Today, we’re taking a break from the regular creativity posts and inspiration. Here in the United States, we are celebrating our freedom and remembering the birth of our country with food, parades, and fireworks.
Take time to remember, engage with friends and family, and be thankful.
And who knows, even as you take a break and celebrate, you just might see or experience something that inspires you.
Don’t forget to write the idea down, but it’s ok to wait until tomorrow to pursue it.
One weekend, I shared these verses with the worship team:
Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. The LORD has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the LORD, the King. (Psalm 98:1-6)
Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! (Psalm 81:1)
Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious! Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.” Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! (Psalm 66:1-5)
Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. (Psalm 95:1-3)
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100)
Did you notice anything about these verses? Continue Reading…
This may seem like an odd video to post on a day like Good Friday. But take a moment (or three) and watch it. As you watch the images that have been captured, remember this important truth:
The One who created all is the One who fulfilled the Father’s will and died in our place.
The Apostle Paul in Colossians 1 reminds us that it was Jesus who created all things. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him (v16). And in Colossians 1, and other places, we’re also reminded that all was reconciled to the Father through Christ and His blood that was shed on the cross.
Jesus wasn’t just a man who lived a perfect life. He was God in the flesh who came to earth to make a way for us to be reconciled to God in spite of our sin and to show us the way.
May we remember and give thanks. May we worship with humble gratitude the One who was obedient to death on a cross and who is now exalted to the highest place and whose name all will bow before. He is the One who died a horrible death in our place and paid the great penalty for our sin.
(If you would like to know more about the shooting of the video, be sure to click through to the actual Vimeo page the video appears on.)
This past Sunday we continued the series “Who is Jesus?”. This week we focused on how Jesus is called the Son of Man and what that means. Jesus humanity and divinity are integrally connected. The significance of this connection is seen in relation to the fall of mankind, Jesus’ role as the second Adam, and His journey to the cross. We gathered to remember this and to celebrate together His divinity.
This past Sunday was also my final Sunday as worship pastor at Cody Missionary Alliance Church. It has been a privilege to serve these last four years in this role. I am thankful for the opportunity and blessed that God has allowed me to serve in this way. We now look to see what and where the next ministry role God has for us is.
This Sunday’s service went, shall we say, a bit long. Partially because some aspects took more time than planned, and partially because we planned some extra songs since it was the final Sunday. Continue Reading…
Over the years, I’ve done a few different kinds of things in planning for Good Friday Services. Good Friday is a great time to experiment and offer a different type of worship experience for people because of the content/subject matter and the fact that it is a “special” service. To be able to draw people into the experience of Good Friday so they can identify with and place themselves in the event is a great thing for many on their spiritual journey. It also helps to create a stronger distinction between the loss of Good Friday and the celebration of the Easter Sunday Resurrection.
You can read more about Good Friday here and here. Click through to check out some planning resources and ideas.
This week we took a break from our “Love God, Love Others” series where we have been focusing on the letters of the Apostle John to the church.
If you’re a regular reader of these posts, you know that our church has been engaged in a search process for the next senior pastor. Recently, the search committee and Governing Board narrowed it down to a particular individual and invited him to come and candidate. After he accepted the invitation to come and candidate, the leadership wanted to take opportunity to share with the congregation how God has been present and leading in this process.
So, we spent this past week focusing on God’s faithfulness to the church in these days. Continue Reading…
I’ve always been fascinated with how we use the word ‘season’ in the church world to refer to the different phases and periods of our life. And when we begin to move out of one period into a new period (hopefully because God is leading us to do so), we refer to the changing seasons in our life.
Beck and I find ourselves in one of those times of change. This past Sunday (Jan 16 2011), we announced to the church where we currently serve that our season of ministry with them is coming to a close. As of March 31, 2011, we will no longer serve our current church as Worship Pastor. There are a lot of factors that are at play here, and we are responding to the obvious signs that it is time.
The challenge is that we do not know what will be our next step. We are confident that God will provide for us another church ministry opportunity. We are sure of His call on our lives and that He has equipped us as He has with gifts, passions, and abilities for the purpose of serving in pastoral roles. Part of that calling (at least in this ‘season’ of life) is using worship and the arts to creatively tell and engage people with God’s story so that we together can remember and respond.
Please join us in prayer at this time. Pray that the period of transition with go smoothly and be God-honoring. Pray that He will provide that next place of ministry at just the right time. Granted, we would prefer that right time to be by the end of March, but we know that God will provide what we need when we need it.
I’ve included the text of what was shared by me to the church family on Sunday. Feel free to click through for the full content.
Thanks.
Our lives are surrounded by news and headlines. We see them all the time. We are surrounded by them when we read the newspaper, go online, or watch the news.
While the headlines themselves are just words formed into sentences, they tell us about situations, and it seems that most of the time they are bad. The latest war or natural disaster, the latest scandal in politics or with a celebrity, the latest instance of crime, the latest act of selfishness in a sinful world. Perhaps that’s why when we see a headline that recognizes something good or a selfless act, we are surprised.
Even if we avoid reading or watching the news, we can’t get away from the headlines that clearly demonstrate the bad around us. We are exposed to so many bad headlines, that we wonder if there is any good left in the world.
We also end up forgetting about our God.
When we forget about God and what He has done, we forget about the only thing that is ultimately good in our world. When we forget about our God, we forget who is for us and that no bad thing can overcome us for Christ has overcome the world.
With all of the bad headlines in the news, what are the good headlines in our life? What are the things that we can remember, celebrate, draw strength from, and recognize God in? Let me offer a few.
What are the good headlines in your life? What headlines are your proclaiming to others? I would love to hear them. Feel free to leave a comment below.
I will tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us— yes, the many good things he has done for the house of Israel, according to his compassion and many kindnesses. Isaiah 63:7
May we worship the Lord each day celebrating His goodness and presence in our lives.
