Attitude Check

     So, my wife and I decided we would start going to the gym on a regular basis starting this Monday. I went to bed the night before apprehensive but excited to get started getting in shape. Then morning came and the voices in my head screamed that there was no way they were letting my body out of bed.

     Mornings are quite frankly the bane of my existence. I have never been a morning person. (Waking up early for Saturday morning cartoons as a kid  doesn't count.) Every morning my alarm goes off at 7:14 am, at which point I hi t snooze repeatedly until 7:30 at which point I pray read a devotional and, most days, I fall back to sleep until at least 9:30. I then have to get up to homeschool but truth be told if I didn't have to get up I wouldn't.

     I know that sounds terribly lazy, but with FMS some days it takes all I got to escape the comfort of bed. With that said I actually dragged myself out of bed around 8 am and headed off to the gym with the wife. Victory!

     This whole thing got me thinking that often we struggle to worship God with our lives because life is just tough. We often equate worship with music, thinking that if I sing the worship songs I don't like or when I'm not in the mood, I have somehow given a sacrifice of praise, but it is so much more than that. Worship is more than a song, it's our service we give to God.

     Sometimes it is very hard to worship him, to serve him, especially when nothing seems to be going our way. When we are in pain, either physical or emotional, it is very difficult to move our focus off of ourselves and onto anyone else. Also sometimes we just feel drained, like we just couldn't do one more thing, but we feel the Spirit nudging us to volunteer for that special project or to fill-in in Sunday School when someone is sick.

     Dragging myself out of bed to head to the gym was a chore, but it was good for me. And guess what I'm going to go again tomorrow. I can't guarantee I won't complain about it, but I'm going to go, and eventually it will become a habit and the complaining will stop. The Bible tells us to do everything without grumbling and complaining and often I beat myself up over my poor attitude. My experience at the gym has help me to realize that even if I feel discourage that I'm not excused from serving my God. And even if I grumble and complain God still sees my willingness to worship him and to serve him. And just like going to the gym, eventually the grumbling and complaining will stop and I'll make it less of a chore and more of a habit to worship Him in all that I do.

Resonate

resonate: to produce or exhibit resonance

resonance: a sound or vibration produced in one object that is caused by the sound or vibration produced in another

There is an awesome song by Sonicflood called Resonate (listen to it here) that started me thinking about God and his glory. I have often heard it said that we are here to reflect God's glory. I find that analogy to be pretty effective in communicating multiple spiritual truths, i.e we have no glory of our own and it all comes from God. It really is a great analogy, but after hearing the above mentioned song I started to wonder if reflection falls a little short.

Let me back up a second and explain how I got there.

Again, we have always heard it said that we are to reflect God's glory, to reflect Christ and his mercy, to reflect God's love. And again, I think those are great analogies. For the longest time I was satisfied with reflection after all I don't want people to see me but to see Christ reflected in me. (How many of you have prayed similar prayers?) And again there is nothing wrong with that, or is there?

You see a while back someone recommended a great book called Music & Ministry: A Biblical Counterpoint by Calvin M. Johansson. While I admit that I don't completely agree with all of his points, there was one thing he spoke about that stood out to me, "Humble Exhaltedness."

What's that?

Simply put it is being humble with out being self-deprecating. It is recognizing our gifts and talents as given to us by God and not apologizing for using them and being good at using them. It's not feeling guilty for being a talented musician and/or singer simply because it makes others jealous.

And why is that?

God gave us those gifts, talents, skill, and shear mental acumen to bring him glory. It makes God happy when we use the gifts he gave us for the purpose he gave them to us. And, guess what, We can be happy about it with God too.

So, that being said, let's get back to the idea of reflection. When a mirror reflects something it shows you an image of that thing. The less imperfections in the mirror the more accurate the image that is reflected. So if we are to be mirrors so we can reflect God's image, i.e His glory, then we need to remove anything that could distort or distract from the image that is being reflected. On the surface this sounds reasonable, but there is one very huge problem with this.

The unspoken rule that goes along with this is that we must stifle our gifts and talents so they don't distract from the reflection. We are made to feel guilty for taking joy in using our God given gifts and made to feel guilty for being prideful and even more so for not realizing we were being prideful. So instead we either downplay our gifts and talents, or worse yet we hide them and never develop the God given gifts with which we have been born. In some ways this is even worse than pride as we are denying the very tools God has given us to give Him glory.

So what do we do?

We resonate.

