Merge Worship

I've been a little under the weather this weekend. This gave me a lot of couch time which I used to watch B-Ball, finish reading a book, pray, snuggle with my kids and watch the Travel Channel. They have a show, "Living with the Mek", that is just fascinating. It's about two westerners who live with this ancient tribe in West Papua. As I was watching it, it dawned on me that these people only had their families, fields and hunting to occupy their time. I wondered what I would do if there was no 9-5. No email, no cell phone, no church building, no keyboard, no basketball.

It's so easy to find meaning and value in the things that in the final analysis can be distractions from the main things in life. Not saying that any of these things are bad, but when all the peripherals are swept away we are left with our God, our family, our food, our shelter and our friends. I need to place more priority on those things and less on the distractions my comparatively modern life has to offer.

I had the chance to baptize my son a couple of weeks ago. What a blessing! Check it out! Peace...adam

I had this thought that struck me the other day while I was on the road to lead worship at a friend's church. "What am I telling my kids with my non-verbal actions that life is about?" I was thinking about everything that I place priority on in my life and how, when I'm gone and they're grown, they are going to take cues on how life should be lived from me. I can leave them at home while I go and do the work God has called me to and they will most likely grow up and do the same with their kids. I could sit at home and only watch TV and they will probably do the same. You get the idea.

I thought I would challenge myself, and some of my friends, on this idea. I would say that I am most passionate about Jesus, my wife, my kids, others and then everything else. But, the actions that my kids see might portray a different set of priorities. They see me after I'm done praying/worshiping/leading/mentoring/studying etc. They don't get to see a lot of the more "spiritual" things that I do. So as I took an honest inventory of what they do see, I felt like my kids would know a few things if I were gone tomorrow.

1. Jesus is the most important thing.
2. We should worship with passion.
3. I love their Mom more than anyone else. (so far so good)
4. Tarheel Basketball is VERY important.
5. The TV can stay on most of the time. (uh-oh)
6. Having fun with friends is one of the most important things in life.
7. Daddy's PlayStation is a lot of fun and I should definitely learn how to play it.
8. The computer and cell phone trump most things.

1-3 are pretty good, but the rest of the list isn't reflective of my true priorities (at least in my heart) but it is probably what they see. That last one hurts especially bad. I thought about how I read and I pray, but rarely in front of my kids. Don't get me wrong, we bless our kids every night. We talk about God. What His Word says. How its principles should affect how we live our everyday lives. But they don't see me pounding it down, working it through, talking about it with friends, asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

When I'm gone, I want my kids to be able to know how they should live. I want them to say, "I saw my Dad and Mom live it; now it's my turn and my turn to teach my kids the same." I am sending this out to a few friends and asking them, "What is my life telling my kids?" and "What do I want it to be telling them?" If they allow me, I'll post some of their thoughts here.

I, for one, intend to start being a little more intentional with what my non-verbal communications say to my kids. I want them to know that a relationship with God changes who we are, prioritizes our life and gives us an eternal perspective. I want them to know God is alive and well, not just by what they hear, but by what they see.

This weekend we celebrate Easter. The holiest of days for our faith. Our church has a Good Friday service that focuses our attention on the price paid for our sins. I really enjoy this time of reflection and find myself coming out of it with a renewed commitment to not let His sacrifice be in vain. I thought I would take a couple of moments to write about what His Resurrection means to me.

Check out this quote:

"Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection."--Watchman Nee

This is what it means to me. That my imperfect life finds its perfection in the resurrected Christ. He carried with Him all my sin and shame to the grave. He carried the weight of my mistakes; past, present and future. As a worshiper, this pushes me to worship more than anything else. I am so undeserving of love and redemption and yet He did it anyway. My Dad always told me growing up that "if I were the only one that would've given my life to Him Jesus still would've died for me." That insight into the passionate love Jesus has for each of us has propelled my life forward as a worshiper from a young age and continues to push me forward now.

His resurrection means I am free from the law of sin and death.
His resurrection means I am no longer bound to serve my flesh.
His resurrection means I am able to walk in the Spirit.
His resurrection means I can call God my Father.
His resurrection means I can come into His presence without fear.
His resurrection means I can connect to God. Anytime. Anywhere.
His resurrection means I have a purpose to this life.
His resurrection means I don't have to fear death.
His resurrection means I am His.
His resurrection means He is mine.
His resurrection means He's my friend.

Take some time to reflect on how the resurrection of Jesus has changed you and what it means to you. I'd love to hear about it!

Hebrews 2:11-12 says "For both He (Jesus) who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He (Jesus) is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying,"I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR (Father God) NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE."

This passage is a guiding passage in worship for me. Notice that Jesus says here that he proclaims the Name of God to us and sings God's praise in the congregation. When we gather in our congregations, large or small, Jesus shows up to sing the praise and name of the Father.

The names of God are numerous and encompass every aspect of His character that He has disclosed to us. I believe that Jesus stands up in the midst (King James word ;-) of our gatherings and begins to declare the name of the Father that best describes what God wants to do. I have been in meetings where it was evident that God was there to heal. Based on this passage, I believe that Jesus was there singing out "Jehovah-Rophe" the God that heals. Take some time to reflect on the names of God and the character they reveal. Names like Jehovah-Rophe (healer), Jireh (provider), Tsidkenu (righteousness), Nissi (banner), Shalom (peace), M'Kadesh (sanctifier), Elohim (Lord God) and Rohi (Shepherd). The list could go on. Here's a great site to use for reflection on this: http://ldolphin.org/Names.html

Psalms 22:3 says that He is "entrhoned on the praises of Israel". Which literally means, He sets up His rule where He is praised. Jack Hayford said once that he felt it meant that God would "set up His kingdom rule in the way most appropriate to that situation."

The next time you're leading people in worship. Be listening for the song of Jesus to help you see what the Father's desire is for the people gathered in that place.