Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Have It Your Way: Worship

This second post will focus of worship within the church.

The debate that rages within the church is what kind of worship will be used. There are those who see the old and favored Hymns of the faith as outdated and boring. Therefore they choose to avoid churches which fall into that category.

What is worship is it performance for the congregation by the Choir and Musicians? or performance for the King? We should be conscious of what worship was designed and created for. It was created and designed for the enjoyment of Lord. We should sing praises to Him whatever they may be, with all our might.

If Nothing else we should worship the Lord for the work that he's done in our lives.

Monday, August 04, 2008

Have It Your Way: Dating the Church

This potential blogging series comes from a discussion I had yesterday morning.

We @ Bayleaf Baptist Church and the College and Young Adults class have small groups known as wePods. The name comes from the concept that this culture and the people in it have become very "I" centered and cause Ipods are so cool . We are attempting and succeeding to come together as the body of Christ patterning the meeting of these groups after the early church as described in Acts 2:42.

The title comes from the commitment issues that we have been having recently. People having been using wePod and Wednesday nights as a substitute for the fellowship that is meant to be had on and during Sunday Mornings. Now for some I can understand, being that our church very traditional in terms of it's liturgy and discipline. People will come to our wePods and our Wednesday Night but when it comes to Sunday mornings they are no where to be found.

I believe that Bible clearly speaks to that of serving the body rather than being served by the the body. In fact the verse that sticks out in my mind that is usually applied around Christmas time but should be practiced year round is: "It is better to give than to receive."

All this to say be committed to a local body wherever that might be and serve that body. Don't simply "date" the church for it's good things then fail to show cause you find some parts to be boring or way too traditional.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Back From the Black Hole....

Well I'm back from the far reaches of cyber-space. Honestly I think I can say that my New Years Resolution to post once a week came to naught a long time ago.

Yesterday was my last day running myself ragged working 2 jobs. This summer I've been pulling double duty by working as part of the Carpentry Crew on the Facilities Management Staff @ SEBTS and working UPS.

So needless to say it been less than restful summer but I've managed to hang in there. We start the fall semester in a week and a half and personally I'm ready to get back to into a routine and schedule. The new semester always brings with it a fresh start so to speak.

On the journey of faith side of things. The analogy of the potter and the clay is a good description of my life. However in my case give the lump of clay a mind of it's own and that would be an even more accurate description. A constant war between the flesh and the spirit. The lesson learned and relearned is to ultimately bring everything that I am under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As part of my daily time in the word Rebekah and I have been cruising' steadily through the book of Romans and its been a blessing and treat every step of the way. We both we're marveling the other day @ how well the Apostle Paul presents his argument and how well he presents evidence for the validity of his argument.

As for Rebekah and I as of this post we've been dating for and to use a 'Saved By The Bell' term going "steady" for right at a little over 4 months. I must say it has been some of the best times of my life. However, it has not been without its struggles and difficulties which I am happy to say have only lead to our relationship getting stronger,closer and deeper. I love every minute that I get to spend with Her and her Daughter, they have to be two of my favorite people in the world.