I started this article with a definition of resonance, but how about an example.

If I strike a tuning fork it will produce a single note or frequency. If I hold that tuning fork close to the strings of a guitar, the string that is tuned to the same note will start to vibrate as well and produce the same note. It won't sound exactly like the tuning fork but it will be the same note. Take that same tuning fork over to a piano and the same thing will happen. Again it won't sound like the tuning fork, or even the guitar from earlier but it will be the same note. That in a nut shell is resonance.

Now think of God as the tuning fork and yourself as the guitar and I'll be the piano. when we resonate with God we will both make the same note but using our own unique sound. In music we call the unique sound an instrument or voice makes its timbre (pronounced tamber).

Just as each instrument has it's own timbre or unique sound, so to do we each have our own unique gifts and talent, our own timbre if you will. And when we allow our selves to resonate God's glory instead of reflecting it we will each reproduce God's glory in our own unique way. And we can rejoice in each other's gifts and talents as they combine, to take the music analogy a little farther, into a grand symphony composed of many different instruments each playing their own parts in order to show forth the infinite complexity of God's glory.

So my challenge to you? Stop reflecting and start resonating, and if you see someone resonating God's glory keep encouraging them and don't let them downplay the importance of the gifts God has given them.

Finding Balance

I have been sufering from horrible migraines the last three weeks which have been directly caused by a lingering sinus infection. After repeated failed attempts to rid myself of the infection through natural means (forget water boarding lets just use a netipot on terrorists), I finally broke down and went to the urgent care to get some good old fashioned antibiotics, and some prednisone for the swelling. I know some folks don't like traditional western medicine,  but sometimes it really is just what the doctor ordered, and those that know me know my mantra in all things is balance.

This whole thing got me thinking. As always my thinking brought me back around to my faith in God. I have always tried to base my walk with God on balance. God is the all powerful creator and as such we need to approach Him with all the awe and and reverence that He deserves. He is also our source of comfort and help, He is father (i.e. daddy) to the fatherless,  Husband to the widow, and brings Joy to those who mourn. He is Lord and King, the righteous judge, the drill seargent if you will bringing discipline into our lives. He is also our closest friend and confidant, giver of mercy, and lover of our souls. He allows tradgedy to befall us yet never what we cannot handle and always works things out for our greater good, though we may not realize it at the time.

Worship becomes more of a conversation and a journey through song to where God wants his people to be

This balance naturally influence me when selecting songs for worship each Sunday. The first thing I do is ask 'what does God want to sayto his people this week through worship and what does He want from us in return.' Worship becomes more of a conversation and a journey through song to where God wants his people to be, preparing their hearts to receive the word that will be shared by our pastor. The I try to balance a healthy respect for past traditions and a need to continually move forward when it comes to the actual selection of songs, balancing both traditional hymns and choruses with more contemporary songs, always deferring to which ones will forward the theme God has given me. One of my guiding rules is to select one traditional hymn each week (this doesn't always happen, but the majority of the time I can find a hymn that will flow both thematically and musically). I also like to include songs that that speak about our God to others and songs that allow us to express ourselves to God directly. I do have some personal preferences as well, like wanting the opening song to have some element of inviting people into worship and the closing song having an anthem quality to it.

GOD should always be the focus of our worship.

The most important aspect in our worship, not just our songs by he way, is authenticity. People, whether they are in our congregations on Sunday morning or our next door neighbors,  need to see us worship i.e. serve in Spirit and in Truth. We don't need to puff ourselves up, our worship services are not a concert, and you are not the star. GOD should always be the focus of our worship.

Busy Season

So after a longer than anticipated hiatus,  I'm back! So to catch everyone up on what I've been up to, here is the run down. We finished our fall semester of co-op ( I was extremely proud of my recorder class and their performance of ' Home on the Range'),  pulled off a Christmas cantata,  celebrated Christmas,  and just celebrated my birthday. Speaking of which my wife and daughter decided to pool their resources and get me a tablet. I'm so excited to use it this week at worship team practice to read my chord sheets.

So as I said I'm back, and I just wanted to apologize for not writing in so long. I've been busy with my new part time job, but that really isn't an excuse. I just fell into a pattern of not writing and that is not a good thing. Im going to strive to write more this year, I know I've said that before, as I really want this blog to be something people really want to read.

Anyway, I've got to head off to that part time job I talked about. I'll write again soon as I have some great ideas for homeschool resources, new recipes and organizational tips, and of course stories and insite gleaned from being a worship leader.

