As the pastor of a small church, I am responsible to plan worship and preach the sermon, as well as actually leading the music. In planning I work to make it flow with the same theme. Although not every song will follow the theme, when possible I utilize words and phrases that the message will focus on during the opening choruses and in the final hymn. Hopefully this helps those listening to hear the Holy Spirit throughout the service, not just in the sermon.
After worship, we offer a fellowship meal where we sit at tables in small groups. I write table questions that follow up on the sermon. Beginning with an icebreaker, the questions grow deeper and challenge people to consider how they will live out the sermon that week.
They close their discussion with prayer, so any issues raised by the worship, sermon, or questions can immediately receive prayer. This whole process helps avoid the consumer mentality because those who fully participate are actually using the elements to evaluate their current spiritual state.
—Katherine Callahan-Howell Winton Community Free Methodist Church, Cincinnati, Ohio
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