i always find the messages don brings each sunday to be meaningful, insightful, and thought-provoking. he always puts a fresh spin on what it means to live as a christian. however, this wreaks havoc on my music planning, haha! there just aren't that many hymns about talking donkeys or riddles from barbaric judges...
yet, there is a common thread running throughout these stories and throughout the whole bible: relationships. to God. to family. to friends. to enemies. and the perfect example of how to relate to people is found in the life and love of Christ. we (should) follow him as a sheep follows the shepherd and strive to emulate him in everything we do. the concept of shepherd/sheep relationship is fairly hard to understand in our modern times, but i think anyone who has children (or even a dog) can understand what it's like to have someone/-thing watch, follow, and try to be like them. psalm 23 speaks about the role God plays as our shepherd and our appropriate response to that. i encourage you to spend some time reading and thinking about that psalm and how that is reflected in the lyrics of our closing hymn this sunday: Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us.
see you sunday!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
prepare: 8/7/11
holy, Holy, HOLY is our God, and greatly to be praised. our opening hymn this week reflects so wonderfully the majesty of our creator, who in his marvelous grace has deemed us worthy of relationship with him. the music of this hymn should, i hope, propel us into a sense of wonder and meekness in the realization that, apart from God, we are nothing.
this sunday, we also celebrate the lord's supper, and the opening music is a stark reminder of how much power exists in the act we remember symbolically through reenacting the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples: his redeeming death. in this act, each of us has been woven into the story of God's redeeming work here on earth. part of this story is found in the bible, and pastor don will be taking us on a journey into one of the more colorful chapters, that of ruth. our hope is that the things we sing, do, and hear this sunday will inspire and allow you to live out your part of the story more completely.
just as food and water satisfies our physical longings, it is Christ who satisfies our hungry souls, renewing us and giving us energy to do the restoring and relational work here and now that we are called to do. if you want another story to ponder as you get ready for this sunday, go back and read the creation story in genesis. in light of what dr. mark abbot discussed last week, try to focus on the relationship roles God creates for humans in regard to God himself, other humans, and the rest of creation. i hope that the words there will spur you into deep worship that you can bring to sunday morning and express with your fellow worshipers.
the Spirit moves. see you sunday!
this sunday, we also celebrate the lord's supper, and the opening music is a stark reminder of how much power exists in the act we remember symbolically through reenacting the last supper Jesus shared with his disciples: his redeeming death. in this act, each of us has been woven into the story of God's redeeming work here on earth. part of this story is found in the bible, and pastor don will be taking us on a journey into one of the more colorful chapters, that of ruth. our hope is that the things we sing, do, and hear this sunday will inspire and allow you to live out your part of the story more completely.
just as food and water satisfies our physical longings, it is Christ who satisfies our hungry souls, renewing us and giving us energy to do the restoring and relational work here and now that we are called to do. if you want another story to ponder as you get ready for this sunday, go back and read the creation story in genesis. in light of what dr. mark abbot discussed last week, try to focus on the relationship roles God creates for humans in regard to God himself, other humans, and the rest of creation. i hope that the words there will spur you into deep worship that you can bring to sunday morning and express with your fellow worshipers.
the Spirit moves. see you sunday!
here we go again (again)!
so, now that this blog is going to be an official part of our church website, i feel obligated to keep it up to date. i will be modifying its purpose slightly, and there will be at least one post a week that will focus on preparation for the upcoming sunday's worship. i'll provide some interesting information about the things we're going to sing/say, and hopefully how it all ties together. i may even suggest some resources that you can use to take you deeper into worship before or after the service and throughout the week. okay, then, let's get started...
last week, we began a focus on what it means to worship and where worship takes place, and we named it (very aptly, in my opinion) "Where's Your Worship?" the essential idea behind this push is that everything we do can be considered worship, and to extend that idea further, this means that we are always worshiping someone or something, whether that is God, our friends, our pastimes, or our jobs. personally, i believe that it is possible to worship God in everything we do, and that boils down to intentionality. if we are striving to bring honor and glory to our creator and savior in all aspects of our lives, how does that change the decisions we make? for instance, if i have a big business decision to make, how does that change if i'm trying to bring "adoring reverence or regard" (one dictionary definition) to my business versus to my God? maybe the decision doesn't change, but i think that all too often we make decisions that will help out the business or our career while our soul silently deals with God, saying "but if i make this decision for the company, it will be put me in a better place to be able to provide for my family, and isn't that a good and moral thing to want to do?"
