Well right now, the Worship Arts Ministry is in as much of a hiatus as it can be. We've cancelled all summer practices, except for Sunday morning. Unfortunately, I can't give everyone a big break for the summer. I wish there were a way to give everyone a month off. I would like to be able to bring in guest worship leaders for a month, and allow everyone who plays on Sundays to take that month off.
No one can give 100%, 100% of the time. We all need breaks. We're about to enter into the busiest time of our year as far as the Worship Arts Deparment is concerned, and that's why we take summer breaks. I want all of us to be able to resume as much family time as possible and build up some relational capital so that when the next few months hit, we have some relational currency in the bank to draw from without going in the red. If things aren't good at home, they won't be good at church. That doesn't just go for me.
This is why I have a sign posted in my office that states - "I will not sacrifice my Family on the altar of ministry." Not too long ago people in churches expected the pastoral staff of the church to store up lots of treasures in heaven while going bankrupt in the families. After seeing several pastors do this, I've decided not to do the same. In the end the church suffered because the Pastor either burnt out or had to leave the ministry to keep his family together.
This is why I don't want any of us volunteering in ministry to sacrifice our families. Family will always be more important to me. If something comes up in your family and you have to miss a practice, I will always understand. (I will not understand if you bring something up in your family to get out of practice ;)
For what we are trying to accomplish on Sunday mornings - "Working together toward engaging, life-changing worship" we must all be prepared to do that. We can't do that if things are rough at home. This is one reason why we have breaks. To build as much relational currency in your families to last over the busy times.
I hope you're enjoying your break, and also hope you're looking forward to starting back up in the fall.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Christmas Program
I just put a copy of the Christmas Program recording on our website. You can find it on the sermons page, then click "click here to find a sermon from 2006" It's listed there. Then click "Download mp3" to play it, or right click and click save target as and save it to your computer.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Selfishness - Destoyer of Unity
The German philosopher Schopenhauer compared the human race to a bunch of porcupines huddling together on a cold winter’s night. He said, “The colder it gets outside, the more we huddle together for warmth; but the closer we get to one another, the more we hurt one another with our sharp quills. And in the lonely night of earth’s winter eventually we begin to drift apart and wander out on our own and freeze to death in our loneliness.”
Christ has given us an alternative—to forgive each other for the pokes we receive. That allows us to stay together and stay warm. (Wayne Brouwer, Holland, Michigan, quoted in Leadership, p. 68)
When it comes to the church, unity is what it’s all about and selfishness is the quill that pricks others around us. We can’t come to church with bitterness towards others, especially when it comes to matters of preference about worship, and expect the unbelievers among us to desire anything related to Church. Many who have been turned off by church we turned off by the bitterness within that they were then exposed to. If we want non-Christians to feel welcome, we must lay aside the quill of bitterness and draw close together as we draw close to Christ.
I have brought this scripture to mind many times, but it is such a descriptive passage on how we ought to live that it bears repeating. Here are some selections from Philippians 2:1-11: Being united with Christ, be like minded, be one in spirit and in purpose, do nothing out of selfish ambition, consider others better than yourselves, don’t look to your own interests, look to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, who made himself nothing, he humbled himself to the lowest state for God’s purposes.
If we as the Church of Jesus Christ can get our minds around this passage and really start living it out, we will see our hearts change, our priorities will change and other peoples’ hearts will change. Our hearts will change because we are no longer focusing on our selfish desires, but we are focusing on areas God wants to change in our lives. Our Priorities will change because we will be considering others better than ourselves. Other peoples’ hearts will change because they will no longer be feeling the prick of our quills.
Our livelihood as the Church of Jesus Christ depends on our ability to put the good of the church above our own preferences. If we are to reach all the people God wants us to reach, we will not be able to do so by claiming one style of worship is more spiritual than another. We will not be able to do so by refusing to participate in certain styles. If an unbelieving world comes into a believing church and sees it divided on the basis of preference, what hope is there for them, who have come from a conflicted world looking for peace. All of us have enough conflict in our lives throughout the week, we don’t need to bring that conflict in with us on Sunday mornings.
Instead let us lay aside our personal Agendas and pick up the Agenda of Christ, which is to go into all the world. How can we go into all the world and make disciples if we are not unified on the home front? How can we go into all the world if we aren’t even fit to worship together in our own church? The way we do this is to be focused on Christ and nothing else.
Let me leave you with a quote from Oswald Chambers: “If we build to please ourselves, we are building on the sand; but if we build for the love of God, we are building on the rock.” Let’s stop building to satisfy ourselves, and let’s build on the Rock of Jesus Christ a love that lays down its quill.
Christ has given us an alternative—to forgive each other for the pokes we receive. That allows us to stay together and stay warm. (Wayne Brouwer, Holland, Michigan, quoted in Leadership, p. 68)
When it comes to the church, unity is what it’s all about and selfishness is the quill that pricks others around us. We can’t come to church with bitterness towards others, especially when it comes to matters of preference about worship, and expect the unbelievers among us to desire anything related to Church. Many who have been turned off by church we turned off by the bitterness within that they were then exposed to. If we want non-Christians to feel welcome, we must lay aside the quill of bitterness and draw close together as we draw close to Christ.
I have brought this scripture to mind many times, but it is such a descriptive passage on how we ought to live that it bears repeating. Here are some selections from Philippians 2:1-11: Being united with Christ, be like minded, be one in spirit and in purpose, do nothing out of selfish ambition, consider others better than yourselves, don’t look to your own interests, look to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus, who made himself nothing, he humbled himself to the lowest state for God’s purposes.
If we as the Church of Jesus Christ can get our minds around this passage and really start living it out, we will see our hearts change, our priorities will change and other peoples’ hearts will change. Our hearts will change because we are no longer focusing on our selfish desires, but we are focusing on areas God wants to change in our lives. Our Priorities will change because we will be considering others better than ourselves. Other peoples’ hearts will change because they will no longer be feeling the prick of our quills.
Our livelihood as the Church of Jesus Christ depends on our ability to put the good of the church above our own preferences. If we are to reach all the people God wants us to reach, we will not be able to do so by claiming one style of worship is more spiritual than another. We will not be able to do so by refusing to participate in certain styles. If an unbelieving world comes into a believing church and sees it divided on the basis of preference, what hope is there for them, who have come from a conflicted world looking for peace. All of us have enough conflict in our lives throughout the week, we don’t need to bring that conflict in with us on Sunday mornings.
Instead let us lay aside our personal Agendas and pick up the Agenda of Christ, which is to go into all the world. How can we go into all the world and make disciples if we are not unified on the home front? How can we go into all the world if we aren’t even fit to worship together in our own church? The way we do this is to be focused on Christ and nothing else.
Let me leave you with a quote from Oswald Chambers: “If we build to please ourselves, we are building on the sand; but if we build for the love of God, we are building on the rock.” Let’s stop building to satisfy ourselves, and let’s build on the Rock of Jesus Christ a love that lays down its quill.
Selfishness - The Root of all bad worship Services
Selfishness – the root of all bad worship services.
How many times have you come to a worship service, sat there and thought – “I can’t believe I even bothered to come to church today, they’re not playing any of the songs I like, the Pastor is talking about something I don’t ever care about, and they still expect me to give them money” Maybe your attitude on a given Sunday isn’t quite like this, but I’ll bet part of that has been true. Especially that first part, you know the part about the songs.
What immense wars have arisen over the choice of songs on a given Sunday?! Can’t you hear the bickering and complaining? “There were too many contemporary songs.” “There were too many Traditional songs.” What about the wars that have arisen out of hatred of a certain style of music? “The drums are just too loud during that rock stuff. Can you believe they would play the devil’s music in church?” Or, “the music was so old this morning it put me to sleep, I wish I could come to church and hear some kind of music that I actually enjoy, not have to endure something that I don’t even know.”
Am I ringing any bells with you? I would be willing to bet that any one of us have made a comment like that at some point in our church-going careers. But how many of us have ever stopped to think about what we were saying? Unfortunately we get so caught up in our own preferences that we aren’t able to see beyond them. We can’t see the good of a style of worship that is different than ours.
All of these questions, all of this discontentment boils down to this, Selfishness, and selfishness is the root of all bad worship services. Selfishness is the thing one thing that will keep us from entering in to worship that most of us don’t even think about.
Part of our problem is a misunderstanding of what the corporate worship service is intended to do. It is intended to bring unity to the body of believers meeting in that church. It is NOT intended fulfill matters of personal preference. Some might then say, well if we want to have unity, then we need to have our style of worship. Do you see the flaw in this kind of thinking? Are we not supposed to give up ourselves for the good of the whole? If we keep fighting over styles of worship, we are going to miss the boat of worship all together. Worship is not about our style preference, it is about submission to God. If we can’t submit to each other, how are we ever going to be able to submit to God?
Listen to something that A.W. Tozer said in his book The Pursuit of God: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
It is on this ground alone that we will be able to come to unity in our worship services in churches today. If we keep fighting over style, we are choosing a standard other than God to look at. We need to all align our lives with the commands of God, and then we can worship in unity, style set aside.
How many times have you come to a worship service, sat there and thought – “I can’t believe I even bothered to come to church today, they’re not playing any of the songs I like, the Pastor is talking about something I don’t ever care about, and they still expect me to give them money” Maybe your attitude on a given Sunday isn’t quite like this, but I’ll bet part of that has been true. Especially that first part, you know the part about the songs.
What immense wars have arisen over the choice of songs on a given Sunday?! Can’t you hear the bickering and complaining? “There were too many contemporary songs.” “There were too many Traditional songs.” What about the wars that have arisen out of hatred of a certain style of music? “The drums are just too loud during that rock stuff. Can you believe they would play the devil’s music in church?” Or, “the music was so old this morning it put me to sleep, I wish I could come to church and hear some kind of music that I actually enjoy, not have to endure something that I don’t even know.”
