June 30, 2011 by Worship Director.

Since we’re free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind? Hardly. You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it’s your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. – Romans 6:16-17 (The Message translation)

“Freedom” is much loved, as well as, much maligned. Some love it, some hate it, some fear it above all else.  Freedom isn’t free; as a priceless gift, it can, in fact, exact a terrible price. To accept its pleasures requires the equal application of responsibility. Jesus practiced responsible freedom: speaking the truth in love, giving people the choice even if it was the wrong path, creating new traditions without disrespecting the old. American law provides that people are entitled to freedom of speech and expression, of worship, from want and from fear (as articulated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941), and God’s law entitles us to all that, as well as, the responsibility of love.

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »

June 28, 2011 by Worship Director.

A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’  - Luke 12:16-20

Build bigger barns! Buy another storage unit. Fill the attic, the basement and all the closets.  He who finishes with the most “stuff” wins! Why does it seem so easy to accumulate more and more, and so hard to consider sharing it instead of hoarding it away? Too often, we gather our stuff around us until it is a barrier – protection - from the world and everyone that we think wants our stuff.  In the end, it’s just stuff that is left behind, liquidated, discarded, forgotten.  But that which we share with others, making a difference in human terms, lives on long after we’re gone.

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »

June 25, 2011 by Worship Director.

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  - Matthew 11:28-30

We want everything to be easy these days – quick access, shortcuts, instant results. Yet even with all these modern conveniences and high-tech gadgets, life just seems to continue to get harder and more complicated. Change is no longer single addition, but exponential. However, some things remain just as simple as ever: God’s love, salvation’s grace, and real peace.  These things are actually as close as a prayer away via direct line to the Master – no waiting, no voice mail, no dropped calls – easy access. God has got a free “App” for us!

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »

June 20, 2011 by Worship Director.

Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place “the Lord will provide.”  -Genesis 22:13-14

Abraham was not only “the Father of a Nation,” but also Isaac’s dad; trusted, revered and loved by a little boy.  It must have been a terrible realization that God could ask for his son as a sacrifice.  Of course, it was not Isaac’s life that God desired, but Abraham’s.  The willingness to give up his son – his love, his heritage, his life itself – was the gift of obedience that activated God’s abundant provision.

The Lord is still in the business of “providing.” Are we still willing to be obedient?

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »

June 18, 2011 by Worship Director.

Our fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You delivered them. - Psalm 22:4

A father plays a critical role in the family – not the provider, not the protector, not even the disciplinarian - his most important job is showing up as the image of God the Father here on earth.  Yes, we expect him to be strong and courageous, wise and just – but also soft and gentle, happy and kind.  This is the dad that our Heavenly Father wants the world to see, so that everyone can understand and embrace the kind of love He has to offer.

A man who acknowledges our Father as the source of his strength, his wisdom, and his life, brings honor to his family and his children from generation to generation.

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »

June 16, 2011 by Web Admin.

Psalm 51, tells us what to pray when we realize that we are sinners as we hear what the word of God says to us:

HAVE MERCY ON ME, OH GOD, ACCORDING TO YOUR UNFAILING LOVE,
ACCORDING TO YOUR GREAT COMPASSION,  BLOT OUT MY TRANSGRESSIONS.
WASH AWAY ALL MY INIQUITY AND CLEANSE ME FROM MY SIN.

For I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.  Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.  Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.  Cleanse me …and I will be CLEAN, wash me and I will be WHITER than snow.  Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones you have crushed REJOICE.  Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

- By Annie Lopez (Berry)

Posted in Christian Education | No Comments »

June 14, 2011 by Worship Director.

Won’t you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you? Show us your unfailing love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation… Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its produce. - Psalm 85:6-7 & 12

Just as water is a key ingredient to a farmer’s crop, plunging into God’s rejuvenating flood, is the source of all growth and prosperity.  A parched spirit cannot be produce fruit.  Dry bones cannot support heavy lifting.  Without water, we soon grow weak and die. When revived by the mouth of the river, the source of His goodness, the flow of God’s pure, fresh, anointing will give birth to an abundant harvest for us, our family and His Church.

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »

June 12, 2011 by Worship Director.

O God, who is like You? You, who have shown me great and severe troubles, shall revive me again, and bring me up again from the depths of the earth. You shall increase my greatness, and comfort me on every side. - Psalm 71:20-21

Texas is parched.  Drought drains away the green, the growth, the joy out of the earth.  The cracked ground is dry and lifeless like an empty shell. Yet with just a light rain, a sprinkling of mist, the whole world seems to come alive again.  Life bursts into color, the air tingles with freshness, and the stillness is broken by bird songs and the gentle rustling of branches in a cool breeze.

That is God. Refilling, refreshing, and reviving our parched souls, drained and dried by hardship, hopelessness, and heartache. With just a touch, we spring back to life, and the pain of drought, only a distant memory.  Shower yourself in His love and be immersed in revival!

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »

June 10, 2011 by Worship Director.

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body.  And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it.  How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body.  The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen,  while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other.  If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. - 1 Corinthians 12:14-26

It is a distinct pleasure when God opens the eyes to beautiful surroundings. The stillness of a lake, vibrant sunrises that take our breath away, single flowers blossoming from tangled weeds and many more treasured sights. On one such outing I watched a mother duck and her ten rebel ducklings. They had strong willed minds and scattered paths of their own. Mama duck flapped her wings and quacked incessant warnings. She ran around the boat rental building chasing a few while others busied themselves in every other direction. Frustrated, she flapped her wings at the water’s edge and boisterously called the young back into formation. Once afloat with order seemingly restored, one poke-a-long hopped about trying to catch up. Mama never looked back. Somehow she instinctively knew her baby would catch up.

Perhaps we could learn a few lessons from the duck. If our focus on Christ is lost, we begin to bicker about this and that. One could imagine the Spirit of God flapping about trying to bring us back to order. If we all follow one simple path of busying ourselves on God’s awesome ways, love for Him and one another, not only would harmony be restored, others would follow.

By Ann Reilley

Posted in Christian Education | No Comments »

June 4, 2011 by Worship Director.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him.  -Romans 12:1

God wants our living love, for only a beating heart can worship Him with all our talents and resources – all of us for all of Him.  Giving and living our lives for Him and through Him is a daily act of worship. Whatever your gift, offer it with all the excitement and delight as the very first time.

Posted in What's Up With Worship | No Comments »