Sunday at SPUMC - Jan. 31, 2010

"O God of all creation, we come here today because we yearn for a connection with you.  We want to feel your presence in our lives, to hear your voice with new ears, and to know how we can serve you better.  We want to be completely changed by our relationship with you.  Mold us into living symbols of your love.  Help our hearts to contain an abundance of joy and forgiveness for others.  Teach us how to pray and how to live - make them one and the same.  We pray these things in the name of Jesus, the one whom you choose to connect us to you.  Amen."

Today was the last day of focusing on "Worship"!  It started out kind of quiet... but became another lively Sunday morning.

The Education Hour:
*  The Children's Sunday School focused on Jesus as God's Son.  They're job this week, it to tell someone that Jesus is God's special son.
*  The Confirmation Class focused on the Great Commandments and the fact that how we live, what we value, determines how faithful we are to God.
*  The Wired Word group discussed a family that sold their home, and gave half of the money ($800,000) to a hunger-relief charity!  Their lives improved so much by giving, down-sizing, and spending time together as a family...  They're challenge to others is what do you have to give?
*  And Bettie's Caring Ministries has been talking about listening skills, how to support others who are suffering, and how to be an active listener. They've learned about different approaches to helping and why some are not as helpful as we might think, and others are wonderfully supportive and helpful. Sounds like a great class!

In worship, we focused on worshipping here and now - there's no right or wrong time - just do it!  We even had the opportunity to sign a covenant between ourselves and God, committing to worship whole-heartedly and often.  Jill gave another great children's chat - reminding the kids that we are like "ships" - unique and different, and that we should look at worship in a new way:  We Offer R SHIPS (selves).  WORSHIP is offering our whole self to God.  (The kids even got ships to take home as a reminder!)

Next week, we'll begin focusing on PRAYER.  I hope you'll join us!

Keeping Commitments

"At my church, we take the idea of presence very seriously.  In fact, we ask people to write down the number of Sundays they'll attend worship services in the coming year.  Now, we don't take roll to see who's there or not, but we don't need to.  We've found that when people commit to be here, they follow through with what they said they'd do, no matter what.  They know that when they're not at the service, there's no telling what they'll miss, what they would have been able to teach somebody, what they would have learned, how somebody might have encouraged them, or how they might have helped someone else.  I'll give you an example.

"A dozen or so years ago, a huge ice storm came through our city.  It arrived on Friday, and it was looking pretty bad.  Most churches in town announced that they wouldn't have services that weekend, because we were all supposed to be iced in for the next several days.  At my church, however, we decided not to make that announcement.  We decided we'd have church, and if people wanted to come, they'd come.  We figured we'd rather take a chance just in case the weather wasn't too severe.

"I arrived at church around six thirty that Sunday morning.  Ice was everywhere, but I wasn't there alone.  One of the first people I saw was an elderly member.  I said, "Miss Lucille, I didn't expect to see you here today."

"Do you know what she replied?  "Why?"

"I responded, "Well, it's so icy, and you have to have somebody to drive you, so I thought you'd decide not to come today."

"Boy, did she teach this preacher a lesson.  She said, "John Ed, I didn't decide this morning to come today.  If I had waited until this morning to decide, I wouldn't have come.  It's too cold.  But, you see, I decided last November when I turned in my commitment card that I'd be here forty-eight Sundays.  I know what four I'm going to be out of town, and this isn't one of them.  I decided last November that I'd be here this Sunday in February."

"She already knew what so many people eventually find out:  If you wait until Sunday morning to decide whether or not you'll go to church, you'll most likely never get there.  It'll probably be pretty easy to find an excuse not to go.  If you make a commitment that you're part of the family and you're not going to miss an opportunity to take part in whatever happens, however, you'll end up with a much better track record.  You - and your church - will be all the better for it."
--John Ed Mathison, from "Treasures of the Transformed Life"

If somebody asked me how many Sundays I'd be at church in the next year, what would I say?
What am I likely to miss when I'm not at church?

Action

Sometimes, we worship through action.  We put into action our thankfulness, our adoration, our prayers, and our praise of a God who calls us to help our neighbors.  And we DO something.

Last night, 18 people from St. Paul's UMC joined with 72 other people from around the metro area to serve at Feed My Starving Children.  We worked in teams to bag meals that will be sent to Haiti to feed hungry children whose lives have been devastated through poverty - and now the earthquake.  9 million meals have already made their way to Haiti in the last couple of weeks - another 5 million hoped to be shipped out within the next week or so.

