Preaching Relevance v. Relevant Preaching

Much of contemporary Christianity, specifically those in preaching ministry, seeks to be relevant. And there is nothing inherently wrong with doing so (attempting to be relevant or being relevant). But there is a fine line and some definitive boundaries that must be set. Namely, there is a huge difference between preaching relevance (noun) and relevant preaching (adjective; or “preaching relevantly”—adverb). In the former case, relevance defines the content of the message, the content of what is preached. In the latter, relevance describes how the content of the message (scriptural truth) is presented.

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Theology v. Unity: Some Thoughts on Unity

Some recent events in the “world of Christianity” have provoked some thoughts in my mind. I will get to those thoughts in a moment, but first allow me to give some background.

Growing up I always felt that there was way too much division in the church. Now by “division” I mean both in local churches and the universal Church. I grew up with a very interesting “religious” background. Growing up I was shifted through vatrious denominations as I had parents who were really trying to figure things out for themselves. Experiencing so many “flavors” of Christianity (besides making me very discerning) made me very anti-denominationalistic. Further, my senior year of high school the church I was attended, a church my family was heavily involved in, had a split, a breakup, or whatever else you’d like to call it. This was a devastating time for me but also a time that God used for extreme spiritual growth in my life. I was very upset at the adults of that church for acting so unbiblical and immature (especially since the split wasn’t even over some doctrinal issue). But this frustration sparked in me a desire to search the scriptures to discover for myself what the church was really all about and what the church should look like biblically. I’ll stop there, because this is not intended to be a biography in anyway; but those two factors, my encounters with various denominations and beliefs growing up as well as the church split, had an extreme effect on my view of unity.

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Define Worship

What is worship?

Worship is our response to God and who He is. Therefore, worship is based on God and His character, not us (Revelation 4:8, 11; 5:12-13).

However, worship involves the worshiper. It involves response to God. Therefore, worship, being about God, still involves us and our worship. Yet our worship of Him is a response based on who He is. And therefore, worship remains all about Him. Thus, we, the worshipers, are to be all about Him.

Consequently, worship is not what we decide to make/define it. It’s what ought makes/define us. We ought not worship a god we simply desire to worship or worship the God in a way we desire to worship Him. Who God is ought not only define the content of our worship (God) but the manner in which we worship Him.
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