Holy Communion

Sing People, Sing…

/ The Pastor

Just in case you need another reason to praise and worship God, I thought I would offer this. God painted this scene this morning behind our church building and I just had to share this. To God be the glory!

It is right, oh God and it is our joy to give You thanks and praise at all times and in all places – to limit our praise and thanks to a single moment in time is impossible. Therefore, we offer our worship in every moment and with our very lives. For You give us peace through holding all our tomorrows. You give us Life through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son. You give us love for You are love. And so, it is our great pleasure to join with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…

Sing people, sing…

Magnify Your Song

/ The Pastor

Let us join our song together in praising our awesome God…

Holy God and Father, it is right to give You thanks and praise at all times, in all places and in all circumstances. Yes, it is always right to give You thanks and praise. For You are sovereign over the heavens and the earth. You are the Creator. You reign on high – high above all gods. You are our Rock. You are our Fortress. Through Jesus Christ, You are our salvation. Oh God, praise and worship is indeed befitting You. Our souls sing for joy at the mere thought of You. Holy and mighty God you are glorious and thus we long to magnify our song by joining with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…

May our song of praise to God never, ever diminish.

Desire

/ The Pastor

Let us praise and worship our awesome God.
Written for the Great Thanksgiving in our Holy Communion liturgy…

To give You thanks and praise, oh God, is indeed our delight, for through Jesus Christ, You have fulfilled our deepest desire. Our desire is to live life to the fullest and that cannot be done outside of You. You have redeemed us from sin and death. You have filled us with Your Spirit. You have defeated every enemy. You have placed us upon the Rock. Oh God, our Father and Creator, our Strong Fortress and Shield, our Hope and Salvation. Draw us closer and closer that we may delight more and more in You. And on that Day, may we be taken up into the loving arms of our bridegroom, Jesus Christ. And so, in our joy that is only from You, we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…

Let Us Ascribe

/ The Pastor

It is Sunday.

The Lord’s day.

Let’s us join together – raising our hands to God our Father through Christ Jesus our Lord…

Yes, oh yes, it is right and our duty and our joy to ascribe worship, praise and glory to You, oh Lord, our Rock and Redeemer. You are full of majesty. You are full of power. And You reign on high. You sent Jesus to live and die and rise for us – that we would have the hope of everlasting life. There is so much to You, oh God. To probe Your depths would be a never-ending task, but oh the joy in trying. And so, we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…

Bless the Lord, oh my Soul and all that is within me. Bless His most holy name!

It Is So Right

/ The Pastor

Psalm 122:1 (ESV) ~ I was glad when they said to me,“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

Oh God, it is so right and salutary. It is indeed our joy and privilege to give you thanks and praise at all times and in all places – in every moment and with every breath. You are worthy. You are so worthy for You have given us a King to reign over us that we may never fear anything or anyone. You have given us a Savior who has saved our very souls. You have given us a Shepherd to feed and nourish us. You have given us a place at Your Banquet Feast – a place of honor – so we may longingly and lovingly perpetually gaze our eyes upon You. Yes, oh God, yes, it is right and our joy to worship You. And so, we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise.

It IS right

/ The Pastor

Here’s some liturgy I wrote for Holy Communion this morning.

Is it right to give You thanks and praise? Of course it is, oh God. You are our Loving Father,
God almighty,
Creator,
Sovereign Lord and King,
Redeemer and
our Strong Fortress.
You came down at Christmas time and flooded Your creation with Love.You dwelt among us in Jesus Christ, died and rose that our sins would be forgiven. You have obliterated the reign of the Father of Lies; smashing his head as You promised. You have washed us clean with the blood of the lamb and through faith, have clothed us with Christ’s righteousness. Oh God, there is much to thank and praise You for and so we continue our efforts by joining with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…

To God be the glory, always and forever. Amen!

Christ-Drenched Joy

/ The Pastor / 3 Comments

Today, Living Word Lutheran Church is excited. We are excited that we are redeemed by God our Father through Christ Jesus our Lord. We are excited that through faith in Jesus, our sins are forgiven and thus everlasting life is ours. We are excited to be serving an awesome God. We are excited that we live in a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We are excited that Satan has been defeated. We are excited that we are children of God. We are excited and drenched in joy.

