Pre-Service 10-29-2017 - Romans 12:1 and 2

Here are two main verses from the sermon this morning. They come from Romans 12. Read them a few times.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, 

in view of God’s mercy, 

to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, 

holy and pleasing to God—

this is your true and proper worship.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed 

by the renewing of your mind. 

Then you will be able to test 

and approve what God’s will is—

his good, pleasing and perfect will.

That translation comes from the New International Version of the Bible. Click the links below and read it in those other translations. Explore other versions on the site too if you find the exercise helpful.

• English Standard Version
• The Message
• King James Version

Each translation might have slightly different wording, but it focuses on these ideas listed below. For each one, consider how that plays out or could play out in your daily life. In other words, how would it look at home, work, with friends , with family, with strangers?

• Living Sacrifice
• Holy
• Pleasing to God
• True and proper worship
• Do not conform
• Be transformed
• Renewing of your mind
• Test and approve
• God's will
• Good, pleasing and perfect

Pre-Service 10-22-2017 - A Hunger for the Word

Think back over the past week. What did you look forward to? Was there anything you missed and couldn't wait until you got it? Is there anything you're still missing?

Sometimes the Bible uses the words "hunger for" to describe such longings. We know how it feels to hunger for food. But we definitely feel a "hunger" for a lot of other things too. Here are a few things we or our friends might say they long for:

• That morning cup of coffee
• Time with friends
• A visit from the grandchildren
• A favorite place to eat
• A television show we hate to miss

When you think of your week and what you hungered for, did the Bible come to mind? How much do we feel a hunger for it? How long do we have to go before we miss time studying it?

Here are two suggested readings as you prepare for the service this morning:

• Psalm 119 - This is the longest Psalm and it's dedicated to a passion for God's Word. 
• Cultivating a Hunger for God's Word - This is a sermon from John MacArthur about developing a hunger for Scripture. 

Pre-Service 10-15-2017 - Singing Our Prayers

Did you ever notice there are songs about God and there are songs sung to God? A lot of the great older songs are about God or about aspects of the Christian faith. We have some classic ones like these:

Are you washed

In the blood

In the soul cleansing blood 

of the Lamb?

And He walks with me

And He talks with me

And He tells me I am His own

Amazing grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

But a trend in modern worship is to sing to God. You could think of it as singing your prayers.

Spirit lead me

Where my trust is without borders

Oh, Lord

You're beautiful

Your face is all I seek

Open the eyes

Of my heart, Lord

Open the eyes

Of my heart

I love You Lord

And I lift my voice

To worship You

What are your favorite songs sung in church? Think about the lyrics and decide whether it's a prayer sung to God or if it's a song about God or godly things.

If it's not a prayer, what is the great thing the song declares? For example, if you look at the three examples at the start of this post, you'll see they're about Jesus' shed blood for forgiveness, His presence and His grace. Thank God in prayer for whatever your favorite songs declare.

Here are some verses from Psalms that are also prayers.

• Psalm 51
• Psalm 40:6-13
• Psalm 143

Pre-Service 10-8-2017 - A Mission Statement for a Worship Team

We recently had some discussion about a mission statement for the worship team. I've led worship for about thirty years now and it surprised me how hard it was to write a focused statement. In fact, we're still not done with it.

To get discussion going with the team members, I suggested a statement like this:

The mission of the Hillside Worship Team is to help people live lives of true worship.

This generated some good questions.

• How do we help people do that if we are only seeing them once a week?
• Do people think they need to be helped in this way?
• What is true worship?
• What does a life of true worship look like?
• Can we tie this more directly to discipleship and the overall mission of our church?

A.W. Tozer reminds us that we were made to worship God. He believed a church that truly worshiped would also have a passion for all other areas of ministry. 

On the other hand, I heard one worship leader this week who said all he wants is for people to leave the service knowing they are loved. That was his mission. I'd say he was only half right. 

I do hope people know God loves them as they worship at our church. But I'd say a more complete picture would be like this:

• I realize God loves me, so I thank and praise Him.
• The more I know and experience Him, I the more I want to know Him.
• I find such love, joy and peace in Him that I want to share it with those who are hurting.

In this way, worship fuels a passion for spiritual growth and for helping others to find salvation. So true worship is the heartbeat of all other aspects of discipleship.

See John 4:13-30 for an example of this progression.