Tag Archives: Worship

Worship: Moving From A Noun To A Verb

H. E. Phillips was a well-known gospel preacher of the 20th century. He lived and preached in Tampa, Florida, during the time I attended Florida College in the late 1960’s. For many years he was the editor of a religious journal, “Searching the Scriptures.”

It was during that time that he decided to have the Bible recorded on tape. Bro. Phillips hired a Shakespearian actor, Richard Lupino, to narrate the texts. Interestingly, Lupino didn’t know anything about the Bible. So H.E. would explain to him the characters and the setting and then Lupino would do an interpretative reading of it. To show how little he knew, when he came to the section about Paul, he asked Phillips, “Paul? Is he a good guy or a bad guy?” Continue reading

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Worshiping in Rome

For the past 25 days Norma Jean and I have been traveling through the Mediterranean as we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. We embarked in Athens and disembarked in Rome. Along the way we’ve enjoyed delicious food, seen ancient archeological sites dating back to Bible times and marveled at the beauty of God’s creation. As you can imagine there have been many highlights on such a venture.

Sunday, however, ranks at the top of our experiences when we met with the Christians in Rome for worship at the VIA SANNIO church.

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Worshiping in Athens

Yesterday was a unique and wonderful experience for Norma Jean and me.

The day began in a most unusual way as we slept in until 11:00 am. That has never happened on a Sunday morning. Obviously, we were catching up on the missed sleep on the flight from the United States to Greece.

After enjoying some local coffee and Greek pastry, we ventured out to explore some of the sites close to our apartment. Following an enjoyable lunch with the best gyros I’ve ever eaten, we hurried back to our temporary home to get ready for the 6:00 p.m. worship service in English. Continue reading

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Should Churches Podcast Their Worship Services?

If Jesus were alive today with the availability of modern technology would He podcast the Sermon on the Mount?

According to Mercer Schuchardt, associate professor of communications at Wheaton College, the answer is “No.”

My friend and preaching colleague, Ralph Walker, recently shared with several preachers an article in Christianity Today by Schuchardt entitled, “How Podcasts Hurts Preaching. Continue reading

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Who (Or What) Do You Worship?

“Because here’s something else that’s true. In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshiping. Everybody worships.”

I recently saw the above quote posted on facebook by my friend and preaching colleague, Steve Wolfgang. It is from the late David Foster Wallace, an American writer and university instructor of creative writing. I was not familiar with Wallace’s works, although the L. A. Times called him “one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last 20 years.” Continue reading

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Sunday Seed Thoughts: Cleansing the Temple

Seed Thoughts
In the last week of Jesus’ life, he again finds the temple defiled by the religious leaders. They had turned the court where Gentiles could come and learn about God into a mercenary business, instead of a missionary business.
Jesus said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matt 21:13). Continue reading

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Sunday or “Funday”?

Worship is a frequent theme of the Psalmist.

“…I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple” (Ps 5:7)

“Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (Ps 29:2)

” Exalt the Lord our God, And worship at His footstool —He is holy” (Ps 99:5).

No wonder the this man of God could affirm, “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” (Ps 122:1) Continue reading

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Worship Strengthens

Christians find spiritual strength in many ways. Bible study. Prayer. Fellowship. But one way in which we can derive strength on a regular basis that touches all of our senses is through worship.

One writer defined worship as “an encounter with the living God.” I like that better than “worship experience.” Sometimes too much emphasis is placed on a subjective experience, or a manufactured or contrived experience. It is possible to have an experience, but not experience true, spiritual worship. Continue reading

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Jesus Focused

 

In his book Worship is a Verb, Robert Webber writes, The focus of worship is not human experience, not a lecture, not entertainment, but Jesus Christ—his life, death and resurrection.”

Worship. It’s not about showcasing the talent of a gifted musician, or displaying a preacher’s knowledge of Greek verbs, or even a pleasant reunion of family and friends. It’s about Jesus. Continue reading

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Your Best

Graham Kendrick reminds us, “Worship is first and foremost for His benefit, not ours, though it is marvelous to discover that in giving Him pleasure, we ourselves enter into what can become our richest and most wholesome experience in life.” Continue reading

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