All Hallows Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer for Sunday (November 20, 2022) Is Now Online

The order of service for this Sunday's services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer comes from The Church of England’s service book, Common Worship (2000). The morning readings are different from the evening reading, as are the songs and the homily.

The morning service begins at the top of the page at the Acclamation of Christ at the Dawning of the Day. Scroll down the page for the beginning of the evening service as the Blessing of the Light.

Morning Readings: Jeremiah 23:1-6 The Righteous Descendant; Colossians 1:11-20 Christ Is Supreme

Morning Homily: “What Do the Words, “Jesus Is Lord,” Mean to You?”

Evening Readings: 1 Samuel 8:4-20 Samuel Warns against a Kingdom; John 18:33-37 Jesus Before Pilate

Evening Homily: "All Decisions Have Consequences.”

The link to this Sunday’s services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-morning-and-evening-prayer_19.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check autoplay to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first. If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May these services be a blessing to you.

Saturday Lagniappe: 'Handling a Disturbance During Worship' And More

Handling a Disturbance During Worship
Churches want to be welcoming, safe places, but what happens when someone enters who disturbs worship, or could prove violent? How should the clergy and congregation respond?

Going home for the holidays? Boost, mask, and test beforehand.
Steps to take to protect your family from Covid-19, RSV, and flu.

Three Ways to Make the Local Church Feel More Like a Family
Here are three simple things your local church can do to feel more like a loving family and less like a stuffy institution.

Confronting the Problem of Spiritual Abuse in the Church
Is there more spiritual abuse in the church now than there was in days past? Or could it be that the world has shrunk so that we simply see more evidence of it?

10 of the Most Dangerous Distractions for a Pastor
Unfortunately, so many who used to be pastors, no longer hold the position. Many of them fell into what Ron Edmondson call a dangerous distractions for a pastor. Sometimes it isn’t a blatant sin. Often it is a casual drifting that gets pastors in trouble. Often it is simply a distraction from what matters most.

3 Steps Christian Institutions Take from Orthodoxy to Sexual Immorality
Eastern University has become the first non-Mennonite Christian school in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) to amend its policies to allow for the hiring of LGBT+ faculty and to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination statement, according to Religion News Service. In response the CCCU has put Eastern’s membership is on “hiatus” and removed the school from its online list.

Returning from self-imposed hiatus, ACNA Bishop Stewart Ruch works to regain trust
At a meeting last week, he addressed concerns raised about his handling of abuse allegations in his diocese.

Lawsuit accuses ACNA church of negligence that resulted in child sexual abuse
The case will be co-counseled by longtime sexual abuse attorney Boz Tchividjian.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (November 19, 2022) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

If you are not familiar with the Feast of Christ the King, it is celebrated in Lutheran and Roman Catholic Churches and in some Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist churches on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, which this year falls on November 20. It celebrates Christ's messianic kingship and sovereign rule over all creation. Like all feast days, Christ the King Sunday has two eves, the first eve on Saturday evening and the second eve on Sunday evening. The following Sunday, November 27, begins the Season of Advent and the new liturgical year.

The readings for this Saturday evening are Isaiah 11: 1-9 A Branch from David’s Line and 1 Timothy 6:11-16 Paul’s Final Instructions.

The homily is titled “Life in a Goldfish Bowl.”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_18.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

Friday's Catch: 'Showing Up Isn't Enough" And More

Showing Up Isn't Enough

For the evangelical church to survive the coming storm in North America, we have to abandon all of our corporate management techniques and get back to the basics of life-on-life discipleship. There are no shortcuts. It’s backbreaking, tedious, and dirty work, but that’s life on a farm - and that’s life making disciples.

A third of Americans say they attend religious services at least once per month, survey finds
Most Americans believe country would be better if more attended services.

Family engagement with churches has fallen post-Covid, study finds
This study was done in the United Kingdom, but I would be interested in seeing the findings of research into how COVID-19 impacted family engagement in the United States.

Practicing Giving Thanks as a Church This Thanksgiving
How can you encourage your church to be a place of thanksgiving, especially as Thanksgiving Day rolls around?

Suicide rates higher in countries that legalized euthanasia, assisted suicide: study
Nations that have legalized assisted suicide or euthanasia have higher rates of “self-initiated” suicides, a result that some experts contend has been a predictable side effect of making it legal for people to end their lives in certain circumstances.

Needing more than Jesus
The math does not make sense, but the truth of the equation is essential: when you add to Jesus, you actually subtract from Him.

Soul Care in the Small Church
The tradition of the care of souls in the community of faith is deeply biblical.

Confronting Mental Health Challenges in Rural America
Rural churches can play a vital role in bringing about the end of the suffering, silence and stigma surrounding mental illness in rural America.

Pastor, don’t underestimate your influence
It’s greater than you can see, and your role is vital.

Ban on church choirs during Covid was based on 'flawed' evidence 

Pandemic regulations that prevented church choirs from singing were based on an early investigation in the US that was "probably wrong" in its conclusions, according to a new study.

