Archive for September, 2008

A Children’s message based on Philippians 4:4-9 for 10/5/2008

September 28, 2008 at 10:40 pm · Filed under Children ·Tagged , ,

 
 
Lay Reader:      Good morning children.   God is here today.  He’s here right now.  He’s listening.  He’s here to meet us, he’s here to meet you; he’s bought you with his own Son’s life.  His spirit is here, we’re going to hear his word today.  God is going to be active.  He is moving among us.  He is going to speak and we are going to listen and respond.  That’s what worship is all about.  Would you like to hear God speak right now?  He speaks to us through his word.  Let’s listen to what he has to say today.
 
Instructions:   The following is a scripture reading where the italicized text has been added to help the children with the meaning.  In this example, the Pastor reads scripture while a Lay volunteer adds commentary.  The Pastor remains behind the pulpit while the Lay reader is on the floor, close to the children.
 
Pastor:            Rejoice in the Lord always.  
Lay Reader:     Not just in church.  Not just when good things happen.  Always!
 
Pastor:            I will say it again:  Rejoice! 
Lay Reader:     Smile children, rejoice, show your joy for being one of God’s own children.
 
Pastor:            Let your gentleness be evident to all…
Lay Reader:     …To everyone in this church.
Shhh! 
 
Pastor:            The Lord is near.  (Spoken quietly) 
Lay Reader:     He’s listening.  He’s speaking.  He’s teaching.  He’s touching.  He’s affecting lives.
 
Pastor:            Do not be anxious about anything,
Lay Reader:     about your new school, or your homework, about your chores at home, or anything else,
 
Pastor:            but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  
Lay Reader:     Talk to him – about everything that’s happening in your lives.  Treat him like a trusted friend.  Because…
 
Pastor:            The peace of God,
Lay Reader:     (interjects) His calmness, His love, His compassion –
Pastor (interjects):     which transcends all understanding
Lay Reader (interjects): it’s too good to be true,
Pastor: (interjects)     will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  
Lay Reader:         Jesus is your comfort, your protector and your guide.  He is your friend, and not only in times of trouble but he is, and always will be your friend.
 
Pastor:            Finally, whatever is true (pause), whatever is pure (pause), whatever is lovely (pause), whatever is admirable (pause) – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
Lay Reader: (interjects) like God
Pastor:            You, think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.
Lay Reader:     Practice your faith.  Live a God-pleasing life.  Worship Jesus.  Talk with him regularly.   Become his friend.  Obey his commands and live by his word.
 
Pastor:            (Make eye contact with the children while speaking) And the God of peace will be with you. 
Lay Reader:      With each one of you.  He will be with you all.  No exceptions.   Amen.
 

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of International Bible Society

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More WELS Bloggers!

September 27, 2008 at 12:19 am · Filed under New BLOG ·Tagged

Welcome to the BLOG world, Pastor’s Strey & Cares.  I was made aware of your BLOGs thanks to a post from Pastor Jeremiah Gumm.  It’s great to see WELS presence growing on the WEB.  You have been added to my BLOG roll.

Here’s the links as well:

http://pastorstrey.wordpress.com/

http://markcares.wordpress.com/

Pastor Gumm’s blog is at http://shepherdstudy.wordpress.com/

God used the printing press in Luther’s day to help spread his message – today He may be using the WEB.

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The Power of Prayer

September 26, 2008 at 4:56 pm · Filed under Prayer, Quotes ·Tagged ,

About two years ago, my sister’s 18 year old son was seriously ill in the hospital.  Everyone in the family, and many friends (including my church), were praying for him.  As it turns out, my wife’s sister-in-law is a dispatcher for a national trucking company.  Somehow she got word out to all of her truckers (and there’s hundreds of them) that there was a sick young man that needed their prayers.  The next thing we knew, there were truckers all over the US talking to each other on their CB radios spreading the word about the boy that needed their prayers.  My nephew is completely recovered today.  Several months after the incident; I was reminded how sick he was when I saw his fingers and asked “what happened to your finger nails?”  Each one, all 10 without exception, had ridges and were essentially cut in half about mid-way out from his cuticles.  I don’t know the medical reasons for this but it appears to me that they actually stopped growing during his illness and then restarted at a later date.

 

As I think back on this event; I am reminded of something that Martin Luther once said: 

“Finally, mark this, that you must always make the AMEN strong, never doubting that God is surely listening to you with all grace and saying YES to your prayer.   Remember that you are not kneeling or standing there alone, but that all Christendom, all devout Christians are standing there with you and you with them in one unanimous, united prayer which God cannot ignore.  And never leave off praying without having said or thought: There now, this prayer has been heard by God; this I know of a certainty.  That is what ‘Amen’ means.” 

