Thursday, June 07, 2007

Christian author examines ways to please God through worship
Allie Martin
OneNewsNow.com
June 7, 2007

In his new book, Christian author Dean Merrill is challenging believers to put more emphasis on transparent, heartfelt prayer and to seek God with a whole heart.

In When God Comes to Church, Merrill and co-author Pastor Steve Gaines encourage Christians to earnestly seek God's presence. Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, and Merrill urge churches to design their worship services not to attract people,
but to attract God's presence. They discuss the things that they believe attract God to churches -- such as sincere prayer, true repentance, tithing, fasting, unity, and the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Merrill says it is vital for churches to sincerely seek after God. He recalls the account in the Gospel of Luke, when Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan River.

"Luke 3 says while [Jesus] was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him like a dove," says Merrill. "While he was praying," he repeats for emphasis -- "the idea of the heavens just opening up happened. There's a principle there that's really, really important." And that principle, he says, involves "not trying to put on airs" when talking to the Lord, but "simply welcoming him and saying I really want to be close to you."
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