In Spirit and Truth

"So, brothers and sisters, what should you do? When you meet together, one person has a song, and another has a teaching. Another has a new truth from God. Another speaks in a different language, and another person interprets that language. The purpose of all these things should be to help the church grow strong." —1 Cor. 14:26 (New Century Version) In the sermon this week, Brad talked about Soren Kierkegaard’s belief that Christians were treating church too much like the theatre. Then Brad said something in conclusion. We have to remember that God is the audience. Each week we gather together, and join our voices as a choir to sing hymns and praise songs to God. It is God, and not ourselves for whom we sing. The Praise Team and Chancel Choir practice each week to facilitate your song to God. In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he encouraged the congregation to do all things in their gathering for the edification of the body, to help the church grow strong. One o

"But he took her by the hand and said, 'My child, get up!' Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat." —Luke 8:54-55 We have talked in this article about attributing worth to God in worship. We have spoken of the importance of our recognizing how much God is worth. Today I want to address the importance of recognizing how much you are worth to God. Ask anyone who has attended Sunday School for any length of time, and they will tell you that "Jesus died on the cross for our sins." While this is ultimately correct, the grammar can be a little misleading. Jesus died on the cross so that we might have relationship with God. It is difficult to address how Jesus accomplished our salvation. The theological theories about how Jesus' death on the cross atoned for our sin fill many volumes of many books. But while it may be difficult to address how Jesus did it, it is infinitely more simple to explain why. Li

A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.'" He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth." When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" —Luke 18:18-24 I identify with the rich young ruler. Though by local standards I’m not rich, I’m quickly losing young, and frankly I don’t rule over anyone; but if I am not intentional about my attitudes, m

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." —Psalm 150:6 Most of us, I would guess, may sometimes feel a little uncomfortable singing in church. Maybe the song is unfamiliar, maybe we are distracted by how good, or not-so-good the person behind us is. Maybe we're worried the person in front of us may be distracted by our voice. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, wrote out "directions for singing" in an early hymnal, to help the early Methodists get past the uncomfortable awkwardness of corporate singing. His words to them may be of use to us. I. Learn these tunes before you learn any others; afterwards learn as many as you please. II. Sing them exactly as they are printed here, without altering or mending them at all; and if you have learned to sing them otherwise, unlearn it as soon as you can. III. Sing all. See that you join with the congregation as frequently as you can. Let not a single degree of weakness or weariness hinder you. If it is a cross

"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, 'The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.'" —Exodus 34:6-7a Rewind 31 chapters. Moses stands hesitantly before a bush that is burning but not consumed by the flames, full of excuses for not following the call of God. Moses, trying to wrap his mind around this experience, asks for the voice's name. Perhaps he was just curious, but more likely is that he was seeking authority. If one knew a god's name, you could call on that god and in essence command it. God answered, I AM. I exist. It was all that Moses needed at that moment, though not what he wanted. I Am... It seems as though there should be more to that statement. As if God was not finished with his answer to Moses or to us. I Am… God cannot be defined by any other single statement, but throughout scripture he uses that