Why teens don't understand who Jesus is
Andy Peck urges caution in interpreting the Barna Group study finding of a largely positive perception of Jesus among teens.

Youth ministries must view children as ‘participants,' not 'consumers': Barna Group CEO
Youth ministries in American churches must shift their efforts away from molding children to be "consumers" to involving them as "participants" in the "Gospel mission," the head of the Barna Group has advised.

Commanding Respect (Not Demanding It) as a Leader
Commanding respect is a worthy goal for church leaders. But you can’t demand respect. Instead, your followers must freely give it to you. You can only command and earn respect; you can’t demand it.

Thursday's Catch: "‘Nondenominational’ Is Now the Largest Segment of American Protestants" And More

‘Nondenominational’ Is Now the Largest Segment of American Protestants

US Religion Census finds independent congregations have surged in the last decade.

You may need to register to read this article. Christianity Today has begun restricting the number of free articles that non-subscribers may read--an unfortunate development. I may discontinue posting links to CT articles.

Making the Most of Turkey Time: Thanksgiving on Mission
What if God had more for our kin this Thanksgiving than the Macy’s parade, tryptophan-induced naps, and NFL football? What if we saw our gatherings with extended family not as a chance to check out, but as an opportunity for Christian mission?

Jesus Also Had Unbelieving Family Members
More pain than we know must have been behind Jesus’s words, ‘a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.’

Preparing for a Fruitful Harvest
If we want to see revival and lives transformed for eternity, we need to get on our knees to pray.

5 Principles for Calling the Called to Ministry

God hasn’t stopped calling people, so we must get back to the business of calling out those He has called to ministry.

Mismatched Message & Method: Are Today’s Global Teens Issuing Church Leaders a Challenge?

Church leaders today are at a crossroads. This younger generation is calling them out on what they are seeing when it comes to the discrepancy of what the Bible says and how Christians are living.

Boundaries for Teenagers: 16 Resources for Guiding Youth
Why are boundaries for teenagers so essential? Why do we need to teach kids about the blessings of limits? Read on to learn the importance of this biblical concept. And discover loads of solid resources for youth ministers and parents!

How to Internet
Neither the Church nor individual Christians really know how to use the internet well as a tool. The culture of the internet (its language and customs) is honestly a foreign culture to the Church.

Wednesday's Catch: 'Nine Challenges to Church Planting' And More

Nine Challenges to Church Planting

Ed Stetzer identifies 9 challenges that could hinder the forward advance of church planting.

Does education ‘cure’ people of faith? The data says no
Despite a long-standing biased assumption among many that the uneducated cling to religion, studies show people with higher degrees are most likely to be religious.

Like Sisyphus, Are We Engaging in the Futile?
Too many churches are trapped in the Sisyphus dynamic of continually pursuing something that involves high effort and low reward, or even no reward.

4 Steps to Helping Your Church Identify Idols
Comfort tops the list of idols in churches, so how can pastors do the uncomfortable work of helping church members identify and destroy their idols?

8 Ways to Become a Praying Church
"As I prayed, a great desire grew in me that our little church might become a praying people."

Give Thanks to God — Even for the Trials
As a general rule, church people do not intend to be rude or unkind concerning newcomers. They do not intend to crush the spirits of those bewildered about the large church and all the choices and unfamiliar faces. But they do it anyway as a result of being thoughtless.

Giving When You’re Gone
"We know our wealth comes from and belongs to God, and we steward it in gratitude."

Evangelism Isn’t Disrespectful
... virtually everyone in the conversation about religious belief thinks they’re right and the other person is wrong.

10 Things You Should Know about Islam
Thinking critically about Islam.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (November 16, 2022) Is Now Online

  

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

One of the ways that we can get to know Jesus is to read the Gospels a passage or two at a time. Not a cursory once-over. But slowly, meditatively, and aloud. Then reflect upon what we have read. Imagine that we are the people in the passage. Imagine how they felt before they encountered Jesus. During their encounter with him. Afterwards. Finally, thank God for what he may have shown us.

The Scripture reading for this Wednesday evening is Matthew 8:1-13 Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy; the Faith of a Roman Officer.

The homily is titled “Two Healings and a Prophetic Word.”

The link to this Wednesday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_15.html 

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check autoplay to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first. If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May these services be a blessing to you.

Tuesday's Catch: 'How Pastors Can Help Their Churches Overcome Apathy' And More

How Pastors Can Help Their Churches Overcome Apathy

Being a pastor has never been easy, but pastoring in America today seems to come with certain challenges that weren’t present even a few short decades ago.

Did faith fall off a cliff during COVID? New study says no
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many Americans lost the habit of churchgoing after almost every church in the country closed down their in-person services and shifted online. But did some of them give up on God? Sociologists like Michael Hout want to know.