You shall know them by their...

So I was thinking the other morning on my commute to work, yes I am actually employed now, while watching the people drive through the rain and sleet, or rather try to drive. I'm always dismayed by the amazing lack of winter driving ability found among the denizens of Southern New England. I mean come on we grew up here didn't we. Well, no some of them didn't, which is obvious when you are stuck in traffic. I have always said that you can tell a real New Englander by how well they drive in the snow.

This reminded me of something Jesus said, you may be familiar with it, you shall know them by their fruit. That caught my attention. Would people know I belong to Jesus by looking at my fruit, or rather by the way I live my life. Do I show love to others, do I exhibit joy in all circumstance, do I enjoy a peace that can't be explained.etc., Well do I? Do we? Does my life reflect my status as one of the redeemed or do I look just like all the other strangers around me. Could another Christian pick me out in a crowd, simply by observing the way I interact with the people in my life and how I react to the circumstances of my life?

Christmas is an easy time for most people to act like Christians. So what can we do to set us apart from the crow? How can we let the Son of Glory, which dwells in our hearts, shine brighter than the tinsel this year? It's more than saying Merry Christmas, though I will happily greet everyone I meet with the traditional Yuletide cheer. For me it's about seeing beyond the natural and loving humanity the way God does. Even a simple act of kindness like holding a door for someone can speak volumes in a world where such basic social manners have been lost.

We've been given the greatest gift from God above, so this year I'm going to share it with others and let it shine!

Guilty of Being Blessed

I'm guilty.

yes you heard me, I'm guilty...

guilty of being blessed that is.

Those of you out there who are also guilty know exactly what I am talking about, for the rest let me explain.

When my wife and I bought our first home we were extremely excited, almost too excited. We wanted to show everyone all the work we had done on our little fixer upper. I would beam when explaining how I had hung the cabinets myself and installed the dishwasher without getting electrocuted. I was working a very nice paying job that afforded us the luxury of owning a home. We were in a word, "blessed."

We were in a word, "blessed."

So why did I feel awkward talking about our new home in front of people that I knew were barely putting bread on the table? I wasn't bragging about how much money I made, on the contrary my wife and I fully acknowledge the fact that we had been blessed with just the right circumstances to buy a home. We gave all the credit to God, so why did I feel guilty for being successful, or in other words guilty for being blessed?

I really think it stemmed from us being young in the Lord. We had been convinced that if a Christian was successful then they needed to act like they weren't so people wouldn't think they were prideful. Wow, just thinking about that gives me a headache, no wonder so many Christians fall away from the faith. They are so tied up in knots that they can't figure out how they are supposed to have the "Joy of the Lord"

They are so tied up in knots that they can't figure out how they are supposed to have the "Joy of the Lord" 

I realize now that this is crazy, after all why shouldn't we boast about all the good things God has done for us. How else will others see how great he is if we keep trying to dowse the light of His glory in our lives. The flip side is to not try so hard to be "happy" when things aren't going well. I'm not talking about joy, we should always be joyful in spite of any difficulties we are going through. What we don't need, and what others don't need to see, is the plastered fake smiles that hide our true feelings.

Don't feel guilty about how much God has blessed you.

Life can be a roller coaster at times and if we let it can take us along for the ride and leave us bewildered and confused but if we approach everything with a heart full of joy and thanksgiving we can ride out life's ups and downs on an even keel. We should hold on to joy when times are tough but by the same token shouldn't stifle it when times are good or even great.

Don't feel guilty about how much God has blessed you. Embrace it, own it, and boast about it. Shout it from the roof tops just how great our God is and How much he has done for you and me.

Thank You and Well Done.

Once again Thanksgiving is just around the corner and like most people my mind turns to thoughts of turkey, family, and the things in life that I am thankful for. This past week though I was taken aback by something very simple. Someone told me they liked the worship on Sunday. I know it's not earth shattering as far as events go, and it wasn't the first time someone commented on the music. I usually say thank you and mention how blessed i am to be used by God, and this time was no different, but something in my spirit stirred a little.

I thought that the well done speach at the end of the race was all the recognition we should require

I've learned over the years not to ignore the nudging of the Spirit, so that night during my prayer time I let God speak to my heart, and what I heard surprised me, "Thank You." Did I hear that right? God was thanking me? He was, and I realized He was thanking me everytime someone was touched by the worship on Sunday morning, everytime I was obedient to his leading, and everytime I helped our congregation to fix their eyes on Jesus.

