Night of Worship - Becoming a Worshiper of God

Last night was an amazing night of reflection in Word and song upon our glorious God. I'm told that over 300 were here in attendance. PTL for a wonderful turnout, but wishing that our entire church family had been there. Perhaps the seed was sown with enough to start a movement at Grace as we seek to move beyond "religion" toward faithfulness and worship in all areas of our lives. I have entered my sketchy notes from the night as blog entries for this week. I'm hopeful it will bless some... S

A few months ago, I blogged about the evolutionary journey that I have been on spiritually. You see, there was a time when I referred to myself as a Christian, sort of like a club you might join. Then, I realized that there were some fundamental, foundational beliefs that should be in place for any person who claimed to be in Christ, so I began referring to myself as a believer. But, as I grew in my faith, I began to understand that beliefs, if they are truly believed, should produce behaviors that are consistent with the character of Christ. To remind myself of this, I started calling myself a follower of Jesus. However, over the last few years, I realized that it was possible to have the right beliefs in God and to do the right things, even though my heart was in the wrong place. If I’m brutally honest for a moment, there are times when I act more from the realm of obligation and duty, not from genuine faith. There are times that I’m just going through the motions, following “religion” and not seeking God and His Kingdom with all my heart, soul, mind & strength. So, I have begun seeing myself as a worshiper of God.

So, why try to become a worshiper of God? Well, that what God says He wants. In Mark 12:30, Jesus says that loving God and people is more important than offerings and sacrifices to God. What He’s saying is that religious activity is not what God desires. He is looking for people who strive to know and love Him better.

“But isn’t worship what happens on Sunday morning, or maybe on a night like tonight?” Well, worship is not singing, although it might include songs. Rather than an activity, worship is a posture. And if we’re to be brutally honest for a moment, there are many times when we come to church on Sunday morning with something far removed from a worshipful spirit. Maybe we’re distracted by family issues from the morning. Maybe we have worries or concerns over our current circumstances. Maybe we have allowed bitterness or pride to create distance between us and God. Maybe, we’re not even sure that Christianity is anything more than some nice guidelines for having a better life.

So, tonight we’re going to start with the basics. We are going to participate in a corporate worship experience. Hopefully, each of us will be able to set aside the problems of life for the next hour and together enter into the presence of the Holy One. Tonight, through Scripture and song, we are going to be reminded of who our God is and proclaim His worth. Tonight, even as Psalm 22:3 says, may God be enthroned on the praises of His people.

Psalm 150
Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

Psalm 96
Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns." The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

Psalm 134:1-2
Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who minister by night in the house of the LORD. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD.

Psalm 117
Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

Update on CAR trip from Pastors Tim & Doug

UPDATE FOR CHURCH FAMILY FROM PASTORS TIM & DOUG:

Greetings from the C.A.R. We would like to thank you for your faithful prayers as we began our adventure on Tuesday of this week. We are very thankful for our safe travels to the C.A.R. as all of our flights and luggage made it safely. We did get a little worried about our luggage as it was the last four pieces to be taken from the plane.

We arrived late Wednesday night and then turned around Thursday morning to begin the all day trek to the Northern part of the country where we stayed at a Bible Institute where future pastor’s are trained in Bossangoa. Upon our arrival, we had the privilege of joining the director and his family for an authentic African dinner where we were served rice, beef liver in a sauce and goazo. It was a meal that cost them greatly, but they desired to show their love to us and went all out. On Friday, we visited our two schools. Bodali Level One and Bodali Level Two. Please know how blessed we were to spend time with Pastor Jeremy who is the pastor of the church that oversees the two schools. It was also a huge blessing to meet and interact with our two teachers, Samuel and Marc. Please know that these two men are amazing and genuinely love the children. Everyday, nearly 100 children are educated and fed because of your generosity and we have seen first hand the blessing it is to these children.

A few of the highlights of this stop was hearing a young girl recite the O.T. Walk Thru the Bible lesson. Another was seeing orphan children learning to read and write. Yet another was the blessing of playing with the children. We took over two soccer balls and two jump ropes and had the sheer joy of watching nearly 100 children get so excited over these small blessings. Jumping rope and playing soccer with them was an absolute joy that will not be matched by many other experiences.

Finally, because they are so appreciative of our support, they sacrificially gave us a number of gifts from the pastor and the church family. It will not sound like much to us as Americans, but please know it cost them dearly. They gave us some roots which are like potato, bananas and a chicken that we affectionately called Tina. Yes, we camped out with a chicken Friday night.

We love and miss you our church family dearly and consider ourselves very blessed to be representing Grace Church half way around the world. We long and look forward to the day when we get to share all that God is teaching us through this experience. Know you are making a difference through these hand in hand partnerships. Please continue to pray for us as we visit more schools this week and prepare to travel home next Sunday.

God, My Fortress and My Strength

Wow. I'm on an amazing journey of faith right now. And I'm wondering what you're thinking about that comment. "Does that mean good stuff or rotten stuff is happening?" Well, BOTH! But isn't that life? There's good and bad stuff coming daily. And the thing that matters most is what you do with what God has provided for your life. Notice I didn't say "Allowed in your life," but provided for your life.

Look at this Kutless video that I just came across. Then, tell me what you're feeling.



(If you can't see this video here, go to http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=920BJ1NU).

BTW, no, I'm not losing my house and fighting with my wife over money. Just to trying to head off rumors....

Do you see victory or defeat? Do you see hope or despair? Maybe you see all of these things, but which are you leaving the video with? As I put the finishing touches on the Night of Worship we have scheduled for February 27, this video is settling down right where God has had me for two months now. In all things, will you worship Him?