Am I ringing any bells with you? I would be willing to bet that any one of us have made a comment like that at some point in our church-going careers. But how many of us have ever stopped to think about what we were saying? Unfortunately we get so caught up in our own preferences that we aren’t able to see beyond them. We can’t see the good of a style of worship that is different than ours.
All of these questions, all of this discontentment boils down to this, Selfishness, and selfishness is the root of all bad worship services. Selfishness is the thing one thing that will keep us from entering in to worship that most of us don’t even think about.
Part of our problem is a misunderstanding of what the corporate worship service is intended to do. It is intended to bring unity to the body of believers meeting in that church. It is NOT intended fulfill matters of personal preference. Some might then say, well if we want to have unity, then we need to have our style of worship. Do you see the flaw in this kind of thinking? Are we not supposed to give up ourselves for the good of the whole? If we keep fighting over styles of worship, we are going to miss the boat of worship all together. Worship is not about our style preference, it is about submission to God. If we can’t submit to each other, how are we ever going to be able to submit to God?
Listen to something that A.W. Tozer said in his book The Pursuit of God: “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”
It is on this ground alone that we will be able to come to unity in our worship services in churches today. If we keep fighting over style, we are choosing a standard other than God to look at. We need to all align our lives with the commands of God, and then we can worship in unity, style set aside.
Bloom Where You're Planted
I have been a Cincinnati Bengals fan my whole life. I was a fan when I was first growing up, I remember when they lost the Superbowl to the 49ers. I remember the Icky shuffle. But, unfortunately, most of my life has been spent watching and hearing about how bad the Bengals are. For years and years, they went without a winning season, many of the years only winning 1-3 games. For those years it was tough to be a Bengals fan, but I stuck with them through the years, and it looks like things might be turning around. We’ve had a new coach for a few years now, & the last two years we went 8-8 for the season, not bad for a team that was 1-15 the years before that. Who knows this year, we might even have a winning record, that would be a first in almost 15 years.
I wasn’t one of those people whom we call “bandwagoners”. I wanted to be, it would have been easier to be most of the time. But I chose to stick with my team, knowing that they would eventually come out of the funk that they were in. For many people that’s not true.
People want to be fans of the team that’s winning. They become so engrossed in the team that they feel like part of the team, saying things like “we’ll do better next year” and the like. When their team isn’t winning they want to switch to one that is. People don’t like the feeling of losing, I certainly don’t. So, when their team starts losing, they start looking, looking for a team that is winning. The marketplace knows this, that’s why their store’s stock changes so much, whatever team is winning, that’s the team whose paraphernalia they will carry. (I’ve even started seeing some Bengals stuff lately)
Unfortunately, I think this attitude carries on into the rest of our lives. For students, if our school isn’t the best school in town, we want to switch to the one that is. For workers, if our job isn’t the best in the business, we want to switch to the competitors. For cattle, if the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, they want to look for a hole in the fence to go eat that fresh grass.
Think about this: the team that is winning is only doing so because of the commitment of the team, the members of the team and the team’s support system. When that support system breaks down, winning goes down. When individuals start popping up and teamwork starts going down, the L’s go up and the W’s go down. A superbowl is only won when the whole team comes together and plays as one unit.
America is a culture that pushes winning. Winning is everything! That’s what our minds have been trained to believe, that’s what our attitudes reflect, and that’s certainly what our actions suggest. When we lose, we throw fits, get angry and make fools of ourselves, screaming at referees, at the other teams and even at the television. I know some of you have done this, but I never have. I would never yell at the senior tight end for Ohio State who dropped a potential game winning touchdown pass in the end zone this past Saturday night when they played Texas.
One lesson that I’ve learned is that winning isn’t everything. In fact, I’ve learned far more through losing than I think I ever will through winning. When I think about winning, I go back through the losses in my life that have made this victory sweet. For instance, having an 8-8 season is not what some would consider great, but for me, the Bengals just winning 8 games is wonderful. It wouldn’t be so wonderful it we had been winning 8 games every season, but when you’re winning 1 game per season, 8 is almost a miracle!
Now let’s say that God has called me to be a Bengals fan. (While this may be absurd to some of you, the fact that God hasn’t called us to be sports fan is absurd to others.) If this were the case, I would be called to ALWAYS be a Bengals fan. I couldn’t be called to be a Bengals fan only when I felt like being a Bengals fan, I have to be a Bengals fan at all times, in good times and bad. When God called me to be a Bengals fan, he called me to be a Bengals fan knowing that there was going to be a period of time when they were bad, and being a Bengals fan would be tough. He also knew that I would make a better Bengals fan than I would a Cleveland Browns or a Denver Broncos fan. While at times I might like the Broncos, and watch them, the Bengals are still my team.
While it may be silly to think of God calling me to be a Bengals fan, God does call me to be loyal. Loyal to Him, loyal to my family and loyal to the family of God he has placed me in. God does not choose to move many of us around very often, rather we choose to move ourselves around. We get upset by something, it may be a small something, but because it is happening to us, is fills our vision and we can’t see anything else. We then decide it would be easier to go somewhere else, than it would be to stay, work through the tough time and grow.
Because of this mindset, we now have the church-hopper syndrome. People get fed up with something, and go to another church, then they get fed up with something there and go to another church, and so on and so forth, until they many times end up back where they started. Think of how much easier it would have been to stay where God put us in the first place.
God calls us to be like the Philippians. While at times the church in Philippi had its own troubles, they also did many things right. Paul says to them, “When I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except only you.” And notice how Paul had already encouraged them to keep doing what they were doing by his own life, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Notice that Paul didn’t say something to the effect of “I have learned to be content and when my situation changes, to put myself in a different situation to keep happy.” Or “I can do everything that I feel like doing through him who gives me strength.” The Philippians were faithful to Paul & Paul was faithful to God.
That’s the desire that God has for each one of our lives, to be faithful to Him, to be faithful to family, and to be faithful to the family of God. Things won’t always be easy where we are, but we aren’t called to live easy lives, we’re called to live Christian lives. We’re called to be faithful and set an example of faithfulness for those who will follow us.
17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to. (1 Corinthians 7:17-24 NIV)
It is easy for us to look at others and think, life would be so much better if I was in their situation. But that’s not what God has for us. God has not given us a life of dissatisfaction, but a life of contentment. Every one of us were in a different situation that God called us out of and into relationship with him. Notice this, “Each one of you should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you – although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.”
We are to remain in the situation we have been called to. Some of us have been called to an easy situation, one in which life seems easy, where everything is going as planned, and God has called us to remain in this situation. Some of us are going through tough times, where nothing is going as planned and we want so badly to be out of it, but God has called us to remain in this situation. For those in good times, remember we were bought at a price, and we are slaves of Christ. For those in tough times, remember the price has already been paid, and we are free in Christ.
Perspective is what it boils down to. When times are good, we need to keep perspective of Christ, and continue to trust Christ. When times are bad, we need to do the same. All comes from Him and all goes back to him.
This applies to all situations of life – to our relationship with God, to our relationship with our family, and to our relationship with the family of God. We are to Bloom where we have been planted. God has called us to the specific situations that we are in for His glory. We don’t need to change the situation to be used by God. We need to bloom in the situation God planted us in. We ought not think “my gifts could be used better here or there.” Rather, we ought to think, “how can I better use my gifts here?”
God has called each of us to the ministry of Calvary Community Church. He has called each of us to use the gifts he has given us to further the work of His kingdom at Calvary and in Longview. God has called us to leave a legacy of faithfulness for all who come behind us to see, and to inspire them to the same devotion to the kingdom and to Calvary that we have.
When we start truly learning and practicing – being content in all situations – we will become less and less a people of bandwagoners and church-hoppers, and more and more a people of commitment and dedication to the Kingdom and Calvary. Just like a superbowl is only won when the whole team comes together and plays as one unit, souls are only won when the whole body comes together and ministers as one unit. There are no individuals in the body of Christ, only members of the body.
What about worship? It is difficult if not impossible for the body of Christ to worship without unity, and it is even more difficult for there to be unity if people are constantly looking at other churches thinking that they are doing it better there than we are here. If God has called us to Calvary it is for a reason. Partially because God wants to teach us something here, and also because God wants to use us here. Let us come together as one body, worship in unity the living God and allow God to work through us.
I wasn’t one of those people whom we call “bandwagoners”. I wanted to be, it would have been easier to be most of the time. But I chose to stick with my team, knowing that they would eventually come out of the funk that they were in. For many people that’s not true.
People want to be fans of the team that’s winning. They become so engrossed in the team that they feel like part of the team, saying things like “we’ll do better next year” and the like. When their team isn’t winning they want to switch to one that is. People don’t like the feeling of losing, I certainly don’t. So, when their team starts losing, they start looking, looking for a team that is winning. The marketplace knows this, that’s why their store’s stock changes so much, whatever team is winning, that’s the team whose paraphernalia they will carry. (I’ve even started seeing some Bengals stuff lately)
Unfortunately, I think this attitude carries on into the rest of our lives. For students, if our school isn’t the best school in town, we want to switch to the one that is. For workers, if our job isn’t the best in the business, we want to switch to the competitors. For cattle, if the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, they want to look for a hole in the fence to go eat that fresh grass.
Think about this: the team that is winning is only doing so because of the commitment of the team, the members of the team and the team’s support system. When that support system breaks down, winning goes down. When individuals start popping up and teamwork starts going down, the L’s go up and the W’s go down. A superbowl is only won when the whole team comes together and plays as one unit.
America is a culture that pushes winning. Winning is everything! That’s what our minds have been trained to believe, that’s what our attitudes reflect, and that’s certainly what our actions suggest. When we lose, we throw fits, get angry and make fools of ourselves, screaming at referees, at the other teams and even at the television. I know some of you have done this, but I never have. I would never yell at the senior tight end for Ohio State who dropped a potential game winning touchdown pass in the end zone this past Saturday night when they played Texas.
