Bonfire, Beer & Bourbon on Maundy Thursday

One Maundy Thursday, I found myself at a bonfire with neighbors, reflecting on the contrast between church rituals and the neighbors’ gathering. Feeling torn between my identity as a pastor and fitting in, I chose to partake in the communion, finding beauty in their fellowship and realizing the importance of embracing the world as Jesus did. … More Bonfire, Beer & Bourbon on Maundy Thursday

Wise Music

Music has been and can continue to be a powerful tool in the transmission of wisdom. Like no other mode of communication, music has the power to transcend the spoken word and relate what is being said to the emotional and spiritual self in addition to the rational self. … More Wise Music

Early Christian Worship & Persecution

How did the first Christians gather and worship? We don’t need to guess, or piece a picture together from the sparse comments in the New Testament. We have descriptions from historical sources outside the Bible such as Pliny the Younger, Justin Martyr, Tacitus and Seutonius. Before we read their firsthand accounts, John Gooch gives some … More Early Christian Worship & Persecution

A Tale of Two Buildings (1 Peter 2:4-11)

There are two major building projects undertaken in the story of Scripture — they both continue today. In our study of 1 Peter we discover that each believer is called to be a part of God’s “spiritual temple” He is building. In the OT era, God’s healing, forgiving presence dwelled in the physical temple in Jerusalem. People … More A Tale of Two Buildings (1 Peter 2:4-11)

More Tozer on Worship

…and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a still small voice.—1 Kings 19:12 “The accent in the Church today,” says Leonard Ravenhill, the English evangelist, “is not on devotion, but on commotion.” Religious extroversion has been carried to such an extreme in evangelical circles … More More Tozer on Worship