Preparing for worship - John Kelly.   No, I can’t be the only one. There have to be others — those whose shoulders also drop the moment they encounter the suggestion of inconvenience. Those whose unadulterated enthusiasm is one stubbed toe away from devolving...

Preparing for Worship - Jeff Hampton.   Today in worship we hear a very strong theme of helping others and being the hands and feet of Christ on earth. It is a foundational message of our faith. But I wonder, too, if it doesn’t beg the question: Have we been good...

Preparing for Worship - Kathryn Keller.   I descended from a heritage of faith. My maternal Grandma, who passed on earlier this year, and Grandpa, who has been with us in Dallas for much of the pandemic, told us for years that they prayed for all of their...

Preparing for Worship - Brianna Childs.   I’ve always been someone who can fall asleep and stay asleep just about anytime, anywhere. I just NEED good sleep or else I am deeply impacted. People vary based on a variety of factors on how much sleep they might need,...

Preparing for Worship - R. G. Huff.  Like a three-legged milk stool, the church rests on three main purposes: upreach, inreach and outreach — worship, fellowship/discipleship and missions/evangelism. Wilshire does all of these quite well and seems to find the delicate...

Preparing for Worship - Darren DeMent, associate pastor.   Our worship service this morning opens with a grand hymn of praise to God. Based on 1 Timothy 1:17, the hymn writer, Walter C. Smith, pens a strong text of praise by highlighting images of God’s glory and...

Preparing for Worship - Mark Wingfield.   This week I asked a friend a question that once upon a time saved my life. “Will you promise me that if you intend to harm yourself you will call me first and give me a chance?” Silence on the other end of the phone. “I...

Preparing for Worship - George Mason.   For the first half of my tenure as senior pastor, I wrote a weekly column for the church newsletter titled By George. It was by me, of course, so the appellation fit. But it also gestured toward the exclamation we sometimes...

Preparing for Worship - Darren Dement, associate pastor.   Have you ever wondered what makes a hymn a hymn? I poked around a bit on the internet this week to see if I could get a nice, concise answer, and, not surprisingly, I couldn’t. As you might imagine, there...

Preparing for Worship - John Kelly.   Saturday morning, I realized I needed to run an errand. A guest room lamp had been out a while, and I needed to replace a couple of bulbs before some friends came into town. “An easy errand,” I assured myself. “I’ll be in and...