Nov 24, 2011
A Sacramental View of Thanksgiving
Posted by Joe Paravisini in Gospel Identity - Worship | Comments (0)
Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays that so far has not been corrupted by excessive materialism. Often, the traditions are simply focused around a meal. Some may have a tradition of going around a table and voicing gratitude for various things in our lives. By Thanksgiving, many of us are already becoming preoccupied with the upcoming stress of Christmas. Because of that, often times the opportunity of Thanksgiving can often be missed. The fact that we as Americans actually have a major holiday set aside to practicing some gratitude is an amazing thing to think about. At no pointRead More...
Mar 18, 2011
The fight of faith in the aisle of the Table.
Posted by Joe Paravisini in Church Practices - Gospel Identity - Worship | Comments (0)
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:16-17 ESV) There was a time in my life when monthly (or even less frequent) communion was a time of great personal shame and guilt. I was often reminded beforehand of the gravity of the Lord's Supper, and how people who took it "unworthily" could get sick or die, or just generally bring God's wrath onRead More...
Sep 22, 2010
Church Culture: Suits and Ties or Jeans and Tees?
Posted by Mitch Sliwa in Gospel Identity - Mission | Comments (4)
Did you grow up in a church where it was the norm for men to wear suits and ladies to wear skirts? Was it considered sinful for women to wear pants? Were you told that rock music was sinful and that anything with a drum beat would lead to dancing and that dancing would lead to fornication? Were you told that if you listened to the band Journey you would inevitably end up doing methamphetamines and kill your parents? If so, you grew up in what I would call a fundamentalist church. What is a Fundamentalism? Mark Driscoll offers someRead More...
Sep 08, 2010
The Difference Between Identity and Worship
Posted by Joe Paravisini in Gospel Living - Gospel Identity - Worship | Comments (2)
One conversation I find myself in lately has to do with the relationship of our behavior to our status as a “Christian”. This subject is tricky to address because the correct view lies within tension, so bear with me as I try. “Nominal” Christianity I found myself first getting into these conversations when I moved out of what I will refer to as “nominal Christianity”. I spent several years in a weird place where I intellectually believed in Christianity as the valid worldview—to the extent of God being the world’sRead More...
