In our morning service, I felt like John did a tremendous job reflecting the glory of God as he led us in our time of praise. I know there has been talk as of late around the blogosphere about singing songs that go along with the sermon as a negative thing. However, I really feel as though it enriches the worship service and helps get everyone, including myself, prepared to hear what God wants us to hear. We finished our series on the Sermon on the Mount, in which we focused our attention on the two types of foundations that Jesus describes in Matthew 7:24-27. I stressed that a life that is built upon anything other than the truths of the gospel, mainly Jesus, are not lives that are bringing glory to God. I compared the rock and sand to either building your life on Jesus or on church tradition. This is precisely what Jesus was teaching here in this passage. He was addressing those who were grounded in a particular religious establishment, but were unwilling to obediently follow Christ and His teachings. All in all I felt like it was an eye-opening experience for many and spiritual reality check for us all. My prayer is that many repented of their religiousity and turned to obediently follow Christ.
Last night was a great time of intimate worship. Again, I really felt the presence of God in our midst. We began our journey studying Psalm 51, a prayer of repentance, which has a played a huge role in my life pursuing Christ and His glory. We just covered the first verse, which was an appeal to the mercy of God, which is our only hope in seeking forgiveness. We talked about how we usually come to God like little children come to their parents when they have done something wrong, full of excuses and defenses. We learned that the only appeal we had was to appeal to His mercy.
It was a great weekend, except for the fact that Allyssa was sick. The past few weeks I have really felt myself in full pursuit of God's glory. For the first time in my life, I am feeling a genuine clossness with God, which is a very humbling expereince. My only appeal is for Him to grant me the grace and mercy that is needed for Him to be glorified in my life.
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3 comments:
Hi Scott,
I think there is value to having a sermon prefaced by appropriate worship music.
Jim
Thank you scott for sharing your sundays reflections with us. I have been uplifted and encouraged. God bless you brother!
Great comments, and great reading. I'll have to follow more closely. I too think that songs and sermons can go together well.
It's sad to hear of praising God in song to be considered a negative thing - whatever the theme might be. I'm sure that in most every church, we all have to struggle against judging things this way. If we all would stop for a moment before worship and consider just how many negative things Jesus himself could find in us - and then realize how easily he overlooks our flaws to accept us if we are seeking him. Romans 15:7
Again, as you say, If we but rest ourselves upon the rock, we will not be swept away in the sand.
Keep up the good work.
Paul
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