Martin Luther, from the MINISTERS’ PRAYER BOOK, edited by John W. Doberstein, Muehlenberg Press, no date, p.443

 

Faith is telling a mountain to move and being shocked only when it doesn’t!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hymn texts are just to great to Ignore

September 25, 2008 at 8:57 pm · Filed under Hymns, Worship Tools ·Tagged , ,

There is a website that has some great resources for hymns.  Basically these guys have updated many hymns to new modern tunes.  Following is a link to this site and I’ve also added it to my BLOG Roll.  At this site you can listen to some of the songs and download sheet music (both lead sheets with guitar chords and some piano arrangements).  Everything is free - they are just trying to reinvigorate some great hymns for those of you that might be interested.  I do realize that for many of my readers – the hymns are fine just the way they are; thank-you!  This is for the “other” readers.

Enjoy,

http://www.igracemusic.com/hymnbook/hymns.html

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Parallel Poetry

September 24, 2008 at 8:33 pm · Filed under Composite, Poetry ·Tagged , , , ,

Here’s a responsive reading that teaches your people about Hebrew poetry while worshipping at the same time.
 
Pastor:           In synonymous parallelism the second line of a verse expresses similar thoughts and sentiments as the first.
 
Pastor:           The heavens declare the glory of God;
All:                the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  (Ps 19:1)
Pastor:           Day after day they pour forth speech;
All:                Night after night they display knowledge.  (Ps 19:2)
 
Pastor:           In antithetic parallelism a thought expressed in one line contrasts in the next line with an opposite truth.  
 
Pastor:           For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
All:                but the way of the wicked will perish.  (Ps 1:6)
 
Pastor:           My flesh and my heart may fail,
All:                but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 
(Ps 73:26)
 
Pastor:           In synthetic (or climactic) parallelism subsequent verses build on that which has been stated in previous verses.
 
Pastor:           When I consider your heavens,
Women:        the work of your fingers,
Men:             the moon and the stars,
Pastor:           which you have set in place,
Men:             what is man that you are mindful of him,
Women:        the son of man that you care for him?  (Ps 8:3,4)
 
Pastor:           Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?
All:                Who may stand in his holy place?
Pastor:           He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
All:                Who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. 
(Ps 24:3,4)
 
Pastor:           Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
All:                Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
Pastor:           Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
All:                yet I will rejoice in the Lord,  will be joyful in God my savior. 
(Hab 3:17,18)
 
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of International Bible Society

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WELS Musicians

September 20, 2008 at 12:13 pm · Filed under WELS ·Tagged

A WELS BLOG reader sent me this link and asked if I’d post it.  Here it is!  It contains information about many WELS musicians that have websites (and even a few who don’t):

http://www.livingbold.net/welsspace/links/welsmusic

 

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You took the fall, and thought of me, Above All!

September 19, 2008 at 10:09 am · Filed under Children, Paul & Rita Baloche ·Tagged , ,

Above All

 

This Sunday we will be singing “Above All” by Paul Baloche and Lenny Leblanc.  I once used the song as the basis for a children’s sermon.  I explained the meaning of the word “all” to the children and told them that it means “having no exceptions.”  Now, read through this song, with that meaning in your head, and see how powerful this song is:

 

Above all powers above all kings

Above all nature and all created things

Above all wisdom and all the ways of man

You were here before the world began

 

Above all kingdoms above all thrones

Above all wonders the world has ever known

Above all wealth and treasures of the earth,

There’s no way to measure what You’re worth.

 

Now, I suppose the song could have ended, and it would have been yet another contemporary praise song, soon to be forgotten.  But no, the inspired writers were moved to capture the Gospel, the mystery of Christ, his dual-nature and then they did something powerful.  They personalized the message.  Another favorite line of mine is the use of the trampled rose metaphor.  Read on…

 

Chorus:

Crucified, laid behind a stone

You lived to die, rejected and alone

Like a rose, trampled on the ground

You took the fall, and thought of me,

Above all

 

CCLI Song #2672885

© 1999 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music / LenSongs Publishing

Lenny LeBlanc / Paul Baloche

 

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Welcome to Worship! This morning’s music will be sung…

September 17, 2008 at 4:23 pm · Filed under Composite, Worship Music ·Tagged ,

…With stringed instruments (Ps 4, 6, 54, 55, 61, 67, 76)

…For flutes (Ps 5)

To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” (Ps 9)

To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning” (Ps 22)

A song for the dedication of the Temple (Ps 30)

To the tune of “Lilies” – A Wedding Song (Ps 45)

To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks” (Ps 56)

To the tune of “Do Not Destroy” (Ps 57)

To the tune of “Do Not Destroy” (Ps 58)

To the tune of “Do Not Destroy” (Ps 59)

To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant” (Ps 60)

To the tune of “Lilies” (Ps 69)

To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant” (Ps 80)

 

Sometimes I wish that the Bible came with an inspired CD for the accompaniment of these Psalms!  What did these tunes sound like?  The words have been preserved but the music has not.  They were probably accompanied by flutes, lyres, harps and tambourines.  I think it would help us immensely when it comes to musical style.  Or, maybe God is trying to tell us something else.  Maybe the lyrics are more important than the music.  Maybe we shouldn’t get hung up on the style or the instrumentation.  Maybe the music can be in any number of formats; that change with time and culture.  Maybe the music is only meant to serve the words; to draw attention to the words; to affect us and draw us closer to God.

