Oh God, Your name is awesome,
holy and true.
May all who preach Your name,
give praise that is due.
Not in realms of self-glory and pride,
but hallow Your name,
in all truth and purity,
for You, oh God, are the One who reigns.
May all who step into the pulpit this day,
do so with pause,
knowing that it is You
that deserves all applause.
May Your name be proclaimed
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
May You receive all worship,
for You are to be adored.
Worship
Praying the Psalms ~ Psalm 27:1-6
Psalm 27 is the Psalm reading for worship this Sunday (July 21). As I read and meditated on it, I wrote this prayer for the first 6 verses. Adversaries will always oppose you if you follow God through Christ Jesus our Lord, but let them oppose, for God is your defender. Let us pray…
Oh God,
the Light of my life;
You are my salvation and my hope.
You are my strong fortress – a shield about me.
You are my hedge of protection – a guard for my life.
You are a mighty warrior – none can overcome.
You are victorious and You are for me.
Therefore, oh God, whom shall I fear? Why shall I be afraid?
What can overcome me?
Who can bring me down?
Adversaries oppose me; they oppose Your Church, but they shall not prevail.
They strike me on the left and the right; in front and behind,
but when they fight against me, it is You they oppose; for You are my God and my Defender.
They will be spin their wheels and gain no ground against You.
I am at peace as adversaries make war against me and Your Church;
for You have overcome them all.
Oh God, I hide in You.
I long to gaze at Your beauty and to know You better.
I long to dwell in Your temple; my home, to worship You without end.
I long to sing Your praises with the hosts of heaven as You lift me above my adversaries.
You are my salvation – my hope, and thus I do not fear.
Victory is Yours.
I am Yours.
And thus I will sing my praises to You,
here on earth and in Your courts forever.
Alleluia and Amen!
Beautiful Jesus
We worship God because he sent Jesus to reveal His love and grace to sinful people through his death and resurrection. As you prepare to worship on this Lord’s Day, reflect on the beauty of Jesus; the glory that shines forth revealing the Father. Don’t enter your places of worship out of a sense of duty to one another, but because of what God has done through Jesus Christ. As the psalmist says, in Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.“
The following poem is dedicated to the beauty of Jesus…
Lord Jesus you are beautiful,
And your heart is full of mercy.
Your love is all encompassing,
Your compassion has no boundary.
Your presence gives me holy peace,
Your comfort soothes my broken heart.
I was weak, blind and oh so lost,
From you I’ll never be apart.
You shine forth the Father’s glory,
Your face glows brighter than the sun.
Your beauty takes my breath away,
And with you I am so undone.
I long to gaze upon your face,
And to bask in your loving glow.
Lord Jesus you are beautiful,
And its you that I want to know.
We Will Praise the Lord
“Praise the Lord ! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” [Psalm 111:1 ESV]
I pastor a congregation who can be described as a “church in a box”. What I mean by that is each and every Sunday a trailer is backed up to the building we rent at a county park. The trailer is then unloaded so we can set up for worship. Following our 9:00 AM worship, the take-down crew gets to work as we need to vacate the building by 11:30 AM. As long as this pastor doesn’t get too long winded, we still have plenty of time for Sunday school/Coffee fellowship time. For 10 years this congregation has had that routine. I’ve been part of that routine for the past 3 years.
Now, we are investigating a former church building that is up for sale. The location is a little farther away, but the size is great, the lot is big enough for expansion and the price is in our ballpark. There are still many questions that need to be answered, but the excitement is high. What is God up too? That is the question we are trying to discern. Is this God gift-wrapping a property for us that He may be glorified or is Satan presenting a stumbling block to trip and derail this congregation? Questions, questions and more questions. God help us.
Whatever the outcome I echo the psalmist in the verse above. Praise the Lord ! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Yes, Sundays are a challenge, especially considering this is an aging congregation. We don’t have the freedom to do certain things when we want to do them because the building is not ours (i.e. When funerals happen, we have to make phone calls to find a venue). But where ever God places us, we will worship and praise the Lord. We will praise the Lord in the company of the upright. The upright made that way through our common faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We will worship corporately as a congregation because we love the Lord and we love to be together:
– whether it is at a building in the park or in a school or in someone’s pole barn, we will praise the Lord.
– whether we have to meet in living rooms, basements or garages, we will praise the Lord.
– whether we have to share space in someone else’s fellowship hall, wander from place to place, or meet in a tent outside, we will praise the Lord.
With that said, my prayer is that we keep our eye on the ball and remember who we are and whose we are. We are not here to build our kingdom but we are here to advance THE Kingdom. I can not say that enough. If this place is being gift-wrapped by God for us, I will gladly unwrap it and give glory to God. If this is Satan putting a stumbling block in our way, then I say to him, “Go back to hell. We will worship the Lord where ever God places us.”
