21st Century Hymns

One of the benefits of setting up the PowerPoint for worship on Sunday is you often have to type the words to the songs into the computer. I have often found a profound sermon hidden in the words of a hymn we will sing (often more profound than the sermon I was going to preach). …

Table Fellowship

At church this week we focused on the practice of communion in our worship services.  It is one of the most important things that we do together, and it is an indicator of the health of our congregation.  After all, a church that has difficulty doing communion together is likely having difficulty in lots of …

What the Bible Says (or doesn't say) About the Rapture

Today there are a lot of people talking about the rapture, the idea that believers in Jesus Christ will one day at the Lord’s call be snatched off the surface of the Earth and carried off to a heavenly abode while Earth and everyone on it are tossed in the trash. I don't want to …

Look Busy

Today Ed Stetzer wrote on his blog, On May 19, 1780 the sky over Connecticut turned dark - so dark that they needed candles to see at noon. The darkness spread as far as they could see, every town in the area that they could contact experienced the same thing. It was shocking, frightening, and …

One of Two Things Will End May 21st

After May 21st, either the world really will end or the public ministry of prophet Harold Camping will be over.  He's the guy that made the prediction that the world will end this Saturday. He and his followers believe that at 9 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 21, a massive earthquake will begin near New …

Worship is Beyond Words

Worship is a profound topic worthy of deep and humble reflection which is why I am always skeptical of people who have simple answers to contemporary worship issues. Worship is grounded in the profound notion that God is completely other.  He is not in any way part of His own creation nor is he obligated …