Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Life Rocks When Religion Becomes Real (Or, Night At The Theological Museum)

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Steve Simms

In the 2006 movie, Night at the Museum, a night watchman at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History is shocked when the exhibits in the museum come to life. His once boring job suddenly becomes exciting and challenging. It is amazing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian history, Christianity, church history, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, meaning, mysticism, new birth, Night at the Museum, Oh my God, organic church, popular culture, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, resurrection, revelation, simple church, The Salvation Army, What is church?, William Booth | Tagged 2006 movie, accepting, accumulation, addictions, adherents, alive, amazing, America's, American Museum of Natural History, announced, argued, arguments, as the waters cover the sea, authority, awe, believe, Bible, blandly, blind faith, boring job, bright and morning star, brothers, bursts forth, by droves, celebration, challenging, church, churches, cofounder of, come to life, connects, cravings, crazy, crucifixion, data, demonstrated, demonstrating, don't rock the boat, driven, exciting, exhibits, experience, feel, fill the earth, flamed, foundations, from God, glory of the LORD, God's, having strouble, head, His, Holy Spirit, hope, ignores the heart, in my seat, incarnation, information, Jesus Christ, joyous, jumped off the pages, know so, knowledge, Letters, life, lifeless formes, living, Lord, losing, love letters, majestic, makes, man, mastered, mind, miracles, most of all, museum, need no, New Testament, New York City's, night, Night at the Museum, night watchman, oh, passionately, people, persuade, physical healing, power, presence, proof, proven, pulsating, quotation, rational, rationalized, real, reassure, relationships, religion, resurrection, ritual, said, salvation, secular society, seduction, see, send, sensational, set free, sexy, shaking, shocked, spiritual, spontaneous, spplendor, staying awake, Sunday school, surging, taught, teeming, the Apostles, the difference, the Good News, The Salvation Army, theological, theology, tired, trembling, true, vividly, William Booth, with life, work, writers, written to, yawn | 3 Comments

Church — Lab or Lecture? Intellect or Votech? Academic or Epidemic?

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

Should church be academic or epidemic? Should it be based on the transfer of religious knowledge or on an ongoing contagion of spiritual life spreading like raging fire? Here is a quotation from Paul of Tarsus, the church planter who established … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, change, God, Holy Spirit, house church, lifestyles, mysticism, organic church, Quotations, Quotes, religion, simple church, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, academic, academic study, accepting, agreeing to, area, based on, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Biblical doctrines, book of Acts, called, Christian votech, Christians, church, church planter, contagion, contemporary church, creed, daily lives, Dear children, deed, demonstrative, disciples, disciplined, dry intelect, epidemic, established, experiential learning, first Christian churches, follow and obey, followers, formation within, gave, go and make disciples of all nations, godliness has value for all things, Great Commission, hands-on activity, hearts, holy, Holy Spirit, house church, ignored, inflaming, intellect, isn't it time, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John the Beloved, knowledge puffs up, lab, laid-back, lecture, lifestyle, like, listening, live, living love, love builds up, make this change, making disciples, mental adherents, merely, move beyond, Nashville, New Testament, not love with words, nowadays, ongoing, organic church, others, passion for God, passivity, Paul of Tarsus, Paul's words, physical training, practice, quotation, raging fire, read, religious, religious knowledge, reproduce, return, said, seeking, sermons, serve, simple church, some value, spiritual athletes, spiritual formation, spiritual life, spiritual lifestyle, spreading, Sundays, talk, Tennessee, the apostle, The Salvation Army, Thursdays, time of, tongue, train, train yourself to be godly, transfer of, transformation, turned, visit a church, votech, with actions and truth, wrote | 8 Comments

Organic Church = God On The Loose

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Steve Simms

There are sometimes awkward moments in unprogrammed, participatory church (also known as organic church or simple church). People sometimes say things and/or do things that are outside of my comfort zone. On a recent Sunday morning at The Salvation Army Berry Street … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street Worship Center, God, Holy Spirit, house church, life, mysticism, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, simple church, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged are you ready, awkward, Berry Street Worship Center, bit, blow, but, came to, church, close, comfort zone, comfortable, comfy, courage, cut, danger, denying the power, disturb, farthest from God, freedom, fuffle our feathers, gather together, God, having a form of godliness, Him, His way, Holy Spirit, how true, information, Lord, meeting, midst, mind, moments, my, Nashville, on the loose, organic church, outside of my, participatory, power, predictability, rock, shake, sharing, simple church, situations, sometimes, spiritual life, startle, stretch, structure, Sunday morning, take the limits off of, The Salvation Army, thereof, things, throbbing, transformation, unbound, uncomfortable, unprogrammed, visit, where it will, wide open, wind, wondering, words, work, working | 4 Comments

Can A Church Be Full Of The Glory Of God?

