Week 7: Chapter 6 — When God Comes to Church

1.Cymbala describes services at Brooklyn Tabernacle where the presence of God was so palpable that people came under deep conviction, wept, confessed sin, and were transformed without being manipulated by the preacher. Have you ever been in a service like that? What distinguished it from a well-produced, emotionally engaging service?

2.Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:25 that when the church gathers in the Spirit, an unbeliever might fall on his face and say, "God is really among you." What would need to be different about our church gatherings for that response to be possible?

3.Cymbala is careful not to equate a particular worship style with God's presence. He is suspicious of manufactured emotion and emotional manipulation. How do you tell the difference between genuine spiritual encounter and emotionally induced religious feeling?