Blog Archives
Holy Week Prayers: Maudy Thursday
“Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
Christian Bloggers of the World…We Need Your Help!
I have a hunch, a hypothesis, a gut feeling. That is, that singing in church is not as important to most of us who attend regularly. We don’t dislike singing, and are not theologically opposed to it. However, most of us, I propose, don’t give it as much weight as our worship leaders or senior leadership do.
That has been what I have observed in congregation after congregation that I have visited in the past 4 years. These polls are an unscientific way of trying to get a more objective view. The answers to some of these polls has been rather eye-opening, and seem to confirm my gut feelings. I will be spending time writing about what I have learned as a result in the not too distant future.
I need more answers to these questions, and so I am putting a link to our polls in this post. Please feel free to use them in your own blog posts. The results are available for all to see, and you can use the gathered information for any observations you would like to make. The more votes we get, the better understanding we will have.
So here are the links:
What Are the Two LEAST Important Elements of Corporate Worship for YOU Personally? http://poll.fm/45vog
Do You Think We Spend Too Much Time Singing In Church? http://poll.fm/45rag
What Would You Do If Your Church Eliminated Singing from the Service? http://poll.fm/31app
What is the Most Important Element of Corporate Worship for You Personally? http://poll.fm/2hazg
What one thing would you like to see changed in the American Church? http://poll.fm/2ga0u
Holy Week Prayers: Tuesday
Tuesday in Holy Week O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Daily Prayers For Holy Week
Daily Prayers for Holy Week
[EDITOR’S NOTE: These prayers are taken from the contemporary wording of the Book of Common Prayer. The U.S. online version can be found HERE.]
Monday in Holy Week Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other that the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Tuesday in Holy Week O God, by the passion of your blessed Son you made an instrument of shameful death to be for us the means of life: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of your Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Wednesday in Holy Week Lord God, whose blessed Son our Savior gave his body to be whipped and his face to be spit upon: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Maundy Thursday Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Good Friday Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy Saturday O God, Creator of heaven and earth: Grant that, as the crucified body of your dear Son was laid in the tomb and rested on his holy Sabbath, so we may await with him the coming of the third day, and rise with him to newness of life; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Originally posted over at Glenn Packiams Blog: http://glennpackiam.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/04/daily-prayers-for-holy-week.html
Check out Glenn’s Fantastic Book, which we HIGHLY recommend: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0781410436/gpackiamc-20
Dead People Speak To Me
Dead people speak to me. It’s true, they really do!
Don’t misunderstand me, it’s not that the dead visit me in my sleep, or that I hear voices in my head. I am talking about the writings of the early church leaders, those great men of God who passed from this earth 1700-1900 years ago. Their writings speak volumes to me about what it means to Read the rest of this entry
Making Room for God in Your Life
Merry Christmas everyone!
Not being catholic, I seldom read what the Pope has to say. But this year I actually read his Christmas eve sermon. I was moved by his words and challenged in my own life and faith. I have posted it here. I hope my protestant friends can read it and Read the rest of this entry
A Christmas Prayer for All
The following prayer is from the largely forgotten deposit of the Puritan Movement of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They testify to the richness and color of evangelical thought and language, as well as their devotion to the Savior. They can be found in a book titled “The Valley of Vision”, by Arthur Bennet. I have included them in this blog so that others can use them in their own prayer life as a springboard to a more faithful walk with Jesus. These prayers are 200-400 years old! They were written in old English, but that should not get in the way if you don’t let it.
Following Him together…
Read the rest of this entry
God’s Christmas Gift to Humanity
Merry Christmas
“God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life.For this reason, at every time and in every place, God draws close to man. He calls man to seek
him, to know him, to love him with all his strength. He calls together all men, scattered and divided by sin, into the unity of his family, the Church.
To accomplish this, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son as Redeemer and Savior. In his Son and through him, he invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, his adopted children and thus heirs of his blessed life.”
May you receive Him with open arms! Merry Christmas everyone.
A Christmas Prayer of Praise
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
all creation worships you,
the Father everlasting.
To You, all angels,
all the powers of heaven,
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you.
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you.
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all praise,
the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory,
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you took our flesh to set us free
you humbly chose the virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death,
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory.
We believe that you will come to be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people,
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints
to glory everlasting.
And Behold, A New Blog Was….Born
The other day, while shopping, my wife found the perfect t-shirt for me. It said:
“Nobody Cares About Your Blog!”
