Tag: worship

Answers In Genesis is Coming to Canada

Posted in Answers in Genesis, Apologetics, Ark Encounter, Christianity and Science, Evangelicalism, Evolution, Genesis, Gospel, interpretation, Ken Ham, noah's ark, Scripture, Theology, young earth creationismTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

Are you excited by this news? Are you appalled by this news? Are you angered by this news? Are you totally confused by this news because what’s “Answers in Genesis”?

Whatever your reason for clicking through to my blog, welcome. I hope you find my posts on this organization and the linked resources helpful and informative as you prepare for the arrival of Ken Ham and his Fantastic Ark in the Great White North.

Whether you are a churchgoing Christian like me, an atheist, agnostic, or come from an other faith tradition, you should become familiar with Answers in Genesis and the possible implications for its official arrival in Canada.

What is Answers in Genesis and Why Should You Care?

Continue reading “Answers In Genesis is Coming to Canada” →

XBox 360 and a Fasting 180

Posted in Biblical Theology, Fasting, Practice, Prayer, Sunday School, Tradition, WorshipTagged , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fasting has been a part of Christian worship from the beginning. Yet, fasting is an oft neglected discipline at least for much North American Protestantism especially those with an aversion to liturgical calendars.

In Christian circles, we often put those who engage in spiritual disciplines on a pedestal. And yes, we are right to point to those teachers and mentors who worthy of emulation. Yet, in doing so, the “ordinary” Christian can use this lionizing of fellow saints often serves an excuse for our inability to do likewise. Moreover, I think sometimes it causes us to misunderstand the very men and women we are exalting.

This thought occurred to me during a Sunday School class when the topic of fasting came up. As we spoke, I became aware that our common assumption was that great men and women in the history of the Church engaged in fasting in order to pray and commune with God. And there is ample evidence in the texts we have in the tradition to validate and confirm that this assumption that fasting can enhance and lead to deeper prayer. Yet, as I facilitated this discussion, I experienced one of those wonderful paradigm shifts. Continue reading “XBox 360 and a Fasting 180” →

Pops Staples (1914-2000) Posthumous Album: Don’t Lose This

Posted in Blues, Gospel, Music, Rock and Roll, WorshipTagged , , , , , Leave a comment

I mentioned Pops Staples in my last post. I discovered The Staples Singers when I bought a cheap compilation album of Gospel Greats. The album cover was a roulette wheel and boasted a rare recording by Aretha Franklin. The quality of the recording was what had made it rare, I think. Nevertheless, there were treasures on this cheap CD. The song that I kept playing over and over was “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” by The Staples Singers. Pops Staples’s haunting tremolo and his daughter Mavis’s powerful and rich gospel voice kept this song on repeat. Next time I went to the Record Store (and that is what we did back then) Continue reading “Pops Staples (1914-2000) Posthumous Album: Don’t Lose This” →

Shofar, So Good?

Posted in Jewish/Christian Dialogue, Practice, WorshipTagged , , , , , 1 Comment

There is a growing (and, shall I add, disturbing) trend of blowing shofars (ram’s horns) as a Christian worship practice. I have been aware for some time that some Christians have been incorporating the symbols of Judaism into their corporate worship. For the most part, these practices seem to be taking root in congregations of Dispensationalist and/or Charismatic persuasion. For instance, the first time I saw this syncretistic worship was when I happened upon a John Hagee broadcast. Gentiles (that is non-Jews) were wearing yarmulkes and utilizing prayer shawls in Christian worship.  Continue reading “Shofar, So Good?” →