Worship is more than a preferred music style. It’s more than a relevant message. And it’s way more than an hour in any given week. Worship is life. It’s an existence dedicated to maintaining and relaying to others a connection with God.
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worship. Show all posts
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Hardcore? Worship?
Even though there are those in our congregation who would like to see a different atmosphere in our
worship services, I just don' think this is it...
Found at SearchingforGrace
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The Maasai Creed
The Maasai Creed is a creed composed in about 1960 by Western Christian missionaries for the Maasai, an indigenous African tribe of semi-nomadic people located primarily in Kenya and northern Tanzania. The creed attempts to express the essentials of the Christian faith within the Maasai culture.
The Massai Creed
We believe in the one High God, who out of love created the beautiful world and everything good in it. He created man and wanted man to be happy in the world. God loves the world and every nation and tribe on the earth. We have known this High God in the darkness, and now we know him in the light. God promised in the book of his word, the Bible, that he would save the world and all nations and tribes.
We believe that God made good his promise by sending his son, Jesus Christ, a man in the flesh, a Jew by tribe, born poor in a little village, who left his home and was always on safari doing good, curing people by the power of God, teaching about God and man, showing that the meaning of religion is love. He was rejected by his people, tortured and nailed hands and feet to a cross, and died. He was buried in the grave, but the hyenas did not touch him, and on the third day, he rose from that grave. He ascended to the skies. He is the Lord.
We believe that all our sins are forgiven through him. All who have faith in him must be sorry for their sins, be baptized in the Holy Spirit of God, live the rules of love, and share the bread together in love, to announce the good news to others until Jesus comes again. We are waiting for him. He is alive. He lives. This we believe. Amen.
What a wonderful creed, in their own voice! I found it here
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Is this how you worship?
Listen to the words...while I know you're familiar with many of the songs on this video, listen really closely to them. Do you mean the "actual" words written or are these versions closer to the truth? Are you just "going through the motions" in worship?
I am one of many who love the structure of the liturgy and the order of worship but I must admit it can be easy to fall into a rut and not think about what I'm actually saying...or maybe I mean it but don't apply it to my life...or maybe I just apply it on certain days, after all, who can be holy at work in the secular world?
I found it to be an eyeopener!
I am one of many who love the structure of the liturgy and the order of worship but I must admit it can be easy to fall into a rut and not think about what I'm actually saying...or maybe I mean it but don't apply it to my life...or maybe I just apply it on certain days, after all, who can be holy at work in the secular world?
I found it to be an eyeopener!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Sanctuary under the Sky?
It's a "drive-in" church...like an actual "drive-in" where you went to watch movies as a child (or perhaps still do if you live in my little world, we have an operating drive in theater here!).
On a Sunday in Lucas, Texas, churchgoers didn't file into pews. They pulled into parking spots.
Vans and trucks drove into the parking lot of Lovejoy High School to be part of "Sanctuary Under the Sky," Rev. David Ray's new drive-in church.
"The sound is transmitted over the car radio so they just tune into the frequency that it's set to. They can hear, they're encouraged to participate. Everything that the congregation is asked to do is printed in the bulletin," said Ray.
Ray, pastor of Presbyterian Church of the Master, stands in the parking lot conducting the service as churchgoers watch through their dashboard windows.
Pastor Ray says: "...it's a way for people to test the waters. He also holds a more formal church service indoors an hour after the drive-in service."
Come to find out, this is not a new concept...they've been around for years. Just the first time I've heard of it!
On a Sunday in Lucas, Texas, churchgoers didn't file into pews. They pulled into parking spots.
Vans and trucks drove into the parking lot of Lovejoy High School to be part of "Sanctuary Under the Sky," Rev. David Ray's new drive-in church.
"The sound is transmitted over the car radio so they just tune into the frequency that it's set to. They can hear, they're encouraged to participate. Everything that the congregation is asked to do is printed in the bulletin," said Ray.
Ray, pastor of Presbyterian Church of the Master, stands in the parking lot conducting the service as churchgoers watch through their dashboard windows.
Pastor Ray says: "...it's a way for people to test the waters. He also holds a more formal church service indoors an hour after the drive-in service."
Come to find out, this is not a new concept...they've been around for years. Just the first time I've heard of it!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
A crying baby...
Be that as it may: when a baby cries, and a mother is encouraged to take it out of church, to a place apart, the parish is sending a distinct and unsettling message. It's indicating, not-too-subtly, that crying children don't belong. We might as well amend the creed: "One, holy, catholic and apostolic church - except for crying babies, of course."
I'm sure a lot of people would argue that the holy sacrifice of the Mass demands reverent devotion and full attention; it requires a sense of the sacred. Crying babies shatter that atmosphere. And I don't disagree.
