keyword
Search by topic, scripture, category etc..
104 Results in 832ms
Display
Sorted By
-
blog
Why Liturgy?
What a small topic! And clearly one I am definitely not the best equipped to answer. But why don’t I share a few thoughts, hopefully, that can help shape a conversation about worship. A New Discover... -
blog
A Worship Planning Guide for Pastors: Why 'Liturgy' Isn't a Four-Letter Word
The foundations of my Christian faith were laid in mid-20th century fundamentalist churches. For introducing me to Jesus, I am grateful. However, over the years I have had to cast aside and recover fr... -
Quote
The best liturgies in use in Christian churches are ancient, well-worn compositions permeated with scriptural language skillfully deployed across a series of pastoral pronouncements, prayers, congrega... -
Quote
I often think of the set pieces of liturgy as certain words which people have successfully addressed to God without their getting killed. -
Quote
Liturgical time raises our sights above the dailiness of life to the essence of life. -
blog
How to Write a Great Call to Worship for Lent
So, you’re staring at your laptop screen. It’s later at night than you’d like to admit. The Word document is blank and that vertical bar is flashing, daring you to write the first word. You need to st... -
blog
The Call to Worship — An Introduction
Step back in time to when you weren’t leading worship, but to a time, whether as an adult or a child, when you arrived a few minutes early to church. Maybe you began to pray for God to help you focus ... -
illustration
Ritual and Repetition
The influence of the familiar on our lives is something that advertisers never forget. The point of advertising is to capitalize on real needs or to create needs and then to provide a product to fill ... -
blog
How to Train Worship Leaders: A Theological and Practical Guide
Training a worship leader (or "liturgist") is a vital task within any faith community. As my friend and former Senior Pastor, Dr. Mark Roberts puts it, the worship leader or liturgist "... -
Quote
The common pattern of the order of worship in the church reflects the pattern of the progress of the gospel in the heart. -
Quote
It is not a gathering of 'escapees' from the world, bitterly enjoying their escape, feeding their hate for the world. Listen to their psalms and hymns; contemplate the transparent beauty of th... -
Quote
As in ancient Israel, thanksgiving had a liturgical form in the communities of early Christians. In talking about tongues, Paul says that one who does not know the tongue cannot join in the “Amen” at ... -
illustration
The Origins of Hocus Pocus
Why worship in our native language? Well, for one thing, it can keep people from distorting the Christian faith into a superstition: In one stream of church history, this can help explain worshipi... -
Quote
The Christian church sings. It is not a choral society. Its singing is not a concert. But from inner, material necessity it sings. Singing is the highest form of human expression....What we can and mu... -
blog
The Ultimate Guide to Benedictions
What is a Benediction? The word benediction comes from Latin and literally means “good word” ( bene [good] + dicere [to say, speak]). Put another way, a benediction is a blessing ... -
illustration
Praying the Phrases of Past Generations of Christians
When one prays the hours, one is using the exact words, phrases, and petitions that informed our faith for centuries. . . . We are using the exact words, phrases, and petitions that were offered just ... -
illustration
Joining the Heavens or Gazing at a Game Boy
Good liturgy, whether formal or informal, ought never to be simply a corporate emoting session, however “Christian,” but a fresh and awed attempt to inhabit the great unceasing liturgy that is going o... -
blog
5 Great Worship Resources on the Psalms
October 2018 For centuries, the Psalms have been the songbook of the church. From metrical settings of Psalms (think, “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” or “The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Wa... -
lectionary
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Preaching Commentary Confrontation Most pastors don’t care for confrontation. Maybe, that could be said for most people. There are the rare few of us who thrive on the tension and drama that comes ... -
blog
The Psalms: A Playlist for the Road Trip of Life
My Daily Soundtrack Often, my daily life is filled with a soundtrack of my own choosing. When I sit for long periods of time to do something rather mundane, like reconcile the checkbook, pay bills, ... -
scripture guide
Scripture Guides, Amos 7:7-17
Confrontation Most pastors don’t care for confrontation. Maybe, that could be said for most people. There are the rare few of us who thrive on the tension and drama that comes with a direct standoff,... -
liturgy
Anointed Worship
Anointed One, Heal our stingy, selfish ways Silence our accusations End the worship wars The congregation is invited to offer their own prayers of confession silently We remember our faithful sist... -
liturgy
We come to this place seeking something
We come to this place seeking something ... something better than ourselves; something that gives life meaning; some relationship that reaches deep into our souls to fulfill us; maybe e... -
liturgy
PALM SUNDAY CALL TO WORSHIP
Pastor: Rejoice greatly, O people of Zion! People: Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Pastor: See, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and having salvation, People:... -
liturgy
Prayer Based on 2 Corinthians 4:5-12
This prayer could be offered by a single voice, a group praying in unison, or as indicated with a single voice on the regular print and all voices on the bold print. Yes, we are merely clay jars But... -
Quote
[Worship is] the celebrative response to what God has done, is doing, and promises to do. -
Quote
Christian worship, we should recognize, is essentially a counterformation to those rival liturgies we are often immersed in, cultural practices that covertly capture our loves and longings, miscalibra... -
Quote
In a fundamental sense, worship language, like all of worship, is formative. The words we hear, sing, and speak in worship help form our images of God; our understanding of what the church is and does... -
lectionary
Fifth Sunday in Lent
Preaching commentary Introduction This narrative is slightly changed from the Synoptic accounts. Matthew and Mark’s Gospels place this narrative two days prior to the Passover (Matt: 26:6-13; Mark ... -
illustration
Hocus Pocus & the Importance of Worshipping in the Vernacular
In one stream of church history, this can help explain worshiping in a dead language like Latin—holy language that honors God but leaves the church bewildered. It’s believed that the incantation “hocu...
Page 1 of 4
Keywords by Topic
U
Keywords by Reference