Lives Worthy of the Gospel

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
The Christ Hymn


Philippians 1:27-30 (The Message)

 ^27-30Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people's trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they're up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There's far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There's also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You're involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.

For Reflection
In these days of multiple denominations, the church and, therefore, Christianity seems inconsistent.  In America, the Christian church seems to be bent by petty squabbles and struggles for political power and seeking control of individuals.  Christ offers freedom to choose.  Christ offers sanctuary for those who seek His help.  Christ offers salvation to each one of us.  Christ's way is not to preach love and practice war.  If being right prevents others from finding sanctuary in Christ, how righteous is being right?

Pray
that each of us act out of love.  Pray that we are not threatened by the differences we find in the practice of Christianity.  Pray that we are encouraged by the truth in the promise of the Gospel.

Lives Worthy of Your Calling

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
The Christ Hymn


Ephesians 4:1-6 (The Message)

To Be Mature

 ^1-3In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline—not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. ^4-6You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. You have one Master, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who rules over all, works through all, and is present in all. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness.

For Reflection
You have been called to Christ.  Use your gifts.  Travel the road of service to the Lord. Be in this world not of this world.  Live humbly. Help the poor. Prefer justice. Walk a steady pace that invites others to the Kingdom of God.

Pray
that you remain one with God.  Pray that your life is lived as a sacrifice to the living Lord.  Pray that you are worthy of your calling and of your gifts.

Being Worthy of Jesus

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
The Christ Hymn


Matthew 10:34-39 (The Message)
 ^34-37"Don't think I've come to make life cozy. I've come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over me, you don't deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don't deserve me.
 ^38-39"If you don't go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don't deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you'll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you'll find both yourself and me.

For Reflection
Self image is your worst enemy.  We do many un-Godly things to defend and preserve our self image.  Christ asks us to forget about our selves and sacrifice our self image to follow Him.  Such action is a mark of your transformation in Christ.

Pray
Confess those things which you have done that are in defense of self and separate you from others and from God.  Pray that when you feel pressure to defend your self, you will find a more appropriate way to respond to yourself and to others who may trigger your actions.  Pray to the Living Lord to calm you.  Give the Lord the issue to solve.

Good liver Shown in Works

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
The Christ Hymn



James 3:13-18 (The Message)

Live Well, Live Wisely

 ^13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats.  ^17-18Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

For Reflection
Knowing Christ is not wisdom.  Action that is consistent with knowing Christ is wisdom!  Examine your actions at the end of each day.  Spend five minutes alone and write down one or two things that you think reflect the intimate relationship you have with God through Jesus Christ.  These things reveal your wisdom.

Pray
That you live a holy life. Pray that you let God centered action speak to others and reveal the path which you walk hand in hand with Christ.

Follow in Christ's Steps

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
The Christ Hymn


1 Peter 2:18-25 (The Message

The Kind of Life He Lived
 ^18-20You who are servants, be good servants to your masters—not just to good masters, but also to bad ones. What counts is that you put up with it for God's sake when you're treated badly for no good reason. There's no particular virtue in accepting punishment that you well deserve. But if you're treated badly for good behavior and continue in spite of it to be a good servant, that is what counts with God. ^21-25This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step-by-step.

   He never did one thing wrong,
   Not once said anything amiss.
They called him every name in the book and he said nothing back. He suffered in silence, content to let God set things right. He used his servant body to carry our sins to the Cross so we could be rid of sin, free to live the right way. His wounds became your healing. You were lost sheep with no idea who you were or where you were going. Now you're named and kept for good by the Shepherd of your souls.

For Reflection
It begins.  The New Covenant has been consummated. The schooling is finished. The mission is clear.  Our lives transformed by the living Christ will be different, taxing and full of passion in truth. The Christian calendar, a new era under God, has begun, is, and will be. The good suffering is a way of life. Free to live the right way, we are free to err and to be redeemed.  Saved to serve the Lord.

Pray
Praise be the power of that holy name!  Pray that you use this new born power humbly in Christ centered ways.

Happy Easter

Hallelujah!

Praise the living God.

Let the living Lord reside in you,

now and forever.


Hallelujah!

Witnesses to Jesus' Burial

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Christ is Risen!

