Worship, Part 2 of 3

   In worship we have the opportunity to live out the JOY of being disciples, followers, of Jesus Christ.  He is the resurrected and living LORD.  Fully human and fully God, now ascended into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God the Father.  That same power the raised Jesus from the dead--that made the blind to see, the lame to walk, that set the captives free--is at work in our lives in our worship of God.  

We forget that JOY when we feel pressure to pursue the status quo in worship.   When we bring our expectations of what we did last time and expect it to be the same this time.  When we worry about the questions that are secondary to our primary call we lose the JOY of worship.  

Questions like:
Are we going to sing the songs I want to sing?
Am I going to hear something that I want to hear?
Am I going to get “fed” today?
Is it going to finish when I want it to be over?
Are we going to say the things I want to say?

These questions focus too much on the "what" of worship.  Experiencing the JOY of worship is the "how."  The main thing is not necessarily WHAT we do in worship, but HOW we worship.  Christian worship never compromises the focus of Jesus Christ and the work that He did on the Cross.  As the Only Son of God, He makes the way for us to know God.  We do so today by the power of the Holy Spirit.  That is a JOYOUS thing!  Are you ready to experience that JOY?

We experience the JOY of worship when we engage fully.  We must participate with our entire being: heart, mind, body, and soul.  Remember that JOY is different than mere happiness.  Happiness is contingent upon our immediate circumstances.  JOY is an attitude.  We may not feel JOY when we come into worship.  But through our worship, we experience a JOY that is like no other--the JOY of the LORD.  We do so not for our sake, but for His.  Take the Psalms for an example of the JOY in worship. The Psalms were and still are often used in Worship.  The word “rejoice” appears no less than 55 times in the Psalms.  When we worship the LORD in Spirit and Truth we can do nothing but experience His JOY for His sake.

Worship--Part 1

The United Methodist Church’s stated mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.  We fulfill that mission through participating in discipleship through our prayers, our presences, our gifts, our service, and our witness.  One of the most visible ways we do that is through our corporate worship.


Whether we are new to worship or have participated in worship as long as we can remember, it is helpful to occasionally reflect upon our worship. What happens in worship?  How should it be done?  What is our role in worship?


In my congregation we worship on Sunday morning.  We spend a great deal of time preparing for those worship services.  Every word said has been carefully prayed over.  Music has been rehearsed.  The worship space has been prepared.  


So, how do we, as members of a congregation coming to worship, prepare ourselves for worship?  Worship, believe it or not, takes some work.  It is a holy work.  It is work worth doing.  It is work that does not exhaust, but refreshes.  Whether we participate in a uniform, regular order of worship or not, we all participate in a “Liturgy.”  Liturgy literally means “the work of the people.”  Liturgy does not have to be confined to something we read through in traditional worship.  


It is indeed powerful to remember, participate, and celebrate the traditions of the centuries of worship that came before us.  But all worship: traditional, contemporary, emerging, etc. is a form of “liturgy” as a WORK OF THE PEOPLE.  Worship is not a spectator’s sport.  That refreshing work comes when the people of God prepare themselves.  True worship occurs when we bring OURSELVES to the worship of God.  This requires more than our mere physical presence.  This requires our entire being.


Worship is powerful!  There is power when the people of God come to worship.  The power is already there in the Person and Presence of the Holy Spirit.  We don’t have to force it or make it happen.  He is already there.  Sometimes we are unaware of the power the surrounds us.  It is then that our worship will feel dry and empty.


The Holy Spirit is working in worship.  The difference is how we prepare for that encounter.  We must open ourselves to the work of the Holy Spirit by reverent and careful preparation.  When we come to worship we must put aside our physical distractions: the phones or other things that would take us away from the Spirit’s work.  We must put aside our expectations, our demands, or our preconceived ideas.  We cannot be concerned with making sure we “sing the right songs” or “say the right things” or “hear the right sermon.”  Instead we must be concerned how our worship of God glorifies Him alone and transforms us in the process.

What is your purpose?

How would you define your purpose?  By purpose we mean: desire, destination, determination, function, mission, objective, point, reason.  Have you ever considered your purpose?  Does everyone have a purpose?  How would you begin to find out your purpose?


Some might say to “live a long and happy life.”  How would you know when you accomplished that?  Some might say to “have fun.”  Sounds like a great goal, but is that really a purpose?  Some might say to “be a good person and take care of my family.”  How do you define a “good” person?  How do you take care of your family?


In The Gathering we are in a study of the book of Philippians.  Paul tells the church at Philippi “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Philippians 2:1-2.


What is that 1 purpose, that spirit, that love of which Paul speaks?  Later in chapter 2 he illustrates that in the example of Jesus Christ.  The One who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself to show us how to love, how to live, to show us OUR PURPOSE!


Let’s join in the discussion about purpose.  Let’s reconcile this idea together.  Let’s prayerfully seek out our purpose together.  If you miss any of the sermons, they are available online at www.fairhopeumc.org/mediapulpit or on iTunes.

A New School Year and the Blessing of the Backpacks

The new school year is about to begin.  Over the weekend, our living room floor was covered with new school supplies.  My children carefully lined up packs of paper, binders, markers, pencils, pens, and other necessities.  They carefully labeled each one and placed each in the proper holder, ready for our “meet the teacher” day.   A new energy fills the house when the school supplies show up.  Though we are sorry to see summer go, we are excited about the year that is ahead.  We seem to everything we need and just in time.

I have a feeling that this is the same in many homes across our community and across the nation.  We have prepared with school supplies, uniforms, lunch boxes and backpacks.  But have we prepared with the most important thing: Prayer?  Is prayer for our students, teachers, administrators, and support staff an afterthought or a priority?  Oswald Chambers is credited as saying, “Prayer does not fit us for the greater work, prayer is the greater work.”

When I was teaching school I learned a great lesson from a colleague.  At the beginning of the new school year, she would call the parents of each of her 125 or so students.  She would introduce herself and ask about some extra ideas to help each child succeed.  That set the tone for a positive school environment for the whole year.  If she had to make a phone call to deal with a negative issue later, at least the first call (and the first impression) had been a positive one.

What if we all did the same thing for our TEACHERS this year?  What if we take the first step in letting our teachers, administrators and support staff know that we have prayed for our children, their teachers, and all involved in the school?  We could let the teachers know that we appreciate them and we are here to support them in a partnership in the education of our children and community.  What a wonderful way for all of us to start the school year.

At Fairhope UMC we will celebrate the beginning of the school year with a “Blessing of the Backpacks” in all services on Sunday, August 14.  We encourage all students to BRING YOUR BACKPACKS TO CHURCH!  We will pray for you, your teachers, and all involved in our schools this year.  Just as we have covered our homes in school supplies, let us cover those materials, our school, our homes, and all involved in the education of our children with prayer as well!