Preparing For Worship - R.G. Huff. Has anyone asked you what you are giving up for Lent? It’s not a question many Baptists are asked, I guess, but it happens! You may notice this morning that for this Lenten season, we at Wilshire are giving up the way our worship...
Preparing For Worship - George Mason. When your church is nearly 72 years old, you’d think we’d have done this before. You would be wrong. Although we’ve recently begun life together with the Reverend (soon to be Doctor, too) Timothy Peoples as our fifth pastor, this...
Preparing for Worship - Timothy Peoples, senior pastor. I have had some dance parties all by myself lately. It all started one night when my Spotify music channel played Whitney Houston’s “Step by Step.” I have no idea what came over me, but dance moves I have never...
Preparing for Worship - Jeff Hampton. In worship this morning the Wilshire Winds play an arrangement of “Abide With Me” that offers an unusual twist on the familiar tune. At the beginning and throughout, listen and you’ll hear the trumpet notes of “Last Call,” which...
Preparing for Worship - Jeff Brummel. We followers of Jesus sing. Singing together, whether in a choir or as a congregation, is a unique activity steeped in tradition throughout history and across many cultures. We have lovely choirs that adorn our worship service....
Preparing for Worship - Heather Mustain, associate pastor. Today is fondly known around Wilshire as Deacon Ordination Sunday. Deacons, in our Baptist tradition, are members of the church who have been nominated and identified from within as those who already...
Preparing for Worship - Darren Dement, associate pastor. Our opening congregational hymn this morning, Brethren, We Have Met to Worship, has a bit of a murky history. The text has been variously attributed to either George Askins or George Atkins, both known to be...
Preparing for Worship - John Kelly, pastoral resident. This weekend, we celebrate a man born in the era of the Great Depression — who became a leader of the Poor People’s Campaign. We remember a man whose childhood was backlit by the noisy chaos of World War II...
Preparing for Worship - Brianna Childs, pastoral resident. The rhythm of the church calendar continues for us this morning. Breathe in. Breathe out. We take the next step in the ancient cycle into Epiphany. Throughout Scripture, we receive stories of epiphany in...
Preparing for Worship - Doug Haney, associate pastor. Today is the first Sunday of Christmas or Christmastide, meaning we continue to revel in the season of Christmas just a bit longer. (The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” hints at this tradition even...