Matthew 27:45-61 (The Message)
 ^45-46From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"
 ^47-49Some bystanders who heard him said, "He's calling for Elijah." One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, "Don't be in such a hurry. Let's see if Elijah comes and saves him."
 ⁵⁰But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.
 ^51-53At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)
 ⁵⁴The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, "This has to be the Son of God!"
 ^55-56There were also quite a few women watching from a distance, women who had followed Jesus from Galilee in order to serve him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the Zebedee brothers.

The Tomb

 ^57-61Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off. But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary stayed, sitting in plain view of the tomb.


For Reflection
Buried, but not dead, Jesus lives. God suffered the death of his son and lifts Him from the depth to be the path way to salvation.  The curtain separating God and man was torn. Women not recognized by the contemporary culture as leaders were justified.  The passion does not end in death.  Rather it begins in a transformed life.  How has the resurrected Christ lived in you?

Pray
Shout Hosanna!  Praise God for the living Christ.  Pray that you will seek the resurrected Christ in your life.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Christ is Risen!

Matthew 27:32-44 (The Message)
 ^32-34Along the way they came on a man from Cyrene named Simon and made him carry Jesus' cross. Arriving at Golgotha, the place they call "Skull Hill," they offered him a mild painkiller (a mixture of wine and myrrh), but when he tasted it he wouldn't drink it.
 ^35-40After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they whiled away the time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: this is Jesus, the king of the Jews. Along with him, they also crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: "You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you're really God's Son, come down from that cross!"
 ^41-44The high priests, along with the religion scholars and leaders, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: "He saved others—he can't save himself! King of Israel, is he? Then let him get down from that cross. We'll all become believers then! He was so sure of God—well, let him rescue his 'Son' now—if he wants him! He did claim to be God's Son, didn't he?" Even the two criminals crucified next to him joined in the mockery.

For Reflection
The people did not understand Jesus' use of metaphors.  In his death and resurrection, Jesus, indeed,  tore down the temple and built it back in three days.  He "showed his stuff."

Pray
that you remember the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for your salvation.  pray to remember the resurrection and recognize the living Christ who is in you.

The Judgment Against Jesus

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Christ is Risen!

Matthew 27:15-26 (The Message)

 ^15-18It was an old custom during the Feast for the governor to pardon a single prisoner named by the crowd. At the time, they had the infamous Jesus Barabbas in prison. With the crowd before him, Pilate said, "Which prisoner do you want me to pardon: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus the so-called Christ?" He knew it was through sheer spite that they had turned Jesus over to him.
 ¹⁹While court was still in session, Pilate's wife sent him a message: "Don't get mixed up in judging this noble man. I've just been through a long and troubled night because of a dream about him."
 ²⁰Meanwhile, the high priests and religious leaders had talked the crowd into asking for the pardon of Barabbas and the execution of Jesus.
 ²¹The governor asked, "Which of the two do you want me to pardon?"
   They said, "Barabbas!"
 ²²"Then what do I do with Jesus, the so-called Christ?"
   They all shouted, "Nail him to a cross!"
 ²³He objected, "But for what crime?"
   But they yelled all the louder, "Nail him to a cross!"
 ²⁴When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was imminent, he took a basin of water and washed his hands in full sight of the crowd, saying, "I'm washing my hands of responsibility for this man's death. From now on, it's in your hands. You're judge and jury."
 ²⁵The crowd answered, "We'll take the blame, we and our children after us."
 ²⁶Then he pardoned Barabbas. But he had Jesus whipped, and then handed over for crucifixion.

For Reflection
I used to think that few people had a choice to end Jesus's life.  It was as though each acted his part in a play scripted by God.  But as I think again about the Passion, the players were free to choose -- even Judas and Peter.

Pilot had a choice.  He chose to turn away.
The priests had a choice.  They chose to incite the crowd to kill.
The crowd had a choice.  They chose to execute Jesus.
Jesus had a choice.  He chose to offer himself.
We all have a choice. Whom do you choose -- the way of the world or the way Christ taught?

Pray
that the sacrifice Christ made for you frees you to act in accordance with the example set in the life of Christ.  Pray that you consistently choose to be a vehicle for God's grace.