One lesson that I’ve learned is that winning isn’t everything. In fact, I’ve learned far more through losing than I think I ever will through winning. When I think about winning, I go back through the losses in my life that have made this victory sweet. For instance, having an 8-8 season is not what some would consider great, but for me, the Bengals just winning 8 games is wonderful. It wouldn’t be so wonderful it we had been winning 8 games every season, but when you’re winning 1 game per season, 8 is almost a miracle!
Now let’s say that God has called me to be a Bengals fan. (While this may be absurd to some of you, the fact that God hasn’t called us to be sports fan is absurd to others.) If this were the case, I would be called to ALWAYS be a Bengals fan. I couldn’t be called to be a Bengals fan only when I felt like being a Bengals fan, I have to be a Bengals fan at all times, in good times and bad. When God called me to be a Bengals fan, he called me to be a Bengals fan knowing that there was going to be a period of time when they were bad, and being a Bengals fan would be tough. He also knew that I would make a better Bengals fan than I would a Cleveland Browns or a Denver Broncos fan. While at times I might like the Broncos, and watch them, the Bengals are still my team.
While it may be silly to think of God calling me to be a Bengals fan, God does call me to be loyal. Loyal to Him, loyal to my family and loyal to the family of God he has placed me in. God does not choose to move many of us around very often, rather we choose to move ourselves around. We get upset by something, it may be a small something, but because it is happening to us, is fills our vision and we can’t see anything else. We then decide it would be easier to go somewhere else, than it would be to stay, work through the tough time and grow.
Because of this mindset, we now have the church-hopper syndrome. People get fed up with something, and go to another church, then they get fed up with something there and go to another church, and so on and so forth, until they many times end up back where they started. Think of how much easier it would have been to stay where God put us in the first place.
God calls us to be like the Philippians. While at times the church in Philippi had its own troubles, they also did many things right. Paul says to them, “When I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except only you.” And notice how Paul had already encouraged them to keep doing what they were doing by his own life, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned to be content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Notice that Paul didn’t say something to the effect of “I have learned to be content and when my situation changes, to put myself in a different situation to keep happy.” Or “I can do everything that I feel like doing through him who gives me strength.” The Philippians were faithful to Paul & Paul was faithful to God.
That’s the desire that God has for each one of our lives, to be faithful to Him, to be faithful to family, and to be faithful to the family of God. Things won’t always be easy where we are, but we aren’t called to live easy lives, we’re called to live Christian lives. We’re called to be faithful and set an example of faithfulness for those who will follow us.
17 Nevertheless, each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the churches. 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts. 20 Each one should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. 21 Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22 For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to. (1 Corinthians 7:17-24 NIV)
It is easy for us to look at others and think, life would be so much better if I was in their situation. But that’s not what God has for us. God has not given us a life of dissatisfaction, but a life of contentment. Every one of us were in a different situation that God called us out of and into relationship with him. Notice this, “Each one of you should remain in the situation which he was in when God called him. Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you – although if you can gain your freedom, do so. For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freedman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ’s slave. You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to.”
We are to remain in the situation we have been called to. Some of us have been called to an easy situation, one in which life seems easy, where everything is going as planned, and God has called us to remain in this situation. Some of us are going through tough times, where nothing is going as planned and we want so badly to be out of it, but God has called us to remain in this situation. For those in good times, remember we were bought at a price, and we are slaves of Christ. For those in tough times, remember the price has already been paid, and we are free in Christ.
Perspective is what it boils down to. When times are good, we need to keep perspective of Christ, and continue to trust Christ. When times are bad, we need to do the same. All comes from Him and all goes back to him.
This applies to all situations of life – to our relationship with God, to our relationship with our family, and to our relationship with the family of God. We are to Bloom where we have been planted. God has called us to the specific situations that we are in for His glory. We don’t need to change the situation to be used by God. We need to bloom in the situation God planted us in. We ought not think “my gifts could be used better here or there.” Rather, we ought to think, “how can I better use my gifts here?”
God has called each of us to the ministry of Calvary Community Church. He has called each of us to use the gifts he has given us to further the work of His kingdom at Calvary and in Longview. God has called us to leave a legacy of faithfulness for all who come behind us to see, and to inspire them to the same devotion to the kingdom and to Calvary that we have.
When we start truly learning and practicing – being content in all situations – we will become less and less a people of bandwagoners and church-hoppers, and more and more a people of commitment and dedication to the Kingdom and Calvary. Just like a superbowl is only won when the whole team comes together and plays as one unit, souls are only won when the whole body comes together and ministers as one unit. There are no individuals in the body of Christ, only members of the body.
What about worship? It is difficult if not impossible for the body of Christ to worship without unity, and it is even more difficult for there to be unity if people are constantly looking at other churches thinking that they are doing it better there than we are here. If God has called us to Calvary it is for a reason. Partially because God wants to teach us something here, and also because God wants to use us here. Let us come together as one body, worship in unity the living God and allow God to work through us.
Personal Intimacy
When most of us think of worship, we tend to think of what happens in “church” on Sunday mornings. While that is a time of worship, it is not where most of worship ought to happen. Think about the math. There are 168 hours in a week. Believing that the whole worship service on a Sunday morning, (the whole hour, musical worship, and the spoken word), then that gives 1/168 or .005% of our week to worship. For many, worship stops when the music stops, so that’s even less, that’s .002% of our week that we’re giving to worship. That’s for the average attender on a Sunday morning. Hopefully, as worship leaders (which all of us in the Worship Arts Ministry are) that number is much higher. Think about your life this last week, add up the time that you’ve set aside specifically for worship, (devotional time, private worship, private prayer, etc) and do some math. What’s your percentage like?
Of course this leads us to personal intimacy. If we are not intimate with God on our own, how can we expect our time as the corporate body of Christ or Sunday morning to be an expression of what’s been happening in our lives. Rather we end up looking for that time on Sunday to be the one time of the week that we worship and hope it will sustain us until next week. If we don’t worship God privately, how can we worship him corporately? And if we can’t do either of these, how can we be expected to lead others in worship on Sunday morning?
Our attitude ought to be such that we are worshipping simply though our living. This is where that idea of being a living sacrifice comes into play that I’ve talked about in previous journals. However, just an attitude is not always enough. Our attitude has to take us somewhere. (It always does by the way, our attitude takes the rest of us with it, a good attitude will lead our minds and bodies in a good & positive direction, a negative attitude will do just the opposite and is much more difficult to recover from.) Is our attitude taking us to a place where we can worship God, or is it taking us further away from Him?
I’ve said before, and will say again; Worship is an attitude, you choose your attitude. We can choose to be the joyful Christians that Paul describes in Philippians. Or we can choose to be the Christians that need to hear from 1 & 2 Corinthians.
An attitude of worship is the way to personal intimacy with God. We cannot approach the word of God with a negative attitude and expect to be reached. While God does speak to us in these times, they should not be the majority of our times with Him. We should come to the word of God, thrilled to get to know more. We should sing praises to our God, because He is so Great, because His love for us is so great, not out of obligation, but out of desire.
We will come to difficult times in our lives, go through difficult situations & circumstances that make it hard if not impossible to have a positive attitude. In these times, we must cling to what we have come to know before these trying times. We must cling to the hope that we have found in the good times. This is why it is so important to worship when things are going well. It’s easier to worship on the mountain top than it is in the valley, we must prepare ourselves for the valley for we don’t know when it will come. If we can be sustained through the valley, our worship on the flip-side will be so much deeper. Isn’t this what it’s all about? Don’t we want to do everything we can to go deeper in our walk with God? This is personal intimacy. Spending time with God in such a way that we can only do on a personal level. This personal intimacy with God will show on Sundays. It will show in our corporate worship, it will show in our corporate worship leadership. What happens in our alone time with the Lord will determine the depth of our corporate worship.
Of course this leads us to personal intimacy. If we are not intimate with God on our own, how can we expect our time as the corporate body of Christ or Sunday morning to be an expression of what’s been happening in our lives. Rather we end up looking for that time on Sunday to be the one time of the week that we worship and hope it will sustain us until next week. If we don’t worship God privately, how can we worship him corporately? And if we can’t do either of these, how can we be expected to lead others in worship on Sunday morning?
Our attitude ought to be such that we are worshipping simply though our living. This is where that idea of being a living sacrifice comes into play that I’ve talked about in previous journals. However, just an attitude is not always enough. Our attitude has to take us somewhere. (It always does by the way, our attitude takes the rest of us with it, a good attitude will lead our minds and bodies in a good & positive direction, a negative attitude will do just the opposite and is much more difficult to recover from.) Is our attitude taking us to a place where we can worship God, or is it taking us further away from Him?
I’ve said before, and will say again; Worship is an attitude, you choose your attitude. We can choose to be the joyful Christians that Paul describes in Philippians. Or we can choose to be the Christians that need to hear from 1 & 2 Corinthians.
An attitude of worship is the way to personal intimacy with God. We cannot approach the word of God with a negative attitude and expect to be reached. While God does speak to us in these times, they should not be the majority of our times with Him. We should come to the word of God, thrilled to get to know more. We should sing praises to our God, because He is so Great, because His love for us is so great, not out of obligation, but out of desire.
We will come to difficult times in our lives, go through difficult situations & circumstances that make it hard if not impossible to have a positive attitude. In these times, we must cling to what we have come to know before these trying times. We must cling to the hope that we have found in the good times. This is why it is so important to worship when things are going well. It’s easier to worship on the mountain top than it is in the valley, we must prepare ourselves for the valley for we don’t know when it will come. If we can be sustained through the valley, our worship on the flip-side will be so much deeper. Isn’t this what it’s all about? Don’t we want to do everything we can to go deeper in our walk with God? This is personal intimacy. Spending time with God in such a way that we can only do on a personal level. This personal intimacy with God will show on Sundays. It will show in our corporate worship, it will show in our corporate worship leadership. What happens in our alone time with the Lord will determine the depth of our corporate worship.
