Worship

What to give Jesus

/ The Pastor

Happy Advent 4 (almost Christmas)!

The Mayans were wrong; and we’re still here (is anyone actually shocked?) And now we get to prepare for a grand celebration as we continue to wait for Jesus.  But don’t worry; you don’t have to run around scrambling to find that perfect gift.  You don’t have to rack your brain trying to figure out what to give the King of the universe for his birthday.  After all…what do you give someone who has everything?  You give him the one thing that we can give and the one thing that he desires the most.

Our worship

That’s what Jesus wants…our worship.  And not just on Sunday mornings (or at Christmas and Easter or other times we find ourselves in a church building) but God wants our worship everyday, 24/7, 365 (or 366) days a year.  Our worship is all that is desired.

It may not seem like much but God is pleased when we give him everything that we are; when we come before him with our songs of praise and thanks; when we lifts our hearts up to him.  For you see…worship is a response of faith; it flows out of your love for God.  And if we are worshiping God with all our being…well…God is excited.

Too many people, though, think that worship is about being entertained…it’s not.  It’s about giving ourselves to God.  And if we are refreshed or encouraged then great…praise be to God.  For anything we get out of worship is a gift from God to be used for his glory; to lead us back to worship.  So in the end, worship is not about how we benefit but rather what we can give back to God.  If you have the mentality that worship is all about you then you’re being selfish.  It’s like going to a Christmas celebration with the sole expectation of bringing a great haul of gifts home.

This Christmas give back to Jesus the very thing he desires from you…your worship.  Praise HIM with all that you are.  Thank HIM for all that he has given you.  And worship HIM always and forever.

Merry Christmas and Amen!

The pastor -|—

Nice shot…NOT

/ The Pastor

This is my crazy weird day:
~ Home desk top computer is shot.
~ Home lap top power cord is shot.
~ Church office laser printer shot.
[These first three items brought about 6 trips to my local computer store (spread throughout the day).  The children’s Christmas program is on the home computer so this was a high priority item]
~Worship prep in the midst of a number of phone calls
~ A fun visit with 2 local pastors over lunch
~ A piercing headache
~ Laser printer set-up
~ Met the locksmith about the broken lock on the narthex door

Therefore…

…very little sermon prep got done 😦

Now I am hungry; struggling to focus and other things are planned for tonight. That my friends is what I call Satan’s best shot at derailing this sermon.  But you know what…

…not going to happen.

This sermon will be preached because God’s Word can not be derailed by a plethora of mishaps and to-do items.  It may look like I am procrastinating but the very act of writing about this post is therapeutic.  It is getting the creative juices flowing and allowing me to let go of this crazy day.  I could easily get cranky about my routine being interrupted but I just need to take a step back…take a deep breath…and remember who’s I am.

bullseye

 

Satan took his best shot (I’ll give him credit for that), but it was not good enough.

 
Maybe the sermon won’t get written today (Thursday) as usual but God is bigger and God ALWAYS wins.

The empty tomb is proof of that 🙂

So here I go…diving into scripture again as I eat some supper.  Routine or not; computer failures or not, I will boldly proclaim the Word of God on Sunday morning.

Come Holy Spirit…inspire me 🙂

Praise be to God and Amen!

The pastor -|—

Holy buzz

/ The Pastor / 1 Comment

We tried something new yesterday at Salem.  Shocking…Lutherans trying something new.  Wow 🙂

Anyway…what we did for the first time was have coffee fellowship time BEFORE worship.  I know that this is not a revolutionary thing as I have experienced this at other churches in the past, but it was new for us.  And from what I heard from a number of people this was a big hit.

[By the way…I take no credit for this idea.  I wish I could.]

When people arrived they seemed pleasantly surprised by the crowd in our small narthex.  When I told them about the coffee time a smile quickly formed on their face 🙂 Many people grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to visit.  Before long there was a holy buzz in the narthex.  People were talking and laughing.  One of the cool things I noticed was that there were people participating in this holy buzz that normally don’t stay after worship for coffee fellowship time.  That put a smile on my face 🙂

At about 10:10 a.m. (worship begins at 10:15) I began to wonder how I was going to break up this holy buzz.  I almost wanted to have worship out there in the narthex (but there were people in the sanctuary waiting to begin).  So I walked inside; waited for the organist to stop playing; and I starting talking.  People quickly filed in as I shared the morning announcements.  It was a smooth transition.