I let God speak to my heart, and what I heard surprised me

I guess that deep down, I thought that the well done speach at the end of the race was all the recognition we should require, but in reality it isn't. I'm not diminishing the reward we will get in heaven, on the contrary I think as humans we need constant encouragement to continue to strive towards that goal, and God is well aware of this need as well.

God is telling His servants, 

"Thank you and keep up the good work."

I realized that God is using those that come up and tell me how much they loved the music, or what a great voice I have, to let me know He appreciates my willingness to serve, to put myself out there (way outside my comfort zone I might add), and to be obedient to His call. I'm not saying these things to brag or to puff myself up, but rather to remind myself and others that God is telling His servants, "Thank you and keep up the good work."

Worship Wednesday: Woonsocket Day of Prayer

What is the likelyhood that you could get two churches of different traditions to work together for a common goal? How about 10 churches? Pretty slim right? Well what if I told you that this past weekend I participated in a prayer service involving not two churches, not ten churches, but twenty churches of different traditions, who came together as the body of Christ to pray for our city.

To me this is what unity is all about. Where we can put aside the things that divide us and concentrate on the things we have in common. Every church at this prayer meeting cares about vour city, loves Jesus, and realizes that He is the only one that is going to bring about a change in our city. It is not going to take more social programs, though God can use those to help the hurting. It is not going to take rallies or angry mobs, though God can use those to bring awareness. It is going to take God's people getting on their knees and praying for the people God loves (which by the way is everyone.)

Sometimes, I think what keeps God from moving is the lack of unity of His people. Maybe it is time we stopped trying to build our own little kingdoms and started building God's Kingdom. I'd love to hear your opinions.

Worship Wednesdays: Getting Ready for Christmas

Christmas?!? Really?!? It's not even November yet,  but yes if I'm going to get ahead of the scheduling insanity that is the holiday season, I need to start thinking about our church's annual Christmas program. This year after listening to far to much Christmas music in July I have decided to have our choir perform Bethlehem Morning - A Ready to Sing Christmas.I like the simple arrangement and the fact that the selections have some style variation. (Too many Musicals and Cantatas I've listened to seem to get stuck in one particular style for every selection.) Of course if I had the time I would design my own program (I've done that twice now, and though the results are rewarding the time and effort is just beyond what I can handle this year.)

I know not every church out there has a choir (we only have one at Christmas time) but there is something about the traditional choral selections at this time of year that resonate with people, especially the unchurched. Almost everyone is familiar with Christmas carols and when combined with powerful narration and scripture reading can make for an unexpected evangelical service. For many this might be one of the only time during the year that they are thinking about God or are willing to even attended a church service.

So, I would encourage you to start thinking ahead, and planning how you will proclaim not just Christ's birth this Christmas but also His death and resurrection. Choral music might not be your thing or fit into your church's culture, but the message of His coming and taking on flesh definitely ought to be. Take some time to plan out your holidays and feel free to let me know what your planning this holiday season.

Worship Wednesday: Lift Me Up

Okay, maybe trying to get back into writing as I head into the busiest time of the year isn't the best move on my part. I'm sitting here trying to gather my thoughts and figure out what to write about, not that I don't have a lot of ideas, more like too many ideas. Where do I start!??

Pray

I forget that all important first step much of the time. I'm a very impulsive person with a bit of impatience thrown in for good measure. Put that together with being creative and having limited energy due to chronic illness and it's a wonder I finish anything. I either lose interest or become discouraged with the results (I'm a bit of a perfectionist as well.) With that said, some time spent with God in prayer puts everything back in perspective. It allows me to reconnect with the creator and be even more creative. It helps me to refocus my priorities on what is really important. I'm also reminded that I don't have to do things in my own strength and ability. As a matter of fact I shouldn't. I should be relying on God more and more.

Like a child holding his father's hand as you walk along, eventually you will tire and your father will pick you up on His shoulders. Not only will you find rest but also a new perspective on the world.

Worship Wednesdays:It Is Well...

So, I was trying to plan out my set lists for the upcoming month (I like to plan ahead, though the lists often change before the actual service.) but was having a hard time quieting my thought and focusing on what God wants to say to His people through worship. My problem was I was distracted, distracted by worry. You see my daughter is away at summer camp for the first time. She is currently a three hour car ride away from home staying at a church camp where she know absolutely no one. Now, this was her idea, and she seems content to experience everything the camp has to offer, but my wife and I...we are nervous wrecks.