…and oh by the way…we are excited that we are worshiping (for the first time) in our new building 🙂

To God be the glory!!!

The following is a little something I wrote for Holy Communion on this 3rd Sunday of Advent — JOY.

Yes! Oh Yes! It is right and our pleasure to worship you, to give You thanks and to make much of You, oh God. It is our joy to sing of Your mighty deeds. Through Jesus Christ Your son – the Messiah – You redeemed a lost and broken people through his death and resurrection. You reconciled us back to You and gave us Life. You healed that which the serpent broke and restored that which was lost. Holy Father, Your power is great. Your mercy is wide. You grace is abundant. Fill us again and again with your Spirit to overflowing that Joy may exude from us without end. May the world be drenched in love and be swept away in Your never-ending life. And so, it is our pleasure to join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise.

Peace-filled Adventing

/ The Pastor

It is the second Sunday of Advent and thus our focus word is Peace. Jesus is the Prince of Peace for he is the manifestation of the kingdom of God. Jesus is our hope. Jesus is our life. Jesus is our salvation. Feeling peaceful? That is an understatement 🙂

Oh God, there is no question in our hearts or minds that it is right and salutary to give You and You alone praise and worship at all times and in all places. It is right because Your kingdom has happened. It has happened through the birth of Jesus Christ and was solidified through the cross and empty tomb. You destroyed hopelessness. You calmed the chaos. You crushed the head of the deceiver. You banished the darkness. You have bound the forces of evil. Though we are sinners, You are faithful. Though we are weak, You are strong. Though we wander like sheep, You retrieve us for You are the Good Shepherd. Holy Father, we are so joyful because of the Prince of Peace and for this reason we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise.

Hope-Filled Heart

/ The Pastor

Merry Advent everyone! That’s right, Advent is here but better yet, Jesus is coming. No, not some earthly birthday party where presents are exchanged in celebration, but rather our King is coming – here – soon – to bring his Church home.
That’s the joy in my heart.
That’s the excitement in my soul.
That’s the longing of my heart – my hope.
So join me in worship as we sing praises to God our Father through Christ Jesus the Lord.

Father in heaven, it is fitting and natural to sing Your praises at all times and in all places as joy overflows from our hearts. You sent Jesus to be born in our likeness – to take on our frail form and then to suffer and die, only to shatter the fetters of death that we may be free. And now we anxiously await Jesus – this time to gather his church for an all-out banquet feast as we engage in uninhibited worship of You, oh God, with all the saints. And so, we prepare our hearts to receive our King as we join with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing our joy-filled refrains of praise to You.

Worship!!!

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Here we are – Sunday morning – preparing to travel to a location to engage in corporate worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Why? Because God is so freak’in awesome that if you are not worshiping then something is seriously wrong. Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of your sins and rose from the grave that you may live forever in eternal joy with him. How can one not worship this God? How can one be ambivalent? Our Creator God is not distant but close, loving and intimate as a father to a child. Our Creator God is not too busy for you but knows every hair on your head – He’s given them each a unique name. Our Creator God reigns on high but lives in your heart.
Worship? Of course.
When? Now.
And so, what are you waiting for?
Worship!!!

[The following is part of the Holy Communion liturgy I wrote for worship this morning. To God be the glory, always and forever.]

Yes, God, it is right and our joy to give thanks and praise to You, at all times and in all places. It is our joy for through Jesus Christ You gave us Your Spirit that we may know the truth of the Gospel – the forgiveness of our sins and the salvation of our souls through faith in Jesus Christ. You redeemed us though we are sinful. You saved us because we cannot save ourselves. You love us because, well, You are love. Oh God, our praise and worship is so inadequate in compassion to what You deserve. Our self-conceived works fall oh so short. May we just let go and let the works you have prepared beforehand manifest themselves through us that You are rightly glorified. And so, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven we join in singing Your unending praise…