Tag Archives: worship

Finding Your Frequency: Hearing God in a Noisy World

Posted on October 31, 2026 by salooper57

This alignment with God that I’m calling coherence enables a person to obey God and hold out against temptation. When a person is in a state of incoherence (out of alignment with God), temptation seems too good to refuse, for sin makes sense and feels right (or maybe just inevitable). Continue reading →

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Restoring Our Center of Gravity

Posted on September 19, 2026 by salooper57

Politics cannot do it. Neither can education or social activism. Medical and psychological treatment are not equipped for it. These things are all good and helpful – even necessary – but they cannot, in and of themselves, provide a solution. Continue reading →

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Jesus and the Samaritan Woman – John 4 (a Sermon)

Posted on July 7, 2026 by salooper57

Relations between Jews and Samaritans were so bad at the time Jesus met the woman at the well, a Jew would insult another Jew by calling him a “Samaritan.” When some angry men called Jesus a devil-possessed Samaritan, it was the meanest thing they could think of to say. Continue reading →

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Should Church Sanctuaries Be Coffee Shops?

Posted on May 17, 2025 by salooper57

It may have taken 50 years, but the worship industry now tracks their biggest hits with the CCLI Top 100, and woe to the church that does not include enough of the Top 100 in its worship services. Continue reading →

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What Are We Doing When We Worship?

Posted on December 5, 2024 by salooper57

Some people think of church as if it were a spiritual or emotional filling station. I’m running low, so I’d better go to church, or I won’t make it through the week. But that makes it all about me, which makes worship impossible. Continue reading →

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Created to Worship

Posted on November 28, 2024 by salooper57

The Fall of Adam shattered us. It broke our relationship with God and with each other. It damaged our ability to think. Our mind and will and emotions are all out of order. Humanity suffers a kind of spiritual PTSD to this day. If you think there might be something wrong with you, you are not mistaken. You are suffering from “The Fall.” Continue reading →

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Temptation Will Beat You, Unless…

Posted on September 10, 2024 by salooper57

The tidal wave of temptation struck the Rock of ages and he disappeared beneath it. But when it receded three days later, he rose from the wreck and ruin unbroken and unbreakable. Continue reading →

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Nurturing Faith in Times of Uncertainty

Posted on May 20, 2023 by salooper57

Ordinary people hate uncertainty. In a Dutch study, volunteers were separated into two groups. One group was told that they would receive twenty sharp electrical shocks. The other was told they would receive three strong and seventeen mild shocks, but … Continue reading →

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An Alphabet of Praise

Posted on September 8, 2021 by salooper57

For years, I went to sleep repeating the alphabet and finding a characteristic of God for each letter. Sometimes it is a stretch – especially at 2 am! Many times, I have used the same exercise on a half-day of … Continue reading →

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Join Our Church's Worship Time

Posted on March 22, 2020 by salooper57

Like millions of others, we are streaming today’s (abbreviated) worship service. If you’d care to join us, just go to http://www.lockwoodchurch.org and click the link titled, “Click for Links.” It will be on YouTube and Facebook at 11:00 AM. Continue reading →

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