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Steve Simms

A popular worship song says: “The splendor of the King; clothed in majesty . . .” It is great to sing about God’s splendor, but how do we bring it forth? There is a simple, but powerful answer to this … Continue reading →

Posted in church history, God, house church, Jesus Christ, music, Nashville, Oh my God, organic church, prayer, religion, simple church, What is church? | Tagged among, awe, baton, Berry Street, Bible, blends, bring it, called, chaos, Christ's body, church, clothed in majesty, conductor, contributions, directory, do, do their own thing, experience, expressions, forth, gathered, gifted, giving, glorious, glory of God, God, God's splendor, great, hear, heart-felt, hearts, holy, Holy Spirit, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, indescribable, instructions, leading, leadings, member, men, morning, move, musicians, Nashville, obeys, open, option, orchestra, organic church, people, perform, place, popular, powerful, prayer, presence, responds, revelation, seek, shares, shines, silence, simple, simple church, sing, spiritually hungry, splendor of the King, stand, standing on holy ground, Sunday, symphony, talented, taps, taste and see, testmony, The Salvation Army, verse, women, word of knowledge, worship song | Leave a comment

More Original Organic Church Thoughts

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Steve Simms

Organic church is a term used to describe church that is based on spiritual life, personal relationships, heart-felt love, Spirit-led worship, and open participation, rather than on institutional structure or man-led meetings. It is also known as simple church and/or house … Continue reading →

Posted in church history, freedom, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, mysticism, organic church, public speaking, religion, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged active role, based on, beautiful, believers, body of believers, builds, caring, Christians, church, comments, community, completely, conjecture, constantly seeking, creates, family, field, flooding, free, freedom, Friends, give people, heart-felt, Holy Spirit, honest, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, ignored, institutional structure, kindergarten, lecture, love, makes God real, man-led, meet in a house, meetings, minister, ministry, more effective, most recent, New Testament, one another, open, opportunity, organic church, original, originally, others, participation, perhaps, personal relationships, posted, professional, program, publicly, rare, rather than, religious, rivers, seek, service, sharing, show and tell, simple church, souls, spectators, spilling, Spirit-led worship, spiritual growth, spiritual life, spoke, stirred, superfulous, taught, term, the Spirit, theological, time, tweets, used to describe, verse, watch, what God has done, what to do, written | 3 Comments

Respond To The Spirit Like A Windmill

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Steve Simms

The wind of the Spirit is blowing, but the church is stripped and locked down like the blades of a windmill. It refuses to move in response to the Holy Spirit, preferring the rigidity of religion instead of the roaring … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, freedom, God, Holy Spirit, house church, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, Michigan, mysticism, new birth, organic church, pentecostals, prayer, windmill | Tagged about us, apply, attentive, bird, blades, born of the Spirit, break, city park, clothe, clothed with humility, covered, direct, disobeying, Dutch, face the wind, fear, focus on, frame, graceful, Holland, Holy Spirit, impict, intentionally, Jesus, like the wind, listen to, live, Michigan, move, name De Zwaan, neglect, New Testament, obey, out of the box, powerful, presence, principles, Quench not the Spirit, refuse, reminded, resisting the Spirit, respond, rotated, sales, Scripture, seek, soaring, speak to me, teaching, the Netherlands, the Spirit, The wind blows, tradition, turn, unlocked, walking through the park, what people will think, windmill, Windmill Island, yesterday, yield, you hear its sound | 2 Comments

Things That Stir My Soul

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Steve Simms

Here are some things that stir my soul to sense the spiritual reality that surrounds us — that create a sense of awe in my heart. These things motivate me, inspire me, and help me be aware of the reality … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Bible, biography, books, Civil Rights, Creator, God, history, life, lifestyles, music, mysticism, organic church, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, self-help, social justice, Uncategorized | Tagged Amazing Grace, aware, awe, beauty, Bible, biographies, books, breakthroughs, Brother Sun, children, Christian, classics, collecting, common, concerns, conserns, create, creativity, etc., experience, expressing, favorite, flowers, focusing on, Gandhi, getting, God, growth, heart, help, helping somebody, hills, His, his/her, history, holding a baby, Holy Spirit, in my heart, inspirational, inspire, interacting, It's A Wonderful Life, Jr., Les Miserables, lives, manifest, Martin Luther King, meeting, message, mind, motivate, move, movies, music, nature, needs, observing, ocean, of others, openly, partcipating, passionately, people, personal, Philokalia, presence, publicly, quotations, quotes, rainbow, reading, reality, revivals, sense, share, Shenandoah, Sister Moon, small, social justice, songs, speeches, spiritual, spirituality, squirrels, stary sky, stir my soul, stories, story, sunset, surrounded by, surrounds us, take over, the, The Arthur Blessett Story, The Cross, things, To Dream The Impossible Cream, uplifting, watching, What God is doing, William Wilberforce, within me, woods, worship, writing | 2 Comments

God’s Watergate — Rivers Of Living Water

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

God’s watergate has nothing to do with the scandal that brought down President Nixon. God’s watergate is in the human heart and when opened allows the living water of the Holy Spirit to flow from deep inside a person. Jesus said: … Continue reading →