9 Signs You're Leading from the Past, Not for the Future
Too many leaders face present-tense challenges while living more in yesterday than today. Below is a list of characteristics of church leaders I’ve known who show this tendency....

Are Churches Looking for the Wrong Kind of Leaders?
For anyone paying attention over the last ten years, we have also seen the rise of a type of Christian leader that is, sadly, very different than Christ. Rather than being gentle, patient shepherds, some pastors (for a variety of reasons) are heavy-handed and domineering to the flocks under their care.

Take the Gratefulness Test to Find out how Grateful you are
The Bible says a lot about gratefulness. Answer these six questions to rank how grateful you are.

What Does God Want of Me?
In a difficult situation these three questions may help provide you with direction and guidance.

Four Ways to Follow Satan
Watch out for these! No one sets out to ditch God and follow Satan, but these shortcuts have exactly that effect....

Two Reminders for Gospel Conversations with Muslims (or Any Non-believer)
There are two important observations to keep in mind as Christians engage in gospel presentations among Muslims.

Monday's Catch: '5 Paths to Avoid the Coming U.S. Church Catastrophe' And More

5 Paths to Avoid the Coming U.S. Church Catastrophe

If nothing changes and statistical patterns hold, the U.S. church will continue to shrink in size and influence. But that’s not our only option.

6 Church Members Who Build Up the Church
Healthy local churches make a powerful and attractive testimony to a watching world. This means that every member has to be devoted to building others up.

Four Words of a Dying Church: “I’ve Done My Time”
Perhaps the most unbiblical reason for no longer serving in a church are those four deadly words: “I’ve done my time.” Indeed, if many of your church members are responding with these words, your church may be on the descent to death. Here are five reasons why that is the case....

Dig Deeper
Think of the scriptures like a fancy layered dessert — maybe a cake or parfait. There are several layers, and each offers new delights. If you don’t dig down into all the layers, you’re missing out.

5 Bad Ideas That Will Make Your Service Fake
What makes a worship service fake might be boiled down to a few things even though there may be many things we can put on a list. Here are five bad ideas that promote the “fake factor” in church worship services.

How to Kick-Start Evangelism in Your Youth Group
Greg Stier shares 4 proven ways to ignite teens to share their faith.

Three Myths about Finding Your Calling
How do we know where, when, why, and how God might use us for His kingdom purposes? Daniel Darling thinks we can begin to discover this by shattering three myths about calling.

Religious Groups with Immigrant Members Grew Fastest over Past Decade
A decennial study of US religious life shows that the number of participants in congregational services has not kept up with the overall population growth. But religious groups drawing large numbers of immigrants have seen steady growth.

All Hallows Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer for Sunday (November 13, 2022) Is Now Online

The order of service for this Sunday's services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer comes from The Church of England’s service book, Common Worship (2000). The morning readings are different from the evening reading, as are the songs and the homily.

The morning service begins at the top of the page at the Acclamation of Christ at the Dawning of the Day. Scroll down the page for the beginning of the evening service as the Blessing of the Light.

Morning Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 An Exhortation to Proper Living

Morning Homily: “Let us be God’s light in the darkness….”

Evening Reading: Matthew 13: 1-9; 18-23 The Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed

Evening Homily: "Fresh Gleanings from the Parable of the Sower."

The link to this Sunday’s services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-morning-prayer-and-evening.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check autoplay to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first. If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May these services be a blessing to you.

Saturday Lagniappe: 'Ancient Stone Marks China’s First Encounter with Christianity' And More

Ancient Stone Marks China’s First Encounter with Christianity
What the Xi’an stele reveals about the rise and fall of the Nestorian church in the Tang Dynasty.

Without Answers, Long COVID Patients Keep the Faith
The uncertainty of the condition makes it a challenge for sufferers and caretakers.

See the Church of Tomorrow Today
TryTank has released a short documentary film about what the church might be like in 10 years.

14 Reasons to Dream with Your Church Staff Offsite
In reality, many church teams cannot afford to NOT get away for a short-term, focused season of team and vision development. With intentionality and planning, any team can find some way to get away together.

Let the Kids Lead
It's time we start giving kids the opportunity to lead in the church. As you look through Scripture, you will see that kids were often given the opportunity to lead.

3 Reasons to Be Gentle
The Christian is to be a gentle person, but that’s a hard thing, isn’t it? Especially when things aren’t going your way and the temptation is to be angry. Hurt. Entitled. Bitter.

Pastor, Don’t Forget to Add Personal Evangelism to Your Crazy Schedule
Mike Kubinec explains why he believes that pastors need to intentionally carve out time to invest in relationships with non-Christians for the purpose of evangelism.

Lord, I’m Caught in the Bubble [eBook] - Free
How to move from growing to going.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (November 12, 2022) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

Earthquakes, epidemics, famines, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, wars, wildfires—such occurrences can shake our faith. God can also use them to strengthen our faith.

The readings for this Saturday evening are Isaiah 8:16-9:7 Hope in the Messiah and Matthew 6: 19-34 Teaching about Money and Possessions.