The Plot to Kill Jesus

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Christ is Risen!

Matthew 26:1-5 (The Message)

Anointed for Burial

 ^1-2 When Jesus finished saying these things, he told his disciples, "You know that Passover comes in two days. That's when the Son of Man will be betrayed and handed over for crucifixion." ^3-5At that very moment, the party of high priests and religious leaders was meeting in the chambers of the Chief Priest named Caiaphas, conspiring to seize Jesus by stealth and kill him. They agreed that it should not be done during Passover Week. "We don't want a riot on our hands," they said.

For Reflection
What did Jesus do to make such drastic action seem necessary?  What were the Jewish religious leaders threatened by?  Many factors influenced the crucifixion, political, social and religious. But, perhaps one of the  the most threatening things that Jesus brought was the removal of fear.  Those that lead from a power base of fear were threatened by those who lead from a base of love.  Jesus's promise of forgiveness, and his quest for justice and peace trumped the tyranny of the culture of his day just as His promise threatens tyrannies of culture today.  Jesus is still turning the world upside-down; transforming it one individual at a time.  How are you helping?

Pray
to be fearless.  Pray that you willingly take risks to act in love.  Pray that all those who are oppressed and heavy laden find in Jesus compassion, comfort and the saving grace of God.

Good News of the First Importance

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Christ is Risen!

1 Corinthians 15:1-18 (The Message)

Resurrection

 ^1-2Friends, let me go over the Message with you one final time— this Message that I proclaimed and that you made your own; this Message on which you took your stand and by which your life has been saved. (I'm assuming, now, that your belief was the real thing and not a passing fancy, that you're in this for good and holding fast.) ^3-9The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don't deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God's church right out of existence.
 ^10-11But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I'm not about to let his grace go to waste. Haven't I worked hard trying to do more than any of the others? Even then, my work didn't amount to all that much. It was God giving me the work to do, God giving me the energy to do it. So whether you heard it from me or from those others, it's all the same: We spoke God's truth and you entrusted your lives.
 ^12-15Now, let me ask you something profound yet troubling. If you became believers because you trusted the proclamation that Christ is alive, risen from the dead, how can you let people say that there is no such thing as a resurrection? If there's no resurrection, there's no living Christ. And face it—if there's no resurrection for Christ, everything we've told you is smoke and mirrors, and everything you've staked your life on is smoke and mirrors. Not only that, but we would be guilty of telling a string of barefaced lies about God, all these affidavits we passed on to you verifying that God raised up Christ—sheer fabrications, if there's no resurrection.
 ^16-20If corpses can't be raised, then Christ wasn't, because he was indeed dead. And if Christ weren't raised, then all you're doing is wandering about in the dark, as lost as ever. It's even worse for those who died hoping in Christ and resurrection, because they're already in their graves. If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we're a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries.

For Reflection
Over 2000 years the story of Jesus has been told and retold.  Christianity has endured in spite of itself.  Think this week on the resurrection and on the resurrected life you have in Christ.

Pray
that all people who cry Hosanna will be comforted by the living Christ.  Pray prayers of thanksgiving and praise for He who walked and walks among us.  Pray for steadfast commitment to the risen Lord.

Sing Praises to the Lord

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Hosanna!

1 Corinthians 16:8-18 (The Message)


 ^5-9I plan to visit you after passing through northern Greece. I won't be staying long there, but maybe I can stay awhile with you—maybe even spend the winter? Then you could give me a good send-off, wherever I may be headed next. I don't want to just drop by in between other "primary" destinations. I want a good, long, leisurely visit. If the Master agrees, we'll have it! For the present, I'm staying right here in Ephesus. A huge door of opportunity for good work has opened up here. (There is also mushrooming opposition.)
 ^10-11If Timothy shows up, take good care of him. Make him feel completely at home among you. He works so hard for the Master, just as I do. Don't let anyone disparage him. After a while, send him on to me with your blessing. Tell him I'm expecting him, and any friends he has with him.
 ¹²About our friend Apollos, I've done my best to get him to pay you a visit, but haven't talked him into it yet. He doesn't think this is the right time. But there will be a "right time."
 ^13-14Keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping.
 ^15-16Would you do me a favor, friends, and give special recognition to the family of Stephanas? You know, they were among the first converts in Greece, and they've put themselves out, serving Christians ever since then. I want you to honor and look up to people like that: companions and workers who show us how to do it, giving us something to aspire to.
 ^17-18I want you to know how delighted I am to have Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus here with me. They partially make up for your absence! They've refreshed me by keeping me in touch with you. Be proud that you have people like this among you.

