Monthly Archives: May 2013

Talk Church Is Better Than Talk Radio

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Steve Simms

Talk church is better than talk radio.  Its talking points are about the living, resurrected Jesus Christ. Sit-back-and-listen-church makes people passive.  Open line, talk church makes people powerful in God as they show and tell what God has done on … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, church format, church history, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, faith, faith in God, faith-based, great awakening, hearing God, hearing Jesus, hearing the Holy Spirit, improv, improvisation, Jesus Christ, John Miley, led by the Spirit, listening, Methodism, Methodist class meeting, Nashville adventure, Nashville church, Nashville tourist attractions, non-church, open church, participants, participators, participatory church, power, powerful, quote, Quotes, religious innovation, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual church, spiritual flow, spiritual formation, spiritual innovation, spirituality, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Judgement, Guilt, Sorrow, Mercy, Forgiveness

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Steve Simms

Where there is no judgment; There is no mercy. Where there is no guilt; There is no grace. If you haven’t been judged guilty, There is no forgiveness. Where there is no threat of punishment, there is no justice. Where … Continue reading →

Posted in discipling, ethics, mercy, moral, moral failure, moral failures, moral foundations, moral judgment, moral laws, moral leaders, moral principles, moral restraints, morality, morality-phobic, repent, repentance, right and wrong, right conduct, right from wrong, right living, righteousness, salvation, self-destruction, self-respect, self-restraint, self-will, selfish desires, selfishness, sin, sinner, sinning, sins, sorrow, spiritual awakening, spiritual formation, spiritual healing, spiritual life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Attention America! Media Alert!

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Steve Simms

Attention America: Images are influential. What you watch will: * Alter your attitude; * Brainwash your beliefs; * Create cravings: * Dictate desires; * Edge out your ethics; * Form your feelings; * Grab your gullibility; * Hold your heart; … Continue reading →

Posted in America, American, American church, American media, Americans, belief, belief system, compromise, compromised, compulsion, cravings, deceipt, deceit, deception, ethics, gullibility, moral foundations, moral laws, moral principles, moral restraints, morality, morals, truth, TV, TV news, United States, values, video games, viewer discretion advised, viewpoint, vulgarity, warning | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Did Sermon-Free Church Begin At Pentecost?

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Steve Simms

Sermon-Free Church — Did It Begin At Pentecost?  Thoughts for Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013 On Pentecost Sunday (May 19) the church in the Western world celebrates the beginning of sermon-free church. The events are recorded in Acts, chapter 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Corinthians 14:26, 2013, Acts, Apostle Peter, bishops, Christ followers, church, church history, church leader, church leadership, church meetings, coming of the Holy Spirit, gifts of the Spirit, Gospel, Holy Spirit, Jerusalem, New Testament, non-church, non-church movement, non-liturgical, non-traditional church, one anothers, open church, open mike, openairs, organic church, origin of the church, overseers, participatory church, Peter, Peter preaching on Pentecost, praise, praising God, pray for one another, prayer, praying, preaching, preaching the Word, Roman, Roman Empire, sermon, sermon-free, sermons, Spirit-led, Spirit-prompted, spiritual church, the Western church, This was that., Western world | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Sermon-free church will irrigate your dry soul, flooding your heart with the power and presence of the living, resurrected Jesus Christ as everyday people, led by the Spirit, show and tell what God has done.

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Steve Simms

The Methodists used to practice sermon-free church. Sermon-Free church broke out across American in the late 1850s. The Quakers practiced sermon-free church. A prayer for sermon-free church from the late 1800s is being answered in Nashville.

Posted in church, church format, church history, church meetings, church program, church programs, church roles, church services, church structure, churching, Methodism, Methodists, Nashville, Nashville church, preaching, Quakers, sermon, sermon series, sermons, simple church | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sermon-Free Church Rocked The Early Methodists

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Steve Simms

The early Methodists practiced a type of sermon-free church known as class meetings.  These were weekly, participatory meetings where every person present was given the opportunity to talk about their life with God.  The first Methodist class meeting was started … Continue reading →

Posted in bear one another's burdens, Christian experience, Christianity, church, Frederick William Briggs, John Bate, John Berry McFerrin, John Wesley, Kevin Watson, Methodism, Methodist revivalists, Methodists, Nashville, Nashville adventure, Nashville charity, Quotations, quote, renewal, revival, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, Spirit-led, spiritual awakening, spiritual growth, spiritual life, spiritual movement, The Salvation Army | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Humans Must Compete To Be Complete

Posted on May 11, 2013 by Steve Simms

We incomplete humans must compete to be complete. We have to compete with the gang of 4 — complacency, mediocrity, passivity, and apathy.    These 4 want us to give up before we even get started on our way to … Continue reading →

Posted in advocate, apathy, attitude, competition, complacency, conformity, gang of, genes, mediocrity, passivity, spiritual darkness | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Problems Of Unrestrained Pleasure-Seeking

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Steve Simms

Watch the TV news and observe a fact: Without self-restraint human nature produces all sorts of evil: meanness, disrespect, bullying, abuse, violence, rage, arrogance, injustice, deceit, self-destruction, vulgarity, hatred, cruelty, fraud. Unrestrained human nature destabilizes society and eventually leads to … Continue reading →

Posted in abuse, America, American, church, cruelty, deceit, fraud, hate, moral principles, moral restraints, morality, oppression, pleasure-seeking, salvation, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, self-control, self-destruction, self-discipline, self-inflicted, self-produced, self-respect, self-restraint, TV, TV network, TV news, violence, violence in society, violent streak | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A believer needs to be a leaver — leaving sin and self-focus behind.

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Steve Simms
Posted in characteristics of a Christian, faith in God, faith-based, I'm a believer, life, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, repent, repentance, sinner, sins | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Are We Good People Or Bad People?

Posted on May 8, 2013 by Steve Simms

Most people think that there are bad people in the world, but almost nobody thinks that they are a bad person.  However, people who are genuinely close to God, are the exceptions.  They seem to readily admit that they are … Continue reading →

Posted in a wretch like me, Amazing Grace, author, bad person, Baghdad, chief of sinners, Christian, Christianity, ethics, evil, forgiveness, good person, Isaiah, John Newton, Katrina, law enforcement, laws, looting, moral, moral failure, moral failures, moral foundations, moral laws, moral leaders, moral principles, moral reformer, moral restraints, morality, New Orleans, Old Testament, quote, Quotes, relevation, religion, Russian literature, salvation, sin, unclean lips, wretched man that I am | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments