Archive - June, 2009

Sunday Setlist: 6/28/09

June 30, 2009 in Sunday Setlist with 0 Comments

Just Passing ThroughWe’re entering into the final weeks of the 1 Peter series. Many Christians live today as if the world were our final destination. We pour our life resources and energy into things that will barely last 50 years, let alone eternity. We frequently cave in to the old sinful desires. We struggle to remain faithful in the midst of great suffering. We’ve lost sight  of the glorious inheritance waiting for us.

God calls us to live as “strangers” in this world, spiritual sojourners that are just passing through. As children of the living God, our focus should be on eternity as we point people to the living Christ who paid it all for us. Our priorities and lifestyle should undergo a radical transformation.

In 1 Peter, Peter unpacks what this transformed life looks like and how it should interact with this world. In 1 Peter 5:1-4, because of the intense suffering and struggle the church found itself in and needing solid leadership, Peter exhorts his fellow elders to set an example worth following as they cared for God’s flock. Continue Reading…

What is worship…really?

June 26, 2009 in Ponderings, Worship Leading with 0 Comments

One of the things that’s not clearly spelled out step by step in the Bible is how to worship. For us in North America, that’s tough because we like to have processes and procedures clearly spelled out. If we do this, then this will happen.

As a result, we’ve created some definitions and mythos about worship that may not entirely capture the fullness of what it is. We read the desire of God that we express our love, devotion, gratitude, thanksgiving, and appreciation through worship to Him alone, but we don’t always grasp the expansive nature of that.

Despite not giving us a step-by-step list of how exactly to worship, the Bible does give us a ton of insight into the actions and attitudes of acceptable worship offered to the Creator of the Universe and Redeemer of our lives.

I came across this over at ExperiencingWorship.com. It’s a thorough review of the different Hebrew and Greek words used in the writing the Old and New Testaments as it relates to worship, praise, and so forth.

If you’ve never thought about that, check it out. It’s incredibly enlightening. If you are familiar with some of this, take a moment to reconsider how these things are played out in your life.

Go here to read the article. This is one you’ll probably want to print, save, bookmark, share, whatever.

How are you worshipping?

Revealed! The Secrets of Church Copyright Conundrums

June 23, 2009 in Creative Stuff, Worship Leading with 0 Comments

657454_34596842I recently participated in a free online webinar (free webinars are great) about church copyright. It may not sound exciting but it was extremely informative. I thought I had a good understanding of the whole thing, but learned a lot that I didn’t know before. As a result, I’m having to look into some additional licenses to make sure we are doing ministry with integrity in today’s world. It seems that CCLI doesn’t cover everything.

If it’s been a while since you’ve thought about this (or else never have), let me encourage to head over to a post at www.copyrightcommunity.com where they write on copyright issues for the Christian Art community. This post here has a downloadable pdf (Church Copyright Blanket Licenses: What’s Covered and What’s Not) that has a great summary of what is and is not covered under the different licensing options available to churches.If you are doing anything other than public domain hymns, you need to go there.

We could debate all day about whether it’s “right” or not that we have to be conscious of all this, but the fact is that we do need to be aware. Ignorance is never an excuse.

Image via www.sxc.hu

Sunday Setlist: 6/21/09

June 23, 2009 in Sunday Setlist with 0 Comments

Just Passing ThroughAs we have continued through 1 Peter, we’re reminded how many Christians live today as if the world were the final destination. We pour our life resources and energy into things that will barely last 50 years, let alone eternity. We frequently cave in to the old sinful desires. We struggle to remain faithful in the midst of great suffering. We’ve lost sight  of the glorious inheritance waiting for us.

God calls us to live as “strangers” in this world, spiritual sojourners that are just passing through. As children of the living God, our focus should be on eternity as we point people to the living Christ who paid it all for us. Our priorities and lifestyle should undergo a radical transformation.

