Evangelical Worship Needs Church History
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“Evangelical worship services often feel kind of shallow. A lot of times it’ll feel like a concert and a TED Talk about Jesus.” - Gavin Ortlund
A New Methodist Denomination Emerges
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“delegates at the GMC General Conference across six days seemed to feel joyful and hopeful. First, they seemed to feel liberated.” - The Dispatch
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Church Discipline & Defending the Faith, Part 1
From Voice, Jan/Feb 2015. Adapted from Stephen Davey’s book In Pursuit of Prodigals. Kress Biblical Resources (The Woodlands, TX, 2010). Used by permission.
Paul instructed Timothy to “fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12) which means we must engage in an active defense of the faith. That battle for truth begins in the local church where truth and holiness must be defended. And of necessity that involves church discipline. But what exactly is church discipline?
Church discipline can be broadly defined as the “confrontive” and corrective measures taken by an individual, church leaders, or the congregation regarding a matter of sin in the life of a believer (Fritz Rienecker and Cleon Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek Testament. Regency, 1976, p. 237).
Discipline and discipling are actually interconnected actions with similar goals in mind.
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Four Reasons Why “Evangelism” Is Often Misunderstood in Churches
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“There are many paths I could take to attempt to answer that question. For now, one of my research-based answers is that many church members are confused about the meaning of church-based evangelism.” - Church Answers
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Spurgeon’s Sermons: Being Mentored by the Prince of Preachers
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“C.H. Spurgeon introduced the first volume of the New Park Street Pulpit, an annual volume of his weekly sermons that would be published beginning in January 1855. Over the years, Spurgeon’s weekly sermon became a staple in evangelicalism.” - 9 Marks
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I would like advice on a big screen TV for church
We are making some updates to our small church. We have used a projector in the past, but it is a cheap one and it is not really clear and it does not always work reliably. Because of some changes we made, we would need a new screen in a new location. Thus, we are considering updating to a big screen TV since it has so many options for linking technology etc. We expect that the maintenance will be easier and that it will be much more user friendly.
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After a crackdown on sexuality, two dozen CRC churches head for the exits
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“At its 2024 synod in June, the Christian Reformed Church instructed LGBTQ-affirming congregations to repent and comply with the denomination’s beliefs on sexuality. Some are now choosing to leave.” - RNS
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The Frankenstein Sermon
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“A Frankenstein sermon is one where all of the constituent homiletic pieces of an expositional sermon may be present, but it’s lacking the vivifying force that should bring the sermon to life.” - 9 Marks
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On Crafting a Good Sermon: Qualities & Pieces
As I approach my 60th year of life, I find myself more aware of things I’ve learned that I should try to pass on to future generations. One of those skillsets is how to craft a good sermon. I still have room for improvement, but I do have an approach to sermon-crafting and delivery that a fair number of preachers could learn something from.
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Why Small Church Pastors Can Drive a Revival of Discipleship
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“Church growth strategies have been tough on small church pastors…. But a small church pastor is uniquely positioned to drive a revival of discipleship in ways that larger churches and celebrity pastors simply cannot replicate.” - Church Leaders
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