The homily is titled “Don’t Let Your Hearts Be Troubled.”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday_11.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

How Does God See Us?

 

By Robin G. Jordan

What does God see when he looks at us? I believe that God sees what he originally created us to be and do, the creation that he pronounced good.

I believe that God sees what we have become--as the lyrics of “To Christ the Seed” put it, “from birth to growth, from growth to age….” God sees our whole life spread before him. He sees what has shaped us, what has made us what we are to date.

God see us as our best self, his restored image in us no longer marred by sin.

God sees what we should have been, what we are, and what by his grace we can be.

If we were to see ourselves in a mirror as God sees us, we would not see a monster, but a shifting panorama of images.

Although our relationship with God has become impaired by sin, by willfulness and rebellion, God loves us. Indeed, he dearly loves and treasures us. We may have no intrinsic value of our own, but God ascribes great value to us.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you.

When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
the moon and the stars you set in place—
what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them?
Yet you made them only a little lower than God
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You gave them charge of everything you made,
putting all things under their authority—
the flocks and the herds
and all the wild animals,
the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
and everything that swims the ocean currents.

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

                               Psalm 8, New Living Translation

If God thought that we are absolutely depraved and beyond all hope of redemption, he would not have troubled himself to become one of us in the person of Jesus and reconcile us to himself through suffering and dying for us on a cross.

When we believe in Jesus, our standing with God changes. God no longer sees our wayward selves but the obedient Jesus. Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us.

But God does not stop there. God works invisibly in us, giving us the will and power to fulfill his purposes and enabling us to grow more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, desires, words, and actions, in our entire way of life.

Justification might be described as the door through which we step onto the path of sanctification and perfection.

God directs our feet to the door. God is the doorkeeper who opens the door for us. God may also give us a gentle shove so that, should we hesitate, we step through the door.

We should never underestimate God’s goodness toward us.

God sees the seed lying dormant in the earth. He see the sprouting seed pushing up its leaves to the surface of the earth. He sees the young plant growing in the sun and the rain. He sees the mature plant flowering and bearing fruit.

God, we forget, lives outside of time. He lives in eternity. He lives in our past, our present, and our future. They are all one to him.

Preaching to Unbelievers

By Mike Glenn

I’ve noticed a recurring topic in my conversations with other pastors. For some reason - and maybe it’s my gray hair or the fact that I’ve been serving at my current position for over thirty years - other pastors, especially younger pastors, want to know how things have changed since I began my ministry in the early eighties. Where do I begin? Obviously, there have been a few changes over the last forty-five years.

For one thing, there’s the whole internet thing. When I started, calendars were on paper and we stayed in touch with our church members by calling them on the phone...that was attached to the wall. Now, every book I used in seminary is an e-book that can be cross-referenced with just a few keystrokes. Sermons have gone from struggling to find the right word to finding the right video, slide, and music to enhance and strengthen the “sermon event.”

When preaching, I used to worry about the sermon holding the attention of the congregation. People’s thoughts would wander off and you would wonder if they were listening at all. Now, you know they aren’t listening. Everyone has their phone in their face. For someone to listen, the sermon has to be better than EVERYTHING on the internet or people will simply turn you off with a few swipes or clicks.

Yet, the most profoundly interesting, curious, and overwhelming reality is the number of unbelievers who will be in attendance on any given Sunday. A few years ago, you would hear pastors complaining about “preaching to the choir.” According to them, every person they saw on Sunday morning was already a believer. Pastors were always asking their members to bring their unsaved friends.

Not anymore. Most of the people in attendance in any church on any given Sunday morning are, in one way or another, an unbeliever. Let me explain. Read More

Do We Confuse New Believers With These ‘Churchy’ Phrases?

By Chuck Lawless

I recently shared my testimony of the 12-year-old classmate who led me to the Lord in seventh grade. What I thought about most, though (and I’m not even sure why I did), was just how little I knew about Christianity and church at the time. Everything was new to me.

It seems almost silly now, but here are some things/words/phrases I did not understand when I first heard the gospel and followed Jesus. These thoughts remind me that still today, we’re trying to reach people who might know even less than I did at the time. We need to keep that reality in mind as we evangelize and disciple. Read More

Anglicans and Episcopalians have a longer list of terms and phrases which cause confusion to visitors and newcomers to their churches. To make matters worse, Anglicans and Episcopalians often do not agree among themselves what these terms and phrases mean. 

Thursday's Catch: 'The Taxing Consequences of Constant Urgency for Pastors and Church Leaders' And More

The Taxing Consequences of Constant Urgency for Pastors and Church Leaders

The tyranny of the urgent has a real effect on church leadership because people lack self-awareness that their issue is less significant than someone else’s problem. Everyone wants attention now.

7 Examples of Lazy Leadership
In this article Ron Edmondson identifies 7 lazy leadership practices which can beset even hard-working leaders.