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like seabillows roll;
What ever my lot, Thou hast thaught me to say,
"It is well, it is well with my soul"

Those simple words of that very familiar hymn came crashing through the cacophony of my thoughts and just like that my thoughts became captive once again. You see it is human nature to worry about things that we often cannot control, but as the hymn writer notes God has taught us to say "It is well". The Holy Spirit is the comforter. He brings peace to our hearts and souls.

I've often said that worship is all about our service rendered unto God. Sometimes the greatest service we can render is trusting Him.

Worship Wednesdays: Saying Goodbye?

So, I had to say goodbye to someone last week that, without realizing it, had become one of my personal heroes of the faith. My wife's grandmother passed away last Monday evening in the same house she was born in surrounded by her family. She and her late husband were an inspiration to me and my wife in so many ways. Grammie, as we called her, was a sweet spirit. As gentle as the day is long, full of love and kindness that seemed to fill the very air of her house.

I remember the first time I met my wife's grandparents. We had just started dating and she had invited me to go with her and her family for a visit. From the moment I met them they welcomed me not only into their home but into their hearts. Looking back I realize that they were simply following Jesus's command to love their neighbor.

Over time they became as close to my heart as my own grandparents had been and now that they are gone, my soul mourns their passing but at the same time rejoices in that they are with the Father in heaven. It is a bitter sweet feeling that cannot be put into words, for although my wife and I will miss her terribly, we also rejoice with the angels of heaven as they welcome her to her true home. There is great comfort in knowing that we will see Grammie and Grampie on that shore in the sweet by and by.

Worship Wednesdays: The Name of the Lord (Part 7)

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
                                                 

-Genesis 22:13-14

In Genesis chapter 22 we see Abraham being tested by God. God wanted to see if Abraham feared Him and if He would withhold his only son from God. Abraham was obedient and Isaac was spared, but a sacrifice was still needed so God provided. The name for God in this passage should be a familiar one it is Jehovah-jireh (pronounced je-HOE-vah JIE-rah) and means literally The LORD Will Provide. God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of his son Isaac. And years later God would provide His Son to be a sacrifice in our place.

It is important to note that the offering that was being made was a burnt offering. It was a voluntary offering made in love as an act of worship. It was specifically done as an atonement for sin. It is not meant to be an empty ritual or something done out of obligation. It was done voluntary out of love. Jesus became our offering willingly because He loves us. Should our worship unto Him be any less. 

God has provided everything we need up to and including a willing atonement for our sins, if that doesn't move your heart with gratitude to the LORD then I'm not sure anything truly will.

Worship Wednesdays:The Name of the Lord (Part 6)

Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”

God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” 

God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’

“This is my name forever,
    the name you shall call me
    from generation to generation.

                                                               -Exodus 3:13-15

God refers to himself as I AM in this passage and The LORD. The word for The Lord here is YHWH sometimes written as Yahweh or Jehovah it is closely related to the Hebrew verb meaning "to be, to exist." This isn't the first time this name is used though. It first appears back in Genesis 2:4.

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

                                                              -Genesis 2:4

Now the word for God in the above passage is Elohim, God the Creator, but look at the name that comes before God: LORD. This is the name Jehovah or Yahweh. This name implies a being who is absolutely self-existent. That means He always was, is , and always will be. He doesn't need anyone or anything in order to exist. 

He is also the same yesterday, today and forever. Let that sink in. The attributes that make Him God never change, also He is never taken off guard or by surprise. Nothing happens that He isn't aware of. It is a pretty awesome thought that God allows us to have free will, and yet He is already aware of our choices and has planned accordingly, in order to fulfill His will, and He does this on not just a global scale but a universal scale.

When we worship Him we should take time to reflect on this amazing mystery, that as Christians the great I AM is now dwelling in our hearts. He is the hope of glory.

Worship Wednesdays: The Name of The Lord (Part 5)

“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.( Jeremiah 32:17)

So after a long hiatus we are back with our series on the names of The Lord. If you want to get caught up or refresh your memory you can check out Part 1 here.

So this week I want to focus on the name Adonai (pronounced a-doh-NIE). It first appears in the book of Genesis in chapter 15 verse 2. Lets look at it in context:

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying,

“Do not fear, Abram,
I am a shield to you;
Your reward shall be very great.”