The Value of Rest
In today’s society we are pushed to the extremes of doing something all the time, and not ever taking a break from the business that employs us day in and day out. Our culture doesn’t see the value in rest anymore. Statistically, American workers have fewer vacation days than any other country. We also have the highest rate of depression and other mental disorders. Do you think this is a direct correlation? I do. I know in my life, when I’m over-working myself, it doesn’t take very long to be robbed of joy. God designed days of rest for a reason, they are not a luxury, they are a must.
One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had.
"I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did."
"But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."
Rest isn’t just for doing nothing, rest is for sharpening. Just like an axe, we will get dull if used continuously without a break to stop and sharpen. I don’t know how may of you have tried to do much chopping with a dull axe, but it certainly takes the fun out of cutting wood.
There's no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by 'rests,' and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the tune...not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the 'rests.' They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we sadly say to ourselves, 'There is no music in a rest,' let us not forget that there is the making of music in it.
"Carry some quiet around inside thee," the well-known Quaker, George Fox, used to say. "Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit, from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God to turn thy mind to the Lord from whence cometh life; whereby thou mayest receive the strength and power to allay all storms and tempests."
This weekend, I will be doing this. Bekki & I are taking a break, and we are going to rest. We will be putting aside the worries of life at home, the worries of work and just enjoying time with each other and time with God. Some of us may not know how dull we are, we may be looking at others who seem to be “chopping more wood” with quite a bit less effort, and wonder why we are not able to achieve the same. But, until we have worked with a sharp axe, until we have taken time to sharpen ourselves, we will never know the benefit of doing so. We are getting away, and hopefully we will be able to store up enough of this quietness to last a while, and our weekly times of rest will just be rejuvenations of this time.
Let’s take time to put the hustle of life aside, this hustle that stresses us out and robs us of our joy, turn our minds from our own thoughts and turn our thoughts to God, “From whence cometh life.” I think we will soon learn that the value of rest is irreplaceable.
One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had.
"I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did."
"But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."
Rest isn’t just for doing nothing, rest is for sharpening. Just like an axe, we will get dull if used continuously without a break to stop and sharpen. I don’t know how may of you have tried to do much chopping with a dull axe, but it certainly takes the fun out of cutting wood.
There's no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in it. In our whole life-melody the music is broken off here and there by 'rests,' and we foolishly think we have come to the end of the tune...not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the tune, and not be dismayed at the 'rests.' They are not to be slurred over, not to be omitted, not to destroy the melody, not to change the keynote. If we sadly say to ourselves, 'There is no music in a rest,' let us not forget that there is the making of music in it.
"Carry some quiet around inside thee," the well-known Quaker, George Fox, used to say. "Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit, from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God to turn thy mind to the Lord from whence cometh life; whereby thou mayest receive the strength and power to allay all storms and tempests."
This weekend, I will be doing this. Bekki & I are taking a break, and we are going to rest. We will be putting aside the worries of life at home, the worries of work and just enjoying time with each other and time with God. Some of us may not know how dull we are, we may be looking at others who seem to be “chopping more wood” with quite a bit less effort, and wonder why we are not able to achieve the same. But, until we have worked with a sharp axe, until we have taken time to sharpen ourselves, we will never know the benefit of doing so. We are getting away, and hopefully we will be able to store up enough of this quietness to last a while, and our weekly times of rest will just be rejuvenations of this time.
Let’s take time to put the hustle of life aside, this hustle that stresses us out and robs us of our joy, turn our minds from our own thoughts and turn our thoughts to God, “From whence cometh life.” I think we will soon learn that the value of rest is irreplaceable.
Living Sacrifice
A Couple of years ago, I worked at a little store in the Pearl District in downtown Portland. This place was called Sheepskin of Oregon. I know, you never knew that such a place existed, but it does. It's a little store that sells sheepskin seat covers for cars and other sheepskin products. The owner of this store John Lee, came from South Korea. We were talking one day about America. He described to me that he lives in a Cul-de-sac in which all the families except his and one other had been divorced, some of them several times. The other non-divorced family also came from out of the country. He went on to say, "Americans don't know anything about sacrifice." At first, I was kind of offended as his remark. Then I thought about it as he kept talking. "In South Korea, when you get married, you get married for life. If you have problems you work through them, everybody has problems. But, you sacrifice for the other and for the marriage." Yes John, you're right, many of us Americans don't know anything about sacrifice.
An all familiar passage on the topic of Worship is Romans 12:1; "1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." But what does it mean to be a living sacrifice?
Worship in the Old Testament was achieved through the sacrificing of various kinds of animals. Probably the most profound instance of this is in Genesis 22. Abraham has been given a son in his old age through whom God's promise to 'make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars' would be fulfilled. Then God tested Abraham, Take your son, your only son whom you love so much to the Region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you. When he arrived at the mountain, he said to his servants: "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." Later, after Isaac's curiosity got to him, he asked his father, we have the stuff to make the sacrifice with, but where is the lamb? God Provided the lamb.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ provided the ultimate sacrifice, permanently opening the doors for a relationship for all who would receive him. The veil was torn, and now, all may enter into the Holy of holies. The sacrifice of the Old Covenant was fulfilled and now we have the New Covenant.
Then we get to Paul's statement, about being a living sacrifice, which is our spiritual act of worship. What does this look like, how does it unfold? "It is the practical application of doctrinal truths that is the life of preaching. (Matthew Henry)" It is our responsibility to God, our stewardship of the knowledge we have been given, the application of the truth we have learned. This chapter unfolds into three sections, Our responsibility to God, to ourselves and to our fellow man.[1]
To God: Being a living sacrifice, doing everything we do, thinking everything we think to the Glory of God. Loving God with ALL our heart, soul, mind, body and strength.
To Ourselves: Do not conform, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind; Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought; Use your gifts to the glory of God.
To Our Fellow Man: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love (Not out of obligation); Honor one another above yourself; Share with those in need; Practice hospitality (not simply having people over for dinner, hospitality to the hopeless); Love one another as you love yourself.
This is worship! This is what it's all about. Doing these things with a gracious attitude, in the spirit of Christ and not a spirit of obligation is Worship. As I said in the last issue, Worship is an attitude, we chose our attitude.
Worship that costs us nothing isn't really worship at all. David Livingstone said this: "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life--these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us."
We Americans have so much! In fact, we have so much more than we need that we are quickly becoming the laziest and most over-weight nation in the world. And above what we need, we have so many other peripherals and wants that the thought of "sacrifice" usually goes no further than "giving up" a weekend out or "giving up" Starbucks for a week. When it comes down to it, do we really know what sacrifice is? We would consider David Livingstone to have made a huge sacrifice, but he didn't think so. Have we spent too long conforming to the ways of this world and not long enough conforming to the image of Christ? Can we resound with Paul's statement "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain"? On Sundays, the week days and every day of our lives are we truly being living sacrifices, acceptable to God?
[1] Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible.
An all familiar passage on the topic of Worship is Romans 12:1; "1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." But what does it mean to be a living sacrifice?
Worship in the Old Testament was achieved through the sacrificing of various kinds of animals. Probably the most profound instance of this is in Genesis 22. Abraham has been given a son in his old age through whom God's promise to 'make Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars' would be fulfilled. Then God tested Abraham, Take your son, your only son whom you love so much to the Region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you. When he arrived at the mountain, he said to his servants: "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you." Later, after Isaac's curiosity got to him, he asked his father, we have the stuff to make the sacrifice with, but where is the lamb? God Provided the lamb.
In the New Testament, Jesus Christ provided the ultimate sacrifice, permanently opening the doors for a relationship for all who would receive him. The veil was torn, and now, all may enter into the Holy of holies. The sacrifice of the Old Covenant was fulfilled and now we have the New Covenant.
Then we get to Paul's statement, about being a living sacrifice, which is our spiritual act of worship. What does this look like, how does it unfold? "It is the practical application of doctrinal truths that is the life of preaching. (Matthew Henry)" It is our responsibility to God, our stewardship of the knowledge we have been given, the application of the truth we have learned. This chapter unfolds into three sections, Our responsibility to God, to ourselves and to our fellow man.[1]
To God: Being a living sacrifice, doing everything we do, thinking everything we think to the Glory of God. Loving God with ALL our heart, soul, mind, body and strength.
To Ourselves: Do not conform, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind; Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought; Use your gifts to the glory of God.
To Our Fellow Man: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love (Not out of obligation); Honor one another above yourself; Share with those in need; Practice hospitality (not simply having people over for dinner, hospitality to the hopeless); Love one another as you love yourself.
This is worship! This is what it's all about. Doing these things with a gracious attitude, in the spirit of Christ and not a spirit of obligation is Worship. As I said in the last issue, Worship is an attitude, we chose our attitude.
Worship that costs us nothing isn't really worship at all. David Livingstone said this: "People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life--these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us."
We Americans have so much! In fact, we have so much more than we need that we are quickly becoming the laziest and most over-weight nation in the world. And above what we need, we have so many other peripherals and wants that the thought of "sacrifice" usually goes no further than "giving up" a weekend out or "giving up" Starbucks for a week. When it comes down to it, do we really know what sacrifice is? We would consider David Livingstone to have made a huge sacrifice, but he didn't think so. Have we spent too long conforming to the ways of this world and not long enough conforming to the image of Christ? Can we resound with Paul's statement "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain"? On Sundays, the week days and every day of our lives are we truly being living sacrifices, acceptable to God?
[1] Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible.
The Greatest Hinderance to Worship
What is the greatest hindrance to worship? What is the greatest distraction? What is it that gets in the way the most? Ourselves. Consider the following scriptures:
Galatians 5:19-21 (New International Version)
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Philippians 2:2-4 (New International Version)
2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
James 3:13-18 (New International Version)
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
The wisdom that comes from heaven is…submissive. Selfishness is anything but submission; in fact the two cannot exist together. True submission leaves no room for selfishness. Selfishness has no desire to submit. When we hear of submission, our first thought is usually towards that of the husband & wife relationship. However, I’m not delving into that topic. I’m speaking of our submission to the Lordship of Christ. Remember that worship is the complete submission of our complete selves. Selfishness and submission cannot exist together.
