What Did You Learn In Church Today?

Faith & Science Conversation
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Sometimes, I distract myself with too many things–science, opinions, even apologetics can distract me from worship. Many of us attend church. However, despite even large disagreements with some, we can learn from those godly folks we worship with. From the lovely, humble child with Down syndrome raising hands at hymn singing; elderly YEC couple who practice Christlike love, meditation and prayer; to the pastor who struggles through serving a very human congregation, I learn something every time. I would like to learn what you all learn in your worship, whether it is on Sunday, Saturday, or any other day of the week. Is there a passage, insight, song, or other godly thing you learned?

For example, last Sunday, I listened to my pastor meditate on how his father longed to go to Heaven. In his late 80s and more frail than ever, he told how he did not want to lose his father, but also wanted him to be happy. It made me realize all the more the short nature of my life, and how we long for something more (as in Philippians 1:23). We also studied the practical application of faith in James–always a good book for me to learn from, in becoming more authentic.

Thank you

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It was Trinity Sunday, so the liturgy, sermon, and music were focused on that. As was the theology class.

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We sang this hymn not long ago. It’s new to me since we started at the new church, and one I’d like to sing more:

Prepare our hearts, O God
Help us to receive
Break the hard and stony ground
Help our unbelief
Plant Your Word down deep in us
Cause it to bear fruit
Open up our ears to hear
Lead us in Your truth

Show us Christ, show us Christ
O God, reveal Your glory
Through the preaching of Your Word
Until every heart confesses Christ is Lord

Your Word is living light
Upon our darkened eyes
Guards us through temptations
Makes the simple wise
Your Word is food for famished ones
Freedom for the slave
Riches for the needy soul
Come speak to us today

Show us Christ, show us Christ
O God, reveal Your glory
Through the preaching of Your Word
Until every heart confesses Christ is Lord

Show us Christ, show us Christ
Show us Christ O God, show us Christ
O God, reveal Your glory
Through the preaching of Your Word
Until every heart confesses Christ is Lord

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You have a very intellectual church. I’d really like to be a fly on the wall there and learn something there, especially of the trinity.

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It sounds like a Nouwen sort of meditation. I enjoy it; thank you. Is there something in particular that you enjoyed about it?

Thanks.

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When we sing it, it is the last hymn before the sermon. I think it’s perfect for that.

I don’t know Nouen, except as a name. What should I know about him?

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It sounds great, as an introduction. I’ll listen to it on line. Thanks.

Sorry! Henri Nouwen is one of my favorite writers. A Catholic priest who grew up in the Netherlands during WWII, studied psychology rather than standard seminary, and taught in an Ivy League school, he gave it up to serve the mentally handicapped in Montreal during the last years of his life. He’s one of my favorite writers to quote with my kids.

Nobody escapes being wounded. We are all wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not, ‘How can we hide our wounds?’ so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but ‘How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?’ When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.

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Everything is videorecorded. I would be happy to share some links with you via a PM. Our current theologian is a former Benedictine monk who taught systematic theology in Rome at one of the pontifical academies. He brings an interesting perspective to his teaching!

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Thatks a good quote. Thanks, Randy.

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What did I learn? Lots of stuff. The teacher said that if anybody thinks he has the Trinity figured out you should walk away!

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@Randy This is a good thread and I hope we can keep it running every Sunday. It’s a pleasant escape from what we usually experience here.

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That makes me feel better! Haha.

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I enjoy learning from you and others on all the threads, but believe I will really learn (and enjoy) a lot here, too. Thanks.

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I’m hoping that people who find something they learned from worship of any kind–Sunday or Wednesday, devotions, etc–would feel comfortable posting it here. Maybe @Dale 's Spurgeon quotes would go well here, too.

Today at Sunday School, we studied James 4.

Verse 13 talks about how we can’t always rely on our plans. A banker in our SS remarked that having a Godly perspective sometimes lets us avoid overstressing if something business-wise doesn’t go right. We discussed how it’s ok to be careful about plans–especially to protect others–but it helps to have a perspective.

A summary of James comes in verse 17–

“17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

We discussed that if we don’t know what’s right, God knows that, too.

At our house, we had one of those family days where the kids were just pretty tired, so we thought we’d practice grace, and did home church (I think we’ve all had those days!). I came back so we could do it together-- using Bible Project on “Justice,” “Anointing,” and sang “Gospel Song,” letting the kids summarize what we learned. My 9 year old daughter pointed out how the anointing of human representatives as God’s workers started in Eden and mirrors through Christ today.

Maybe someone has insights or good advice, or recollections, from James or home churching, especially with kids, that they would enjoy sharing.

Thanks.

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What a great idea for a post!

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James is an important book because he gives some balance to Paul’s ideas. James argues that faith without works is dead. Did you know that Martin Luther distrusted this book very much? He referred to it as an “epistle of straw.” When he translated the NT into German, He translated James but didn’t include it in the table of contents. We are lucky it stayed in the canon!

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I did not know that. Thank you! We are indeed lucky! Thanks for teaching.

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My standard refrain: “That’s luck in the strict theological sense of the word?” :grin:

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I sometimes think that Martin Luther could have used a dimmer switch LOL.

Now, what did I learn? We’ve been in a year-long course in systematic theology and we’re covering creation in three classes.

When Christians talk about “Creation” they are not trying to explain how everything came into existence, but why. Even though Genesis is at the beginning of our bibles it was written much later than most other books of the Old Testament and with the same aim: explaining who God is and who we are – and what kind of relation God wants to have with us. Believing in God as creator is yet another way of proclaiming the extent of his love for humanity.

Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 were written at different times and places-- Genesis 1 during the exile (587-538 BCE) and Genesis 2 during the reign of David or Solomon (10th century BCE)

Genesis 1 entails the experience of a place where the waters abound and the need to tame their force, that is Mesopotamia.

Genesis 2 makes the initial chaos coincide with the lack of water, which presupposes an arid region.

Nowhere in the Bible does anybody attempt to reconcile the two accounts.

. There are other passages in Scripture which refer to God’s creative activity in ways that differ from the versions in the book of Genesis – for example we have Proverbs 8:22-31, in which God creates thorough a personified “Wisdom”

The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works,
before his deeds of old;
I was formed long ages ago,
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
Then there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind

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Thanks for this, and for the quote. There is a lot of meat there.

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