Michael's Notes - Thoughts On Worship, Leadership & Fitness

Preparing for Worship, a promised gift received.

Tomorrow is the second Sunday of Advent. In the tradition where I worship Advent is not given emphasis in corporate worship other than the casual mention. In case you are reading this post here and don’t know the meaning of Advent here it is:

Advent is the beginning of the Church Year for most churches in the Western tradition. It begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). If Christmas Eve is a Sunday, it is counted as the fourth Sunday of Advent, with Christmas Eve proper beginning at sundown.
The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ in his First Advent, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in his Second Advent. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God.

You can see it in the eyes of children, they are waiting. The anticipation is about to get the best of them.  The days of December seem to travel in slow motion. Now can we imagine the years of waiting the people of Israel endured waiting for their Messiah. During this 2009 Advent season we do not have to wait for the Messiah, we now are remembering the events that brought the gift of promise.

Today as I finish my preparation for tomorrow’s worship services I don’t have to wonder if a Savior will be sent from God;He is here “Emmanuel.” The promised gift is a reality. How are you preparing for worship tomorrow? How are you personally reflecting during this Advent season?

   

A Comparison God and You

There is a great glimpse of worship found in the book of Isaiah Chapter 6 verses 1 – 8.  The passage is an example of a conversation of worship where God is seen and then the worshipper responds. 

 

In worship services today we use songs and scriptures to see a picture of God. When we look close at His attributes and then look to ourselves for comparison there really is none. Or the comparison is so far at opposite ends of the spectrum that it is hard to compare.  That is exactly the response of the writer of Isaiah 6; he sees a vision of the Lord, Majestic and holy, and then cries out ‘woe is me.’

 

In the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis I found the following statement:

 

In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that – and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison – you do not know God at all. 

 

It is hard to imagine that God who is immeasurable invites us to be a part of His family.

 

It is hard to imagine that God, who is holy, invites us to stand in His presence and worship.

 

He made it so by a gift of love…His Son.

Preparing for Worship, reading God’s Word

One of the things I was looking forward to at Catalyst Conference 09 was the opportunity to hear Francis Chan speak.  I have been a big fan of his since reading his book Crazy Love.  This book sneaks up on you, slaps you in the face with a challenge to be a New Testament Christian.

 

So what did Francis Chan challenge us with: the Bible. You see he had been asked to lead a service of worship and communion for 13,000 people at Catalyst. As a part of the service he asked everyone just to listen, not follow along but listen to him as he read Romans Chapter 5. It was very moving to sit in the silence of 13,000 and hear God speak through His word.

 

This Sunday at my place of worship we too will celebrate communion. And in preparation for that service I am re-reading Romans 5 and 6.

• While we were helpless…Christ died for the ungodly.
• While we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son
• If we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection.
• …the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Take a few minutes before this day fades away, sit in silence and read Romans chapters 5 and 6. What great promises…what a great reality.

Preparing for Worship: getting beyond the logistics

Every worship leader is faced with a reoccurring blank piece of paper because Sundays come once a week. It is waiting to be filled with an outline of a worship service that will include various items depending on the personality of the local congregation.

I write this post on a Saturday morning meaning the blank piece of paper with tomorrow’s date at the top has been filled between its margins with an outline, and the items that fill the page have been detailed, arranged and rehearsed. We have done all that we can do. The question is: ‘what will the people recognize when they enter the designated place of worship tomorrow?’

In a statement from a sermon in the late 1950’s A.W. Tozer implied he had been asking the same question when he wrote the following:

“Visit some churches, and when you sit down, you are conscious of a Presence. You go into other churches, and when you sit down, you are conscious of the beauty of the music or the stained glass windows, the sonorous tones of the minister, and all the rest, but you are not conscious of the Presence of God necessarily.”

Where we meet you will not find stained glass, but basketball goals; and not beautiful architecture but cement block walls. However the caution for us who plan is that anything we put on stage or plan to use in a service is put there only to help us recognize the very presence of God.

So how do we guard against the items (elements) placed on the blank piece of paper becoming the focus and not God?

•    Ask the question just printed often.
•    Pray that God will take our planning and execution to bring Glory to Him
•    Pray for wisdom and insight to remove anything that could be a distraction
•    Pray: God help me forget about trying to make everything ‘right,’ and forget about being the producer. Instead give me the freedom of mind to worship

Related Posts

Preparing for Worship: A Saturday night to-do list

Preparing for Worship: Am I Too Comfortable

Worship, does it matter what other people think?

Preparing for Worship: Let it be real

“In the average church service the most real thing is the shadowy unreality of everything.” A.W. Tozer

 

When we walk into our places of worship tomorrow how can be sure the experience will be real?

 

• Make sure Sunday is not the only day of the week you have a conversation with God.
• Attend the service for the right reasons:
• Celebrate with God’s people
• Make God’s glory known
• Hear an explanation of God’s Word
• Pray for the leaders
• Pray that God will reveal Himself to you
• Pray that you are willing to respond to what you hear

 

Here are some practical things that might help you get engaged in the act of worship.

• Get things ready the night before
• Arrive at the church campus early
• Make it your mission to get to the worship center early
• As a worship leader I know how distracting late-comers are to the people who arrive on time and to the leaders on stage.
• Participate in the acts of worship as if you are the only one in the room.
• Bring a bible to the service
• Take notes

 

How real a worship experience is to you is often how well you are prepared not how well the leaders are prepared.  It is Saturday night and not too late to get things ready so you can meet God in the conversation of worship.

 

Related Links

Worship Is It Rote To Us?

Worship Does It Matter What Other People Think?