Abram said, “O Lord God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir.” Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir.” And He took him outside and said, “Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6 NASB)

In verse 2 Abraham addresses God as "O Lord God" in the NIV it is rendered as "Sovereign Lord." What Abraham is saying here is that he acknowledges God as Adonai, or Lord, Sovereign, or Master if you will. It is interesting to note that later in this passage it says Abraham believed and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. You see Abraham received salvation(righteousness) through believing God, but he first had to acknowledge that God was sovereign. God He recognizes Him as his Lord and Master. The owner of his life.

As worshipers and especially worship leaders we need to remember to include an acknowledgement of God's sovereignty in our worship sets. I'm a firm believer that our worship can be used by God to convict of sin and lead someone to salvation just as much as the preaching of the word. That's why I feel it is so important that our worship be focused on God and His saving grace, but if we fail to express that God is the master and creator of our lives then why would people believe that He has any say in how we live those lives. We give glory to God not just because of what He has done for us but also because of Who HE is.

Worship Wednesdays: Are You Willing?

When I sat down to write this article, I found it difficult at first to decide on a topic. Nothing seemed to feel right and there were too many distractions, and that is when it hit me. I should write what I know.

Sounds simple and well it is. You see, I'm not some great theologian or philosopher, gosh I'm not even that great of a musician and singer. But, what I am is willing. I was willing to step up when our church needed a worship leader. Strangely enough it was because I was literally the last man standing. I never really wanted to be in charge, and I would give it up in a heart beat if I felt God was moving me someplace else. the reality of it is that I just want to serve him. God in turn has placed me in a position not only where I can best serve Him, but also where I can do what I love.

Don't get me wrong, I love to sing, and I thoroughly enjoy leading worship every Sunday, but I was willing to do anything God called me to do, and remain content singing in my pew. God called, I answered, and He provided me with the ability to get the job done. Also, I don't want you to think that I think I'm all that. I know my strengths, but I'm also painfully aware of my weaknesses. I'm far from perfect, but God doesn't require perfection. If He did, none of us would measure up.

So, here it is, another challenge. Would we be willing to give it all up and do some other less than desirable job in the church, maybe one with little or no recognition. If God told us to give up being worship leaders and go clean toilets, would we? Are we willing to do everything God has called us to do?

Worship Wednesdays: Are You Ready?

So after a brief hiatus and a week of being laid up with a bad chest cold, we are back.

This past Sunday our pastor presented his theme for the new year, "READY."
He defined Ready as follows:

Ready 1. Standing in the place of anticipation 2. Having a made up mind 3. Poised for action.

Being a worship leader I of course began to think about this in the context of my ministry, and I began to ask myself, "am I ready?"

First, am I standing in a place of anticipation? Do I approach Sunday mornings with an attitude of an obligation that I need to fulfill or do I come expecting, anticipating great things every Sunday? There is a great song by Matthew West called The Motions, that sums this feeling up.

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me.

the second definition really made me think about the songs we sing. Do they convey what we believe? Do they present a clear and honest picture of the God we serve? As a worship leader, I take my job extremely seriously. I spend hours in prayer when selecting songs for our worship services, but I still scrutinize every song we do. Also when I sing a try to think about the words and their meaning, allowing the emotions those words stir inside me to be evident on my countenance.

The last thing is being poised for action. Am I ready to respond to when the Spirit moves? Do I allow room for Him to move? Is my set list more important than what God is doing in the service? I like to believe that if God begins to move in our service that I would be sensitive enough to His Spirit that I could change my set list on the fly.

So, this year I'm going to challenge myself to be READY, and I want to extend that challenge to my fellow worship leaders. Are you willing to be READY?

Worship Wednesdays: A Heart of Thanksgiving

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever. -Psalm 136:1

With Thanksgiving just around the corner I thought it would be appropriate to talk a little about giving thanks. Thanksgiving is an important aspect of the heart of the worshiper. One that stems from gratitude for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. It's cliche but everyday for the believer should be Thanksgiving.

It's easy of course to thank God when things are going well. But what happens when things aren't going well, do we still thank God? I'm not saying we should thank God when are car breaks down or for letting us stub our toe. What i am saying is that even when bad things happen we need to thank God for the blessings He has already given us. We need to thank him even more so during those times.

I can tell you from personal experience that this does not come naturally. The first Thanksgiving after my Dad passed away, it had only been a few months, it was extremely difficult to be truly thankful, but God reminded me over and over again about all the blessing I still had in my life. Remember it is in our weakness, sometimes being mentally too weak to think straight, that God is strong.