Think about your last corporate worship experience. If you were not able to “enter in,” why was that? Was it because God wasn’t there? Certainly not since it is clear that where 2 or 3 of us are gathered in his name, he is there with us. Was it because your neighbor in the service was distracting you, (while a possibility, we still have a responsibility to focus ourselves regardless of our surroundings – however it should be noted that unbelievers & new believers cannot yet be expected to focus themselves, and we should not be a cause of distraction for them by talking through the service – not looking out for my own interests, but the interests of others.) Most likely the reason we aren’t able to enter into worship is because of us. We get distracted by our preferences, and yes they are preferences. There is no prescription for a worship style throughout scripture. Are we distracted because the song is unfamiliar, because the volume is too loud, because we didn’t get our usual seat in the sanctuary? All of these preferences rise out of the sinful, selfish nature. Are we not commanded to “sing unto the Lord a New song?” Doesn’t the psalmist describe a rather loud time or praise with the “clashing of cymbals?” Is the presence of God different in one part of the sanctuary than it is in the other? Aren’t we all sanctuaries, temples of the living God? While I’m not making a hard statement about the right and wrong way of any of this, I am saying that we have a responsibility as Children of God to be worshippers. Somewhere along the way in our American-me-first culture, we believe we gained the right to choose when, where & how we worship. I can’t find any evidence of this throughout scripture. I haven’t found a passage that says, if you are in this situation under these circumstances, feel free to not worship me. In fact I find just the opposite, Psalm 34:1 states: “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will continually be on my lips.”
Maybe we’re distracted by things going on in our life, maybe we haven’t been as devoted to God as much as we have wanted to be, maybe we have never entered into a time of worship, whatever the cause of the distraction, can we lay it aside and enter in the an unhindered time of worship together?
Think about all the financial planning that we do in our lives. We plan to get ahead so we can retire. What kind of eternal planning are we doing, you know - the time after retirement? In Heaven, worship is going to be the way of life – shouldn’t we start planning and practicing that here?
Galatians 5:19-21 (New International Version)
19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Philippians 2:2-4 (New International Version)
2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
James 3:13-18 (New International Version)
13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
The wisdom that comes from heaven is…submissive. Selfishness is anything but submission; in fact the two cannot exist together. True submission leaves no room for selfishness. Selfishness has no desire to submit. When we hear of submission, our first thought is usually towards that of the husband & wife relationship. However, I’m not delving into that topic. I’m speaking of our submission to the Lordship of Christ. Remember that worship is the complete submission of our complete selves. Selfishness and submission cannot exist together.
Think about your last corporate worship experience. If you were not able to “enter in,” why was that? Was it because God wasn’t there? Certainly not since it is clear that where 2 or 3 of us are gathered in his name, he is there with us. Was it because your neighbor in the service was distracting you, (while a possibility, we still have a responsibility to focus ourselves regardless of our surroundings – however it should be noted that unbelievers & new believers cannot yet be expected to focus themselves, and we should not be a cause of distraction for them by talking through the service – not looking out for my own interests, but the interests of others.) Most likely the reason we aren’t able to enter into worship is because of us. We get distracted by our preferences, and yes they are preferences. There is no prescription for a worship style throughout scripture. Are we distracted because the song is unfamiliar, because the volume is too loud, because we didn’t get our usual seat in the sanctuary? All of these preferences rise out of the sinful, selfish nature. Are we not commanded to “sing unto the Lord a New song?” Doesn’t the psalmist describe a rather loud time or praise with the “clashing of cymbals?” Is the presence of God different in one part of the sanctuary than it is in the other? Aren’t we all sanctuaries, temples of the living God? While I’m not making a hard statement about the right and wrong way of any of this, I am saying that we have a responsibility as Children of God to be worshippers. Somewhere along the way in our American-me-first culture, we believe we gained the right to choose when, where & how we worship. I can’t find any evidence of this throughout scripture. I haven’t found a passage that says, if you are in this situation under these circumstances, feel free to not worship me. In fact I find just the opposite, Psalm 34:1 states: “I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will continually be on my lips.”
Maybe we’re distracted by things going on in our life, maybe we haven’t been as devoted to God as much as we have wanted to be, maybe we have never entered into a time of worship, whatever the cause of the distraction, can we lay it aside and enter in the an unhindered time of worship together?
Think about all the financial planning that we do in our lives. We plan to get ahead so we can retire. What kind of eternal planning are we doing, you know - the time after retirement? In Heaven, worship is going to be the way of life – shouldn’t we start planning and practicing that here?
Healing in Worship - Part 3
Last week we talked about physical healing in worship and how the complete submission of our complete selves is needed in a time of worship for us to be able to experience the presence of God, in which healing can take place. Remember also, that wherever we are, we must be all there. If we expect God to do something we must also be willing to give our part in times of worship.
This week, the same applies to spiritual & emotional healing through worship (in fact the same applies to all of worship & all of life complete submission of our complete selves).
Let’s focus on a passage of scripture: 23“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-25)
Now, let’s look at this in context of the chapter. Chapter 5 starts with the beatitudes, Then Jesus talks about being salt & light, then that he came to fulfill the law, and that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law. The verses right before our verse speak of murder, and the higher definition of what murder is. Basically this whole chapter is dealing with Habits of the heart becoming disciplines of the Christian life. In all of this section we must take note that Jesus is not giving us a to do list, but he is describing how our character ought to be. What good is flavorless salt, or lightless light?
Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar (if you have come into a time of worship) and there you remember that your brother has something against you (through the prompting of the Spirit you remember some source of conflict that has put you at odds with someone, whether you were at fault or the other person was at fault is not specified. In fact what is more likely is that if someone has done something to you, you need to go and make things right before you worship.) Leave your gift there in front of the altar (don’t take it with you), go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.
I truly believe that God uses times of worship to enlighten us to things in our lives that need fixed. When we come into the holy of holies, our first response should be “woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips.” We don’t deserve to be in the presence of God, and when we do get the wonderful privilege of coming into that presence our first response should not be a selfish one (Okay God, what can you do for me?) but it should be the most selfless one – what do I need to do in this time to be right with you? That’s what the Complete submission of our complete selves is all about.
This goes for all areas of spiritual & emotional problems. If we have something against God, we need to fix it before we try to worship him with our uncleanliness. If we have something against someone else, if there has been a long time problem between us and another person, we need to fix this problem before we come into God’s presence. The presence of God is the most holy of things, we should not defame it with our dirty laundry. God is in the business of purification, which is why I believe is uses times of worship to bring to mind those things of emotional healing that need to be resolved before we continue to worship.
Are there areas in our lives this week that we need to set aside for God to purify? Are there areas in our lives that defame the presence of God & the stench is assaulting our wonderful, merciful savior? Maybe we need to set aside a time of private worship this week, a time that God can speak to us about things in our live that are keeping us from being completely submitted. Could there be a severed relationship that needs to be mended, could I have offended someone, and I’ve let my pride keep me from making things right? Let’s commit to a time this week, where we set aside some time to make things right with God by making things right with our brothers & sisters in Christ.
The dialectic of life. The two poles of being & doing. You do what you do because of who you are. Sometimes the doing helps you become who you are. When it is hard to pray, that is when you should pray the hardest. Through the discipline we become, in the process of the doing we. Use our wills, “Seek first the kingdom of the Lord & his righteousness.” “You shall search for me & find me when you shall search for me with all of your heart.” “If any man shall come after me, he shall deny himself, take up his cross & follow me.” “As a man thinketh in his heart so he is.” “Out of the heart are the issues of life.”
The most powerful evangelist is a congregation in worship. Ravi Zacharias
This week, the same applies to spiritual & emotional healing through worship (in fact the same applies to all of worship & all of life complete submission of our complete selves).
Let’s focus on a passage of scripture: 23“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” (Matt. 5:23-25)
Now, let’s look at this in context of the chapter. Chapter 5 starts with the beatitudes, Then Jesus talks about being salt & light, then that he came to fulfill the law, and that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law. The verses right before our verse speak of murder, and the higher definition of what murder is. Basically this whole chapter is dealing with Habits of the heart becoming disciplines of the Christian life. In all of this section we must take note that Jesus is not giving us a to do list, but he is describing how our character ought to be. What good is flavorless salt, or lightless light?
Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar (if you have come into a time of worship) and there you remember that your brother has something against you (through the prompting of the Spirit you remember some source of conflict that has put you at odds with someone, whether you were at fault or the other person was at fault is not specified. In fact what is more likely is that if someone has done something to you, you need to go and make things right before you worship.) Leave your gift there in front of the altar (don’t take it with you), go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.
I truly believe that God uses times of worship to enlighten us to things in our lives that need fixed. When we come into the holy of holies, our first response should be “woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips.” We don’t deserve to be in the presence of God, and when we do get the wonderful privilege of coming into that presence our first response should not be a selfish one (Okay God, what can you do for me?) but it should be the most selfless one – what do I need to do in this time to be right with you? That’s what the Complete submission of our complete selves is all about.
This goes for all areas of spiritual & emotional problems. If we have something against God, we need to fix it before we try to worship him with our uncleanliness. If we have something against someone else, if there has been a long time problem between us and another person, we need to fix this problem before we come into God’s presence. The presence of God is the most holy of things, we should not defame it with our dirty laundry. God is in the business of purification, which is why I believe is uses times of worship to bring to mind those things of emotional healing that need to be resolved before we continue to worship.
Are there areas in our lives this week that we need to set aside for God to purify? Are there areas in our lives that defame the presence of God & the stench is assaulting our wonderful, merciful savior? Maybe we need to set aside a time of private worship this week, a time that God can speak to us about things in our live that are keeping us from being completely submitted. Could there be a severed relationship that needs to be mended, could I have offended someone, and I’ve let my pride keep me from making things right? Let’s commit to a time this week, where we set aside some time to make things right with God by making things right with our brothers & sisters in Christ.
