Loving Worship!

Reflecting on God’s work in my life—both past and present-- causes me to break out in worship of Him.  As well as personal worship, I truly enjoyed this past weekend worshiping the Lord with my church family. 

During the service it was such a joy to be able to be free to fully engage in my own personal moments of praise and worship with my Heavenly Father.

It also encourages and inspires me to observe my Christian brothers and sisters offering up songs, prayers and open hearts to the Lord.

Yes, I love worshipping God; I love watching others worship God; and I love preparing a new generation in their worship of our awesome God.

Yet, more importantly, how much greater is God’s joy in us as He alone rightfully receives our humble offerings of praise and worship.

How do you worship God when you’re on your own? How do you prepare to worship God with the rest of the church family? I’d love to know.

Every Blessing,

Alan

"Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD: 19 that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the LORD looked at the earth, 20 to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die, 21 that they may declare in Zion the name of the LORD, and in Jerusalem his praise, 22 when peoples gather together, and kingdoms, to worship the LORD."

Psalm 102:18-22

Affluent Temptations

Some Bible passages just seem to stick with you! Whether it reminds you of a special time in your life or important lesson in life, certain verses just become favourites. Proverbs 30-7-9 is one of mine:

"Two things I ask of you, O Lord; 

do not refuse me before I die: 

Keep falsehood and lies far from me; 
give me neither poverty nor riches, 
but give me only my daily bread. 
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the Lord?'
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

I love the honesty of Agur (the author). He was so in-touch with himself that he knew how he might react given the situations he imagines. And he was so in-touch with God that he could be blunt and expecting in his prayer.

But beyond the lesson of personal honesty is a lesson of temptation...the temptation of greed! As I read these words again I couldn't help but think that many of my temptations come because I have too much not too little. Through these verses I am reminded that, compared to most of the world, I have too much and am in danger of saying "Who is the Lord?"

By God's grace, may it never be!

Missing the Point

It’s easy to miss the point.

Sometimes, especially when I’m tired, I have a hard time focusing.  For example, there have been many nights when the book I am attempting to read becomes nothing more than a blur of words scattered on a page.  Other times I’ll be sitting in front of the television for an entire show, and when it finishes I wouldn’t be able to tell you what the episode was about.  These are trivial things, and so it’s not always that big of a deal.

But how many times have I done this during corporate worship or personal prayer and bible study?  How often have I been so consumed with the getting through the busyness of a season that I’ve missed the whole point?

If this sounds like you, then you are not alone.  You and I both need to slow down this Easter and commit to bringing our best worship and praise to the King who gave His life for us.

I have been using these two great bible reading plans to help me focus on The Story of Easter and Christ’s Words During Passion Week.  Simply click either of these (or both!) titles to be taken to an online bible resource.

Bless You this Easter!

Dave

A “Real Man”

Being a father of two very young, very impressionable and I would have to say very cute little girls I have been reflecting lately about what it means to be a “man."  At the moment, I’m the only man in our house excluding Seamus our Wheaton Terrier so I’m sure you can appreciate why I’m becoming increasingly concerned about getting this more right than wrong.  Where do you go for an accurate picture of a “man?”

Well, I started by thinking about the men who have been in my life up to this point and those presently.  I then considered men that history and our present day culture would hold out as examples (see my favourite lately - the Old Spice Guy).  Finally, I allowed myself the freedom to create my own image of a “real man.”  More often than not I found myself being disappointed and this process left me with more questions than answers so I turned to the only place I know that gives me clarity on the issues I face each day – God’s Word.

I had studied 1st Timothy 3, Titus 1, and Galatians 5 before but more as an exercise than with a real desire for answers.  As I read these passages of Scripture and mediated on them I rediscovered a picture of a “real man.”  And I found my heart yearning to be that man.  I have so far to go...but at least I have a better sense of where I should be going. Thankfully the Holy Spirit wants me to be a “real man” even more than I do in my best moments.  I need Him to.

Can you relate?  What are your thoughts on this?

Pastor Gary

When does the day begin...at sunrise or sunset?

Here's an interesting thought to consider: in the Bible, a day doesn't begin at sunrise--it begins with sunset. (read more about it in Eugene Peterson's book "Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity.").

What this means is that we begin our day resting (i.e. at night) and then we arise to join him in what he's already been doing all night long! Neat!

Maybe this is a good reason to schedule prayer and meditation in the morning so as to reinforce the biblical notion of time and find out what God has been doing and how we can join him in it! 

For what it's worth...

Not Like New....Completely NEW!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I think my BlackBerry is the best thing since sliced bread.  In case you're wondering what a BlackBerry is, simply click HERE to find out.  For those of you who couldn't be bothered to click that link, I will quickly tell you here: A BlackBerry is a Canadian made Smart Phone.  Basically, it is like a computer, telephone, day planner, gaming system, music and video player crammed into a piece of plastic small enough to fit in your pocket.

With my BlackBerry I keep in contact with others through the use of the internet, email, text messages and phones calls.  I also keep all of my day plans scheduled into my calendar and keep  notes (even sermon notes!) and reminders to myself using the different programs.  I have access to all of these things and even more at just the click of a button or two.

Early last week an operating system upgrade became available.  This upgrade promised to make my BlackBerry faster, more intuitive, easier to get around and more personalized.  I downloaded this new software and it did not disappoint.  It's like I now have a new BlackBerry.  Sure, it still looks the same on the outside, but it now operates like a totally different piece of technology.

Source: http://benweeks.tumblr.com/page/5

This week I was reading through Paul's second letter to the Corinthians.  In the fifth chapter he writes, 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away;

behold, the new has come.  (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

When we accept Christ and experience his love and mercy and his grace and forgiveness, and declare him as our Saviour, we become new creatures.  Note that Paul doesn't say that we become "like new creatures" but we become a NEW creation. Our physical appearance doesn't change, but the way we operate changes completely because we are now under the power of the Holy Spirit.

 Have you experienced this spiritual upgrade?  I'd love to hear your story about when you humbled yourself and accepted Christ and became a new creation in Him.  Will you share with us in the comment section below?

Bless ya!

Dave

Is it the destination or the journey that matters?

Amy and I have been inspired by Pastor Tom's recent sermon series in Joshua to begin reading the Biblical account of Israel's journey out of Egypt toward the Promised Land from the beginning (see Exodus).  Many interesting themes have emerged but last night we found ourselves wondering why God didn't do the whole thing differently.  Could He not have fast tracked the experience?  Could He not have just arranged to have Israel walk out of Egypt hand in hand with their tormentors?  Could He not have prevented Israel from traveling into areas without food or water or where they would face war?  It seems so...but He didn't.

Why?

We noticed that within the actual narrative we are provided with an answer.  While speaking to Moses at Mount Sinai God instructs him to say to Israel:

"'You yourselves (Israel) have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.  Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.'" (Ex. 19:3-6)

Here's the big idea.  God led Israel in these ways up until this point (and subsequently) in order to fashion them into people that would reflect the character and glory of God Himself.

Could it be then that God  is actually more concerned about my journey, your journey, our journey as a local church with Him - then our actual destination so long as in the end we are closer to being like Him?

If so, perhaps this should affect the things we worry about, divide over, even pursue...

What do you think?

Pastor Gary