For Reflection
For over two thousand years the Christ event has captured the hearts of believers.  Through persecution, war, internal conflict, divisions of theology and structure, the promise of the resurrected Christ has survived.  He is present today in your life.  God is triumphant. We are saved from ourselves.  Hosanna!  Sing songs of praise.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhrqUDbhgxY&feature=related

Pray
for the church.  Pray that the fellowship of believers will hold true to the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Pray that the Spirit  will flow through each of us and draw us into righteous service to God.

The Lord Rescues

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Hosanna!

Psalm 22:1-8 (The Message)

A David Psalm

 ^1-2 God, God...my God! Why did you dump me
      miles from nowhere?
   Doubled up with pain, I call to God
      all the day long. No answer. Nothing.
   I keep at it all night, tossing and turning.

 ^3-5 And you! Are you indifferent, above it all,
      leaning back on the cushions of Israel's praise?
   We know you were there for our parents:
      they cried for your help and you gave it;
      they trusted and lived a good life.

 ^6-8 And here I am, a nothing—an earthworm,
      something to step on, to squash.
   Everyone pokes fun at me;
      they make faces at me, they shake their heads:
   "Let's see how God handles this one;
      since God likes him so much, let him help him!"

For Reflection
Becoming a practicing Christian does not guarantee that we will not have to face troubling times.  On the contrary, part of the human condition is discomfort and trouble -- sometimes because our beliefs are in conflict with the circumstance in which we find ourselves.  A call for God's help, results in God's help.  Watch and listen for it. Help may arrive in unexpected ways.

Pray
that you have the patience to wait for God's answer to your prayers.  Pray that you never give up the anticipation of God's interventions.  Pray that you hope and are wise enough to recognize the hand of God in your life.

At the Right Hand of the Needy

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Hosanna!


Psalm 109:21-31 (The Message)

 ^21-25 Oh, God, my Lord, step in;
      work a miracle for me—you can do it!
   Get me out of here—your love is so great!—
      I'm at the end of my rope, my life in ruins.
   I'm fading away to nothing, passing away,
      my youth gone, old before my time.
   I'm weak from hunger and can hardly stand up,
      my body a rack of skin and bones.
   I'm a joke in poor taste to those who see me;
      they take one look and shake their heads.

 ^26-29 Help me, oh help me, God, my God,
      save me through your wonderful love;
   Then they'll know that your hand is in this,
      that you, God, have been at work.
   Let them curse all they want;
      you do the blessing.
   Let them be jeered by the crowd when they stand up,
      followed by cheers for me, your servant.
   Dress my accusers in clothes dirty with shame,
      discarded and humiliating old ragbag clothes.

 ^30-31 My mouth's full of great praise for God,
      I'm singing his hallelujahs surrounded by crowds,
   For he's always at hand to take the side of the needy,
      to rescue a life from the unjust judge.

For Reflection
The very fact that the psalmist prays for God's help is an indication of his confidence in the Lord.  Even during his troubling times, he praises God publicly.  God is just and his grace brings divine justice into this world. 

Pray
Praise God for his mercy,  His understanding, His grace, and His unending love.  Pray that you can respond to His grace in your life even when it seems that life overwhelms you.

Oh Lord, Save Us

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Hosanna!

