Monday, October 27, 2014

Comfort passages

Whenever I choose hymns for the morning service, I have the aim for them to be recognizable for the congregation to almost be able to recite the words from memory.

I want the songs sung in the morning to be stirring... familiar... comfortable.

There are some bible passages which can produce a similar result.

At my church, in the evening service, we're currently in the middle of a series on the Psalms. Last night I preached on, arguably, the most comforting and recognized passage in all the bible... Psalm 23.

I opened the sermon by mentioning that the words of the Psalm, commonly used in funerals, music and on screen, seem to connect with people, no matter what stage of life you're in or how life is treating you.

Everyone can use a shepherd, companion and divine host.

When a church is going through a time of change...
When a church is rocked by scandal...
When a church is recovering from division...
When a minister is just new on the scene...

People, including the minister, could use some spiritual comfort food.

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