Psalm 146, Psalm 150, Psalm 117, 2 Corinthians 1:1-5 Each of our worship services starts with praise. We call ourselves to worship by praising God. For what do we praise God? What words do we use to praise God? What stories do we tell to praise God? What is the tone of our praise? This will be a ‘praise service’ that…
Malachi 3:6-12, Acts 4:32-5:11 And now, we come to the “or else.” Except it really isn’t an ‘or else.’ It’s more of a ‘follow through.’ In Malachi God wants to know why we aren’t following through on our giving. God asserts that we’re actually robbing God of what is God’s (and it’s all God’s). God asserts that we’re shortchanging God by…
Micah 6:6-8, Matthew 23:23, Deuteronomy 14:22-29 What we return to God isn’t all tangible goods, though. Everything doesn’t have a value that fits on a 1040, or that we can make an insurance claim for. What does God expect of us? Even if we tithe spices, what does God want us to offer from…
Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4 There is a huge church debate about how much we’re supposed to give to God. Usually this debate circles around the idea of tithe and 10%. Is that 10% before taxes? Is it gross or net? Does it include gifts? Is it 10% of everything, or just 10% of our salary? You’ll notice that this discussion…
James 2:14-29, Mark 12:28-31, John 10:11-18 On Trinity Sunday, we think about the Trinity, that really tough and vague doctrine that is somehow essential to our understanding of God. We’ve talked about three leaf clovers, and many other metaphors over the years. All of them fall short of the understanding of the whole. …
The kids and youth show us how the Spirit has been moving in their past year of Sunday School.
Acts 2:1-4, Romans 8:14-39 What Spirit are we blessed with on Pentecost? Slavery, or adoption? Fear, or Glory? Hiding in the upper room, or confronting the crowd? Speaking a powerful story that overcomes the barriers of language, national origin, or hiding for fear of the crowds? Are we gifted with a Spirit that…
Benjamin GVD shares the last year’s mission, ministry, and life from LCC International University in Lithuania.