Praise the Lord where ever you are, for it is right to give God thanks and praise in all places and at all times. Praise the Lord, all you people – the upright, the congregation – praise the Lord.
Father’s Day Prayer
Happy Father’s Day to all the men out there. You are being honored today for showing godly love to others and for living out your calling to reflect God’s glory. The following is a prayer that I have adapted from a Mother’s Day prayer that I came across years ago.
Have a great day, guys, and to God be the glory.
God our Father, in your wisdom and love you made all things. Bless those fathers, who have been called and accepted the responsibility of parenting and/or showing fatherly love to others.
Bless those who have lost a spouse to death or divorce.
Bless those who, through various circumstances, find themselves parenting their children alone.
Bless those men who have been called to parent children through adoption or the foster care system.
Bless grandfathers who share their wisdom and love with multiple generations.
Bless those fathers who have had to bear the grief of mourning the death of a child.
We give thanks for uncles and godfathers and neighbors, who share fatherly love with so many children; and for far too often overlooked stepfathers.
We give thanks for those who choose to remain without biological children, sharing love with the world in many ways.
We pray for those who struggle with infertility, whose desire for a child is met with frustration.
We pray for the fathers of children with special needs and chronic illness, who know anxiety and exhaustion better than most.
We pray for those who were given abuse and heartbreak by the ones called to love them.
We pray for fathers who have made the difficult and loving decision to entrust a child to adoptive parents.
Strengthen all these men by your love that they may become the loving, caring persons they are called and meant to be; reflecting Your love and glory. Grant this through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Arise and Give Thanks
Arise and give thanks unto the Lord,
For his mercies are new every day.
His love is wide.
His grace is abundant.
His faithfulness is unending.
His glory is radiant.
He is worthy of all praise,
Each and every second,
Each and every moment,
He is worthy.
Arise, oh believer, arise,
For New Life is yours through Jesus.
Arise, oh believer, arise,
Give thanks unto the Lord.
Pastor’s Prayer
Holy God,
You have called me to the awesome task
of preaching Your Word and
presiding at Your table.
You have called me to lead Your people in worship.
On my own I am incapable of discharging this call.
On my own I will surely mess it all up.
On my own I will surely attempt to rob You of all glory.
Oh God, mighty Father,
walk with me hand in hand that I may give You all the glory.
Hold me tight that I may not stray.
Grant me Your Spirit that I may be faithful with Your Word.
I praise You that You have chosen me to be Your instrument this morning.
To You be all praise and glory.
In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.
Joy Unending
The following is the preface to the Great Thanksgiving for Holy Communion that I wrote for this morning. The inspiration is from the Gospel text, John 16:16-24. To God be the glory!
It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, for through the death of Jesus Christ you tore away the veil that separated us from You. Through Jesus’ resurrection You crushed the reign of Satan through the forgiveness of our sins. Now, through the Holy Spirit, we live in joy. Continue to draw us closer to You that we may know this joy more and more as we anxiously await the consummation of Your Kingdom, the coming of Your Son. And so, as we long to dine with You at Your Great Banquet table we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise.
Uninhibited Worship
Scripture: 2 Samuel 6, Psalm 150
Awesome and mighty God,
as David danced before You in uninhibited worship and praise;
dancing with all of his might,
shouting Your praises with a loud voice,
may my spirit know the freedom of letting go
to worship You without fear or judgment from others.
David, as king, sought not the approval of man,
but of You and You alone.
Oh, how I seek the approval of man.
Oh, how I seek shelter from judging eyes.
But the psalmist calls all living beings to praise You;
everything that has breath;
not according to our gifts and abilities,
not according to how well or awful we sing,
but to praise YOU, for your mighty deeds,
and your exceeding greatness.
Yes, Your mighty deeds and exceeding greatness.
For it is not about me.
David knew that.
May I know that.
May my heart and soul show that in uninhibited worship;
dancing and singing for You.
Praise the Lord, oh my soul,
Praise the Lord!
Secure
The following is the preface for the Great Thanksgiving in the Holy Communion liturgy for today (based on the Gospel text from Jon 10:22-30)…
It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, Maker of all things. Through Jesus Christ You have brought us into Your eternal Kingdom, giving us a security and peace like nothing the world can offer. You hold us firmly in Your loving hands, where no thing or no one can touch us. You keep us free from all harm. Though the body is fragile and wastes away, our soul is kept perfectly in Your care. And so, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven we join in singing Your unending praise…
The Heart of a Pastor 