Preparing for Worship: one voice together.

I love the scene described in II Chronicles 5: 13-14.

 

Everyone had come together to celebrate God and His faithful love: the singers, the instrumentalists and the priests. In one translation the phrase ‘one voice’ is used to describe the scene.

 

More amazing than the mass of persons participating in this celebration was their response when the very presence of God was recognized: “the priests could not continue their work, as the glorious presence of God, filled the temple.”

 

Tomorrow thousands of places of worship will welcome hundreds of thousands of people through their doors. Will we enter expecting to find the presence of God? If we realize that He is present in our midst what will be our response?

 

The scene at my place of corporate worship tomorrow will be a little like what is described in the mentioned scripture. There will be trumpets, cymbals, woodwinds, singers and the ministers to lead through the service. Honestly, it is a lot of fun to have that many people helping to lead the worship experience, but all of this is useless unless we are doing it for the right reason: ‘together as one voice, helping people to recognize the very presence of God.’

Related Posts:

Preparing for Worship…a Saturday Night to-do list

Preparing for Worship…Am I too Comfortable?

Preparing for Worship…prayer

Preparing for Worship: a Saturday Night to-do list

Here is a to-do list that I will work through before going to bed tonight that I hope will make me better prepared for worship tomorrow.

 

1. think through my early Sunday morning routine, making sure everything is ready
2. read through the scripture passages of the last few weeks’ sermons, remembering the last sermons and what God said to me during those study times.
3. read ahead in the book of the bible we are studying (Genesis) asking God to speak to me as I read
4. pray and ask God to prepare my heart to be ready to receive what He has for me in service tomorrow.
5. look over the worship outline, praying for everyone who will participate
6. pray that God will use me to help lead those who attend into a worship conversation
7. pray specifically for my pastor that God will continue to give him clear direction about tomorrow’s sermon
8. pray for everyone who will attend the service that they will come ready to meet God
9. pray for those who may come to service tomorrow who do not have a personal relationship with God, that their heart would be open to hearing from Him.

 

Do you have a Saturday night routine? How do you prepare for Sunday worship?

Preparing for Worship: the still small Voice

Saturdays are just one day away from Sunday worship services; however, we will be no closer to God tomorrow than any other day of the week.  What we often forget is that Sunday worship services are a time when believers join together in worship but they are not the only day of worship.  If we have a relationship with God then each personal act can become an action of worship.

 

A part of the conversation of worship is the willingness to listen to ‘the still small voice’ that whispers in our ear everyday. As with any conversation, including the conversation of worship there are moments of verbalizing our thoughts and then there are those moments when we listen. I find that it is much easier to speak to God than listen to God. I also find that the more time I give to active listening to God the more accustomed I become to his voice. A. W. Tozer wrote in God's Pursuit of Man:

 

“We may be sure of one thing, that for our deep trouble there is no cure apart from a visitation, yes, an invasion of power from above. Only the Spirit Himself can show us what is wrong with us and only the Spirit can prescribe the cure.”

 

Listening to the Spirit is something I must actively practice. The more I am willing to listen, the more I am willing to act on what ‘the still small voice’ is saying.

 

I ask myself this question: “how often do I ignore the voice of the Lord?” More that I should…but I am working on it.

Preparing for Worship: Am I too Comfortable?

It is Saturday again and in just a few more hours many will gather in buildings around this country for worship services.

 

I have to admit I live a very comfortable life. God has graciously provided for my needs and a multitude of my wants. The same can be said for most Americans. A quick inventory reveals we have much more than the majority of the Earth’s population.

 

With that said I raise the question: does our comfortable lifestyle and things make it hard for us to cry out to God in worship?

 

In the book The Hole In Our Gospel, the author Richard Stearns, president of World Vision describes an African church:

·         A small congregation of fifty that meets under a large shade tree because they have no building.

·         They work the land to provide the food they need to survive.

·         They rely on God for every mouthful.

·         They have endured two decades of civil war, every family has suffered loss

·         Clean water is not available

·         Most live on barely a dollar a day.

 

In the midst of this hardship the author goes on to describe their worship:

·         There is great joy in their worship as these people cry out to the Lord and feel His comfort in the midst of their need.

·         This small community comes together to worship and to celebrate the gospel.

 

As Americans what will be our attitude as we enter places of worship tomorrow? More importantly what will be my attitude?  Am I truly grateful for the reality of a relationship with the One who has forgiven me? Am I so comfortable with my life that I minimize the gift of grace?

 

God help me that I don’t become too comfortable with the things you have provided to loose sight of the salvation You have given by Your sacrifice.

Worship is it rote to us?

Isaiah 29:13  These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. And their worship of me amounts to nothing more than human laws learned by rote.

 

Oh, my, could God be looking down on me and making the same statement. 

 

I have been leading congregations in the Sunday act of Worship for 28 years; if I have led an average of two services a week that puts me somewhere around 3000 services. Yes, there have been times it has become rote.  God could have very easily written Isaiah 29:13 about me.

 

I can put services together.  I can construct a service with songs that flow and challenge us by their content. Just following what I have learned over the years about putting services together doesn’t mean that is what God wants. I can find fun stuff to add, whether that is music, dramas, film clips or creative light displays…but is that what God wanted.  Does putting stuff in a service thrill God or is even that creativity rote; is that mere human elements (laws)?

 

I can easily settle in on the familiar and safe order of the elements of the service, but is that what God wants?

 

The only way I know to avoid worship becoming rote is to make everyday an act of worship…an open conversation with God. When I keep that conversation alive, the blank piece of paper I face each week becomes much easier to fill, and not be filled, with the rote elements of ritual.