The dialectic of life. The two poles of being & doing. You do what you do because of who you are. Sometimes the doing helps you become who you are. When it is hard to pray, that is when you should pray the hardest. Through the discipline we become, in the process of the doing we. Use our wills, “Seek first the kingdom of the Lord & his righteousness.” “You shall search for me & find me when you shall search for me with all of your heart.” “If any man shall come after me, he shall deny himself, take up his cross & follow me.” “As a man thinketh in his heart so he is.” “Out of the heart are the issues of life.”
The most powerful evangelist is a congregation in worship. Ravi Zacharias
Healing in Worship Part 2
Physical healing in times of worship is something I believe we are less familiar with here in these United States. For whatever reason we don’t seem to hear much about those who are healed as a direct result of worship (theirs or those around them).
Healing through worship is a tough topic because it delves into areas of which there aren’t many scriptures that give directions on how to be healed through worship. However, we can deduct from some passages and Biblical definitions of worship a “Theology of Healing through worship.”
Think about how William Temple, the great Anglican Theologian defined worship: 'Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose.” All this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions. (Ravi Zacharias added the final sentence to this definition in his message Leadership Workshop Seminar part 2 of 6)
It is only through the living out of a right definition of worship that we can experience things in worship. Remember worship isn’t about us. Worship is about giving ourselves to God. Complete submission of our complete selves. Think on these Scriptures: “Seek first the kingdom of the Lord & his righteousness.” “You shall search for me & find me when you shall search for me with all of your heart.” “If any man shall come after me, he shall deny himself, take up his cross & follow me.” “As a man thinketh in his heart so he is.” “Out of the heart are the issues of life.”
I know that I can’t say that I have been living up to these scriptures with all of my heart. Have I truly been searching for the Lord with all of my heart? Have I denied myself and taken on the cross I have been called to bear? But, I believe that last passage has a tremendous affect on our worship. What issues are there in our heart? What might there be that is keeping us from true, unhindered, unadulterated worship? Living in America there are plenty of things to distract us. Busyness, work, keeping up with the Jones’ – so many things that can the place in our heart that God carved out for himself. We really can’t serve two masters, we can only serve God alone.
What does this have to do with healing in worship? I truly believe that we can experience true healing in worship here in America, but we are so preoccupied with the things around us that we rarely enter into times of worship where we completely submit our complete selves to God. We are distracted with our preferences in styles of worship, we are distracted with things going on in our life, we are distracted with others lives conflicting with ours. Many of these things may be good things, but anything that gets in the way of our worship of God is doing just that – getting in the way. This, I believe, I believe is part of why healing in worship happens so much more frequently on the mission field than it does in our churches. The congregations on the mission fields are not distracted as much as we are, thus they are able to devote all of themselves to being where they are. (wherever you are, be all there).
It is when we are able to come into God’s presence with no distractions that healing through worship can take place. God is our Jehovah Rapha, - God our healer. He wants to heal us, we just need to worship in faith – the same faith we have in God – and he will do so.
I am not saying that God doesn’t choose to heal some people. After all, God is God and I am not. I cannot speak for Him. So, I am not guaranteeing that if you or someone you know has some kind of sickness that they will be healed by worshipping in this way, but I do believe it is possible. Nothing is impossible with God. Sometimes praise demands a sacrifice, can we worship even then?
Healing through worship is a tough topic because it delves into areas of which there aren’t many scriptures that give directions on how to be healed through worship. However, we can deduct from some passages and Biblical definitions of worship a “Theology of Healing through worship.”
Think about how William Temple, the great Anglican Theologian defined worship: 'Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose.” All this gathered up in adoration is the greatest of human expressions. (Ravi Zacharias added the final sentence to this definition in his message Leadership Workshop Seminar part 2 of 6)
It is only through the living out of a right definition of worship that we can experience things in worship. Remember worship isn’t about us. Worship is about giving ourselves to God. Complete submission of our complete selves. Think on these Scriptures: “Seek first the kingdom of the Lord & his righteousness.” “You shall search for me & find me when you shall search for me with all of your heart.” “If any man shall come after me, he shall deny himself, take up his cross & follow me.” “As a man thinketh in his heart so he is.” “Out of the heart are the issues of life.”
I know that I can’t say that I have been living up to these scriptures with all of my heart. Have I truly been searching for the Lord with all of my heart? Have I denied myself and taken on the cross I have been called to bear? But, I believe that last passage has a tremendous affect on our worship. What issues are there in our heart? What might there be that is keeping us from true, unhindered, unadulterated worship? Living in America there are plenty of things to distract us. Busyness, work, keeping up with the Jones’ – so many things that can the place in our heart that God carved out for himself. We really can’t serve two masters, we can only serve God alone.
What does this have to do with healing in worship? I truly believe that we can experience true healing in worship here in America, but we are so preoccupied with the things around us that we rarely enter into times of worship where we completely submit our complete selves to God. We are distracted with our preferences in styles of worship, we are distracted with things going on in our life, we are distracted with others lives conflicting with ours. Many of these things may be good things, but anything that gets in the way of our worship of God is doing just that – getting in the way. This, I believe, I believe is part of why healing in worship happens so much more frequently on the mission field than it does in our churches. The congregations on the mission fields are not distracted as much as we are, thus they are able to devote all of themselves to being where they are. (wherever you are, be all there).
It is when we are able to come into God’s presence with no distractions that healing through worship can take place. God is our Jehovah Rapha, - God our healer. He wants to heal us, we just need to worship in faith – the same faith we have in God – and he will do so.
I am not saying that God doesn’t choose to heal some people. After all, God is God and I am not. I cannot speak for Him. So, I am not guaranteeing that if you or someone you know has some kind of sickness that they will be healed by worshipping in this way, but I do believe it is possible. Nothing is impossible with God. Sometimes praise demands a sacrifice, can we worship even then?
Healing In Worship
Healing in worship can happen in many various forms, the broadest of them being Physical & Spiritual/Emotional. When I think about physical healing through worship, I think of a friend of mine whose sprained, bruised & Swollen ankle was healed in the midst of a worship service. I also think of the countless stories of people being healing in other countries through the work of missionaries. When I think about emotional needs being healed in times of worship, I think about families I know that have been reunited after years of conflict as the result of a time of worship. I think of friendships & relationships that have been deeply wounded, that are now healed because of a time of worship. I also think about those who had been running from God, being touched by a time of worship and finally submitting to the call on their hearts.
I see that there is power in worship, and why shouldn’t there be? After all, we are meeting with the most powerful, omnipotent God. However, we have a responsibility in worship. We should not come to a worship service expecting to receive something, rather we should come prepared to give everything. When we as worshippers give up and die to ourselves in times of worship, giving our lives instead of asking for His, then worship will be life-changing.
Think about the time of largest change you went through in your life that brought growth & maturity. Think about how that time molded you and shaped you into the person that you are now. Was it a move to a different town? Was it the death of a loved one? Was it a painful separation from friends or loved ones? How did you get through that time, if you have gotten through it? Did you grow through the time because you fought the situation with all your might (which is what almost all of us do at first), or because you eventually let go and let God take control?
Thinks of these words from a Hymn I’m sure you’re all familiar with.
My Faith Has Found A Resting Place
My faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed:
I trust the ever-living one, His wounds for me shall plead.
Enough for me that Jesus saves, this ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him, He’ll never cast me out.
My heart is leaning on the word, the written word of God:
Salvation by my Savior’s name, Salvation thru His blood.
My great physician heals the sick – the lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed, for me His life He gave.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea
It is enough that Jesus died & That he died for me.
Whatever you may be going through right now, whether times of joy or times of sorrow, I hope you can find comfort and encouragement in these words. I hope that for all of use, we can truly say that we need no other argument, we need no other plea, it is more than enough that Jesus died for me. I know that I can get through whatever it is I’m going through because Christ has gone before me and prepared the way. All I have to do is let him lead.
I see that there is power in worship, and why shouldn’t there be? After all, we are meeting with the most powerful, omnipotent God. However, we have a responsibility in worship. We should not come to a worship service expecting to receive something, rather we should come prepared to give everything. When we as worshippers give up and die to ourselves in times of worship, giving our lives instead of asking for His, then worship will be life-changing.
Think about the time of largest change you went through in your life that brought growth & maturity. Think about how that time molded you and shaped you into the person that you are now. Was it a move to a different town? Was it the death of a loved one? Was it a painful separation from friends or loved ones? How did you get through that time, if you have gotten through it? Did you grow through the time because you fought the situation with all your might (which is what almost all of us do at first), or because you eventually let go and let God take control?
Thinks of these words from a Hymn I’m sure you’re all familiar with.
My Faith Has Found A Resting Place
My faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed:
I trust the ever-living one, His wounds for me shall plead.
Enough for me that Jesus saves, this ends my fear and doubt;
A sinful soul I come to Him, He’ll never cast me out.
My heart is leaning on the word, the written word of God:
Salvation by my Savior’s name, Salvation thru His blood.
My great physician heals the sick – the lost He came to save;
For me His precious blood He shed, for me His life He gave.
I need no other argument, I need no other plea
It is enough that Jesus died & That he died for me.
Whatever you may be going through right now, whether times of joy or times of sorrow, I hope you can find comfort and encouragement in these words. I hope that for all of use, we can truly say that we need no other argument, we need no other plea, it is more than enough that Jesus died for me. I know that I can get through whatever it is I’m going through because Christ has gone before me and prepared the way. All I have to do is let him lead.
Worship In Light of Passion Week
As we are now into the Passion Week, I’ve been thinking about how important this week is to our worship. Easter, is the most important Holiday of the year, second to none. Regardless of the emphasis we put on Christmas, Easter will remain the one Holiday that Christians celebrate that gives us our distinction from all other religions. Mohamed, Buddha, Joseph Smith, among others, all lie in the graves turning or having already been turned back into dust. But our God, the only true God is Alive, sitting right this very moment at the right hand of the Father.
If for some reason it is not enough for us to Worship Him for what He has done for us, that horrible death that he died on our behalf, for our sins, then let us worship Him for who He is. He is the only God to have conquered death, hell & the grave. No others could do so. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first God & the last God. There have not been, and will not be any other gods ever. What a phenomenal God we serve, how could we not worship.
