Souljourn

Currently listening to...

I love this new worship CD from Bethel Church.  We are already singing two of the songs in church (Deep Cries Out and I Exalt Thee) and I would expect a few more will be added to the mix.

 

 

I'll explain tomorrow

Did Milton Bradley fool the church?

Sunday morning wish

When I consider our Sunday morning gathering I have one wish for our time as we gather.  Oh sure, I have lots of much smaller desires like; no spelling mistakes in the lyrics of are worship songs, people arriving on time, guests being warmly welcomed, infants and toddlers enjoying our nursery.  You know, the usual rundown of items which in my mind help to create a welcoming, distraction free (light?) environment.  But those are just the small items.  My big wish, my prayer, is that every single person who gathers will encounter the goodness of Jesus Christ.

I have no idea about the situations the people gathering are walking through.  For the most part, I am not privy to the burdens that are being carried, or the questions being asked.   

We have our worship set prepared, and my sermon is written, but if all we do is run efficiently through our program then we have let those who gather down.  

Our great need is to encounter Jesus.  To experience Him meeting us at our point of need with His extravagant grace and goodness.  To drink deeply from His love so we can share that with the world in the following days.  To be convicted by His Spirit so the character of Christ is more fully formed in our lives.  To be challenged and instructed by His Word so the pathway of our lives is stable.

That is my wish for our time this morning,  that we would encounter Jesus.

 

ps.  The spelling mistake in the second sentence was intentional.  

I don't want to be like the pool of Bethesda

From the account found in John 5, the pool of Bethesda most often lay still and dormant surrounded by people in great need.  It was occasionally (infrequently) stirred.  Sometimes troubled.  Mostly useless, and surrounded by unmet expectations.

It wasn't until the water was stirred, or troubled, that somebody would be helped.  As long as the water stayed calm, or unmoved, the needs of those around it went unanswered.

I don't want to live a life like that.  Infrequently, if ever, stirred.  Hidden away in comfortable complacency, untroubled by the needs of those around me.

I want to be stirred.  I want to be troubled.  I want to live as if Heaven and Hell hung in the balance.

But I have discovered that no matter how stirred I get, unless there is a continual stirring, or agitation, I can quickly settle back into complacency once again.  And I can't rely on some external person, or event, to stir me (the elusive angel at the pool).  This is a responsibility that is mine alone.  

It is my responsibility to determine the time I will spend with God allowing Him to speak to my heart.  It is my responsibility who I associate with and the voices I listen to (1 Corinthians 15:33).  It is my responsibility whether or not I  turn a blind eye or deaf ear to the needs and cries of those around me. 

As far as  I can tell from the story in John 5, one person had their needs met that day and countless others continued their vigil around a dormant body of water.  Waiting, hoping, and probably even praying that it would get stirred enough to meet them at their point of need and help them.  

I'm convinced there are people around you and I doing the exact same thing.

 

 

Random Sunday Night Thoughts

What a weekend!  We hosted about 300 students this weekend for our annual youth and young adults conference - Consumed - and it was incredible.  Adam & Janice and their team did a superb job of leading the conference and hosting our guests.  In the words of a couple youth leaders, '...this weekend was awesome and flawless...'  Our ministry team of Andy Moore and Heather Clark knocked it out of the park in worship and the word in our general sessions, and our breakouts definitely struck a chord.

This morning in our service, several students shared testimonies about the work of Jesus in their life this weekend, and their growing passion for Jesus definitely shone brightly.

The conference and all it held was absolutely impacting, but some of the highlights for me came from behind the scenes.  

• The servant hearted flexibility of our Soup & Sandwich ministry to share a too small kitchen with a too large group and all I heard was the sound of laughter.
• The enthusiasm shown by church family members to participate in the service this morning in a video overflow room because our auditorium was FULL.
• The over abundance of cookies baked by our church family in a show of love and support for our students.
• Despite the volume, some of our more senior saints expressing joy because what they heard was not volume but students passionately loving Jesus. 
• Volunteer youth leaders taking time off work and giving up a weekend of their time for the sake of students encountering Jesus.
• Not moments after this conference was over having conversations with people who were definitely exhausted from flat out serving but were already looking forward to next year.

These are just a few of the moments that are currently filling my heart.  I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity God has given me to journey with such an amazing group of people!!