As worship continued I quickly noticed something else (something others shared with me later).  There was a different kind of “energy” in the sanctuary.  It’s hard to explain but that pre-worship holy buzz drifted into the sanctuary and something happened.  One person said, “It felt warm“, and I would agree. Following worship some people continued to hang around in the narthex for another cup of coffee and another quick treat.

More holy buzz.

All in all it was a great morning.

I think it is so easy to take Christian fellowship for granted.  Worship, scripture reading and prayer are important and essential but so is taking time to visit and listen to people.  I know we can not recreate last Sunday but I think it is safe to say that pre-worship fellowship time is going to continue…and definitely with my blessing.

edh -|—

My whole self – a prayer

/ The Pastor

Loving God, today is about you…actually, everyday; every moment, is about you, but today is different… 

Today we gather for corporate worship.
Today we gather to sing our praises and offer our thanks to you.
Today we will hear your Word read and proclaimed.
Today we will confess our sins and hear about your forgiveness.

And what makes all of this even more special is that we get to do this with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ…and maybe some others who do not happen to know you but still find themselves at worship.

So much going on.
So much to think about.
But so many distractions.

Loving God…you are worthy of my whole self.  Please do not let Satan take a part of me away; for I want to give every part to you. I want to worship you with my whole being.  I want to focus my entire attention on your love.

Calm my heart, energize my spirit, tune my hears and sharpen my eyes that you are all I see, hear and think about.  

O Lord my God, you are worthy and awesome.

May my life be an act of worship to you…in Jesus name I pray.

AMEN!

edh -|—

Majestic!

/ The Pastor

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
[Psalm 8:1]

What a great refrain.

It is a phrase of submission to God.
It is a phrase of humility (on our part).
It is a phrase of worship.
It is a phrase of Truth.

Our God is majestic…and wonderful…and great…and loving…and forgiving…and merciful…and sovereign (and the list could go on).  So that phrase from Psalm 8 just seems appropriate.  God is our Creator so no one or no thing is above God for what created thing can be above that which created them.

Our Lord is majestic and worthy of all praise.

So the question is: How are you praising God today?
Or maybe the question is: Are you praising God today…and everyday?

For me ~ there is no one who can do what God has done or will do.  No one can save me like God through Jesus Christ.  No one is as patient with me as God is.  No one loves me as God does. No one is as mindful of me as God.

No one!

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

May God bless your day as you bask in the glow of His radiant love.  Praise be to God…Amen!

edh -|—

Worship God…not yourself

/ The Pastor

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
[Psalm 95:1-5]

If you ever needed a reason to go to worship, Psalm 95 lays it out for you. The problem is that many people would prefer to write a Psalm about themselves and talk about what their exploits and what they believe God should do for them.  For many…worship is all about them.

We have a messed up view of worship…hence the many “worship wars” that congregations experience.  The wars come from an attitude of “entertain me“.  If something doesn’t entertain them then it should not be done.  And in the midst of the worship wars, the true reason for worship gets lost.

For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

When was the last time you went to worship with no other reason than to sing praise to God, thank God for His awesome love in Jesus Christ and to lift up His holy name for His awesome deeds?

When was the last time to went to worship FOR GOD and not FOR YOU?

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]
God is holy.
God is worthy.
God is…well…God…so worship God and God alone for God has been and always will be faithful.
Praise be to GOD, always and forever.
Amen!
edh -|—

Sunday morning false gods

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Holy and mighty God…

~You are worthy of all our praise.
~You are worthy of all our worship.
~You are worthy of all our life…
…for you saved us wretched sinners through the life, death and resurrection of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Through faith in Jesus we receive forgiveness and everlasting life.

Oh God…you are so worthy!