10 Things You Should Know about Limited Atonement
In this article Jonathan Gibson examines the doctrine of definite, or limited, atonement.

3 Secrets of Best Practices for Church Websites
Whether you’re building a church website for the first time or updating it for the 10th time, you might feel in over your head. There is a lot to keep in mind when it comes to building a truly great church website. But for now, focus on best practices for church websites big-picture guidelines, and you’ll be much closer to a church website that is welcoming to visitors, helpful for members, and true to your church.

9 Tools for Leading a Life Changing Bible Study
Having the right tools available can open a conversation around God’s Word that will eventually lead to discipleship. You don’t need seminary training to lead a great Bible study. All you need is some planning and a few tools.

People Are Increasingly Following Their Heart and Not the Bible - Poll
A new study reveals that less than one-third of Americans believe the Bible should serve as the foundation for determining right and wrong, even as most people express support for traditional moral values.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (November 9, 2022) Is Now Online

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

Words can heal as well as hurt. The words of the Shaker song which Sister Polly M. Rupe, a member of the Shaker community at Pleasant Hill, Kentucky, wrote in 1867, remind us, “Gentle words kindly spoken often soothe the troubled mind, while links of love are broken by words that are unkind.” They remind us that as followers of the Lamb, we are called to be ministers of healing.

The Scripture readings for this Wednesday evening are Isaiah 6 Isaiah’s Cleansing and Call and Matthew 5:21-37 Jesus’ Teaching about Anger, Adultery, Divorce, and Vows.

The homily is titled “Called to Be a Community of Healing.”

The link to this Wednesday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for_9.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check autoplay to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first. If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May these services be a blessing to you.

Wednesday's Catch: 'Something’s Got to Give: 5 Very Real Reasons Ministry is Such a Pressure Cooker These Days' And More

Something’s Got to Give: 5 Very Real Reasons Ministry is Such a Pressure Cooker These Days
Pastoral ministry has always been a pressure cooker. Add a global crisis, rapid change, and constant uncertainty into the mix, and what was barely sustainable before has become almost untenable to thousands of leaders.

7 Ways to Attract People to Your Church
All seven ways to attract more guests to your church shared in this article are not only eminently doable but have proven their effectiveness.

The Serious Inflationary Warning for Churches
We can argue about how serious inflation is today but it is on everyone's minds and can be expected to affect their spending habits, including their giving.

7 Ways to Care for Widows in Your Church
The church’s character is shown by how it treats widows and orphans. Here are seven tips for caring for widows in your church.

7 Vital Practices for Young Leaders
Shortcuts always short-circuit your growth as a leader and, therefore, shortchange your leadership effectiveness.

4 Tips for Praying in a Rural Church
One of the keys to revitalization (in any context) is prayer. You have no power to revitalize anything on your own, much less the ability to see God's glory reclaimed in a church located in the middle of nowhere.

Dungeons & Dragons: Why You Should Play It in Church
A lot of students at my university play Dungeons and Dragons. If you want to get to know them, show an interest in D & D and get invited to a game session. You may gain a degree of acceptance in the student commuity that you might not otherwise enjoy.

Oh, Be Careful Little Tongue...
Here’s the lesson: Words matter.

Tuesday's Catch: 'Churches Are Open but Still Recovering From Pandemic Attendance Losses' And More

Churches Are Open but Still Recovering From Pandemic Attendance Losses

Almost every church in the U.S. is holding in-person services, but pastors report worship service attendance average at 85% of pre-pandemic levels.

5 Reasons Why Reaching New People Is Increasingly Complex
What is the toughest thing you have experienced about reaching new people for Christ? It’s complicated, isn’t it? The good news is that we are all in this together as church leaders. Here’s why.

9 Signals Your Hormones May be Hijacking your Leadership
Brain researchers have discovered that sustained high levels of hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline affect our ability to think clearly, creatively, and decisively, thus diminishing our ability to lead most effectively. And how do sustained high levels of these hormones get into our system?

7 Mistakes Some Young Leaders and Pastors—and Older Ones, Too—Make
I have made a number of these mistakes myself.

A Word From Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley About St. Matthew’s, Fort Motte
Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley shares a word about recent decisions made on behalf of her diocese regarding St. Matthew’s, Fort Motte, and what it means for the future of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.

UMC Jurisdictions See Shift in Bishops, More Cooperation
Even as The United Methodist Church faces mounting disaffiliations, those who plan to remain United Methodist are collaborating more across jurisdictional lines. Jurisdictional conferences also saw more women and more people of color become bishops and the most “firsts” since 1984. Still, the delegates and new bishops acknowledge challenges ahead.

Monday's Catch: 'The Canary in the Churches’ Coal Mines: Financial Warnings to Heed' And More

The Canary in the Churches’ Coal Mines: Financial Warnings to Heed

A small but increasing number of churches are seeing an unexpected decline in financial gifts.