Unfortunately it was the wrong size, plus it was pink! However, I interpreted that to mean that what the world really needs is one more blog and that I should start it.
Not being one who takes my responsibility to serve mankind lightly, I have started, and now made public, a New blog called “Following Him Together” It is a pastoral/devotional type of blog, that will focus more on the journey of the Christian life than on the problems of the evangelical church, which I have now solved.
Be one of the first 10,000 to subscribe to it and you could “Win a brand new car!” Not really. Visit it here: Following Him Together.
Christianities Family Tree
“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
John 17:18-21 NASB
The End of the Beginning is Here
It has been a while since my last real post. Many of you have wondered out loud if I am A) dead, B) seriously ill, C) in exile or D) just not writing. The answer is … Read the rest of this entry
A Quick and Easy Homemade Lemonade Recipe That Anyone Can Make!
NOW UPDATED!
It’s summer and it is starting to get hot. If your family is like mine, you’ll need something ice-cold in the refrigerator to quench everyone’s thirst. This homemade lemonade hits the spot every single time.
Below you will find the ancient secret family recipe to make a gallon of delicious homemade lemonade. We’ve made it quick and easy by using bottled lemon juice instead of fresh squeezed. If you have the time and the desire to use fresh lemons, go ahead and substitute it out, but see our 2017 update below for a quick and easy alternative. You can use less water if you want a stronger lemonade. Tinker with it until it is exactly the way you like it. As written below, we think its perfect!
You Are What You……Believe?
“You are what you….eat!”
That would make me a giant cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal! Though I agree with the basic premise of that statement, I think it goes to far. I submit that we are NOT what we eat. Rather, we are what we believe.
Isn’t that obvious?
When you hold certain facts passionately close to your heart, it has the potential to shape you into something you are not. There is a transformative nature inherent in belief, much like an oak seed has the potential towering tree in it. It doesn’t seem to really matter what you believe. We Read the rest of this entry
Is the Current Church Model Doing More Harm than Good?
The Barna Group just came out with a new research report. In it, they describe six mega-themes relating to the state of the church in America. I want to discuss two of those themes here. I believe they have a cause and effect relationship. I also believe that the Seeker-Sensitive church model is directly responsible for the findings detailed in the Barna Report.
Barna says: “Change usually happens slowly in the Church. But a review of the past year’s research… provides a time-lapse portrayal of how the religious environment in the U.S. is morphing into something new.” Stop for a moment and think about what you just read: Christianity in America is morphing into something new.”
Is the American church morphing into something better and more God honoring? The findings in the Barna Report would argue in the negative. Here’s two of them: Read the rest of this entry
Are You Spending Your Life on Trivial Pursuits?
A third century Church Father once said that the devil majored in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds. The older I get, the more I think the Desert Father was right. The enemy seeks to fill our lives with meaningless things (noise) so we don’t hear the truth of the Gospel. He works to keep us busy and entertained (hurry) if we happen to embrace the truth of the Gospel so it makes little difference in our lives. He strives to surround us with others who are doing the same thing (our friends, families, co-workers and the like) so that we don’t consistently live out the truth of the Gospel, never seriously impacting our lives or the lives of those around us.
If ever there was a time in the history of the world where it’s easy to give oneself to meaningless things, it is now. There are so many options, aren’t there? Between Cityville, Castleville, Farmville, perusing Facebook, or tweeting about the mundane things of life, as if anyone cares (I still haven’t found anyone who actually cares that “I’m writing a new article for the blog!”), or spending endless hours on the internet and the like.
What about TV and movies? Do you know how much time we waste sitting in front of a TV? It is startling. Back in the pre-historic 1990’s a study came out which said that the average American, living a normal life span, would spend Read the rest of this entry
Life is a Journey, Are You Enjoying the Ride?
During the 1996 Superbowl, Nissan launched its now famous “Life is A Journey, Enjoy the Ride” advertising campaign. In the two-minute spot, a young boy finds himself in an underground garage, where a mysterious man shows him some old cars. As the boy begins to leave, the old man offers him a parting word of sage advice: (You have to say this with a thick Japanese accent for the full effect) “Remember….Life is a journey. Enjoy…..the ride.”
Of course the commercial was designed to sell Nissan’s, so people could “enjoy the ride” in a nice car! It had a different impact on one young pastor who was watching.
I paused to reflect on my life and the journey I was on Read the rest of this entry
Not For Itching Ears 