Yet when Sunday morning arrives where are your people?  I know exactly where they are.  They are in worship…but not necessarily in a church building.  Many people are out worshiping other gods.  They are out obeying the gods of this world that say to them “Come to me and I will give you all that you need“.  Too many people think that what they truly need is provided by this world, but in the end they are left with empty promises and false hope.

Oh God…please stir their hearts to know you better.  Please stir in the hearts of your children knowledge of you and a faith to come and worship YOU.  Please stir up a revival in this community and in your Church.

~Please don’t let Satan draw your children away.
~Please don’t let Satan draw your people to worship false gods.
~Please don’t let Satan get the last word.

Oh God…I think of all you have done for me and it pains me that people choose to follow that which will not save them.  It pains me that more people don’t have a relationship with you.  It pains me that people will choose to worship a false god this morning and think they are still following you.

Loving God…I pray that my worship this morning is pleasing in your sight.  I pray that my whole heart is devoted to you.  I pray that the words I say may go forth through the Holy Spirit to create, build and maintain faith in your children.  Loving God…I also pray for those not in worship.  I pray that they may see their false gods for what they truly are and come running back to you.

Oh God…you are SO worthy and I thank and praise you.  Thank you for hearing my prayer.

In Jesus Christ I pray…Amen.

edh-|—

A bunch of words

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I have a bunch of words written on a page right now…ready to be preached this morning.  I carefully reflected on the scripture text this week and prayed for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  And I believe from the bottom of my heart that these are the “right” words.
I believe that these words are more than just something to fill space.
I believe that those words are exactly what God wants me to say this morning.
I also believe that God will somehow use those words for His glory.

I don’t know how, but God will find a way to use those words.  God always does.  I guess that is why I never tire of writing sermons and preaching them.  Sure…it may be a lot of work sometimes during a particularly busy week when I am under a lot of stress, but in the end, God get’s His way.  He always does even if I don’t see or comprehend what way God got.

But this morning I find myself distracted by a pastoral care concern that is striking close to home.  My heart is breaking for this couple and I can’t seem to think of the right words to say.
I am racking my brain…but nothing.
I am searching my heart…but nothing.
I won’t see this couple this morning in worship but I can’t stop thinking about them.  I guess partly because since I am a pastor in the family I am guessing someone will eventually ask me; “why?”  And…as I consider that potential question I am at a loss for words as my heart continues to break for them.

O God…what do I say? What are the right words?

I ask that question each and every week.  I also ask that question whenever I call on someone.  So I guess I need to do what I do each and every week ~ turn everything over to the power of God through the Holy Spirit; trusting in God’s work through Jesus Christ my Lord.  I need to fall back into His loving arms and trust that the right words will spew forth from my mouth this morning…and when I see this couple again.  For if I focus on my brain; my knowledge, I will no doubt mess things up.

O God…what do I say? What are the right words?

So there you go.  A bunch of words on a page and a bunch of words running around in my brain; all waiting to do something.  I pray that God takes the right words and does something amazing; all to God’s glory.

Use my words, O God, that people my come to praise you!

edh -|—

Feed your sheep (a follow up)

/ The Pastor

Smack!  Right between the eyes…I think.

God was good today.

Following the service, a daughter of the deceased told me she appreciated the fact that I preached the Gospel and did not focus my attention on her mother.  Wow…it’s not every day I hear something like that.

Praise be to God!

It is always nice to hear comments from family like that, but I am mostly glad that they found comfort in the words that God placed on my heart.

Dear God…thank you for feeding your sheep today.  Amen.

edh -|—

Feed your sheep

/ The Pastor

Loving God – because your sheep NEED to be fed, grant me strength.

Grant me the words to say this morning as we mourn the death of Gene.

Open the hearts of those who have not heard of you that they may hear the Good News.

Comfort the hearts of those who have heard with the hope of the resurrection.

Strengthen us as we go through these days, weeks and months that lay ahead with the promise that in Christ there are no “good byes”.

May our time together this morning bring you praise, honor and glory as we are FED with the awesome story of Jesus Christ crucified and risen FOR US.

Thank you, God, for your faithfulness.

Come, Holy Spirit.

Amen.

edh -|—