What Non-Christian People Really Think About the Church
As the data over the years accumulates, the verdict is in: We know what unchurched people think of the church. It’s not great. When the people you’re trying to reach struggle with you, it’s harder to reach them.

How Anxiety Can Be Good for Us
Josh Weidmann shares his thoughts on one of the conditions affecting a growing number of people's mental health--anxiety.

The Five Not-Points of Calvinism
"The doctrines of Calvinism have a way of both wounding and healing the human heart," writes Scott Hubbard. "They are sword and balm, stumbling block and safety net, thundercloud and rainbow."

9 Teaching Methods of Jesus
Here are nine methods Jesus used that we can apply....

These methods are not only ones that pastors and local preachers might want to use in their preaching but also Bible class and Sunday School teachers in their teaching.

15 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor
This list, while it was compiled for United Methodists wishing to pray for their pastor, covers 15 areas of a pastor's life and ministry where pastors of other denominations might also value the prayers of the members and attendees of their church.

All Hallows Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer for Sunday (November 6, 2022) Is Now Online

 

The order of service for this Sunday's services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer comes from The Church of England’s service book, Common Worship (2000). The morning readings are different from the evening reading, as are the songs and the homily.

The morning service begins at the top of the page at the Acclamation of Christ at the Dawning of the Day. Scroll down the page for the beginning of the evening service as the Blessing of the Light.

Morning Readings:

Old Testament: Isaiah 2:1-5 The Lord’s Future Reign

New Testament: James 3:13-18 True Wisdom Comes from God

Morning Homily: "Instruments of God’s Peace"

Evening Readings:

Old Testament: 1 Kings 3:1-15 Solomon Asks for Wisdom

New Testament: Romans 8:31-39 Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

Evening Homily: "God Is Not a Fair-Weather friend."

The link to this Sunday’s services of Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-morning-and-evening-prayer.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

When you open the link to a video in a new tab, check autoplay to make sure it is in the off position. Otherwise, a second video with a different song will follow the first. If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. If a song begins partway through the video, click pause, move the slider to the beginning, and then click play. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May these services be a blessing to you.

The Challenges Facing the Anglican Church in North America

If the Anglican Church in North America was to soften its position on same sex marriage as the primate of the Church of Nigeria, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, fears rather than maintaining a hardline position like his own province, it would demolish its principal raison d'être.

But the ACNA does not appear to be moving in that direction. Rather the College of Bishops in a pastoral statement recognized that the terms “gay Christian” and “same-sex attracted Christian” are “problematic and laden with cultural baggage” and recommended the substitution of the phrase, “Christians who experience same-sex attraction” in their place. The bishops’ pastoral statement was not a departure from the traditional view of marriage or an endorsement of same sex marriage. 

The existence of the LBGTQ community in North America and the legalization of same sex marriage in the United States (with the exception of American Samoa and sovereign tribal nations), Canada, and Mexico are two of the realities of the North America mission field. While maintaining the traditional position on sex only within marriage between a man and a woman, the ACNA must nonetheless deal with these realities in a way that is guided by Christ's message and teaching.  

Now Archbishop Ndukuba may be making this argument to justify the continued existence of the Church of Nigeria as a separate province from the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the ACNA in North America. As some have suggested, the Nigerians may wish to establish the Church of Nigeria as a global church separate from the Anglican Communion.

It is interesting that the Nigerians after overlooking a number of the early developments in the ACNA have suddenly become concerned about the direction that it may take.

The ACNA already has its share of problems—a naïve view of bishops and episcopacy; a lack of safeguards against episcopal abuse of power such as a genuinely synodical form of governance, term limits, and term extensions tied to a review of performance and subject to the approval of the diocesan synod; allegations of unresponsiveness to reports of sexual abuse; a simmering division over women in ordained clergy; a flawed ordinal, liturgy, and catechism; a spotty track record of church planting; and a poor appreciation of the value of affinity networks.

Like other denominations in North America, the ACNA is faced with aging congregations, politically-polarized communities, an accelerated decline in church attendance associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rejection of organized religion by the younger generations. and is dogged by an apathetic attitude toward evangelism in its local churches.

We have yet to see what the growing rift in the United Methodist Church, what was the second largest denomination in the United States, and the formation of the Global Methodist Church will have upon the ACNA.

Having survived for 12 years, it would be tragic to see the ACNA go the way of the first Anglican Church in North America and fragment as did that church. What is needed in North America in this century is strong authentic Christian witness and too much is already going on the United States, Canada, and Mexico to weaken that witness.

Saturday Lagniappe: 'Bishop Switches Sides in ACNA-Nigeria Clash' And More

Bishop Switches Sides in ACNA-Nigeria Clash
This article provides more details regarding why Bishop Felix Orji left the Church of Nigeria for the Anglican Church in North America.

Sustaining the Weary with a Word
This isn’t a private message, but it is a deeply personal one.

How to Lead When You’re Facing Constant Loss and Continual Bad News
Let me guess. You keep thinking it’s going to get better, only to discover…it hasn’t.