 

In fact, if you think about, these Psalms are inspired song lyrics from God.  The following therefore, is typical of a song inspired by God:

 

Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.  For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.  Praise the LORD.

 

You’ve just read Psalm 117 in its entirety.  Musically, it appears to have at least a verse and a chorus.  The chorus is “Praise the Lord.”  It starts and ends with it.  The chorus is a response to a truth expressed in the verse.  We are to praise him “for his great love toward us and because his faithfulness endures forever.”  There’s also what appears to be a bridge which describes who this is for: “all nations and all peoples.”  It’s a simple song, with at lest one important lesson for us – Keep It Simple!

 

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Hymned !!!

September 14, 2008 at 5:40 pm · Filed under Hymns, Worship Service ·Tagged , ,

On 9/14, we used the hymn “Take My Life & Let it Be” as the theme for worship.  All of our music was tightly knitted to this theme.
 
“Take My Life” by Scott Underwood
“Take My Life, and Let it Be” by Henri A. Cesar Malan– Contemporary Arrangement
“Take Our Lives” by Andy Park
“My Life is in You, Lord” by Daniel Gardner
 
Our Pastor then led a series of devotions on personal commitment and weaved these into Havergal’s hymn.  We sang individual verses of the hymn after hearing God’s word as it pertained to the subject matter as shown below.
 
Devotion #1: 2 Corinthians 5:15-17
“Take What I Do, Lord!”
15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
 
Hymn Response:   “Take My Life and Let it Be”  (CW 469:1,2)
 
Devotion #2: 1 Chronicles 16:8,9
“Take What I Say, Lord!”
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
 
Hymn Response:   “Take My Life and Let it Be”  (CW 469:3)
 
Devotion #3: 2 Corinthians 8:7,12
“Take What I Have, Lord!”
     7 But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving…
     12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
 
Hymn Response:    “Take My Life and Let it Be”  (CW 469:4-6)
 
 Song: “Take My Life And Let it Be” (by Frances Havergal, Chris Tomlin & Louie Giglio) – Sung by the Choir

 
The net effect was a worshipful meeting that will stick with me for quite some time, and I will always sing the hymn “Take My Life & Let it Be” again with a deep spiritual and heartfelt connection.  One thing that kept crossing my mind during the service was the word “Take” and how we were using it in worship.  It’s one thing to do our best in offering our gifts, times and talents to the Lord – our voices, our offerings, our praise, etc.; but as for me – I’m still a sinner and I can get stingy with my Lord.  So this song says more than I’ll do my best – it says; “Lord – TAKE!”   Take my life, my hands, my voice, my silver, my gold, my moments, my feet, my lips, my intellect, my will, my heart, my love and finally myself.   It’s all in that hymn.  At our church, Jesus tells us every other Sunday to “Take of His body and His blood.”  Finally, I was able to say: ”Jesus – TAKE!!!”
 
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of International Bible Society

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Synonomous Parallelism & Psalm 27

September 13, 2008 at 5:58 pm · Filed under Book I: 1-41, Poetry ·Tagged ,

Psalm 27 – Responsive Reading (selected verses)

On September 14th, we watched a video for our Psalm of the Day, which is Psalm 27.  This is a powerful Psalm and rich with parallel poetry.  We will introduce the video with the following responsive reading:

 

Leader – As we recite Psalm 27 responsively, pay particular attention to the poetic parallelism where the congregation repeats the same thoughts as spoken by the Leader.  This is a form of Hebrew poetry used extensively throughout the Psalms.

 

Leader:                        The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?

Congregation:            The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

Leader:                        When evil men advance against me; to devour my flesh,

Congregation:            when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

Leader:                        Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;

Congregation:            though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.

Leader:                         One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

Congregation:            to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

Leader:                        For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

Congregation:            he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

Leader:                        Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;

Congregation:            be merciful to me and answer me.

Leader:                        My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

Congregation:            Your face, LORD, I will seek.

Leader:                        Do not hide your face from me,

Congregation:            do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper.

Leader:                       Teach me your way, O LORD;

Congregation:            lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.

Leader:                        Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

 

Source: All scripture text is NIV.

 

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