I always do my best writing (well, I do all my writing for this blog) late on a weekend night.

The past week, I have been questioning (thank you Brian, you know who you are) the role of emotion or religious experience in worship. I am starting to come to the conclusion that, because all things are from God, any emotion felt at any time is a form of religious experience if you use it to try and connect with God. Ultimately, every idea must be tested against scripture, but in the moment, the overpowering rush of any emotion should cause thanksgiving to God. I will confess to feeling a powerful wave of emotion listening to a secular song ("He was my Brother" - Simon and Garfunkel).It was such an overwhelming welling up of the chest that I felt it as a religious sensation-- God is in all the universe, and we diminish his presence if we say that only emotions felt from eight to noon on Sunday are valid experiences; every momentary feeling ought to reveal God to us, even if (to quote Brian) we "sin like pagans six days a week, then feel an unworthy sensation Sunday mornings."

Grace and peace.