The Danger When Leaders Won’t Commit
Over the years, one of the biggest mistakes I’ve encountered with leaders is the inability to commit – or put another way, the inability to make a decision.

Christian Monastery, Possibly Pre-dating Islam, Found in UAE
The two monasteries became lost to history in the sands of time as scholars believe Christians slowly converted to Islam as that faith grew more prevalent in the region.

More Evangelical Women Have Had Sex With Women Than You Might Think
A study shows an increase in reports of LGBT experience, identity, and affirmation.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Saturday Evening (November 5, 2022) Is Now Online

 

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

I do not remember when I first heard Fanny Crosby’s “Rescue the Perishing.” It may have been in Year 2 at St. Nicholas Church of England Elementary and Primary School, the first school I attended when I was a child. We began every school day with gospel songs, a Bible lesson, and prayers. But the thoughts in the song stuck with me if not the words. Like Jesus’ first disciples every successive generation of his disciples is called to share the good news, “Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”

The readings for this Saturday evening are Isaiah 4:2-5:7 A Promise of Restoration and a Song about the Lord’s Vineyard and Matthew 4:12-22 Jesus Begins His Ministry and Calls the First Disciples.

The homily is titled “A Different Kind of Fishing, a Different Kind of Fish.”

The link to this Saturday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for-saturday.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

Friday's Catch: 'Single-Handed: Why the Body of Christ Needs the Unmarried' And More

Single-Handed: Why the Body of Christ Needs the Unmarried
Without singles, your church is missing part of the family—people God ordained to be single in this season and whose singleness He calls good.

A Christian School Crisis—and What to Do About It
7 reasons Christian schools aren’t producing sold-out Christians.

Episcopal Diocese Selling South Carolina Church to ACNA after Getting Property Back in Court
As the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina works with its counterpart in the Anglican Church in North America, or ACNA, to facilitate court-ordered transfers of church properties, one of those properties will remain in ACNA’s hands despite the state Supreme Court ruling in the Episcopal diocese’s favor. That is because Episcopal leaders have agreed to sell St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Fort Motte to the ACNA congregation rather than take possession of the church there, citing the difficulty of relaunching an Episcopal congregation in the church after a 10-year absence.

Three UMC Bishops Accused of Aiding Disaffiliation
Unhappiness over some episcopal leaders’ posture toward disaffiliation and a new, traditional denomination boiled over Nov. 3 at The United Methodist Church’s South Central Jurisdictional Conference.

What the Pelosi Attack Says About a Post-Truth Church
Some evangelicals are endorsing political violence. It needs to stop.

Mohler on Conservatives’ Response to Pelosi Attack: ‘We Bear Responsibility for Weaponizing Language’
Conservatives need to take responsibility for “weaponizing language” and so leading some people into violence, said Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Dr. Albert Mohler in his Monday edition of The Briefing. Mohler made his comments while reflecting on the recent attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Thursday's Catch: 'Just a Screen Away' And More

Just a Screen Away

How do we serve online-only members and integrate them into our congregations?

Go, Therefore, and Meta Disciples: Should Your Church Be in the Metaverse?
For many church leaders, the most promising aspect of the metaverse is its combination of digital and physical worlds, but that may also be the most troubling.

Anime Is Packed with Spirituality and Gaining Popularity among Gen Z
I watch anime and read manga. "Japanese spirituality inspires and permeates much of the manga, anime and video games that have exploded in popularity among Gen Z and millennial Americans...," as this article correctly observes. Anime and manga also present a distorted view of Christianity, one which is influenced by Roman Catholicism but which Roman Catholics themselves would not consider as an accurate representation of their beliefs and practices but rather an unflattering caricature of them.

Six Principles for Getting People to Work Together
Pastor, as you rally your team around the dream God has given you, these six principles can help you get the most out of those you lead.

How to Plan for Advent
Jamie Wright edeavors to make the case make a case, in whatever church/denominational/liturgical setting you lead, that you try to aim for at least three things as you plan for Advent.

Some American Protestants Aren’t Letting Go of Revolution
As partisan fighting turns into physical attacks against public figures, evangelicals lack consensus on when political violence is justified.

Wednesday's Catch: 'The Power of Small Church Outreach' And More

The Power of Small Church Outreach

Leverage your advantages to reach your community.

Small Church’s Music Festival Draws Big Crowds
What began as a small way for Booneville United Methodist Church to reach out to the community has blossomed into an annual event attracting hundreds.

The Missional Characteristics of an Adept Church
Understanding the four key characteristics of missional congregations can help a congregation that wants to move forward and live more missionally.

13 Ways Church Leaders Can Serve Those Struggling with Mental Health Issues
Brandon Cox longs to see the church keep getting better in the area of mental health and wanted to offer some suggestions for pastors and church leaders about how we can intentionally grow in this area.

