Silence.   This is how I as a child remember Sunday worship services beginning.  In silence.  Gathered worshippers were asked to begin with silent prayer.  I never really knew what to do during those times of silence.  I always thought that prayer had to do with words, with audible voices, not silence.  Over the years I have come to discover, the truth of what Cicero, the ancient Roman statesman, once said:  "Silence is one of the great...

What is the one thing that sets Christians apart from the rest of the world?  What is it about the church that makes it so attractive to those outside the church?   You might think it is our faith, our steadfast faith in what God says to us in His Word.   Our belief in Jesus, that he is the eternal Son God, the One who died for humanity's sin, and has opened the way for us to...

One year changed everything for me.  The year was 1973.  I was 16 years old, just got my driver's license and my first car - a 1970 VW Beetle.  But my new found freedom on the open road was not what changed my life.   My pastor asked me to be part of a group of people who were discussing how we can reach the lost for Christ.   Our church had joined a global outreach initiative called...

How would you characterize your church?  Is it your priority to get people to gather in rows or in circles?  With all the restrictions and lockdowns mandated by the government in response to the COVID realities, you might say that your priority is to get people to gather in rows.   You desire that people come to public worship on Sundays, sit in pews, participate in worship, and listen to sermons preached.  And such gatherings are important. ...

Why?   Why do you gather for worship with others?   You might meet in a church building, a rented hall, outdoors, or online.  But why gather?  Why worship?  If you are a worship leader or preacher, why would you invest so much prayer, energy, and time in preparing for worship services.   The songs.  The prayers.  The sermons.   The liturgies.   Why? I read someone's tweet this week.  They said:  "Pray for me. The sermon was so bad today...