Gary Neal Hansen

Theology. It's good for you.

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You are here: Home / Archives for Worship

Why Easter Eggs? My “AHA!” Moment

April 15, 2015 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Ever since I was a kid, long before I had much of an active Christian faith, I wondered: Why do we use eggs to celebrate Easter? Why Easter Eggs? It is not at all obvious. There is only one mention of eggs in the whole New Testament, and it isn’t about Easter. Unless we paint Christian […]

Filed Under: Church Year, Theology, Worship Tagged With: Easter Eggs, Fasting, Pascha, Pysanky, resurrection, Symbolism

That Body and Blood Thing (Heidelberg Catechism Q76)

October 13, 2014 by Gary Neal Hansen 6 Comments

One Sunday long ago that rarest of things happened: A woman who had never before set foot in a church came and joined us for worship. Her son had asked why they didn’t go to church. Ours was in the neighborhood. They showed up. I mean they had never, ever been in a church before. […]

Filed Under: Heidelberg Catechism, Theology, Worship Tagged With: Communion, Eucharist, Holy Supper, Lord's Supper, Sacraments

A Prayer for Timothy Matthew Slemmons

October 8, 2014 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Last night at UDTS we installed my friend and colleague, the Rev. Dr. Timothy Matthew Slemmons, as Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship. I was honored to be asked to offer a prayer in the service. I thought I would share it with you, especially since many of you who know him could not be […]

Filed Under: Bible, Prayer, Reviews, Worship Tagged With: Liturgical Resources, Prayer for Installation, Revised Common Lectionary, Year D Project

Okay, Why “Trespasses,” “Debts” and “Sins”? (Heidelberg Catechism Q119)

September 25, 2014 by Gary Neal Hansen 14 Comments

One peril of visiting a new church comes when it is time to pray. At least if the congregation of a traditional flavor they will wrap up with something like “Now let join our voices in the prayer Christ himself has taught us, saying…” It all goes fine for a while: …Father… …Name… …kingdom… …will… …daily […]

Filed Under: Bible, Heidelberg Catechism, Prayer, Theology, Worship Tagged With: Debts, Lord's Prayer, Sins, Transgressions, Trespasses

Want to Improve Your Praise Band? Consider St. Ephrem the Syrian

June 10, 2014 by Gary Neal Hansen Leave a Comment

Ephraim the Syrian Ephrem, by Ted on Flikr under CC license

It seems like every church has a praise band leading worship these days, or wants to have one. But let’s face it: a lot of modern worship music, whether praise songs or hymns, is theologically and spiritually shallow. A lot of it focuses on us and our feelings rather than on the glory of God. When it points beyond […]

Filed Under: Music, Saints, Theology, Worship Tagged With: Contemporary hymns, Ephrem Syrus, Ephrem the Hymnode, Ephrem the Syrian, Praise band, Praise songs

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Theology. It’s good for you.

I'm a Church historian by trade. My writing, speaking, and teaching explores the Christian past to equip today's disciples. Join me here for regular posts on the best of theology, spirituality, community, and ministry. read more…

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