What part of worship grabs your heart and makes your breath catch in your chest? Brian Rhea shares how the Doxology fills his heart with awe and wonder.
Often, we celebrate the ebb and flow of the church calendar without really knowing what it means or why we do it. But, if we understand what our seasons mean and why we practice them, it can open up a whole new facet of vibrant faith for us. In today’s post, Brian Rhea offers four ways for us to understand the concept of Lent.
Sometimes, as adults, we are not very good at taking intentional steps toward making our worship child-friendly. Brian Rhea has some suggestions on ways we can make our Ash Wednesday services accessible and easier for our younger church members, so we might lead our children into the presence of Christ and the worship of the church.
What does Communion have to do with Christmas? Brian Rhea talks about the Communion table in the stable, and how the Lord’s table informs the Lord’s birth.
When we invite children to come forward, our worship forms a window into heaven; we embrace children the way our Lord embraced them. And, on top of that, it gives us an easy opportunity to teach the stories of Scripture in this age of increasing biblical illiteracy.
We use all manner of criteria to judge churches: Does the preacher “feed” me? Is the music rockin’? Can I “feel the Spirit”? Some might be good criteria; others (most) are pathologically self-centered. But one criterion is often omitted, and yet has good dominical authority: Do the children participate?
The benediction is not some throwaway verbiage to get people out the door; it is nothing less than the heart and soul of who we are and whose we are.
Every Sunday morning, after a hymn of praise and praying a Collect together, the churches I serve have a “moment of silence before God.” I conclude the silence with an extemporaneous prayer, usually inviting God to encounter us during our worship service.
