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Written by John Fesko
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Many churches are doing away with evening worship services because they
are seen as the leftovers of a bygone era. Sure, when there were fewer
demands upon the time of a family, fewer distractions such as
television and sporting events, what else was there to do but to go to
church in the evening? Yet, this attitude towards evening worship
assumes that there was no theological or biblical reason for creating
an evening worship service to begin with. While many Christians
institute practices because they are quaint ideas, or opportunities to
gather the people of God together, the evening worship service has no
such roots in vapid sentimentalism. On the contrary, man did not
institute the evening worship service. Rather, God Himself instituted
it.
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Written by John Fesko
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Let us explore the church calendar, its origins, presuppositions, and then answer the question of why we do not follow this practice.
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Written by John Fesko
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When it comes to the consumption of alcohol we tread upon a hotly
debated subject that often generates more heat than light. Regardless
of where one falls on this issue, due to the nature of the debate many
have allowed it to affect the practice of the Church. In particular,
many, perhaps if not most, American churches do not use wine in the
Lord’s Supper; they instead use grape juice. This practice should cause
us to ask two questions. What does the Bible say about alcohol? In
particular, what does the Bible say about wine? And, second, should we
use grape juice or wine in the Lord’s Supper? Let us proceed to answer
these questions.
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Written by John Fesko
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Christmas Day, December 25th, was originally part of the Roman festival
of Saturnalia where there were festivities, gift exchanges, special
food, the Yule log, greenery and fir trees, and wassail. The festival
of Saturnalia eventually culminated on December 25th, the birth of
unconquered sun. By the late 4th century Christians, on the other hand,
did not want to participate in these pagan festivities and decided to
celebrate the birth of Christ, the Son of God, on the 25th. Later, the
day became known as the day for the mass to celebrate the birth of
Christ, hence Christ mass, or Christmas.
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Written by John Fesko
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Since the earliest days of the church the presence of music in worship
has been a topic fraught with debate. Currently, there seems to be no
abatement in the debate between hymns and praise choruses. There are
those who argue that hymns are outdated, stodgy, and boring. This
certainly seems to be the zeitgeist of most churches these days.
Perusing church mailings one can find the following statements: "What
do you look for in church music? You won't find pipe organs and massive
choirs . . . but you will find a live band and contemporary music."
Another church writes: "Our worship, music, video and lighting, will
blow you away!" Churches typically advertise that they have "upbeat
music," which, although not explicitly stated, implies that hymns are
the antithesis - antiquated and arid anthems of a bygone era. Do most
churches have it right? Are praise choruses, the staple of contemporary
worship, superior to hymns?
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