Augustine's Prayer

O you who are everywhere present, filling yet transcending all things; ever acting, ever at rest; you who teach the hearts of the faithful without noise of words: teach us, we pray you, through Jesus Christ our lord. Amen. --Augustine

Favorite Christmas songs?

What are your favorite Christmas songs, and why?  Which verse(s) or phrases?

Luke 2:21-40


21 And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his name was called JESUS, which was so called by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 22 And when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. 25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him after the custom of the law, 28 then he received him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Now lettest thou thy servant depart, Lord, According to thy word, in peace; 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; 32 A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy people Israel.

God, give us such a heart of anticipation like Simeon had!

Authentic

Father, grant that what we sing with our lips, we may believe in our hearts,
and what we believe in our hearts, we may show forth in our lives.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Giving Thanks day

The phrase, Thanksgiving Day, rolls off the tongue all too easily - without passing through the mind or the heart.  How about calling it Giving Thanks day?  That little "speed bump" might help our minds and hearts engage and connect with the One from whom all good gifts come.

The Lord's Prayer

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he told them not to use vain repetitions.  Then he gave them an outline to use in their prayer life.  Unfortunately, that very outline can become a vain repetition.  Let's slow down as we pray it.  Let's let words guide the thoughts of our hearts.

The first two words of the prayer are "Our Father".  Our Father, you have called us into a family relationship with you and with one another.  Let us walk as your children, as brothers and sisters with each other. Let us recognize your father heart that has adopted us as your own.  We love you, Father. 

Famous One

God is great

There are lots of worship songs that talk about the greatness of God.

Great is the Lord! He is holy and just.
By His power we trust in His love.

Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!

How great is our God! Sing with me! How great is our God!

What does it mean that God is great? What other songs come to mind that talk about the greatness of God?  Scriptures? I would love to hear from many in response to this.

Face Down

What does it mean to worship? Bruce shared this morning about bowing down or prostrating ourselves before God. Here is a link to a related page that explores the Hebrew: http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/inquirers/prostration_heb.aspx

Jesus said that the Father seeks those worshippers who worship in spirit and in truth. How does our spirit bow down prostrate to God?

March 14

I am still surprised when God takes a service and knits it together so that the various threads make one tapestry. 

March 7, 2010

A couple of items from yesterday's service: Tom and I teamed together. I would be interested in feedback (not the kind from sound systems) regarding that arrangement.  How was the sound?  Did the songs flow in ministry? Any other comments? 

In terms of lyrics projection, I noticed at least one instance of the mouse pointer showing up on the projection screen. This demonstrates the need for projection ministry training. Volunteer availability for training has, however, been a challenge. 

Wednesday evening

Bruce preached on Phil 3:7 and talked about God offering us something beter whenever he calls us to release something. For some reason, I am still suprised when God coordinates the songs with the message.

YWAM team sharing

Last Wednesday a Youth With A Mission team, recently returned from their Africa Outreach, came and shared in our Wednesday evening service. What a challenging word! They were sharing about the plight of the children. The comment made by one of the girls on the team was challenging. "I used to think that giving my money was what I should do. But God has been challenging me to think outside the box. How can I help the children. God is telling me to throw away the box." How can we be God's hands touching the children with His love?

Development of Projection Training

I am pleased with the progress on developing the projection training.  It looks like it will be essentially four units:

1. Unit 1 - Ministry, Worship, and Projection
2. Unit 2 - Preparation for Service
3. Unit 3 - The User Interface
4. Unit 4 - Best Practices

During this week the people involved in the projection ministry will be creating their accounts on the wiki that we will be using in unit 1.  Sunday morning we will start in ernest.

Lyrics Projection training

I am going to be putting together some traing for the people who are doing the lyrics projection.  I would appreciate some feedback regarding the projection ministry at Lamb of God.

It is kind of one of those things where, when everything goes right, you don't think about it. However, please think about what is working well.  Where are we excelling?  Where can we improve?  I will be reviewing the comments to help in identifying opportunities for improvement that we might be able to move toward by providing some additional targeted training.  This is, in no way, a negative reflection on what is currently being done.  We want to perform our ministry in a way that enhances our worship experience and honors our God. 

Carried along....

2 Peter 1:20-21 (New International Version)


20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

What does it mean to be carried along by the Holy Spirit?  What are the implications for our times of worship?

Christmas Eve

I liked the carolling in the narthex as people walked in.  I think it helped them to prepare for our Christmas celebration.

Deep words

I love the depth and richness of many of the Christmas carols, especially in the later, less well known verses.  We sang one of those on Sunday.

Come Desire of nations come

Fix in us Thy humble home

Rise the woman's conq'ring seed

Bruise in us the serpent's head

Adam's likeness now efface

Stamp Thine image in its place

Second Adam from above

Reinstate us in Thy love

Hark the herald angels sing

Glory to the newborn King

December 6 service - walking in step with the Spirit

I'm thinking that I must have missed something.  Bruce said at the start of the service that the focus on the services during a\Advent were going to be Christ's first coming, his coming now, and his coming again.  I didn't catch that in the service on Sunday,  however.  Maybe he was talking about Wednesdays.

At any rate, a couple of things from worship that I am wondering about any feedback.  First, the songs in the first worship set (with the exception of the last one) all moved directly from one to the other without any pause.  This was intentional. 

• Come, Now is the Time to Worship =>
• O Come Let Us Adore Him =>
• Celebrate the Lord of Love =>
• Trading My Sorrows =>
• Joy to the World

The intention was that the message of each song would build on the previous.

Secondly, for the offering song I chose one that I was hoping would be easy for the congregation to pick up on.  I think they did.  "You are the vine, we are the branches, Oh- - -" etc.

First Advent service

I really enjoyed the music at this service.  I think it was easy for the congregation to pick up on (once the timing on O Come O Come Emmanuel was understood) and had a mood that reflects the mystery of the incarnation.  One of the things that music can do is to communicate in a way that grasps not just the brain, but the heart too.