Have you ever been disappointed by a parent, teacher, or leader (including me)? Have you ever felt like a “lesser Christian” because your job was not part of a ministry? The early church faced both of those issues as early as Acts 6. Jewish widows were receiving needed food, but those from Greek backgrounds (Hellenists)…
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Earlier this year, we released a video on “The Birth of Jesus.” In my adult Sunday school class in December 2022, we looked at the videos following Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christmas (not an affiliate link). It’s excellent! I’d recommend it if you haven’t read it. One of the interesting things I’ve learned is…
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What do you think of when I say “worship”? Do you think of smoke machines, colored lights, a band (with drums), and a few people holding microphones? Do you think of a grand cathedral, robes, incense, and hauntingly beautiful music with no instruments? Do you think of a group of people happily singing through a…
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Are you familiar with the P.R.A.Y. acrostic? It’s a simple way to learn how to pray. I didn’t make it up, and I’m not sure who did, but I use this tool frequently. Too often, our prayers become like letters to Santa Claus. I want this and this and this and this. God is not…
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The birth of a child is a great opportunity for the church to minister to a family. I hope your church has in place ways to support, encourage, and minister to families welcoming children through birth and adoption.
Some churches include baby dedications as part of that process. A few denominations have a script already provided for these occasions. Others are left to their own devices. If this is you, how do you write a baby dedication script? What elements do you need to include? I’ve provided some suggestions below. I’ve also included the sample script I wrote for my church.
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Last week we defined worship like this: “The meaning of the word ‘worship’ is to ascribe worth to something. In other words, it means to say and act like something has worth. It means to honor something, to say it is good and deserving of special attention. More than that, to worship something means to…
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Worship. You hear that word thrown around a lot at church. There’s the “worship service,” the “worship center,” “worship music,” “praise and worship,” and probably a few I forgot. I get it. Worship is important. But what is worship exactly? Is it more than singing a few Christian songs? (Yes.) Are we worshiping things other…
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“The church is full of hypocrites!” How would you answer someone (or yourself) in the face of this objection? The same objection may be voiced a number of ways. “I like Jesus, just not the church. It’s full of hypocrites.” “I can be a Christian and live for Christ without attending a church. It’s only…
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Are there parts of life where Jesus isn’t allowed? That is a question that’s come up in my reading this week and in the sermon again this morning. In America we have a tendency to think of church (or religion) as separate from the rest of life. A growing sentiment urges, “Do what you want…
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The true story of one traumatized little girl led me to reevaluate the way I teach and celebrate the events of Easter. Next week is Holy Week where churches around the world will be remembering Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ trial, His crucifixion, and the joy of Resurrection Sunday. This…
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