Psalm singing is not a natural or first choice for human nature. Our nature likes songs that put ourselves central, but the Psalms put God central. Singing about rich human faith experiences is much nicer than singing about our sins, God’s justice and salvation, God’s wrath, or the unrest of …
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Silence in Church
Some time ago, a discussion after church raised the topic of silence, as we usually donβt have music when the elders distribute the elements of the Lordβs Supper. The question was, “Why we canβt have music to break the silence?” And it gives people something to listen to while they …
Read More“Reformed” in the Name
In our communities, many churches have generic names, such as Fellowship, Community Church, or just Christian Church (π’ππ΅π©π°πΆπ¨π© π π΅π©πͺπ―π¬ π’ππ π€π©πΆπ³π€π©π¦π΄ π’π³π¦ ππͺπ¬π¦ππΊ “ππ©π³πͺπ΄π΅πͺπ’π―”…). Why do our churches have βReformedβ in their name? Dr. Michael Kearney makes valuable remarks in the Nov/Dec 2024 edition of Outlook: βIt is fascinating …
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Reformed Church in the City?
Despite the low number of members, our neighboring church in Surrey decided not to close its doors earlier this summer. When things donβt look good church-wise, we tend to take our logical conclusion, perhaps cutting our losses. However, our logic is not Godβs logic, as our thoughts are not Godβs …
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Forgotten Songs
The Israelites sang Psalms. For example, when going up to Jerusalem, they sang the Psalms of Ascent (120-134). And Jesus and his disciples sang “a hymn” at their last Passover celebration: Psalm 118. The early church continued singing of the Psalms. And then the Reformation restores Psalm singing by the …
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Church as a Business?
What is the difference between a School of Business and a School of Divinity?Β These are completely different studies – but what about a course with the same title, like βLeadershipβ? How is leadership in a church different than in a non-religious organization? Organizational strategy and vision are a good …
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Spiritual Formation
Last night, I submitted a paper titled: βHOW DO THE PSALMS PROVIDE LIFE-LONG SPIRITUAL FORMATION AND GROWTH?β Some brief thought below. Dallas Willard describes spiritual formation as follows: …the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such as way that it becomes like the inner …
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Worship – a Piece of Heaven
“Worship is like no place else in this world. But there is one place that it does resemble, and that is heaven” Just before AD 1000, Grand Duke Vladimir of Kiev was interested in selecting an appropriate religion for his new nation. His emissaries investigated the main religions of the …
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What does it mean to be a Christian?
Culture is part of creation and is beautiful and fascinating at the same time. Although culture should not become the guideline or regulatory principle, people are joining the culture when joining a church (as with any organization). Have we identified what our church culture is, and do we identify with …
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