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Study Group Aids for “Kneeling with Giants: Learning to Pray with History’s Best Teachers” by Gary Neal Hansen
A church I served recently struggled with prayer. Many of our leaders were not accustomed to regular prayer and were uncomfortable praying publicly. To address this issue, I first started a daily prayer program during a weekday evening. An appreciable number of members came to pray together using a daily prayer liturgy with daily scripture readings. For this part of the program, I copied liturgy from the PC(USA) Daily Prayer App, which includes opening scriptural sentences, evening Psalms, an Old Testament reading, an epistle reading, a gospel reading, petitions for a prayer of thanksgiving and intercession, a collect, the Lord’s Prayer, and a dismissal. Very quickly, our church secretary took…
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New Links Page
In the menu of this site, I’ve just added a new links page. I’ve accumulated many links helpful for Christian ministry that I thought I’d share for others to use. Find them on the Links Page or through the menu. I expect I’ll be adding to this over time as I pull more lists into the site.
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Weeping over the City and a New Website
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Liturgy and Prayers for Worship
As I prepare sermons, I attempt to begin a few weeks in advance. When I start, I currently use the liturgical texts (Revised Common Lectionary) printed double spaced. I mark them up extensively writing comments, summaries, questions, observations, etc… I, then, spend time developing the liturgy and choosing music for that service. Generally, the liturgy ties very closely to the passages for the service consistent with the Reformed Tradition. For most services, I write the Call to Worship, Call to Confession, Prayer of Confession, Assurance of Pardon, and Prayer of Dedication. The Call to Worship is usually a portion of the Psalm of the day modified for a leader/congregation responsive…
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Alpha Course Resources
I’ve had the opportunity to lead the Alpha Course several times. This course was originally developed as a discipleship program at Holy Trinity Brompton in the Church of England, but it was later found that it served very well as an evangelism program, also. I’ve used it for both purposes. I can, also, attest that it filled in many gaps in my understanding of the faith when I first took it and led it prior to becoming a pastor. It’s been led in many different denominations and in countries all over the world. Materials are available in many different languages. I remember while serving the church in Zambia accidentally stumbling…
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Study Guide Questions for “Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church” by N. T. Wright
While serving a congregation that averaged in age about 70, I had a few members who wondered about what heaven is like. Questions of heaven, though, are not wondered only by those who are near 70, and the reality of heaven has real consequences for our lives today. This book, by N. T. Wright, former Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and New Testament Scholar, addresses our misguided assumptions coming often from Plato’s philosophy in Ancient Greece and invites us into an understanding that is founded in scripture and in how the original readers of the epistles would have likely understood it. It challenges us, further, to live…
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Recommended Bibles and Scripture Resources
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Scripture Index for Hymnal Lift Up Your Hearts
When I began at a church in rural Montana, the church used a hymnal with which I was not familiar. This Hymnal titled ”Lift Up Your Hearts: Songs for Creative Worship” was published by Geneva Press and copyrighted 1999. The selection committee includes Kevin R. Boyd, Peggy Brown, Lucile L. Hair, Harry C. Meissner, Sylvia Washer, and Linda White. It a hard-to-find hymnal, and it seems it was in print for only a short period of time. It does not have, however, a scriptural index; though, many hymns have a scriptural passage noted. In order to match songs to scripture passages in worship, I created a scriptural index for the…
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Recommended Bibles and Scripture Resources
I’m often asked what Bible translations and Study Bibles I recommend. In my own devotions, I’ve used a number of formats for reading the Bible. At times, I’ve completed devotions by reading the Bible from Genesis to Exodus. Other times, I have completed my devotions each day with readings from multiple sections of the Bible (e.g. Old Testament, Psalms, Proverbs, New Testament OR Old Testament, Psalms, Epistles (letters), Gospels). Yet, other times, I’ve completed readings with liturgy. Finally, I’ve also read from chronological Bibles that place the texts in chronological order (as best the editors can estimate). If you’re starting to read the Bible through a year or multiple years,…
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Recommended Discipleship Resources
As a pastor, I’m often asked for what books I would recommend for small groups, for individual study, and for other purposes. Since my time in the Middle East overseeing our discipleship program at that church, I’ve maintained a list of resources. I have further lists as well. Some will be posted here in time. If you are a member of a fellowship I serve, feel free to reach out with particular interests, and I very well might have resources to recommend. This list is updated from time-to-time; though, not as often as it should. You can access the Resource List updated to the date of this post here. I’ll…
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Weeping over the City and a New Website
Weeping over the City As a part of my first calling as a Minister of Word and Sacrament, I was sent to Zambia to teach for nine denominations in this African nation. It was a wonderful and eye-opening opportunity to a church that is growing, is vibrant, and often functions on a minimum of resources. As a part of this fellowship program, I was challenged to develop a 2.5 month itinerary of travel through the Global South visiting ministries and other sites. I visited ten different countries (depending on how you count them). One of those nations was Israel, and despite the violence that was happening in Jerusalem and in…
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New Links Page
