Worship please!

in the midst of many churches today the issue of attitude towards worship rears it's ugly head for some churches every Sunday morning. play this song, they don't do it like I used to sing it or maybe that's not the problem. maybe it's my problem and yours. i am reminded of a psalm this morning that brings a hopeful understanding to the nonsense we sometimes make of worship: ourselves. if you were to read psalm 84 with an honest heart and reflected on the true nature of why this man worshipped God, I think quickly we would, well at least I did, see that sometimes our hearts are not even merely close to where they need to be on Sunday mornings or even more importantly 24/7.

read the chapter below and if you heart is not set on truly glorifying God in your day-to-day walk and if your focus is set more on you and your needs on Sunday mornings than the King, then my response is why even come. when we come to worship ourselves, we have no need for God and we better understand that God will not hear our plea unless full attention is given unto him and our hearts are set on his face. with much love i eat these words myself. come on church let's focus our eyes and be excited that we have the chance to proclaim the name of God! that's all.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
      O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
 ² I long, yes, I faint with longing
      to enter the courts of the Lord.
   With my whole being, body and soul,
      I will shout joyfully to the living God.
 ³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
      and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young
   at a place near your altar,
      O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!
 ⁴ What joy for those who can live in your house,
      always singing your praises.
                         Selah
 ⁵ What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord,
      who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
 ⁶ When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
      it will become a place of refreshing springs.
      The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.
 ⁷ They will continue to grow stronger,
      and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem.
 ⁸ O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, hear my prayer.
      Listen, O God of Jacob.
                         Selah
 ⁹ O God, look with favor upon the king, our shield!
      Show favor to the one you have anointed.
 ¹⁰ A single day in your courts
      is better than a thousand anywhere else!
   I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God
      than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.
 ¹¹ For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
      He gives us grace and glory.
   The Lord will withhold no good thing
      from those who do what is right.
 ¹² O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
      what joy for those who trust in you. (NLT)


Aaron

Ground control to Major Tom....

Like the intro? Yes, it doesn't make sense. But it got that song stuck in your head didn't it? Anywho, well what's new with me. Well I'll tell you.

Recently, I have been re-reading a few books. I would consider you reading both of these books with caution! The first one is called "Radical" by David Platt and alongside of it I started reading "The Hole in our Gospel" by Richard Stearns (President of World Vision) joined with an awesome message about "contentment" this past Sunday morning and adding all of that together my mind and my heart are changing. I want to give more. I want to serve more. I want to go more. The more that I read and see in life, I understand that it has less to do about me. It has all to do with the world. The other people who don't know that God is desperately seeking them and has made a way to know Him through Christ.

And I wonder how many times we forget that it is a privilege and honor to know Christ but also to be associated with Him means that it demands a life of sacrifice and humility? I thank God everyday for the blessings that I sometimes so easily take for granted. As I look and see around the world, their are millions of people who would love to have the liberties and freedom that I enjoy. So, what do I do about it?

I have decided that every three years or less that I am gonna go. I am gonna save money and go. I want to go and tell people about Christ around the world. But not just save money and go but give more money. What good is it sitting in my bank if people need food and water? So, it starts this Spring Break in Haiti. My wife and I are going to serve and to meet the needs of the people in Haiti. I want to feel what they feel and see what they see. I want my eyes to be opened further than what I see here in America. So, I will go.

What if we could stop for a second and analyze our lives, our churches and take a look beyond ourselves and see that we could do more. No, I am not one of those political nuts or extreme rally persons, but I do think that we are so narrow-minded when it comes to how many people don't know Christ. Last time I checked, everyone was called to continue the mission of Christ. In case you forgot or need a slap in the face it's: Love God will all your heart, mind, soul and strength, Love your neighbor as yourself and Go and share the Gospel with the nations. How are you doing with that?


Aaron

It's raining.....

Well, it's been a few weeks since I last posted. Let's do a recap. I preached two services on evangelism, saw Alabama lose to South Carolina, had an awesome student messy game night and now I am recuperating from the madness. I think I finally got all of the shaving cream out of my ear. Ah, the joys of being a student pastor.

But something is on my mind. I sometimes feel as if I am trying to sell Jesus to students. Like Jesus is something like a car. Here is all of the nice parts about becoming a Christian and you should jump aboard. I am not saying that my faith is wavering or I am confessing something blasphemous, I am just wrestling with that thought right now. Don't know what to think about it but I don't think that it is bad.

I just feel that sometimes there is more to it than me telling the students about Jesus. I mean I know that relationships are important and having key leaders involved in the lives of students but am I missing something? I know it's not about flashy lights and the best worship team in town. I mean the Bible speaks for itself and we are just vessels to expand it's meaning and presence in the world by living out the words on the pages.

So, what to do? I am realizing that I need to stop relying so much on my teaching abilities and start working on more of the hands-on abilities. Recently, you would have heard me say it's all about the "heart knowledge not the head knowledge" meaning that it needs to come forth in action. But sometimes it is hard to do such things when everything is resting on your shoulders. I think that my problem is that I rely too much on ministering to kids and not actually living out my faith in my community. Do I really stop to listen or talk with people about Christ? I feel sometimes as if my job alone is supposed to do all of that and I don't think I am right. Yes, students need to hear about God but so do others in our community.

So, my prayer is that God would reveal to me ways to get our students living the words of Christ through actions in our community. It's great to have them all meet on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings but I think we need a more hands-on approach. While teaching and preaching is one of my strong suits, getting actively involved is where I struggle. I think we all struggle in this area. Can you admit it?

Aaron