Day 5: Week 7 (Merry Christmas!!)

[russhutto]

Hey all! Feel free to post your thoughts and insights here on this thread. By now those of you who are participating know the format, so I don't have to repost the scriptures!

Merry Christmas!

Prayers for you all to have a great weekend. We'll meet again here on Monday!

Blessings!
Russ

[Wannabe a Worshiper]

It's Christmas morning, and I have nothing Christmas-related to do, so I will do yesterday's post. Merry Christmas, friends.

Central Passages
As I read the lesson, I was again struck by how little cooperation there is among denominations and local bodies. Even within individual churches, there is often a lack of unity. As an example, I have often felt that many in my denomination, Southern Baptist, would like to focus more on the work of the Holy Spirit, but we back away from that, because we fear that it might make us look Charismatic. And heaven forbid a Baptist looking Charismatic!:o

I think we spend far too little time focusing on the things we have in common, and far too much time focusing on our differences. One important characteristic of the early Church is seen in Acts 1:14 (ESV):
All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. One accord: devoting themselves to prayer. If we as believers and churches and denominations would in one accord devote ourselves to prayer....i can't begin to imagine what God would do!

Dwayne listed 4 elements that should guide all our worship services, exalt the Lord, exhort the church, evangelize the lost, and engage the listeners. How many of those elements have been lacking in services I had a part in leading? Too many, I'm afraid.

My Daily Praise
I haven't been at my present church long enough to be able to pick one song that the people love to sing. At my former church, it was "Victory In Jesus."
I do know that when we sing the semi-new "There's Something About That Name" by Bill Gaither, the church sings well, and I see a lot of happy faces. So that was my song for this praise segment.


Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! There's just something about that name!
Master, Savior, Jesus! Like the fragrance after the rain.
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Let all heaven and earth proclaim:
Kings and kingdoms will all pass away,
But there's something about that name!

Now that's Pure Praise!

My Daily Surrender
There was a quote in the lesson from Marva J. Dawn that hit me where I live:
It is impossible for our inner selves to be prepared to be open to God and receptive to God's Word until we silence our sinful selves--our efforts to be in control, to manipulate everything and everyone to accomplish our own purposes. This is the heart of my spiritual struggle. Lord Jesus, I surrender my will, my heart, my passions, my being to you. I call on you to do what I cannot do myself: make my surrender genuine and lasting.

[WorshipVanguard]

Central Passages:
This topic really spoke to what the Lord has placed on my heart for more than two years. My heart has been grieving over the multitudes of denominations in our community. The listed mentioned from Paul Basden mostly sums up the collection of denominations in our area. I live in a small town, and there must be at least 20-30 churches within a 15- mile radius. I often wonder if why there should be so many in such a small geographic area. When I read the words from “America’s Worship Wars,” my heart actually sunk especially when Moore quoted York about agendas in worship. UGH! That hits hard! I actually agreed with Moore when he said, “Let’s face it: Christians don’t have a great reputation for cooperating with one another.” Oh my! Jesus said outsiders would know we are believers because of our love for one another. OUCH! It makes my wonder how much we do we really love one another. I’m still seeking the Lord for additional clarity in vision regarding uniting churches in our general area. I believe it’s gonna start with worship, but I have no clue what we can practically do to express the need for authentic unity in our area. Still seeking!

Daily Praise:
Well Lord, since my husband and I are between churches at the moment, I cannot provide a song that our church enjoys singing to you. However, I can provide a song that my husband and I enjoy singing at home in our personal worship time. “Heart of Worship” is a staple in our household because we never want to forget who and why we worship. We never want to make anything more of our worship than what the Lord asks of us.

“I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it when it’s all about you. It’s all about you Jesus!”

Daily Surrender:
Lord, I know your heart is to unite your church. The only way I’ve seen is through worship since it is such a universal language! Lord, I know people don’t even have time to meet for lunch much less meet together for times of worship. How in the world will this happen? My spirit agrees with Bill McCartney, “There’s only one criterion for this kind of unity; to love Jesus and be born of the Spirit of God.” I’ve surrendered to your will. I’m still seeking clarity in this vision and other believers who support this vision. Lord, I want to see your will done here as it is in heaven. May our ecumenical worship break down the walls of denominational boundaries!

[bkwestman]

1. Central Passage
- What a great picture of cooperation that we see in 2 Chronicles. I had never really looked at it that way, but it does give us a good example of all the people coming together for a common cause and focus. Our church does not do a lot of things with other churches, sadly to say. As far as I know, it's not an intentional thing, but we just get so busy with our own plans, that doing things together with other churches rarely comes up. At my former church, I actually directed a few musicals where the choir was made up of singers from several different churches. This was a good reminder to be open to things like that again.

2. My Daily Praise
- I thought of "You Never Let Go", Matt Redman, one of our favorites.

3. My Daily Surrender
- I guess the biggest thing this week was the whole discussion about sensitivity. I need to broaden my perspective while choosing music.