The tapestry of worship is formed by the various threads of conversation that occur in interweaving fashion: God’s Word being communicated to the gathered community (both individually and corporately), worshipers responding to God under the prompting of God’s Spirit,...
Worship dare not be glib or superficial, ought not to dispense false assurances or manipulate emotions. Instead, genuine worship always offers the true hope of the Gospel—neither entertainment nor escapism, neither diversion nor another sort of consumerism, but the...
What if [instead of just the “wow” moments in worship] we actively pursue the joy of the ordinary? What if in this season of Lent, when we verbalize our “ashes to ashes” condition , we give God glory for the profound nature of His handiwork without feeling that we...
“Praise” that uses only “upbeat” songs can be extremely destructive to worshipers because it denies the reality of doubts concerning God, the hiddenness of God, and the feelings of abandonment by God that cloud believers going through difficult times. I have counseled...
If God is to be the first in our life, worship must get top priority. from Music, Worship, and the Ministry of the Church
It is obvious that it is not enough to say: Love one another. That has been said for centuries, and has been repeated ad nauseam, in all tones, from all platforms, religious and secular. And yet we continue to war instead of love one another. Why is this? No one can...
You wonder how long my love will last? Find your answer on a splintered cross on a craggy hill. That’s me you see up there, your maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding. Covered in spit and sin-soaked. That’s your sin I’m feeling. That’s your death I’m dying....
It seems that there is something written into the very fabric of human beings that longs for Easter. There is at the core of our lives a yearning for resurrection.
We are called to experience the Resurrection in our own lives by entering into this dynamic movement, by following Christ who lives in us. This life, this dynamism, is expressed by the power of love and of encounter: Christ lives in us if we love one another…
Lord, at the beginning of this Lenten season, I sense my need of you,Yet, I am not quite sure how to reach you. I heard someone say, “Read your Bible.”But too often the words are like Bullets that ricochet off my brain. I heard someone say, “Pray.”But my prayers,...