In 1 Peter, Peter unpacks what this transformed life looks like and how it should interact with this world. In 1 Peter 4:12-19, as Peter wrote to the Christians scattered across Turkey, many found themselves under intense persecution for their faith. The apostle challenged them to trust God and continue doing good despite there suffering. The same question should be on our minds today: are we willing to suffer for Jesus? Continue Reading…

Sunday Setlist: 6/14/09

June 16, 2009 in Sunday Setlist with 0 Comments

Just Passing ThroughWe continued through the book of 1 Peter this week. Many Christians live today as if the world were our final destination. We pour our life resources and energy into things that will barely last 50 years, let alone eternity. We frequently cave in to the old sinful desires. We struggle to remain faithful in the midst of great suffering. We’ve lost sight  of the glorious inheritance waiting for us.

God calls us to live as “strangers” in this world, spiritual sojourners that are just passing through. As children of the living God, our focus should be on eternity as we point people to the living Christ who paid it all for us. Our priorities and lifestyle should undergo a radical transformation.

In 1 Peter, Peter unpacks what this transformed life looks like and how it should interact with this world. In 1 Peter 4:7-11, Peter tells us that time is short, and God is counting on the church to step up and be all that He calls it to be. The end of all things is near, so we need to understand how to live with the end in sight. Continue Reading…

Walls

June 15, 2009 in Personal, Ponderings with 0 Comments

Lonely RuinsI came across this quote on the internet:

Sometimes we put up walls, not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to knock them down.

As I thought about that, I was reminded of some good friends in my college days that helped to knock down the walls I had. I didn’t necessarily ask for it, but they knew it was important. It wasn’t always pleasant, but I knew they cared enough to keep at it even when I didn’t make it easy. Did they all stay down, probably not.

Think about the walls in your life. Is there someone who is chipping away at them?

Who is someone in your life that might need to know someone cares?

Image from galja99 via www.sxc.hu

What Makes Worship Successful?

June 15, 2009 in Ponderings, Worship Leading with 0 Comments

The folks over at The Work of the People, a website that makes visual media for mission and worship, have a blog. Recently they posted a few thoughts on what makes worship successful.

When we talk about whether or not a worship service is “successful,” are we talking about the time we spent with God our Father, or are we talking about indicators and measurements?

Check it out and leave a comment about what you think.

Why do we worship?

June 10, 2009 in Ponderings with 0 Comments

Why do we worship?

The obvious answer is that it’s what we do in church. But it’s much more than that. It’s what we were made to do, and worship is much more that a Sunday morning gathering (but more on that another time.)

At the core, we worship because of Christ. Worship means to give worship to someone or something. We give worth to Christ because or and as a response to God’s love extended to us long before we knew of God. The fact is that when we really understand (and believe) how much God loves us even though we don’t deserve it, our world should be rocked.

The thing is that it’s hard to understand and comprehend how God could love us so. We perhaps don’t think God could love us that much, or we don’t really believe we are worth being loved. We choose to live in a way that minimizes the power and impact of God’s love, and act like we have to earn God’s love.

Richard Foster in The Celebration of Discipline says this:

Worship is our response to the overtures of love from the heart of the Father. Its central reality is found ‘in Spirit 41vxzxsgtpl_ss500_and in Truth.’ It is kindled within us only when then the Spirit of God touches our human Spirit. Forms and rituals do not produce worship, nor does the formal disuse of forms and rituals. We can use all the right techniques and methods, we can have the best possible liturgy (a form and arrangement of public worship laid down by a church or religion) but we have not worshipped the Lord until Spirit touches Spirit. Singing, praying, praising, all may lead to worship, but worship is more than any of them. Our spirit must be ignited by divine fire.

We worship as a response to the amazing reality of God’s love. On the one hand, it is something we must choose to do, but on the other hand it is something that is truly beyond us. As with most things in the Christian life, worship is somewhat of a paradox.

The next time you gather to worship with others or spend time giving worth to God on your own, think about why you are doing it. It is becuase it’s “what we do” or is it a deep, mystical (can I use that word?), whole-hearted response to the indescribable love of the vast, unchanging Creator of the universe who loved us first. And because of that love, we are made right before God and invited into full membership in the family of God.

Why do you worship?

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