Worship (Page 2)

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. – Psalm 19:1 This past week, we enjoyed the rare sight of snow blanketing our town—and, in fact, the entire Gulf Coast. We relished spending all morning long out in it; from pictures I have seen, I know that many of you did too. And while I realize that not all of us might have been quite that excited about it, no one can deny the…

As Christians, we are people who are forgiven by God; as a result, we are to be people who are forgiving. The forgiveness we extend to others is a result and reflection of the forgiveness God extends to us. Paul puts it: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32). Of course, that is easier said than done. How do we put aside our hurt? Our pride? The key is in…

After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus…

At this season of the year, we often are thinking about setting new goals. In conjunction with that, it is also wise to consider common pitfalls to avoid. Israel reached the zenith of its power during the period of the United Kingdom, when Saul, David, and Solomon sat on the throne. These kings have many things in common. They were chosen of God to rule his people. They were all men of great ability. Each did some outstanding things during…

It has become something of a Christmas tradition for me to print this article, written by Reuel Lemmons and published in the Firm Foundation several decades ago, not quite every year, but more often than not since I have moved here. Not only are its sentiments highly appropriate, but I get comments every year from those who missed it before somehow about how much they appreciate it; so I make no apologies for running it again. This editorial powerfully addresses…

I confess that I am behind on my Christmas shopping this year. Normally, I have begun by Thanksgiving and often have it finished by the beginning of December; this year, I am still working on it as I type this. I think that the lateness of Thanksgiving in the calendar this year has thrown me off my usual routine. But it reminds me that this is the time of year when we are concerned with choosing just the right gift…

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of…

It has become my own Thanksgiving tradition to print historical Thanksgiving Proclamations in this space. The American Presidency Project at the University of California-Santa Barbara has collected all of them for anyone to read; if this sort of thing interests you, I encourage you to check them out. I find historical Thanksgiving Proclamations to be interesting with the insights they provide into the times in which they were issued. While perusing that database, I cam across this lesser-known example from…

From their emergence in this country in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the ethos of churches of Christ has been restoration. European nations had established churches: Roman Catholicism in many countries, Anglicanism in Great Britain, Lutheranism in Scandinavia. These were supported by taxes, given privileges by the government and, in some cases, compelled membership of all citizens. The New World offered an opportunity for religious freedom, as most of us learned in grade school. But that freedom came…

The following article is by Carroll Ellis and appeared in the Gospel Advocate January 1960. It’s still relevant today, and I commend it to your consideration. BP A man has just received a kind invitation. It was not an all-expense paid, deep sea fishing trip, neither was it free tickets to a basketball game. Rather, it was an urgent, pressing invitation to attend public worship. He was not annoyed, embarrassed, teased, but pleased, for he said: “I was glad when…

Most of us are probably familiar with Martin Luther. When you hear the name, you probably think of him first and foremost as the spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation by nailing his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. What you might not know about Luther is that, among all the changes he made, he was responsible for reintroducing congregational singing into worship. A Jesuit priest once complained he, “has murdered more souls with his songs than with…

I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. (1 Corinthians 14:15)  Congregational singing is one of the most distinctive aspects of our public worship in churches of Christ. It’s certainly the one that stands out to visitors to our services because it is relatively unusual in contemporary Western Christianity; most religious groups over the last 150 or so years have moved to featuring various instruments in their assemblies. That immediately draws attention to…