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The church does not celebrate Christmas YET but is in the season of Advent until Sunday, December 25. Advent is “Sursum Corda,” lifting up our hearts. Advent is also lifting up other people’s hearts. Christians cannot celebrate Christmas without Advent. Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: “The celebration of Advent is possible

I am easily distracted. Books I need to read are challenging, and what I don’t need to read captures my mind. Again something from H.B. Charles Jr. from “On Worship.” “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom

What are you singing in worship this Sunday? “Many modern hymns are written *to* Jesus or *about* Jesus. But in all the Psalms (and only in the Psalms) we have words *of* Christ to sing *with* him. We find Jesus in the Psalms by hearing his voice leading our praise

In my home country, we learned about the Great Awakenings and had to remember some “important” names. Who cares about history, right? And this was church history in a country far away. This past year, I got a better understanding of the significance of the American Great Awakenings, the differences

When I read, I leave sticky notes in the books and comments on my desktop. These are some quotes I saved from a few months back. Alan Wolfe (a sociologist, who does not believe, looking at the church from the outside): ”… in the United States, culture has transformed Christ,

Evangelical churches often start their services with a time of singing. Their tradition started in the Great Awakenings, when there was singing when people came in and took their place. (Hence the term gathering songs.) The singing had the function to emotionally prepare people for when the preacher took the

Many people know about “The Ten Commandments.” Scripture lists these in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Leviticus 19 also lists the Ten Commandments, however, in an expanded and applied version. For example, verse 14 says: “Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,

How was your worship? “Worship works from the top down, you might say. In worship we don’t just come to show God our devotion and give him our praise; we are called to worship because in this encounter God (re)makes and molds us top-down. Worship is the arena in which

Studying at a Christian university with a different denominational background is enriching. Three examples: 1. Discussions and disagreements are resolved with an open Bible. (The KJV and ESV are most frequently referenced, with the NIV and Berean Study Bible second.) 2. Considering themes not an issue in my church forces