Jon and McRae Acuff on Who Teens Really Listen To, Why Adults Fail to Connect with Gen Z, and Creating a Better Soundtrack for the Next Generation
New York Times bestselling author, Jon Acuff, returns to the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership podcast with his 16-year-old daughter, McRae, to talk about who teens really listen to, why adults fail to connect with kids, and how to do it well, and what it takes to create a better soundtrack for Generation Z.

9 Ways You Can Encourage Families to Come Back Next Week.
Based on my church shopping experience, Missy McKinnon decided to make a list of ways to encourage new families to visit again.

Practicing Attention in the Digital Age
How do we negotiate the constant barrage of information and messages that infiltrate our lives?

Increase Your Ability to Listen with These Three Easy Questions
If you’re not listening well, then you’re not leading well. In the church, listening is essential because of spiritual growth. How can you guide someone to being more like Christ if you don’t listen carefully to what they say?

Bring Back the Catafalque
While I do not share Leander Harding's views of the doctrine of purgatory, he makes some good points about observing All Souls Day in this article.

The Jesus Prayer
We know we need to pray but have little spiritual or emotional strength to even begin. That’s when you should say the Jesus prayer, one of the most ancient of all prayers, and it is only one sentence....

Too Many Christians Are Afraid to Admit They’re Wrong, Argues Tim Keller in ‘Forgive’
Keller said many of his fellow Christians have become afraid to say they are sorry and admit when they are wrong. Others use forgiveness to hide the truth.

Churchgoers Increasingly Prefer a Congregation That Shares Their Politics
Half of U.S. Protestant churchgoers say they prefer to attend a church where people share their views on politics, and most believe that to be the case in their congregation already.

All Hallows Evening Prayer for Wednesday Evening (November 2, 2022) Is Now Online

 

All Hallows Evening Prayer is a service of worship in the evening for all pilgrims on the journey to the heavenly city.

Does prayer for our loved ones who have departed this life serve any purpose? If so, what?

The Scripture readings for this Wednesday are Lamentations 3:17-26; 31-33, Hope in the Lord’s Faithfulness, and John 6: 37-40, Jesus, the Bread of Life.

The homily is titled “To What Purpose Is Prayer for the Dead?”

The link to this Wednesday evening’s service is—

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/2022/11/all-hallows-evening-prayer-for.html

Please feel free to share the link to the service with anyone whom you believe might benefit from the service.

If an ad plays when you open a link to a video in a new tab, click the refresh icon of your browser until the song appears. If a song begins partway, click pause, move the slider back to the beginning and then click play. An ad may follow a song so as soon as the song is finished, close the tab.

Previous services are online at

https://allhallowsmurray.blogspot.com/

May this service be a blessing to you.

Tuesday's Catch: 'I Want to Be One Too: On All Saints' Day' And More

I Want to Be One Too: On All Saints' Day
Jean McCurdy Meade shares her thoughts on All Saints' Day, November 1st, or Hallowmas as it is sometimes called.

Why the Church?
“Unchurched Christian” is not a biblical category. Ask Paul, John, or Peter what they think about unchurched Christians and they would have responded, “Why are you calling them Christians, if they are not a part of the church?”

3 Questions to Ask for the Sake of Church Succession Planning
To avoid suffering gaps in leadership, local church leaders need to ask three basic questions as they walk the path of succession planning.

9 Ways for a Leader to Lose Trust with People
One of the hardest losses for a leader is when they lose trust with the people they are trying to lead. It’s very hard to regain trust once it’s lost.

6 Things to Do When Prayer Doesn’t Work
You know God loves you. You know He answers prayer. You know your eternal destiny is secured. But have you ever secretly, quietly, wondered, “God are you with me right now?” Intellectually, biblically, you know He is, but in the quiet of the night, it might not always feel that way.

Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.
Interceding in community is vital to the Christian life.

Use Social Media Reinforcement After Your Sermon–And Before!
Social media is a powerful medium, you can use it to make your Sunday morning preaching more effective and more likely to enact life-change in your congregation. Call it social media reinforcement. Here are some super easy ideas to engage with people about your sermon in the days before or after you actually preach.

Conversation Is Hospitality—Even on Social Media
Remote disagreements and lasting fellowship can come together, as Paul demonstrated.

Post Without Ceasing? How Social Media Reshapes Our Prayer Lives
Interceding on Instagram may seem like a uniquely 21st-century phenomenon, but Christians in the first century were already praying at a distance.

Does Your Church Really Need an App?
Does your congregation really need a custom church app? The truth of the matter is that the answer is usually no.

CHECKLIST: A 10-Point Small Group Evaluation Form
Getting ready for the next leg in your small group ministry adventure? Maybe it’s time you took your ministry through Mark Howell's signature 10 point small group evaluation form.

Christian Nationalism Debates Expose Clashing Views of Power
As American evangelicals head to the polls, they disagree about the meaning of the contested phrase.

“Christian Nationalism” Misrepresents Jesus, So We Should Reject It
Jonathan Leeman explains why he believes we should drop the label "Christian nationalism" altogether.