I want to encourage you to thank God at ALL times, especially when you feel that you have nothing to be thankful for. In reality we have so much to thank God for, not the least of which is the gift of salvation through His Son. That alone should be enough for us to be thankful, but God didn't stop there and neither should we with our thanksgiving.

Worship Wednesdays:Lead, Don't Entertain

Scenario:
You just finish up worship on Sunday morning and you're feeling like everything went really well. The band was in sync, the transitions were spot on, and the new song you've been practicing for a month sounded great. To top it off you can sense the presence of God in the sanctuary as you prepare to hear the word. And then it happens. A well meaning saint comes up and begins to tell you that you didn't play enough hymns, the music was too loud, they didn't like the new song, you played too many hymns, the music wasn't loud enough, or one of many other complaints you hear on a weekly basis. How do you feel now? Did they miss the move of God or did you imagine the whole thing?

Being a worship leader is tough sometimes, but I think part of that is because we think that leading worship is just about singing the right songs on Sunday morning, We tend to judge whether or not we are successful by the reaction of the congregation. We treat them as an audience as opposed to those we are meant to lead. As leaders we need to communicate where we are going.

If someone is complaining about a certain aspect of our worship service, we first need to determine if their complaint is legitimate. Let's face it we are human and we make mistakes. If an older saint is complaining that the music is too loud it might be because certain higher end frequency can actually be painful as we grow older. Take time to find the root cause of the complaint. Most times complaints stem from a lack of knowledge about either worship in general or our vision for our worship services.

We treat them as an audience as opposed to those we are meant to lead.

Sometimes people feel worship is just about singing songs and can get fixated on certain styles and genres of music, basically it comes down to preferences. This is a tough area because we all have preferences, even worship leaders. If you are getting a lot of complaints about the style of music from multiple people then maybe you are letting your own preferences dictate the style as opposed to the culture of the church. As leaders we need to keep the culture of our church and our community in mind when selecting songs.

Notice I said both the church and the community. We need to be relevant to the community in which our church is located, otherwise we become an exclusive club for people of similar tastes. Don't get me wrong hymns are great, I make a point to do at least one hymn every Sunday because of the great theology that is expressed within them, but if all we do are sing hymns from 100 to 50 years ago we may have a hard time reaching some of the younger generation. By the same token if your church is located in a community that is predominately retirees, then some of the newer praise music may not appeal to them.

It's ultimately about Jesus.

As leaders we need to teach the people we are leading that worship isn't about our preferences. It isn't about us at all. It's ultimately about Jesus. It's about worshiping Him for who He is and for what He has done for us. The unsaved will respond to our worship but only if it is relevant to them. As a believer I can worship God regardless of the genre of music, as long as that worship is directed at the King of kings.

Worship Wednesdays: The Name of the Lord (Part 4)

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Genesis 17:1

We have already uncovered a few of the names of God in the Old Testament so lets recap;

Elohim - Almighty God 
El Elyon - God Most High
El Roi - God Who Sees

now every time we see El we know it is the shortened form of Elohim. As such the second and third names in the list above can be translated as Almighty God Most High and Almighty God Who Sees respectively. That brings us to the next name we will look at. It is El Shaddai. It is the name for God that appears in Genesis 17. It is translated as God Almighty or literally Almighty God Almighty.

Now that really excites me because in Hebrews when something is repeated it means it is important or needs to emphasized. in this case God is emphasizing His status as the Almighty. He is all-powerful and if we read further into Genesis 17 is going to supply blessings upon Abram. He even changes his name to Abraham. God is also the all-sufficient one, when we are weak, He is strong.

So how should knowing this affect our worship. Well have you ever walked into worship feeling like you have nothing left to give? You are totally exhausted and defeated by life. When we are as weak as weak can be and come before God, He will lift us up. He will give us what we need. He will supply us with all that we need to further His purpose in our lives. If that isn't cause to worship Him, I don't know what is.

One thing to remember is that our worship isn't just the songs we sing it is everything we do. Every moment of our lives should be lived in honor of our God, and He will actually give us the strength to do just that. When we aren't strong enough, He gives us the strength. He never said for us to do things on our own. He wants us to rely on His strength, and in doing so we draw closer to Him, which is the ultimate aim of worship to bring us into relationship with God.

Read Part 5 here.