To sip or not to sip? That is the question.
According to pastor and theologian John Piper, his idea of allowing coffee in a church sanctuary was the question that set the world of X (formerly known as Twitter) ablaze in dissenting opinions.
“Can we reassess whether Sunday coffee-sipping in the sanctuary fits?” Piper posted while following it up with a Bible verse from Hebrews 12:28 which reads:
“Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.”
As of the writing of this article, the post has been viewed on X by more than 2.5 million people, many of whom were sharing their thoughts on the matter with equal amounts of passion.
Can we reassess whether Sunday coffee-sipping in the sanctuary fits?
“Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.” Hebrews 12:28
— John Piper (@JohnPiper) September 30, 2023
Some believe that drinks of any kind have no place in a sanctuary during a service. And that having one reduces the holiness of the moment and cheapens the experience that is supposed to be holy before the Lord.
Others spoke quite the contrary.
One user pointed out that Jesus fed 10,000 people during His sermons, and others claim that their attention can be firmly placed upon they Lord while they sip coffee after getting their kids dressed and transported to church.
A few even mentioned the first church services were held in people’s homes where they ate and communed with one another, and that did not seem to hinder the spread of the gospel in the early church.
With all the theological debate taking place between issues such as cessationism vs. continuationism, chalk up one more area where Christians of all types of backgrounds and denominations just can’t seem to get on the same page.
Who knew that coffee in church was such a hot topic?
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