2 Kings 19:14-19 (The Message)
  ^14-15 Hezekiah took the letter from the envoy and read it. He went to The Temple of God and spread it out before God. And Hezekiah prayed—oh, how he prayed!
    God, God of Israel, seated
      in majesty on the cherubim-throne.
   You are the one and only God,
      sovereign over all kingdoms on earth,
   Maker of heaven,
      maker of earth.
 ¹⁶ Open your ears, God, and listen,
      open your eyes and look.
   Look at this letter Sennacherib has sent,
      a brazen insult to the living God!
 ¹⁷ The facts are true, O God: The kings of Assyria
      have laid waste countries and kingdoms.
 ¹⁸ Huge bonfires they made of their gods, their
      no-gods hand-made from wood and stone.
 ¹⁹ But now O God, our God,
      save us from raw Assyrian power;
   Make all the kingdoms on earth know
      that you are God, the one and only God.
.
For Reflection
America, by some measures, is one of the most religious countries in the world. And yet, we fear the influences which abound in our pluralistic society. Perhaps we should follow the example set by the psalmist.  Take our problems with our contemporary culture to the Lord.  Leave the problem solving in His hands and concentrate on uplifting believers and attracting new ones one individual at a time.

Pray
That you act not out of fear but rather out of love.  Pray for the establishment of the Kingdom of God.  Pray that all people find the joy and comfort found only in living in the hollow of God's hand.

Call on God to Save

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Hosanna!

Psalm 55:16-22 (The Message)

^16-19 I call to God;
      God will help me.
   At dusk, dawn, and noon I sigh
      deep sighs—he hears, he rescues.
   My life is well and whole, secure
      in the middle of danger
   Even while thousands
      are lined up against me.
   God hears it all, and from his judge's bench
      puts them in their place.
   But, set in their ways, they won't change;
      they pay him no mind.

 ^20-21 And this, my best friend, betrayed his best friends;
      his life betrayed his word.
   All my life I've been charmed by his speech,
      never dreaming he'd turn on me.
   His words, which were music to my ears,
      turned to daggers in my heart.

 ^22-23 Pile your troubles on God's shoulders—
      he'll carry your load, he'll help you out.
   He'll never let good people
      topple into ruin.
   But you, God, will throw the others
      into a muddy bog,
   Cut the lifespan of assassins
      and traitors in half.
   And I trust in you.
.
For Reflection
To what extent do you believe that God will lead you out of troubles?  How much trust do you place in the Lord. Spend some time each evening of this week reflecting upon how God has assisted you during the day.  Try each day to abide with God and let Him work for you.  Your day may not be conflict free.  But you may be better able to ride out the trouble and see the good which arises from the challenge.

Pray
that you will have the patience to listen to God.  Lay your problems on God and listen for his response.

Tender to Sinners

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Praise Builds Up

Jude 1:17-25 (The Message)
 ^17-19But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen: "In the last days there will be people who don't take these things seriously anymore. They'll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts." These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There's nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!
 ^20-21But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
 ^22-23Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven.
 ^24-25And now to him who can keep you on your feet, standing tall in his bright presence, fresh and celebrating—to our one God, our only Savior, through Jesus Christ, our Master, be glory, majesty, strength, and rule before all time, and now, and to the end of all time. Yes.

For Reflection
Jude speaks to internal Christian squabbles.  With as many denominations, splinter groups and down right kooks claiming Christianity,  it is easy to fall into the trap of esclusiveism, my way to worship is better than your way!  Many times in scripture, we have been warned that helping others who sin carries the risk of being seduced by the sin and the pathos of the sinner. What does it mean to be tender with sinners?  What does it mean to be not soft on the sin?  Is sin found in the act of sinning or in the separation from God that enabled the sin?  How does your choice of what to do depend upon your answer?

Pray
that you center your response to conflict in the love that Jesus Christ demonstrated in his life.  Pray that you will be gentle in your response to conflict.  Pray that you will try to preserve the dignity of all individuals, including yourself,.   Pray that you will always strive to preserve the Holy Spirit in all relationships.

A Message That Builds Up

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Praise Builds Up

Acts 20:28-35 (The Message)
 ²⁸"Now it's up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God's people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.
 ^29-31"I know that as soon as I'm gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus. So stay awake and keep up your guard. Remember those three years I kept at it with you, never letting up, pouring my heart out with you, one after another.
 ³²"Now I'm turning you over to God, our marvelous God whose gracious Word can make you into what he wants you to be and give you everything you could possibly need in this community of holy friends.
 ^33-35"I've never, as you so well know, had any taste for wealth or fashion. With these bare hands I took care of my own basic needs and those who worked with me. In everything I've done, I have demonstrated to you how necessary it is to work on behalf of the weak and not exploit them. You'll not likely go wrong here if you keep remembering that our Master said, 'You're far happier giving than getting.'