But Mass also requires a sense of the human. The most perfect prayer on earth requires the participation of those who are imperfect. It assembles together broken, wounded people of all kinds, and in our brokenness, we pray. We sing. We adore. We praise.
And yes, we cry.
In that spontaneous, unabashed wail we hear countless other cries of discomfort or fear or pain or sickness. That cry is our humanity, in the key of E. (Or "Eeeeeee!") There we hear the sound of Eden, and Egypt, of Bethlehem, and Golgotha. It might be argued that the most authentic language of the Church isn't Latin; it's the cry of one suffering soul.
A Protestant pastor once put it beautifully. "A church with a crying baby," he said, "is a church that is alive." When you hear babies in church, you're hearing life, and the promise of the next generation that will carry on the Good News. The faith will go on.
I've added the italics and marked the passage in BOLD...read the rest of the article by Deacon Greg Kandra...
I'm sure a lot of people would argue that the holy sacrifice of the Mass demands reverent devotion and full attention; it requires a sense of the sacred. Crying babies shatter that atmosphere. And I don't disagree.
But Mass also requires a sense of the human. The most perfect prayer on earth requires the participation of those who are imperfect. It assembles together broken, wounded people of all kinds, and in our brokenness, we pray. We sing. We adore. We praise.
And yes, we cry.
In that spontaneous, unabashed wail we hear countless other cries of discomfort or fear or pain or sickness. That cry is our humanity, in the key of E. (Or "Eeeeeee!") There we hear the sound of Eden, and Egypt, of Bethlehem, and Golgotha. It might be argued that the most authentic language of the Church isn't Latin; it's the cry of one suffering soul.
A Protestant pastor once put it beautifully. "A church with a crying baby," he said, "is a church that is alive." When you hear babies in church, you're hearing life, and the promise of the next generation that will carry on the Good News. The faith will go on.
I've added the italics and marked the passage in BOLD...read the rest of the article by Deacon Greg Kandra...
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Dancing through life...
The Bible lists instances of God's people dancing. The most famous, I suppose, would be David dancing in front of the Ark of the Covenant...reading the description, he danced with joy and with abandon! In fact, he danced with so much abandon that one of his wives got really upset about it. But David didn't care what she thought, he had a need to worship the Lord with his body and followed through.
I know this song is an allegory of Jesus moving through his life, but the more I thought, it is an appropriate one. Why shouldn't our lives be seen as a dance? Not all of the movements will be happy but they won't all be sad either. If we dance through life, we have to be active participants. We cannot just sit passively and let life go by...We have to be moving!
One Sunday, about 3 years ago, my grandson (who is now 7) heard it. I'm sure most of you know how much attention a 4 year old pays to most hymns. Suddenly he was up... swaying to the music...and then dancing in the pew! He was following his heart and the words he was hearing. He wasn't constrained by what he thought the others expected of him. He was worshiping the Lord in one of the only ways he knew...and he didn't care who saw. That day I learned about praising God from a child. We are called to praise Him with our entire being, and as the Spirit moves us. Even though I am (yikes!) middle aged, I have finally learned that worship and dignity don't always go hand in hand!
Today I just felt the need to listen again...
I know this song is an allegory of Jesus moving through his life, but the more I thought, it is an appropriate one. Why shouldn't our lives be seen as a dance? Not all of the movements will be happy but they won't all be sad either. If we dance through life, we have to be active participants. We cannot just sit passively and let life go by...We have to be moving!
One Sunday, about 3 years ago, my grandson (who is now 7) heard it. I'm sure most of you know how much attention a 4 year old pays to most hymns. Suddenly he was up... swaying to the music...and then dancing in the pew! He was following his heart and the words he was hearing. He wasn't constrained by what he thought the others expected of him. He was worshiping the Lord in one of the only ways he knew...and he didn't care who saw. That day I learned about praising God from a child. We are called to praise Him with our entire being, and as the Spirit moves us. Even though I am (yikes!) middle aged, I have finally learned that worship and dignity don't always go hand in hand!
Today I just felt the need to listen again...
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Church
Church is a community of believers. It shouldn't be about what I GET out of the service, but rather, what do I ADD to the service. Is it better and more fulfilling because of my presence or my voice? It should be a gathering of individuals who unselfishly give to each other of themselves. If I am not in church, I'm taking away what I can add to the service.
When we are in church we often lose focus on the idea that we are not an audience. God is. We cannot equate going to church with going to the movies. We are not there to be sung to, preached to or prayed for. God is there to be sung to, prayed to and praised. We, as the congregation, are every bit a part of the service as the organ, the preacher or the special music. If we stop thinking that church is for us and what we get out of it and start thinking of what we give to God, then the "what we get" comes back to us from God and not from the sound system.
