Tag Archives: hymn

Are Sermons Effective?

Posted on December 9, 2011 by Steve Simms

Have you ever tested the effectiveness of sermons? I did. I was a brand new pastor in my first church — Mayfield Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Mayfield, Kentucky. After finishing three years of seminary, I had been preaching for about … Continue reading →

Posted in Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christ, Christianity, church, Cumberland Presybterian Church, East Nashville, house church, I Corinthians 14:26, kingdom of God, lifestyles, movement, mystery, mysticism, Nashville, organic church, praise and worship, religion, sermons, simple church, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, values, What is church?, worship | Tagged 225 Berry St., 37207, AA, afternoon, alcoholics, Alcoholics Anonymous, American, American Christianity, an oral test, Berry Street Worship Center, better caught than taught, brand new, called, captured by, Christianity, church meeting, church setting, congregation, considered, continued, creating, culture, Cumberland Presbyterian, decided, doctrines, effectiveness of sermons, evening, everyone has a, experience, exploded, facts, fads, first church, following, follows trends, functions, grow, help people change, hot to hold, house church, however, hymn, ineffective, influencing, interpretation, job description, Kentucky, lecture, less than, lifestyles, like, little happens, little power, Mayfield, meetings, membership, message, mind, much more, Nashville, noble, nobody, none, one simple and easy question, open participation, openly, organic church, overwhelming, passively, pastor, Paul of Tarsus, Paul's instructions, poems, preach, preaching, prepared in a, professional, questions, requires more than, response, revelation, right, shocked, simple church, simple questions, sit and listen, society, society's, something more than, sometimes, started, Sunday morning, test, the basic point, the main topic, The Salvation Army, three years of seminary, TN, to build, to reach people, tongue, treating, try, type, virtuous, visit, weekly, When you come together, word of instruction | 20 Comments

I Grew Up In Church Without God

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Steve Simms

My parents tell me that when I was a toddler, I used to talk to them about God. They didn’t go to church or have much interest in spiritual things, so they were quite surprised by my interest in God and … Continue reading →

Posted in Amazing Grace, awe, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, Boy Scouts, change, Christianity, church, college, college students, East Nashville, feelings, fire, freedom, God, Hindu, Holy Holy Holy, I Corinthians 14:26, Jesus, Jesus freaks, Kumbaya, lifestyles, Nashville, non-material reality, organic church, Presbyterian, religion, revelation, self-image, simple church, spiritual, supernatural, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, University of Tennessee Martin, What is church?, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 10:45 am, 225 Berry St., 37207, 41 years ago, a Christian, a million miles away, a real believer in, about God, actual Presence of, agnostic, all-consuming, amazing, an official church member, another thought, Arkansas, attending church, Berry Street Worship Center, Boy Scout, burns in my heart, campfire, childhood years, Christ, Christianity, closer to God, come and see for yourself, Come by here, Communicant's Class, confusing doctrines, congregation, creatively. modeled, Cumberland Presbyterian Church, describes, do church, dynamic relationship, eerie, elementary school, entered, every few monts, experienced, experiencing God, faint sense, felt, focused on, freely, freshman, funny thing, given the freedom, go to church, God's absence, God's awesome presence, high schook, Hindu, Holy Holy Holy, how to connect, hymn, I Corinthians 14:26, If you were born, immeciately, interest in God, invited to start, Jackson, Jesus Freaks, Jonesboro, junior year, know God, knowing God, Kumbaya, listened, living, living God, make me happy, mind, modern, more present, more real, mother, my Lord, Nashville, non-traditional, odd thought, older, parents, participate, passively, people, physical surroundings, popped into my mind, preached, preacher, Presbyterian Church, realized, regularly attending, rejected, relating to God, remember, results, rituals, sensed, series of classes, shouldn't church, shows up, something stirring inside, spiritual condition, spiritual fire, spiritual things, spiritually empty, suddenly exposed, Sunday morning, Sunday sermon, Sundays, support group, surprised, sweet Presence, talk, Tennessee, the Bible, The Salvation Army, The University of Tennessee Martin, think back to, TN, toddler, usher in, verse, Why do you think you are, with Jesus, wonder, wondered, words, you will be blessed | 4 Comments

A Forgotten American Folk Song’s Powerful Message

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Steve Simms

I live in Nashville, Music City; however, we don’t hear songs like this old American folk song in Nashville or on MTV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtlxoRAAHVU Our culture has changed and the message of this song is no longer heard (or even tolerated). … Continue reading →

Posted in addiction, boundaries, change, Christianity, criticism, discipling, drugs, education, forgiveness, freedom, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, meaning, mind, morality, morals, MTV, music, Music City, mysticism, Nashville, negro spirituals, Oh Sinner Man, popular culture, Quotations, Quotes, recovery, self-image, sin, soul, spiritual, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized | Tagged 90%, a wretch like me, alcohol, America, American folk song, ancient, answer, aware, awareness, begins to see, believes, bit, brightness, C.S. Lewis, center, changed, chaplain, Christian, churches, clean, clotes, counselor, create, crime, culture, darkest night of the year, depravity, dirt, dirty, don't hear, drug, early days, fact, falsely, filthy, finally, first rays of light, God, God's glory, God's light, good people, good person, grow, hands, have mercy on me, hearts, hint, holier, holy, hymn, I am, I am a sinner, I'm a, increasing, interview, interviewed, Jesus Christ, Jesus prayer, John Newton, know, life, link, listening, live, living, looks, Lord, lost, managed, men, Michael McKinley, misery, monkx, more, more sensitive, nearer, new, noonday sun, notices, O, of the, Oh Sinner Man, old, Orthodox, over the horizon, perhaps, person, Peter K. Nelson, practice, presence, program, quite, rehab, rright, see ourselves, sees, self-destruction, self-judgment, simple question, sinfulness, sinner, son, spiritual darkness, story, sun comes up, surprises, tale, tell, think, Tim Chester, told, toward, ultra-conservative, used by, very far from God, watch, wee bit, what kind, Why, women, woods, word, work, wretched, writer, you, Youtube | 5 Comments

