Tag Archives: religion

Normal Christian Fire = Church Ablaze

Posted on June 19, 2013 by Steve Simms

Faith is God’s fire roaring in your heart; not religious ideas resting in the back of your brain. The normal condition of a Christ-follower is to have a heart constantly ablaze with love for God. When normal believers, full of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, church fire, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, faith, faith in God, faith-based, filled with the Spirit, fire, fire of the Holy Spirit, let the redeemed of the Lord say so, organic church, Quench not the Spirit, quench the Spirit, Tennessee | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Could Church Services Be Like A Handbell Choir?

Posted on June 14, 2013 by Steve Simms

Have you ever seen a group of people play a tune with handbells? Each person holds two bells and all the bells play different notes. As a director leads them, each person plays one of his bells at the proper … Continue reading →

Posted in Christian community, Christianity, church leader, church leadership, church meetings, church program, church programs, church services, encountering God, experiencing God, participants, participators, participatory church, religious innovation, spiritual transformation | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Real Church = The Real God, Real Power, His Real Presence Through Real People

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Steve Simms

Do we go to church to be taught a religious lesson . . . or to encounter and surrender to God’s presence?  A listening mind can learn lessons about God; but it takes a hungry heart to head wholeheartedly into … Continue reading →

Posted in Acts, Apostle Paul, Christianity, church format, church meetings, church programs, church services, first time visitor, glory, glory of God, holiness, Isaiah, lecture, listening, O taste and see that the Lord is good, organic church, organization, presence of Christ, presence of God, psalm, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, tears, The Salvation Army, why go to church | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Are There Conditions On God’s Grace?

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Steve Simms

According to the Bible, amazing grace seems to be conditional.  Grace is free, but it’s not unconditional. “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God . . .” (1 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1 Peter, Bible, Bible quotes, Bible study, condition on grace, conditional grace, debt, definition, forgive us our trespasses, gives grace to the humble, God, God resists the proud, grace of God, Hebrews, New Testament, Quotations, quote, Quotes, root of bitterness, salvation, saved by grace, self-control, Titus, unforgiveness, ungodliness | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Baptist Pastor Promotes Participatory Church

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Steve Simms

I “stumbled upon” a 1971 book by a Baptist pastor that describes a participatory style church service: “One winter morning I stopped for worship at a small East Tennessee rural church . . . The singing stopped and he (the … Continue reading →

Posted in Albert McClellan, attitude, East Tennessee, festival, mystery, praising God, pray for one another, prayer, praying, praying community, Quotations, Quotes, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, shouting in church, simple church, testimonies, testimony, The Salvation Army, weeping | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

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

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

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