Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. — Joshua 6:4 * “The rules are simple,” Pastor Chris told my wife and me. “Take this Bluetooth speaker into that room, blast some worship music, and…
Who’s Sitting at Your Table This Christmas?
I’ve always loved the Advent season. There is something uniquely special about preparing my heart and mind to celebrate the joy of Jesus’ birth and all that His life represents. This season can be exciting. It can even be enchanting. But one thing I’ve found over the years is that for most, myself included,…
Praise for All Seasons: Psalm 150
Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with the strings and pipe,…
Weapons of War
Editor’s note: In Kill the Spider, Carlos Whittaker shares his story of pursuing God and healing at a spiritual retreat. * A few months after OnSite, my wife and I were on our way back from our fifteen-year wedding anniversary trip to Ireland. It was filled with lots of refreshment, but not a lot of…
Applaud God, Loud and Often
Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. — John 4:24 MSG We suffer from poor I-sight. Not eyesight, a matter of distorted vision that lenses can correct, but I-sight. Poor I-sight blurs your view, not of the world, but of yourself. Some see…
Jesus’ Tears Give You Permission to Shed Your Own
Martha sat in a damp world, cloudy, tearful. And Jesus sat in it with her. I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. — John 11:25 NLT Hear those words in a Superman tone, if you like. Clark Kent descending from…
Worship: God Wants to Party With You
I Live God-First by Worshipping Passage to Read The Wedding Celebration, Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 14:15-24. Point to Ponder Imagine throwing a wonderful wedding feast. How would you feel if you offered invitations to your family and friends but nobody came? Yet that’s exactly what happens in this story, told in two different parables by Jesus. A king invited a…
Black History Month: Rosa Parks’ Strength — Pray A Lot
I have problems just like everyone else. Whenever I do, I think about my grandmother and my mother. They were such strong women, who always taught me to place my faith in God and to read the Bible. I remember when I got married, I stopped reading the Bible. When my mother found out that…
The Heart of Worship: How Worship Works
Come Bless the Lord Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is…
Code Word: Worship
Are you ready for an awesome thought to live with today? The Holy Spirit is alive and living in you right now! In fact, the Bible says, Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your…