church life
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Why Say the Lord’s Prayer Together?
At the church where I work, we say the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday as a key part of the liturgy. At the church where I am a member and my husband is Lead Pastor, we have started saying the Lord’s Prayer as a way to conclude our services. This has been met with mostly positive Continue reading
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The Worst Parts of Church Are Why You Need to Go
I recently watched a truly outstanding church live-stream. The camerawork captured the lighting and staging so well that my first thought was, “There is no way the in-person experience is as good as this.” Even the music—notoriously tough to transmit online—was stellar. It was as clear through the speakers of my TV as it would Continue reading
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A Sunday in My Life
When I first read the Harry Potter series, I tended to rush through the action-adventure scenes because I was so eager to get back to the going-to-school-in-a-magical-Scottish-castle scenes. I cared more about the “mundane” (yet still magical) lives of the characters than I did about their extraordinary adventures. I tend to be the same way Continue reading
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Book Review: How Can I Make the Most of Sunday Services?
I received a copy of How Can I Make the Most of Sunday Services? by Erin Wheeler early this week. This was perfect timing, as it allowed me to read it in preparation for Sunday—which is exactly the point! (Plus, due to its brevity, it helped me get ahead on my GoodReads Challenge.) About & Continue reading
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Publication Update
The last few months have brought wonderful opportunities for writing. Among these was the opportunity to pitch and write an article for The Gospel Coalition. I’m so honored that TGC chose to publish my little article and hope it encourages readers that a simple way to build one another up is to sing more old Continue reading
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A Few Lessons from Pruning My Grape Vines
When we first moved to Iowa, we were met with tremendous fruitfulness—and not just spiritually! Upon moving into our home, we found a young apple tree, a mature cherry tree, and two lush grapevines. I was enchanted. Having grown up in Phoenix, I was used to planting ill-fated gardens each year only to watch my Continue reading
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Social Media and Sabbaths
It’s Saturday evening, and I am filled with relief. Tomorrow, at last, is a Sabbath. Sundays are not restful for me. I rise earlier than other mornings and practice for an hour or so before my first church service, where I play the organ and direct the choir. After this, I snatch a few donut Continue reading
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Stop and Check Yourself. Are You Being Kind to People with Different Worship Tastes? Reestablishing the Terms of the Bethel-Hillsong Debate.
Let me open this sixth article in our Bethel-Hillsong series with a confession: I have not always been kind when it comes to worship music. I have vivid memories of sitting through sets that I didn’t like with clenched jaws and crossed arms. That is not kind. Let me follow that up with another confession. Continue reading
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Doing Death Together
Maybe it’s because it’s Lent or maybe because I played for a funeral on Saturday, but I’ve been thinking a lot about death. Okay, actually, I think that’s just my personality. I’m a joyfully melancholic person with a bent toward the Medieval. Memento mori (“remember that you must die”) has always been more appealing to Continue reading
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Why I Moved to Iowa
I was asked today how I knew moving to Iowa was the right choice. This picture is the closest I can come to an answer. In June 2021, two weeks before our wedding, Billy and I visited Iowa for him to interview at Prairie Bible Church and it was one of the worst weekends of Continue reading
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Reawaken Hymns Livestream
Yesterday, I participated in a livestream on the fruit of the Spirit in musical worship Nathan Drake of Reawaken Hymns. It was a wonderful time full of insight and humor. You can watch the complete livestream at the following link: Reawaken Hymns Livestream Continue reading
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Renew the Arts Podcast
I had the joy of recording a podcast for Renew the Arts, a patronage organization for Christian artists. We discussed my current project, the fruit of the Spirit in musical worship, and you can listen here: Renew the Arts Podcast Continue reading
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Ryanne Molinari 