persuasion. Many people responded with supportive comments, but one person disagreed, confronting the Christian writer. I don’t knowContinue reading “Worship services are not enough – Colossians 1:20-23, Part 5”
How to escape the traps of gossip and seduction – Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8, Part 3
It’s probably very familiar: you overhear a co-worker in the break room talking about you, or you peek over a family member’s shoulder and read their text messages, or the church grapevine gets back to you. Through one of these, you learn something negative someone said about us. You are embarrassed, hurt, and angry. TheContinue reading “How to escape the traps of gossip and seduction – Ecclesiastes 7:15-8:8, Part 3”
What’s really going on when you sing worship songs (and why it might be making God sad) – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 3
We Christians give a lot of time in our worship services to singing songs, don’t we? How many songs does your church sing each week? At Faith Church we typically sing four songs, which are a mixture of traditional hymns and modern praise songs. What are we doing when we sing those songs? It mightContinue reading “What’s really going on when you sing worship songs (and why it might be making God sad) – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 3”
Are you praying the wrong way (especially during worship services)?- Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 2
Do you know how to pray? Have you ever thought about how God wants you to pray? What we are going to learn from the Teacher today is that there is a right way and a wrong way to pray, especially during worship services. In this week’s five-part series on Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, the central passageContinue reading “Are you praying the wrong way (especially during worship services)?- Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 2”
Should Christians practice rituals in worship? – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 1
How should we go to church? You might answer, “Isn’t it pretty obvious? You get in a car and you drive to the building, and you walk inside the building, and you sit down on a pew.” Maybe if you live nearby, you walk. You might take a bus. Maybe your church is in aContinue reading “Should Christians practice rituals in worship? – Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, Part 1”
What churches need to be devoted to (and a building is not one of them) – Acts 2, Part 5
What would your church do if God brought revival to your church and in a relatively short time period thousands of new people started coming to your church? What we have seen in the first church was that 3000 people were added to their number that day in Acts 2. If that happened to us,Continue reading “What churches need to be devoted to (and a building is not one of them) – Acts 2, Part 5”
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