Our group of 90 people last night?  We bagged over 15,000 meals in an hour and a half!  That will feed 44 kids for a year!

God blesses us each with gifts and abilities - and time.  It is worship to use those things to glorify him.  Awesome.

Center

"The Discipline of Worship helps us to develop a life dedicated to giving God honor and glory in all that we say and do.  It reminds us that we are not the center of the universe - God is, and therefore he is worthy of our worship.  Oswald Chambers says that in worship we are to "give God the best that he has given us."  We are invited - even called - to give God center place in our family relationships, work, recreation, money, and bodies."
--Valerie Hess, "Habits of a Child's Heart"

Hmmm...  I'm not the center of the universe?  Bummer.

Is God center of my relationship?  Work?  Recreation?  Money?  Body?  How I choose to spend my time?
Every one of these priorities - and how I include God in them - is my CHOICE.  How will I work on choosing God this week?

Do

I read a quote recently that said, "We are what we do."  Another quote that kind of said the same thing: "People become like their focus - we emulate what we think about."  And one more, "What we are devoted to will shape our lives."  (I jotted these down on scrap paper and forgot to write down who said them...  If I find that info, I'll let you know!)

It makes you think, doesn't it? 

What do people see me doing?  What about what I do defines me to other people?

What is my focus that other people zero in on?  What am I emulating in my daily life?

And what is it that is shaping my life - in every moment, with every breath?

In this month of focusing on Worship...  Do people see me as a person of worship?  Is my focus on God and am I emulating a Godly walk everyday?  In every moment, and with every breath - am I thanking and praising God for the life I have?  for the blessings, the lessons, the love, and the hope that surrounds me?

I know I have some thinking to do...  What about you?  When people see your actions, hear your words, sense your focus, and feel your devotion - does it lead them to God? 

Heavy stuff, huh?

Reminders

1 Chronicles 16.29: Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come before him. Worship the LORD in holy splendor…

2 Chronicles 29.28: The whole assembly worshipped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded…

Nehemiah 9.6: And Ezra said: ‘You are the LORD, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you.

Psalm 37.4: Delight yourself in the Lord!

Psalm 95.6: Come, let us bow down in worship.

Psalm 100.2: Worship the Lord with gladness, come before him with joyful songs.

Matthew 11.28: Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

John 4.23: The true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.

Romans 12.5: Since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.

Colossians 3.16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as you teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Hebrews 10.25: Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing.

Hebrews 12.28: Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe…

Sunday at SPUMC - Jan. 24, 2010

We continue our journey through the Spiritual Habit of Worship in so many ways...

During the Education Hour:
*  The children talked about "where your treasure is, there is your heart also."  That by having Jesus and God in our lives, we are richer than having lots of money.  They were asked to write down five things that are special possessions to them... and then write "Jesus" on top - as a reminder to keep Jesus first.
*  The Confirmands and their parents watched the NOOMA video, "Sunday," with Pastor Penny and discussed that church is more than "going through the motions."  It's being open to God's heart and seeking God's heart.  Not just sitting in the pew...  But really being present to God's prompts in us.
*  Wired Word re-visited the story of the United Methodist leaders that were trapped in the earthquake rubble in Haiti.  Even in the midst of injuries, fear, and darkness...  they kept worshipping God.  They sang, they prayed, they knew God was with them.  An inspiring story, especially now that we know that two of them eventually died from their injuries...  What great faith in the face of great hardship.
*  Bettie continues her "Caring Ministries" class.  I haven't gotten to attend yet - if anyone has an update for me, please send it my way!  (Or add it in the comments section.)

Worship was alive and active this week!  The microphones were acting up, Ginny jumped out of her seat to tell us about her new hearing aids...  You just never know what's going to happen in the joy of the moment!  Mark did a great job with the children's sermon, reminding us of the promise of God's love (and marriage, and credit card bills, and the post office...).  The Bell Choir sounded wonderful!  And the Choral Readers did a nice job with the Psalm readings - different voices blending to accentuate the readings in new ways.

Pastor Penny reminded us that worship is something to be done in all times and places - whenever we see God, and say "thank you."  Worship is something we make time for, we are intentional about, and we do even when we may not feel like - that's what makes it a discipline...  And God is there.  Even in those moments.

We also had the distinct pleasure to welcome more new members into our midst!  Nancy, Yvonne, and Bob come with new talents, gifts, ideas, and blessings to share - so be sure to welcome them as soon as you can! 

We worship together, because we are in this walk of the Christian life together.  We gather, praise, pray, sing, hear God's word, respond to God's word, and celebrate this life as one.  I hope you'll join us next week!