When we are in church we often lose focus on the idea that we are not an audience. God is. We cannot equate going to church with going to the movies. We are not there to be sung to, preached to or prayed for. God is there to be sung to, prayed to and praised. We, as the congregation, are every bit a part of the service as the organ, the preacher or the special music. If we stop thinking that church is for us and what we get out of it and start thinking of what we give to God, then the "what we get" comes back to us from God and not from the sound system.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Spiritual Hot Spot...
Whenever the prophets describe the Messianic era, experiencing God is the end-goal. For most of us, that sounds like a foreign concept. Many of us have trouble knowing there is a God, let alone experiencing God. This is the gap the Messianic era is coming to fill. The Messianic era is that time when God will go from an abstract idea being learned about and discussed to an experiential reality one lives and breathes.
An interesting article concerning the reasons the Jews "yearn for the Temple".
An interesting article concerning the reasons the Jews "yearn for the Temple".
Sunday, April 24, 2011
He is Risen!
In his day, Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin was one of the most powerful men on earth. Bukharin was a Russian Communist leader who took part in the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda and was a member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science were big sellers.
A story is told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd, he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument and proof against it.
An hour later, he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men's faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium, but then one man stood. He surveyed the crowd, first to the left then to the right. Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!" En masse the crowd arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"
I say to you this morning: CHRIST IS RISEN!
www.youthworker.com
A story is told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd, he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument and proof against it.
An hour later, he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men's faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium, but then one man stood. He surveyed the crowd, first to the left then to the right. Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!" En masse the crowd arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder: "HE IS RISEN INDEED!"
I say to you this morning: CHRIST IS RISEN!
www.youthworker.com
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Shofar
I knew about the Shofar...having read Jewish history and of Jewish tradition. It plays an integral part in some of their services and the use of a Shofar dates back thousands of years. A classic Shofar is made from a ram's horn and the horn is still used today.
Imagine my surprise and delight when I actually heard one blown in person for the first time. No, I was not attending Synagogue...but a United Methodist Youth gathering in Greensboro, NC...in 2007. Without getting into detail about why we were there, each of the nightly gatherings began with the blowing of the ram's horn. It sent chills...
In honor of Yom Kippur...hear it for yourself!
Imagine my surprise and delight when I actually heard one blown in person for the first time. No, I was not attending Synagogue...but a United Methodist Youth gathering in Greensboro, NC...in 2007. Without getting into detail about why we were there, each of the nightly gatherings began with the blowing of the ram's horn. It sent chills...
In honor of Yom Kippur...hear it for yourself!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Live Stream
Since the weather was so bad and so many weren't able to attend, the conference used Live Stream to show our Worship Meetings from this weekend...
Friday nights service...Enjoy! Wait for the countdown...it's worth it!
Friday nights service...Enjoy! Wait for the countdown...it's worth it!
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Warmth n Winter 2010
Kyle was MIA for the picture, working hard to help make it all happen!
Despite the snow and ice...We did it!
The Rev. Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil was our speaker...Pocket Full of Rocks provided the music. It was a great weekend!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Worship
If others watched you in worship, what would their perception be...
Joy
Fully involved
Personal
Intimate
Totally dignified
What does the way you worship say about you?
I know there has to be a certain amount of order in the worship and I do love to sing the hymns, repeat the prayers and follow the liturgy but how much of myself do I inject in the process? Do I really listen to the words I'm singing? Do I sing them with joy in my heart? Do I feel for those I'm praying for or do I just mouth the words? When we sing the Doxology during offering, do I truly feel grateful for the gifts I have?
The Pastor, Choir Director, Liturgist, Musicians and the Worship Committee all do their part but I must make every effort to be present in the moment and make the worship my own. God is watching me...does it make Him happy?
Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped.
Jack Hayford
Joy
Fully involved
Personal
Intimate
Totally dignified
What does the way you worship say about you?
I know there has to be a certain amount of order in the worship and I do love to sing the hymns, repeat the prayers and follow the liturgy but how much of myself do I inject in the process? Do I really listen to the words I'm singing? Do I sing them with joy in my heart? Do I feel for those I'm praying for or do I just mouth the words? When we sing the Doxology during offering, do I truly feel grateful for the gifts I have?
The Pastor, Choir Director, Liturgist, Musicians and the Worship Committee all do their part but I must make every effort to be present in the moment and make the worship my own. God is watching me...does it make Him happy?
Worship changes the worshiper into the image of the One worshiped.
Jack Hayford
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