 

Here's a few other random musings:

• It looks like I'll be cheering for an Eastern team to win the Grey Cup (Go Montreal!!)
• At our Saturday night service I preached from 1 Corinthians 13 - love is patient and not easily irritated - and then hit every yellow/red light driving home.  Great opportunity to practice what I preach!
• I'm embarrassed to admit it but when I was looking through one of Andy Moore's internship applications I found quite a bit of pleasure in discovering a spelling mistake. (does this make me a bad person?)

Four questions to ask ourselves before going to church

In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul addresses a problem in the church.  They were gathering for the wrong reasons and their gathering was actually doing more harm than it was good.  A consumer type mentality had crept into their midst where people were approaching church gatherings with a 'what's in it for me?' mentality.

To help them out of this dangerous place Paul gives them some instructions that can be summed up in these four questions.

1. Am I remembering Jesus? -  v.26

The Christian life can too easily become a life of discipline when it was intended to be a life of passion.  We need to keep Jesus before us constantly and live in response to His example of love, sacrifice and service to others.  I know for myself, when I remain focussed on Jesus, so many of life's situations and circumstances are handled so much differently.

 2. Am I regularly taking time to examine myself? -  v.28

  Our great need is not for another sermon, but rather to put into practice what we have already learned.  I need to regularly pause and ask myself, 'Is there any area of my life where I am knowingly living contrary to God's Word?' and then I need to take the appropriate actions to remedy that. 

3. Am I eating at home? - v.34

 Is the sermon on Sunday my one meal a week or am I feeding myself in God's Word and worship?  If I show up famished then I am definitely going to be in the posture of a taker, whereas if I'm regularly eating at home I show up ready to give.

4. Am I ready to serve others? -  v.33

Am I sensitive to the needs of those around me when we gather?  Am I coming with a readiness to serve others so that their needs might be met (remember, I ate at home so I don't really need to eat again)?

 

Paul's clear implication in chapter 11 is that if we will ask ourselves these questions;  the Body of Jesus will be represented properly on the earth, the Church will be sought out by people, the needs of people will be met, and we will be healthy and strong in our faith.

 

 

 

 

No thanks, I ate at home

What would our Sunday morning gatherings (and Saturday night) look like if we 'ate at home'?  I guess you'll just have to come to church this morning to find out.  Just for some context, we are continuing on with our series through 1 Corinthians and looking at chapter 11.

ps. you can check back here later for more info if you're not able to gather with us.

Favourite hymn?

During our Thanksgiving services we sang the hymn, All Creatures of our God and King.  It is a great hymn that speaks of creation joining together in a chorus of praise to our glorious God.  Later that week at our staff meeting we were reviewing the services and I was amused to hear that some of our younger staff thought it was a song written by David Crowder (he did record this song in 2003 but it was written long before that by Francis of Assissi in 1225).

When I hear (or hum/sing) certain hymns that are like majestic anthems to God I can't help but being stirred (this happens to a lesser degree when I remember the scene from The Hunt for Red October with Sean Connery leading Russian submariners in the Russian National Anthem).  Hymns carry with them not only an emotional stirring, but a depth of theology as they speak to the character of God and His great plan of redemption.

We are going to be incorporating some hymns, and the stories behind them, in our Advent series this Christmas (starting Nov 27/28) and I would love to get your input.  What are some of your favourite hymns?

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, we will NOT be incorporating I'll Fly Away into our Advent series.

 

Meetings

Today was a full day of meetings.  Phone meetings, staff meetings, lunch meetings and planning meetings (topped off by picking up my kids from a youth meeting). It was a great day.  Not because I particularly like meetings, but because I had the chance to spend time with some great people hearing answers to prayer, discussing some exciting ministry opportunities on the horizon, and making some decisions to help us more effectively share God's Word.  

If you are already feeling that this year is going by too quickly you may not want to hear this, but we spent a good deal of time planning Christmas.  We discussed some great ideas for worship and our Advent services, as well as Christmas eve and our Boxing Day door crasher prizes (stay tuned for more on that!). I think we've got some great ideas that I really believe people are going to connect well with.

I'm privileged to serve at an amazing Church and work alongside amazing leaders.

Oh and the icing on the cake, when I went to pick up our kids from youth I found out that two teens said YES to Jesus tonight.  

What a great day!