Rethinking Worship (1/2)
by Eric K. Thomsen Worship is a common word in church circles. It is hard to attend a service without hearing terms such as praise and worship, worship service, worship leader, or worship team. Yet, despite these frequent references to worship, a wide variety of ideas exist regarding this important subject. Many Christians mistakenly believe worship describes only what the congregation does each week before the sermon—songs, prayer,...
The Spirit and the Sufficiency of Scripture
One of the key doctrinal principles of the Protestant Reformation was sola Scriptura. This principle emphasized Scripture rather than tradition as the final authority in faith and practice. The Protestant Reformers and their immediate theological heirs affirmed sola Scriptura because they believed that the Bible, as God’s very Word, was sufficient for the doctrine and practice of the Church. They affirmed the sufficiency of Scripture...
Church Leadership Lessons from Malachi 2
In many ways, a leader’s competency can be assessed by the response of those he is leading. For example, a teacher’s competency to teach may be assessed by how well his or her students retain the information being taught in the classroom. If students learn the material and pass their exams, the teacher has probably done well educating his or her students. On the other hand, if nobody passes his or her exams, the teacher may not have...
Mothering in Church: Do Not Grow Weary in Doing Good
Many seasons of life present us with difficult situations. Caring for elderly parents, battling chronic illness, entering or ending a career—such circumstances all present unique challenges, and they can make church attendance and fellowship with the body of Christ difficult to achieve. Mothering young children is another season that can present a challenge as we strive toward spiritual growth and community with a local body of...
The Sufficiency of Scripture and Christian Worship
Ask any conservative Protestant evangelical minister if they believe in the sufficiency of Scripture and they will almost certainly answer “yes.” Affirming the sufficiency of Scripture for conservative Protestant evangelicals is almost akin to affirming the inerrancy of the Bible. But I have noticed with friends and colleagues in recent years that we are seemingly talking past one another when we discuss the sufficiency of Scripture...
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