If we find ourselves going through a particularly difficult time this week, let us stop and think about what happened this week nearly 2,000 years ago. It was this week that Christ’s passion for us took him to a death for our sins. He endured the longest 36 hours known to any man, beatings and questionings longer and more difficult that any of us could ever imagine, the most embarrassing death anyone could ever imagine, ridicule, mockery and abandonment. All in the matter of 36 hours, he did all this not for himself, but for us. Let us keep our perspective this week, and come together on Sunday for the greatest time of worship yet, celebrating the eternal life of Our God, and Our savior. For it is He who reigns and lives on high, and we who get the privilege of falling at his feet in worship. My redeemer lives, he walks with me and talks with me along lives narrow way. You ask me how I know he lives. He lives within My heart!
If for some reason it is not enough for us to Worship Him for what He has done for us, that horrible death that he died on our behalf, for our sins, then let us worship Him for who He is. He is the only God to have conquered death, hell & the grave. No others could do so. He is the Alpha and Omega, the first God & the last God. There have not been, and will not be any other gods ever. What a phenomenal God we serve, how could we not worship.
If we find ourselves going through a particularly difficult time this week, let us stop and think about what happened this week nearly 2,000 years ago. It was this week that Christ’s passion for us took him to a death for our sins. He endured the longest 36 hours known to any man, beatings and questionings longer and more difficult that any of us could ever imagine, the most embarrassing death anyone could ever imagine, ridicule, mockery and abandonment. All in the matter of 36 hours, he did all this not for himself, but for us. Let us keep our perspective this week, and come together on Sunday for the greatest time of worship yet, celebrating the eternal life of Our God, and Our savior. For it is He who reigns and lives on high, and we who get the privilege of falling at his feet in worship. My redeemer lives, he walks with me and talks with me along lives narrow way. You ask me how I know he lives. He lives within My heart!
Letting Self Get In The Way of Worship
Last week I was talking about how some things in our attitude could be a hindrance to worshipping God. This week as I’ve been thinking about worship, I am recalling a talk that I had with my brother a couple of days ago. We were talking about a certain problem that we know of, and from what we can see the problem sustains itself because the people involved are refusing to die to themselves. We can see that if they were to get self out of the way, this problem could be resolved and people could get on with their lives. But, there is that problem of self, and it keeps getting in the way.
As I thought more about this, I started thinking about how my self gets in the way of my worship. It could be any number of things within us that may be a roadblock in our worship, but there are so many problems that we allow to be in ourselves that if we could simply lay them aside would no longer be a hindrance to our worship.
Most importantly I would like to talk about dying to oneself. We’ve all heard various scriptures on this topic through our lives, but how many of them sink in. Think of these listed below:
Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
John 12:23-26: 23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
What kind of Chord does that first Scripture strike. I’ve heard it many times, but how many times have I let thinking too highly of myself get in the way of my relationship with God, thus affecting my worship of him?
And how about the passage from John: Unless I die (to myself) I will not be able to produce (evangelize)? Isn’t that what our lives are all about? A large part of our purpose is the Great Commission, yet I cannot fulfill this commission if I am letting myself get in the way.
Have you ever had this thought? “God, please don’t let me die yet. I still want to do (Whatever it may be that I want to do: Get married, have kids, see the Bengals win a Superbowl) before I die.” What a selfish thought. This clearly defines our purpose in life at the time of that statement. At that point in time we aren’t here to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives, but our own.
And think about this last one, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I have often prayed to be like Paul, to have that kind of passion driving my life. Once Paul was converted, his single most important pursuit of his life became Christ. It was within the name of Christ that Paul found his reason for living. And his passion is so strong, and his mind so strongly focuses on the goal (the right goal, not his own personal goal) that he is happy in life and death. He is happy to live on and continue to pursue Christ and share Christ, and he is happy to die and reach his goal of being with Christ.
Maybe it’s time for us to do some self-examination. I know in my life, I certainly don’t compare to Paul.
So what’s your point David? My point is that the way we live our daily lives will have a direct impact on our daily worship. Our daily worship has a direct impact on our corporate worship. And our corporate worship has a direct impact on our church. In times of prayer we beg the Lord to bring new souls to the church to hear the Gospel, yet many times we aren’t living out the Gospel in our daily lives. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone, getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life and not taking enough time for what’s really important.
So this week as we all worship together, let’s do some thinking about self and how self gets in the way of our worship of God. Am I living for me or am I living for Christ?
Nothing can some up my thoughts better than an old song from David Meece. I will leave you with the words to his Song: “We are the Reason” from his 1980 Album, “Are You Ready?” I just ask you to ask yourself one question: “What is MY reason for living?”
We Are The Reason
As little children we would dream of Christmas mornAnd all the gifts and toys we knew we'd findBut we never realized a baby born one blessed nightGave us the greatest gift of our livesAnd we were the reason that He gave His lifeWe were the reason that He suffered and diedTo a world that was lost He gave all He could giveTo show us the reason to liveAs the years went by we learned more about giftsAnd giving of ourselves and what that meansOn a dark and cloudy day a man hung crying in the rainBecause of love, because of loveAnd we are the reason that He gave His lifeWe are the reason that He suffered and diedTo a world that was lost He gave all He could giveTo show us the reason to liveI finally found the reason for livingIt's in giving every part of my heart to HimIn all that I do every word that I sayI'll be giving my all just for HimFor HimAnd we are the reason that He gave His lifeWe are the reason that He suffered and diedTo a world that was lost He gave all He could giveTo show us the reason to liveHe is my reason to live
As I thought more about this, I started thinking about how my self gets in the way of my worship. It could be any number of things within us that may be a roadblock in our worship, but there are so many problems that we allow to be in ourselves that if we could simply lay them aside would no longer be a hindrance to our worship.
Most importantly I would like to talk about dying to oneself. We’ve all heard various scriptures on this topic through our lives, but how many of them sink in. Think of these listed below:
Romans 12:3: “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”
John 12:23-26: 23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Philippians 1:21: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
What kind of Chord does that first Scripture strike. I’ve heard it many times, but how many times have I let thinking too highly of myself get in the way of my relationship with God, thus affecting my worship of him?
And how about the passage from John: Unless I die (to myself) I will not be able to produce (evangelize)? Isn’t that what our lives are all about? A large part of our purpose is the Great Commission, yet I cannot fulfill this commission if I am letting myself get in the way.
Have you ever had this thought? “God, please don’t let me die yet. I still want to do (Whatever it may be that I want to do: Get married, have kids, see the Bengals win a Superbowl) before I die.” What a selfish thought. This clearly defines our purpose in life at the time of that statement. At that point in time we aren’t here to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives, but our own.
And think about this last one, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I have often prayed to be like Paul, to have that kind of passion driving my life. Once Paul was converted, his single most important pursuit of his life became Christ. It was within the name of Christ that Paul found his reason for living. And his passion is so strong, and his mind so strongly focuses on the goal (the right goal, not his own personal goal) that he is happy in life and death. He is happy to live on and continue to pursue Christ and share Christ, and he is happy to die and reach his goal of being with Christ.
Maybe it’s time for us to do some self-examination. I know in my life, I certainly don’t compare to Paul.
So what’s your point David? My point is that the way we live our daily lives will have a direct impact on our daily worship. Our daily worship has a direct impact on our corporate worship. And our corporate worship has a direct impact on our church. In times of prayer we beg the Lord to bring new souls to the church to hear the Gospel, yet many times we aren’t living out the Gospel in our daily lives. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone, getting caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life and not taking enough time for what’s really important.
So this week as we all worship together, let’s do some thinking about self and how self gets in the way of our worship of God. Am I living for me or am I living for Christ?
Nothing can some up my thoughts better than an old song from David Meece. I will leave you with the words to his Song: “We are the Reason” from his 1980 Album, “Are You Ready?” I just ask you to ask yourself one question: “What is MY reason for living?”
We Are The Reason
As little children we would dream of Christmas mornAnd all the gifts and toys we knew we'd findBut we never realized a baby born one blessed nightGave us the greatest gift of our livesAnd we were the reason that He gave His lifeWe were the reason that He suffered and diedTo a world that was lost He gave all He could giveTo show us the reason to liveAs the years went by we learned more about giftsAnd giving of ourselves and what that meansOn a dark and cloudy day a man hung crying in the rainBecause of love, because of loveAnd we are the reason that He gave His lifeWe are the reason that He suffered and diedTo a world that was lost He gave all He could giveTo show us the reason to liveI finally found the reason for livingIt's in giving every part of my heart to HimIn all that I do every word that I sayI'll be giving my all just for HimFor HimAnd we are the reason that He gave His lifeWe are the reason that He suffered and diedTo a world that was lost He gave all He could giveTo show us the reason to liveHe is my reason to live
Worship is an Attitude
As I am thinking about worship this week, I wanted to pass some of my thoughts on to you. This will be kind of like my own worship journal, and I’ll be sending them to you as time goes by and new thoughts and questions arise about worship.
This week, I’m thinking about attitude and its direct correlation to worship. When asked for a definition of worship, my first response is often “worship is an attitude: you choose your attitude.” As I talk about this, I realize that so much of our response is based on a correct attitude towards worship. Many times, I feel, we get caught up in the preferences of style and forget about the real reason we are worshipping – God. Whether we prefer a more traditional style of worship, or a more contemporary style of worship, the underlying factor to it all is that it’s about God, not us.
This is where our attitude comes in. If our attitude is not right at the beginning of the time of worship (be it in private or corporate) it is highly likely that we will not feel satisfied through this time of worship. While this is not the purpose of worship, I find that many times when I enter into the presence of God with a correct attitude, I leave feeling satisfied. (We certainly should not confuse worship with a feeling, as there have also been times in my life where I have left a worship service with a certain burden on my shoulder as well.)