For Reflection
All who have been transformed in the Kingdom of God are ministers of the gospel.  We are the product of Jeremiah's prophecy. "I (God) will put my law within them--write it on their hearts...  wipe the slate clean for each of them...a brand-new covenant." (Jer. 31:31-34)  Each of us, ordinary people, have recieved the grace of God and tasked to pass on the good news by word and deed. 

Pray
that in the midst of ordinary people, God will be inescapably visible.  Pray that you will protect the relationships you make with all people as an example of the living God and venue for the grace of God to work miracles.

Live for the Glory of God

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Praise Builds Up

1 Corinthians 10:23-31 (The Message)
 ^23-24Looking at it one way, you could say, "Anything goes. Because of God's immense generosity and grace, we don't have to dissect and scrutinize every action to see if it will pass muster." But the point is not to just get by. We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well.
 ^25-28With that as a base to work from, common sense can take you the rest of the way. Eat anything sold at the butcher shop, for instance; you don't have to run an "idolatry test" on every item. "The earth," after all, "is God's, and everything in it." That "everything" certainly includes the leg of lamb in the butcher shop. If a nonbeliever invites you to dinner and you feel like going, go ahead and enjoy yourself; eat everything placed before you. It would be both bad manners and bad spirituality to cross-examine your host on the ethical purity of each course as it is served. On the other hand, if he goes out of his way to tell you that this or that was sacrificed to god or goddess so-and-so, you should pass. Even though you may be indifferent as to where it came from, he isn't, and you don't want to send mixed messages to him about who you are worshiping.
 ^29-30But, except for these special cases, I'm not going to walk around on eggshells worrying about what small-minded people might say; I'm going to stride free and easy, knowing what our large-minded Master has already said. If I eat what is served to me, grateful to God for what is on the table, how can I worry about what someone will say? I thanked God for it and he blessed it!
 ^31-33So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.

For Reflection
We live in the context of a material world.  Some, with varying degrees of success and failure, have tried to live in isolation -- God centered lives apart from the cultures which surround them.  Look at the violations of the eating rules metaphorically.  When someone offers a racial slur, a Christian does not have to participate in the slur.  When partying with friends, one does not have to get drunk and vulgar.  You have the freedom to engage fully in your culture, with out being seduced by it.  if you reputation is one that indicates you never had a bad word to say about anyone, or that you were one that others could always trust, your ordinary life was lived as a testament to the Glory of God.  Living in the hollow of God's hand transforms your ordinary life into something extraordinary.

Pray
Praise God for His generosity and grace.  Pray that you will have the strength to avoid the seductions of every day life.  Pray that your life will be a testament to the power of the living God.

Praise for the Restored

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Praise Builds Up

Jeremiah 31:2-9 (The Message)

 ^2-6This is the way God put it:
   "They found grace out in the desert,
   these people who survived the killing.
Israel, out looking for a place to rest,
   met God out looking for them!"
God told them, "I've never quit loving you and never will.
   Expect love, love, and more love!
And so now I'll start over with you and build you up again,
   dear virgin Israel.
You'll resume your singing,
   grabbing tambourines and joining the dance.
You'll go back to your old work of planting vineyards
   on the Samaritan hillsides,
And sit back and enjoy the fruit—
   oh, how you'll enjoy those harvests!
The time's coming when watchmen will call out
   from the hilltops of Ephraim:
'On your feet! Let's go to Zion,
   go to meet our God!'"
 ⁷Oh yes, God says so:
   "Shout for joy at the top of your lungs for Jacob!
   Announce the good news to the number-one nation!
Raise cheers! Sing praises. Say,
   'God has saved his people,
   saved the core of Israel.'
 ⁸"Watch what comes next: "I'll bring my people back
   from the north country
And gather them up from the ends of the earth,
   gather those who've gone blind
And those who are lame and limping,
   gather pregnant women,
Even the mothers whose birth pangs have started,
   bring them all back, a huge crowd!
 ⁹"Watch them come! They'll come weeping for joy
   as I take their hands and lead them,
Lead them to fresh flowing brooks,
   lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths.
Yes, it's because I'm Israel's Father
   and Ephraim's my firstborn son!