Posted in apologists, Bible, Creator, house church, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, mysticism, new birth, Oh my God, organic church, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, What is church? | Tagged a person, A.J. Gordon, Abraham Isaac, absolutely, abundance, allows, around you, be, believers, bless the world, brought down, burst, can, cannot, claim, contained, current, deep inside, desert, dissipate, drained, dry places, enable, energy, enlightenment, Esther Burroughs, evidence, faithfulness, feeding people, filled to overflowing, filled with the Spirit, forcefully, forth, fountain, fruitful, Give, God's, good, goodness, He who believes in me, His Spirit, holy, Holy Spirit, hope, human heart, humanity, in the beginning, influence, inner, innermost being, irrigate the land, Jesus said, Jim Feeny, John Watson, joy, keep, Kook, let, let it flow, life, life-giving, living water, Michelle McKinney Hammond, ocean, open, opened, Oswald Chambers, outflow, patience, person, pouring out, pours, power, presence, President Nixon, quotations, receive, refill, relations, relationship, released, revival, right, river of life, rivers of living water, Roy Hession, Sadhu Sundar Singh, Samuel Logan Brengle, Sarah Hornsby, satisfy, says, Scripture, shoot up, souls, spiritual, streams, strive, strong, submerged, take control, things, through you, to flow, today, touch of God, unleash, vessel, waiting, walks in the Spirit, watergate, wells up, will flow | 2 Comments

Conversion/Salvation/Being Born Again Or Blind Belief?

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Steve Simms

In some Arab countries it is against the law for a person to convert to another religion than the religion of her/his birth and/or upbringing. However, having been raised in a particular religion is no indication of its truth or … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, Bible, biography, Creator, freedom, God, history, human rights, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, lifestyles, Oh my God, popular culture, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 1700s, 18th Century, a direct, accepting without questioning, adhering, adopts, against the law, America, American, another religion, Arab countries, being, belief, believer, birth, blind belief, born again, called, change, childhood, Christ, Colonies, coming into, conversion, deceptions, deep work, defined, devoted, divine perfection, Dwight L. Moody, encountered, England, entire life, Examine yourself, experience, faith, frustrated, give up, goal, goes, Gordon D. Fee, heart work, Holy Spirit, home, human, I came to, I felt my heart strangly warmed, illumination of the soul, Indians, indication, infect, infection, introduced, invaded, Jesus Christ, John wesley, Joseph Alleine, lack of success, likeness, living, living God, man, members, mighty, mind, movement, multitudes, on fire, one of the greatest, otherwise, particular, passionate, Paul of Tarsus, person, personal relationship, personal transformation, personally convinced, preaching, quote, raised, realized, receive, returned, risk his life, rituals, rote, salvation, set in, some, spark, spiritual, spiritual awakening, suggestion, teachings, Theodore Ledyard Cuyler, think, thoughts, throughtout, to convert, truth, trying to convert others, upbringing, validity, ways, who will convert me?, will, wish, with God, witnessing | 1 Comment

Roaring Fork, Foxfire Mountain, & Spiritual Living Waters

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Steve Simms

Zip-ah-dee-do-dah On a recent trip to Gatlinburg, I saw a brochure from Foxfire Mountain in Sevierville, Tennessee. It was about zip lining, soaring from one tree to another on long cables. During my week at Tree Top Resort in Gatlinburg I … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, biography, Foxfire Mountain, freedom, Gatlnburg, God, history, house church, Jesus Christ, lifestyles, Oh my God, organic church, popular culture, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, self-help, Uncategorized, What is church?, zip line | Tagged actions, among us, baby bird, big mistake, bold, boldness, books, brochure, cds, Christians, college student, coming out of, conferences, consequences, courage, creating, dangling cable, deck, die down, down stream, dvds, etc., falling, fill me, flow, flowng, Foxfire Mountain, free-flowing, gather, Gatlinburg, God, godly, Holy Spirit, how, huge, I need, important, in my stomac, it hit me, Jesus, keep, keep me, living waters, loud, lump in my throat, manifesting, material, mind, mountain strea, mouth wide open, New Testament, obedience, obstacles, Okay, opnions, organic church, out of, Out of your innermost being, platform, power, preachers, pulleys, rivers of living water, Roaring Fork, rocks, running, seminars, Sevierville, slowed, small, soak, soared, somewhere, source, speaking in tongues, step, stir up the gift that is in you, strap, teachers, Tennessee, the fruit of the Spirit, third story, timidity, traditions, Tree Tops Resort, trip, trust, unconcerned, up stream, valley, watch, what people think, whew, wire, with others, words, worship, yellow, zip lining, zip-ah-dee-do-dah | 4 Comments

Tag Archives: Holy Spirit

Life Rocks When Religion Becomes Real (Or, Night At The Theological Museum)

Church — Lab or Lecture? Intellect or Votech? Academic or Epidemic?

Can A Church Be Full Of The Glory Of God?

Respond To The Spirit Like A Windmill

God’s Watergate — Rivers Of Living Water

Conversion/Salvation/Being Born Again Or Blind Belief?

Roaring Fork, Foxfire Mountain, & Spiritual Living Waters

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