Read Psalm 43
1 Vindicate me, my God,
and plead my cause
against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
deceitful and wicked.
2 You are God my stronghold.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
oppressed by the enemy?
3 Send me your light and your faithful care,
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to the place where you dwell.
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
We sit in rows, week after week, singing songs, listening to messages and “doing” church. But what happens when we go home? What happens when real life hits and all of the sudden the idea of “worship” needs to be broader—your definition of who God is needs to be broader? Worship is about us and God, but it’s about so much more. It’s about the past. It’s about the people in our present life and it’s about the activity of our day in and day out world. Worship isn’t just singing songs. Worship is how we live our lives.
How would you define worship? How have you experienced worship, both privately and publicly? Is worship something you enjoy? What do you think of the idea that we can worship God with both music and also with our lives?
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
The Cinderella story
We all love a good Cinderella story, where the main character involved goes from being walked over and pushed around to being the hero. And it happens in the most unlikely of places. Take VCU for example. Most people did not expect them to even make the NCAA Tourney and when they did no one expected them to beat USC or Georgetown or Kansas the list goes on and here thy are in the Final Four. We love it when we see it , the little guy finally beating the bigger guy. Or nerdy guy finally getting the cute girl or the job or whatever . There is something inside of us that makes us want to pull for the under dog, the not good enough or you will never be able to do that sort of mentality.
The question is do we just like a good story , the drama and the thrill of it all or is it because in some way or another we have all felt like the under dog. At some point in life we have all been told by someone we did not quite measure up, we are not quite smart enough or fast enough or whatever enough , you do not meet the standard. That is what is so great about the Cinderella story, we find out the things that are not good enough are not a part of the equation for what God uses for greatness, in fact I believe that God wants to make each of in to a Cinderella story.
Look who are Jesus picks as a part of his team, the not good enoughs the left outs and the guys who fish for a living. They are not trained they are not qualified, they really have very little going for them except they are willing. They are willing to drops their nets and follow Jesus, they are willing to give up everything they know to follow this guy who is proclaiming good news. The good news is that with God and through the help of the Holy Spirit we are all a part of a Cinderella team, a Cinderella movement a thing where the sum of the parts may not look like much but when moving in the right direction can change the world. That is what draws us to teams like the VCU Rams because they have overcome unbelievable odds when no one gave them a chance , their story draws us in because we hope it is our story to. That God may take my life for whatever it is worth and accomplish far greater things for Gods Kingdom then I could ever do on my on. It is what excited us about Easter , the Messiah defeats death the ultimate number one seed and replaces death with Life. That my friends is how I spell VICTORY. All I have to do is trust and believe that God through Christ is who He claims to be. My Prayer is that we may all have a Cinderella story when it is all said and done and claim the Victory that is ours. May you know that God is always calling the not good enoughs and may you have the guts to respond.
Go Rams !
The question is do we just like a good story , the drama and the thrill of it all or is it because in some way or another we have all felt like the under dog. At some point in life we have all been told by someone we did not quite measure up, we are not quite smart enough or fast enough or whatever enough , you do not meet the standard. That is what is so great about the Cinderella story, we find out the things that are not good enough are not a part of the equation for what God uses for greatness, in fact I believe that God wants to make each of in to a Cinderella story.
Look who are Jesus picks as a part of his team, the not good enoughs the left outs and the guys who fish for a living. They are not trained they are not qualified, they really have very little going for them except they are willing. They are willing to drops their nets and follow Jesus, they are willing to give up everything they know to follow this guy who is proclaiming good news. The good news is that with God and through the help of the Holy Spirit we are all a part of a Cinderella team, a Cinderella movement a thing where the sum of the parts may not look like much but when moving in the right direction can change the world. That is what draws us to teams like the VCU Rams because they have overcome unbelievable odds when no one gave them a chance , their story draws us in because we hope it is our story to. That God may take my life for whatever it is worth and accomplish far greater things for Gods Kingdom then I could ever do on my on. It is what excited us about Easter , the Messiah defeats death the ultimate number one seed and replaces death with Life. That my friends is how I spell VICTORY. All I have to do is trust and believe that God through Christ is who He claims to be. My Prayer is that we may all have a Cinderella story when it is all said and done and claim the Victory that is ours. May you know that God is always calling the not good enoughs and may you have the guts to respond.
Go Rams !
Thursday, March 24, 2011
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