So what kind of attitude is a correct attitude? As I think about it, it comes down to a couple of questions:
1. Am I here to worship God, or am I here to feel good? If I am here to worship God, my attitude is correct, if I am here to get a good feeling there will inevitably be something blocking me from an encounter with God.
2. Along these lines: Is this all about me, or is it all about God? Obviously if we are in this for our own gratification, we will come up short at the end.
3. Are there problems in my life keeping me from entering into His presence? I am always intrigued by the arguments that will arise among families on a Sunday morning, especially on the way to church. Could there be a sin issue that is hindering my worship of God? Am I going through a crisis right now that I have not given to God? What might there be in my life that is a hindrance to my encounter with God through worship.
4. Am I in a right relationship with God? Often sin will keep us from entering in to the presence of the Lord, but also distance in our relationship with God will keep us from a time of worship. Have I been spending time in the word? Have I been spending time in Prayer? Have I been spending time fellowshipping with other believers? Have I been spending time sharing the gospel? These are all (among others) areas of our relationship with God that could keep of from a time of worship.
Think about these words:
“Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy of Lord,
to receive glory, glory and honor, glory and honor and power.
For thou hast created, has all things created; Thou hast created all things.
And for Thy pleasure they are created; for Thou art worthy, O Lord.”
God is worthy, because of Who He is. We weren’t created for our own pleasure, we were created for His. Sure we experience pleasure. True pleasure, though is only a direct result of a right relationship with God. But, let’s think about this during our next time of worship, we are here to give God pleasure, we are worshipping God, not a style of music, or a particular song. We worship God for who He is and what He has done for us, we need no other reason. “Not to us, but to your name, Lord be the Glory.”
This week, I’m thinking about attitude and its direct correlation to worship. When asked for a definition of worship, my first response is often “worship is an attitude: you choose your attitude.” As I talk about this, I realize that so much of our response is based on a correct attitude towards worship. Many times, I feel, we get caught up in the preferences of style and forget about the real reason we are worshipping – God. Whether we prefer a more traditional style of worship, or a more contemporary style of worship, the underlying factor to it all is that it’s about God, not us.
This is where our attitude comes in. If our attitude is not right at the beginning of the time of worship (be it in private or corporate) it is highly likely that we will not feel satisfied through this time of worship. While this is not the purpose of worship, I find that many times when I enter into the presence of God with a correct attitude, I leave feeling satisfied. (We certainly should not confuse worship with a feeling, as there have also been times in my life where I have left a worship service with a certain burden on my shoulder as well.)
So what kind of attitude is a correct attitude? As I think about it, it comes down to a couple of questions:
1. Am I here to worship God, or am I here to feel good? If I am here to worship God, my attitude is correct, if I am here to get a good feeling there will inevitably be something blocking me from an encounter with God.
2. Along these lines: Is this all about me, or is it all about God? Obviously if we are in this for our own gratification, we will come up short at the end.
3. Are there problems in my life keeping me from entering into His presence? I am always intrigued by the arguments that will arise among families on a Sunday morning, especially on the way to church. Could there be a sin issue that is hindering my worship of God? Am I going through a crisis right now that I have not given to God? What might there be in my life that is a hindrance to my encounter with God through worship.
4. Am I in a right relationship with God? Often sin will keep us from entering in to the presence of the Lord, but also distance in our relationship with God will keep us from a time of worship. Have I been spending time in the word? Have I been spending time in Prayer? Have I been spending time fellowshipping with other believers? Have I been spending time sharing the gospel? These are all (among others) areas of our relationship with God that could keep of from a time of worship.
Think about these words:
“Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy, Thou art worthy of Lord,
to receive glory, glory and honor, glory and honor and power.
For thou hast created, has all things created; Thou hast created all things.
And for Thy pleasure they are created; for Thou art worthy, O Lord.”
God is worthy, because of Who He is. We weren’t created for our own pleasure, we were created for His. Sure we experience pleasure. True pleasure, though is only a direct result of a right relationship with God. But, let’s think about this during our next time of worship, we are here to give God pleasure, we are worshipping God, not a style of music, or a particular song. We worship God for who He is and what He has done for us, we need no other reason. “Not to us, but to your name, Lord be the Glory.”
Creative Team
This morning we had a creative Team meeting (at 6:30 am!) where we talked about being more creative in our weekend services. It was actually a really good meeting in spite of the time ;) We have been talking about an upcoming sermon series Galen will be doing on the book of Ruth, and we hadn't been able to come up with an idea to tie the whole thing together. This morning, it finally came.
The creative team looks at upcoming sermons and series that are going to be happening and looks for ways to make the idea of that sermon really flow throughout the entire service. Not just in songs, but in as many creative ways as possible. For instance, the creative team planned the Easter service and came up with all of the different creative videos and drama and what not that went into that service. The reason it was a success was not because of any one person, but several persons working well creatively.
You will soon see what the idea will be for the Ruth Series (Starting on July 8th) I think it will be a good idea, I believe it's creative, and I really hope it helps tie the whole thing together.
The creative team looks at upcoming sermons and series that are going to be happening and looks for ways to make the idea of that sermon really flow throughout the entire service. Not just in songs, but in as many creative ways as possible. For instance, the creative team planned the Easter service and came up with all of the different creative videos and drama and what not that went into that service. The reason it was a success was not because of any one person, but several persons working well creatively.
You will soon see what the idea will be for the Ruth Series (Starting on July 8th) I think it will be a good idea, I believe it's creative, and I really hope it helps tie the whole thing together.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Worship Leadership Team
One of the things I'm really excited about right now is our new Worship Leadership Team. This is a team that has been put together to help us look at how the Worship Arts Department is Running and where we can improve things to helps us operate more efficiently as a department.
We've been looking at the book "7 Practices for Effective Ministry." We started by looking at what is a win for the entire Worship Arts Department. After some discussion we came up with this phrase: “Working together creatively toward, engaged life-changing worship.” We believe this is what our department is about. We are creative beings, we want to work together in unity, we want the worship arts we proved to be engaging, and we wants peoples lives to be changed.
Then we started looking at the departments within the Worship Arts Ministry and came up with some phrases that will help us keep our minds focused on what we are doing, and give us a tool to evaluate each event & rehearsal.
As you will see a lot of the phrases are the same or similar. Here are the Phrases:
9:30 Worship Band: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
9:30 Worship Team: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
11:00 Worship Band: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
11:00 Worship Team: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
Choir: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
Christmas Program: Higher Quality, Greater Outreach
Dance: Preparing spiritually to minister with quality and professionalism
Drama: Preparing spiritually to minister with quality and professionalism
Sunday Services: A Welcoming atmosphere where people actively pursue God and are inspired to return.
Tech: Sound: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Media Shout: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Lights: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Video: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Visual Arts
Artwork: Preparing spiritually and artistically with quality and professionalism
Sets: Preparing spiritually and artistically with quality and professionalism
Props: Preparing spiritually and artistically with quality and professionalism
We are on our way to having tools by which to evaluate how things are going in the Worship Arts Ministry.
We've been looking at the book "7 Practices for Effective Ministry." We started by looking at what is a win for the entire Worship Arts Department. After some discussion we came up with this phrase: “Working together creatively toward, engaged life-changing worship.” We believe this is what our department is about. We are creative beings, we want to work together in unity, we want the worship arts we proved to be engaging, and we wants peoples lives to be changed.
Then we started looking at the departments within the Worship Arts Ministry and came up with some phrases that will help us keep our minds focused on what we are doing, and give us a tool to evaluate each event & rehearsal.
As you will see a lot of the phrases are the same or similar. Here are the Phrases:
9:30 Worship Band: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
9:30 Worship Team: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
11:00 Worship Band: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
11:00 Worship Team: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
Choir: Preparing spiritually and musically with quality and professionalism
Christmas Program: Higher Quality, Greater Outreach
Dance: Preparing spiritually to minister with quality and professionalism
Drama: Preparing spiritually to minister with quality and professionalism
Sunday Services: A Welcoming atmosphere where people actively pursue God and are inspired to return.
Tech: Sound: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Media Shout: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Lights: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Video: Preparing spiritually and technically with quality and professionalism
Visual Arts
Artwork: Preparing spiritually and artistically with quality and professionalism
Sets: Preparing spiritually and artistically with quality and professionalism
Props: Preparing spiritually and artistically with quality and professionalism
We are on our way to having tools by which to evaluate how things are going in the Worship Arts Ministry.
What's Been Going on?
Hello Worship Arts Members!
What has been happening lately in the Worship Arts Ministry? Well, we've kind of been winding things down for the Summer. I plan on us going through the end of June with Choir, then taking the months of July & August off as far as rehearsals go. We will still sing on Sundays, out of a ready to sing book.
Unfortunately, Praise Bands & Teams will not get a break for the summer. I am still trying to figure out a way where everyone could get at least a couple of weeks off in a row so that there's a little bit of time to recharge the batteries before fall.
There are a few other things that have been going on that I'm going to write about in other posts. But for now, I'm getting this thing up and going so we can all know what's going on.
Thanks everyone!
What has been happening lately in the Worship Arts Ministry? Well, we've kind of been winding things down for the Summer. I plan on us going through the end of June with Choir, then taking the months of July & August off as far as rehearsals go. We will still sing on Sundays, out of a ready to sing book.
Unfortunately, Praise Bands & Teams will not get a break for the summer. I am still trying to figure out a way where everyone could get at least a couple of weeks off in a row so that there's a little bit of time to recharge the batteries before fall.
There are a few other things that have been going on that I'm going to write about in other posts. But for now, I'm getting this thing up and going so we can all know what's going on.
Thanks everyone!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
First Worship Arts Ministry Blog
Hello people in the Worship Arts ministry. I'm trying a new way of communicating with you, a way you can look to see what's going on in the Worship Arts Ministry at Calvary and see what's going on.
I will be updating this from time to time with the happenings that what not of our department. I hope this helps keep us all on the same page.
I will be updating this from time to time with the happenings that what not of our department. I hope this helps keep us all on the same page.
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