What The Church Can Learn From Country Music, Yall

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Steve Simms

I’m from Nashville, Music City — home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Mother Church of Country Music. Here are some things that the church can learn from Country Music: * Let people tell their stories. Country songs tell heart-felt stories. People … Continue reading →

Posted in Carrie Underwood, country music, house church, Jesus Christ, Jesus Take The Wheel, lifestyles, music, Music City, Nashville, organic church, popular culture, religion, simple church, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged act, actually, car, Carrie Underwood's, church, click here, comes from the, country, Country Music, country song, crash, creative, directly, dose, example, from, funny, generations, genuine, Give, God, Grand Ole Opry, guard, Have Thine Own Way, heart, heart-felt, honest, hymn, innovation, inspiring, it is time, Jesus, Jesus Take The Wheel, let down, letting, life, lives, Lord, love, lyrics, mornings, most, Mother Church, moved, music, Music City, music industry, Nashville, number one, old, open, out of the box, people, perhaps, place, pretence, reach, real, revive, seeking help, services, share, songs, stories, storytelling, Sunday, take control, tell, testifying, touched, tradition, tstimony, ultimate, what it is, wheel, woman, working, young | 4 Comments

GVAOS — God’s-Voice Activated Operating System (For Church Meetings)

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Steve Simms

Jesus commanded His disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations . . .” So what can activate the nation-changing power of God? Are there any discipled nations in the 21st Century? How can a nation be discipled? Can the traditional … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Christian history, Christianity, church history, disciple making, discipling, Great Commission, house church, morality, morals, Nashville, operationg system, organic church, prayer, religion, revelation, salvation, simple church, spiritual, voice activated, What is church? | Tagged 21st Century, 225 Berry St., 37207, activate, adopted, adopted, aimed, all nations, allow, anti-biblical, Biblical, breaks forth, building, change, church attendance, church services, church-service, command, commanded, contemporary church, controlled, declining, direct, director, discipled, disciples, early christians, embracing, England, everyone has, examples, give up, Go and make, God, God-s-voice, group, His, historical, how, human voice, humanly, hymn, I Corinthians 14:26, inability, ineffectiveness, influence, interpretation, isn't working, Jesus, John 2:5, life-transforming, locations, Mary's, media, methods, mind, modern-day, Nashville, nation-changing, nations, openairs, operating system, ordaining, organized, outdoor, perhaps, position, power, preaching, programmed, programming, promoted, put aside, revelation, rightful, sanctioning, says, society, spiritual movement, start, strengthening, Sunday, Sunday morning, Sunday mornings, syste, talk, Tennessee, the world upsidedown, tongue, traditional, turning, used, views, Wesley, When you come together, Whitefield, word of instruction, working, world | 5 Comments

Top Ten Most Disobeyed New Testament Scriptures

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Steve Simms

What are the top ten most disobeyed New Testament Scriptures? Here is my list of nominations (from the New International Version {NIV}) for the ten most ignored Bible verses: 10) “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient history, anti-war, Bible, books, church history, English literature, history, Holy Spirit, human rights, Jesus Christ, King James Version, kingdom of God, organic church, Quotations, reading, religion, self-esteem, self-image, social justice, Top Ten | Tagged all these things, ambition, back, banquet, Bible, bless those who, blessed, blind, body, brothers, cannot repay, carefully, church, commits, conceit, considers others better than yourselves, crippled, curse you, daily, deny himself, dinner, do good, do not put out, don not invite, done, encouraged, everyone has a, exercise authority, fire, first, first speaker, flee, follow Me, Friends, from, Gentiles, given to you, hate, he must, high, host, humility, hymn, I Corinthians 14:26, If anyone would come after me, immorality, in turn, instructed, instruction revelation, interpretation, Jesus, kingdom, lame, lord it over, love your enemies, Luke 9:23, luncheon, Matthew 6:33, mistreat, most disobeyed, must be your servant, neighbors, New International Version, New Testament, NIV, nominations, of the, officials, Philippians 2:3, poor, pray, prepaid, prophesy, prophets, relatives, resurection, rich, righteous, righteousness, rulers, said, Scriptures, seek, selfish, sexual, sexually, sins, sitting down, slave, speak, Spirit's, stop, strengthening, take up his cross, tongue, two or three, vain, verses, weigh, When you come together, whosoever wants to become great, word, you can all | 3 Comments

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Are Sermons Effective?

I Grew Up In Church Without God

A Forgotten American Folk Song’s Powerful Message

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