the truth is, i think, that God doesn't work like that. there was probably a time in Jesus' ministry when even the religious people thought he had potential to go far and be a great teacher. however, his refusal to play their game and go against the truth, even though it might have garnered him a great career and huge number of followers who he could have influenced in a good way, ultimately cost him his life. the most important things in life, more than money or status or prestige, seem to be the things unseen: the state of our souls, our relationships, true peace. these things likewise cannot be obtained physically but by following the Way in word and action. the Way was revealed to us, and it's up to us to be intentional about following him in all we do. in this intentionality, we can begin to move towards a constant state of worshiping the only one who is really worthy of it.
a good place to start is to join a weekly worship group (called Connect Groups), where you can fellowship with fellow followers in an environment that is specifically about worshiping, whether on a bowling lane, in a coffee shop studying the bible, or at someone's home singing praise. maybe you feel like you want to get plugged in, and you've thought "wow, it would really awesome if there was a _____ group to join." well, what we're offering in the next few weeks is an opportunity for you to step up and start that group! we will help equip you and support you as you begin your own small groups. ultimately, what we want to develop is not just a place where people come observe worship taking place on sunday mornings, which would be more like an audience at a concert. we want a worshiping community, where we come together on sundays to actively participate in the act of worship as a large body, reflecting our daily/personal worship lives in a magnified way. i'll leave you with these words by Bob Kauflin from his book, Worship Matters:
last week, we began a focus on what it means to worship and where worship takes place, and we named it (very aptly, in my opinion) "Where's Your Worship?" the essential idea behind this push is that everything we do can be considered worship, and to extend that idea further, this means that we are always worshiping someone or something, whether that is God, our friends, our pastimes, or our jobs. personally, i believe that it is possible to worship God in everything we do, and that boils down to intentionality. if we are striving to bring honor and glory to our creator and savior in all aspects of our lives, how does that change the decisions we make? for instance, if i have a big business decision to make, how does that change if i'm trying to bring "adoring reverence or regard" (one dictionary definition) to my business versus to my God? maybe the decision doesn't change, but i think that all too often we make decisions that will help out the business or our career while our soul silently deals with God, saying "but if i make this decision for the company, it will be put me in a better place to be able to provide for my family, and isn't that a good and moral thing to want to do?"
the truth is, i think, that God doesn't work like that. there was probably a time in Jesus' ministry when even the religious people thought he had potential to go far and be a great teacher. however, his refusal to play their game and go against the truth, even though it might have garnered him a great career and huge number of followers who he could have influenced in a good way, ultimately cost him his life. the most important things in life, more than money or status or prestige, seem to be the things unseen: the state of our souls, our relationships, true peace. these things likewise cannot be obtained physically but by following the Way in word and action. the Way was revealed to us, and it's up to us to be intentional about following him in all we do. in this intentionality, we can begin to move towards a constant state of worshiping the only one who is really worthy of it.
a good place to start is to join a weekly worship group (called Connect Groups), where you can fellowship with fellow followers in an environment that is specifically about worshiping, whether on a bowling lane, in a coffee shop studying the bible, or at someone's home singing praise. maybe you feel like you want to get plugged in, and you've thought "wow, it would really awesome if there was a _____ group to join." well, what we're offering in the next few weeks is an opportunity for you to step up and start that group! we will help equip you and support you as you begin your own small groups. ultimately, what we want to develop is not just a place where people come observe worship taking place on sunday mornings, which would be more like an audience at a concert. we want a worshiping community, where we come together on sundays to actively participate in the act of worship as a large body, reflecting our daily/personal worship lives in a magnified way. i'll leave you with these words by Bob Kauflin from his book, Worship Matters:
A worshiping community is made up of individuals whose lives are centered around the Savior they worship together each week. A worshiping community expects to encounter God's presence not only on Sunday morning but every day. A worshiping community recognizes that passionate times of singing God's praise flow from and lead to passionate lives lived for the glory of Jesus Christ.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)