For Reflection
Jeremiah lived and wrote at a time when Israel suffered greatly.   He was in the middle of it all, living and writing as a journalist/poet/prophet.  In spite of the devastating catastrophe that confronted him and all of Israel, Jeremiah found hope and urged Israel to praise God.  Expressing great confidence in God's abiding love and protection, he asks ordinary people of God to do something extraordinary.  In spite of the eminent fall of Jerusalem, he asked them to, "Shout for joy at the top of your lungs...raise cheers, sing praises."

How do you hang on hope? Lament or high expectation?

Pray
that you find hope in God's promise of eternal life.  Pray that your hope is bedded in rock solid confidence in the living God.  Pray for the patience to wait for the goodness that surely follows.  Praise God who will make all things right.

Treasure in Clay Jars

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Praise Builds Up


2 Corinthians 4:1-12 (The Message)

Trial and Torture

 ^1-2Since God has so generously let us in on what he is doing, we're not about to throw up our hands and walk off the job just because we run into occasional hard times. We refuse to wear masks and play games. We don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes. And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves. Rather, we keep everything we do and say out in the open, the whole truth on display, so that those who want to can see and judge for themselves in the presence of God. ^3-4If our Message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won't have to bother believing a Truth they can't see. They're stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we'll ever get.
 ^5-6Remember, our Message is not about ourselves; we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master. All we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you. It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.
 ^7-12If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus' sake, which makes Jesus' life all the more evident in us. While we're going through the worst, you're getting in on the best!

For Reflection
What a wonderful turn of phrase, "unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives."  Some times we are so star struck by the big events, the renown preacher, the massive mission that we dismiss the power of an ordinary life.  Many of us go through our lives embracing the joys of living and skimming the tops of rough waters taking it all in stride.  I admire that.  Some would call it "laid back, nothing bothers him or her, not a care in the world."  For a Christian, it is more a quiet confidence that God will take what ever happens in our lives and make it good.  Even trial, torture, mockery and murder was made good in the resurrection.  This week take a closer look at your ordinary life.  Try to see it as God does.  How is your ordinary life accomplishing the extraordinary?

Pray
that what we say and do in our ordinary lives will accomplish extraordinary ends.  Pray that we will offer our ordinary lives to the service of the Lord.  Pray for steadfast confidence in the promise of the Kingdom of God.  Pray that others will respond to our ordinary lives lived in the extraordinary grace of Christ, Jesus and that they will be transformed by the grace of God which flows through us.

Remembering Jesus Christ

We Worship God
A Guide for Worship Leaders:
Remembering Jesus Christ


2 Timothy 2:8-15 (The Message)

 ^8-13Fix this picture firmly in your mind: Jesus, descended from the line of David, raised from the dead. It's what you've heard from me all along. It's what I'm sitting in jail for right now—but God's Word isn't in jail! That's why I stick it out here—so that everyone God calls will get in on the salvation of Christ in all its glory. This is a sure thing:

   If we die with him, we'll live with him;
   If we stick it out with him, we'll rule with him;
   If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back on us;
   If we give up on him, he does not give up—
      for there's no way he can be false to himself.
 ^14-18Repeat these basic essentials over and over to God's people. Warn them before God against pious nitpicking, which chips away at the faith. It just wears everyone out. Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won't be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. Stay clear of pious talk that is only talk. Words are not mere words, you know. If they're not backed by a godly life, they accumulate as poison in the soul. Hymenaeus and Philetus are examples, throwing believers off stride and missing the truth by a mile by saying the resurrection is over and done with.

For Reflection
Since the Christ event the world has not been the same.  Before that time truth was elusive, unknowable.  Plato suggested that the truth existed but like in a cloud.  Even when we could jump to see over the cloud only a glimpse of the truth could be known.  In the Christ event the truth to the singularly most important question was made known.  God in flesh dwelt among human kind so that we, once and for all, would know the truth not only of who we are, but also our relationship to God and his expectations for our lives. 

Pray
that you will do your best for God.  Pray that you not only keep faith but you also walk the walk.  Pray that you and Jesus will walk side by side to fufill the promise of God's Kingdom here and now.