For all of you who are following our series. This link is a great example of worship. I hope you enjoy the video if you can open it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWndDW_271g
I would appreciate feedback on how well this works.
Grace and Peace, Emily <><
Monday, January 18, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Passionate Worship
Worship comes in many forms. Sometimes our worship is individual, we notice something God has made and exclaim to ourselves-- Wow! God, thank you for the sunrise. We thank God for the path we are walking that day, or recognized the blessings and respond with worship. This type of worship is usually on our own, with rare instances of sharing with others our own realizations and praise. There is also corporate worship. The worship of a body, in our case the body of Christ. We worship together when we meet on Sunday mornings and focus our attention on God collectively as a group for a length of time. Our worship here in the states is usually limited by time, but in Haiti their passionate worship may go on for four or five hours. Imagine worshiping God until you're really done. Just praising, thanking God, recognizing the source of blessing and honoring the giver of life. How long do you think that type of passionate worship would last?
In some ways our worship lasts a lifetime. From the moment we acknowledge God as creator, sustainer, redeemer, we worship. We may pause and divert our attentions to work or school, or family matters, but overall in everything we do we choose weather to worship God with our actions and our lives. Deciding to worship God can disappoint people. It can disrupt systems. Praise the Lord, says Psalm 113. Psalms are rich with praise. If you are wanting to get back to that place of passionate worship, read Psalm 84.
Not only the Psalms, but also the whole Bible is rich with images of passionate worship. The other primary way to worship is to remember. In worship we remember the lives of people who have before been faithful to God. Their example of living through hardship and difficulty while still speaking well of God is a reminder for us. When the people were lost in the wilderness for so long, they still worshiped God. When they were discouraged by events surrounding them, turning to worship brought joy. An example of this is found in Nehemiah chapter 8. Worship changes hearts, lives, and motivation.
The act of remembering may be most evident in Communion. We remember the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup. The remembering gives us the chance to take part in honoring God's gifts. Many cultures use meals, food offerings, and ritual to worship God. We worship not because we have too, but because we choose to. The choice to worship, when we do, honors God. Our passionate worship begins to open our lives to what God is doing. We recognize God as greater than ourselves, we honor God with the choices we make, and we remember what God has done.
God, thank you for being greater than us. Thank you for the blessings you provide. Even if you just continued to be God and did nothing else, we would honor you. We trust you with our lives. We worship you when we can. Set our hearts toward you, so we might worship even more passionately. We praise your Holy Name, Amen.
In some ways our worship lasts a lifetime. From the moment we acknowledge God as creator, sustainer, redeemer, we worship. We may pause and divert our attentions to work or school, or family matters, but overall in everything we do we choose weather to worship God with our actions and our lives. Deciding to worship God can disappoint people. It can disrupt systems. Praise the Lord, says Psalm 113. Psalms are rich with praise. If you are wanting to get back to that place of passionate worship, read Psalm 84.
Not only the Psalms, but also the whole Bible is rich with images of passionate worship. The other primary way to worship is to remember. In worship we remember the lives of people who have before been faithful to God. Their example of living through hardship and difficulty while still speaking well of God is a reminder for us. When the people were lost in the wilderness for so long, they still worshiped God. When they were discouraged by events surrounding them, turning to worship brought joy. An example of this is found in Nehemiah chapter 8. Worship changes hearts, lives, and motivation.
The act of remembering may be most evident in Communion. We remember the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ in the breaking of bread and drinking of the cup. The remembering gives us the chance to take part in honoring God's gifts. Many cultures use meals, food offerings, and ritual to worship God. We worship not because we have too, but because we choose to. The choice to worship, when we do, honors God. Our passionate worship begins to open our lives to what God is doing. We recognize God as greater than ourselves, we honor God with the choices we make, and we remember what God has done.
God, thank you for being greater than us. Thank you for the blessings you provide. Even if you just continued to be God and did nothing else, we would honor you. We trust you with our lives. We worship you when we can. Set our hearts toward you, so we might worship even more passionately. We praise your Holy Name, Amen.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Radical Hospitality
Here at the church we are starting to read and study together Bishop Robert Schnase's book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. We are looking at each chapter together in small groups, sermons and classes. Today I will begin to blog some of my own thoughts on the various chapters in the book.
The first chapter is on Radical Hospitality. What catches my attention first is the word radical. I love radical. I am not usually thought of as radical myself, but I enjoy the sentiment of being rooted, grounded, and branching out from that foundational sense. Some radicals take things too far, they change for the sake of change, stir up trouble. Radical in this sense is not helpful overall to society in general.
How do we calm, usually status-quo upholding Christians, get back to being so deeply rooted in our faith that we stir up changes God would want? What needs to change in us for us to be radically different from the world around us? I think often about becoming better each day. I want to improve in life on a daily basis. Sometimes this has to do with drinking more water and sitting still longer, but more often than not my attitude is what needs altering.
Being rooted in Christian love, hospitality can naturally grow out of our desire to be loving, like God is loving. God gave us many examples of hospitality in the Hebrew Bible before ever becoming an incarnational presentation of welcome through Jesus Christ himself. Entertaining strangers and angles is part of our story from long ago. Then, later, we see Christ offering a sense of welcome to everyone but the upholders of status-quo. Outcasts, oppressors, and people who felt like nobodies were welcome in Jesus circles.
All people are worthy of the love God offers. We all know someone who needs more love. I guess the challenge I see for all of us is to root ourselves so deeply in love that is starts to be the fruit we express. So, if that is what we are talking about, I want to be radical. I want to be extreme in love. I want to love like God. I'll love strangers, angles, outcasts and nobodies.
Dear God, help me love like you. Help me get back to the origins of faith. Let my roots go deep into scripture, spiritual practices, thinking and experiences that transform my life. Let me be more Christlike in welcome. Teach me radical hospitality. Thanks, Amen.
The first chapter is on Radical Hospitality. What catches my attention first is the word radical. I love radical. I am not usually thought of as radical myself, but I enjoy the sentiment of being rooted, grounded, and branching out from that foundational sense. Some radicals take things too far, they change for the sake of change, stir up trouble. Radical in this sense is not helpful overall to society in general.
How do we calm, usually status-quo upholding Christians, get back to being so deeply rooted in our faith that we stir up changes God would want? What needs to change in us for us to be radically different from the world around us? I think often about becoming better each day. I want to improve in life on a daily basis. Sometimes this has to do with drinking more water and sitting still longer, but more often than not my attitude is what needs altering.
Being rooted in Christian love, hospitality can naturally grow out of our desire to be loving, like God is loving. God gave us many examples of hospitality in the Hebrew Bible before ever becoming an incarnational presentation of welcome through Jesus Christ himself. Entertaining strangers and angles is part of our story from long ago. Then, later, we see Christ offering a sense of welcome to everyone but the upholders of status-quo. Outcasts, oppressors, and people who felt like nobodies were welcome in Jesus circles.
All people are worthy of the love God offers. We all know someone who needs more love. I guess the challenge I see for all of us is to root ourselves so deeply in love that is starts to be the fruit we express. So, if that is what we are talking about, I want to be radical. I want to be extreme in love. I want to love like God. I'll love strangers, angles, outcasts and nobodies.
Dear God, help me love like you. Help me get back to the origins of faith. Let my roots go deep into scripture, spiritual practices, thinking and experiences that transform my life. Let me be more Christlike in welcome. Teach me radical hospitality. Thanks, Amen.
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