Church History Debates: Should We Venerate Icons?
A hallmark of Old Testament Judaism was its strict opposition to idolatry, and hence to religious images that could lead to image worship. The earliest Christians seemed to follow their Jewish predecessors with an uneasiness to such things. Their rejection of image-worship contributed to their caricature in the broader society as “atheists.” At some point […]
Summary of Psalms: Understanding the Basics of Psalms in the Bible
The Hebrew title for the book of Psalms is tehilim, roughly translated as “praises.” In some ways, this is an unusual title, as the largest single category of Psalms are laments. It is from the Greek translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint that we get the term “psalmos” or song. The term […]
Household Gods: On Our Tendency to Worship Family
Have you noticed that parents have been acting a bit crazy? The parents getting ejected at youth baseball games for harassing the umpires; The parents losing their minds at school board meetings. The parents schlepping their kids around suburban hotels that exchange uniformed weekday business travelers with briefcases for weekend uniformed children with soccer balls. […]
Sunday Best: What Might Our Best Actually Look Like?
Remember that expression Sunday Best? It usually referred to church clothes: a dressy wardrobe that was reserved for the first day of the week. It wasn’t just about threads, though. Sunday Best signified that Sunday was different and it was also the day that we gave of our financial firstfruits (tithing), avoided some forms of work (sabbath), and […]
Thoughts on Giving a Communion Meditation
Taking the Lord’s Supper is a central component of our spiritual lives and our worship services. Here are some reminders I give to people as they prepare to lead our church in preparing for communion (what many churches call “communion meditations”). Keep it biblical. A Lord’s Supper meditation is always about Jesus. It’s about his […]
4 Ways to Live the Christmas God Intended
One of my favorite Christmas movies is Elf. In the movie, the female lead character, Jovie, is less than excited about Christmas. One time, while decorating a Christmas tree, she explains, “I’m just trying to get through the holidays.” For years I have watched that portion of the movie and thought I understand how she […]
Preparing Your Church for the Lord’s Supper at Christmas
Staff meetings and church services in the month of December are understandably centered on the Christmas holiday. And I for one am grateful we’re taking the time to remember Jesus’ birth. The Incarnation is such an important theme to celebrate that Christmas will be one of two weekends during the year that we see people […]
Warmth in Worship
The first time I went to Maasai land in Kenya, I learned a phrase used by the Maasai people whenever a worship song was really connecting in the moment. They would say, “That song is hot!” I would agree with them…especially since it was about 90 degrees inside a concrete building filled with jumping, dancing, […]
