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“How to keep the worship flow going”

The Sunday Sample: Episode 29

How do we keep the worship flow going? What prevents the songs from being separate items? I share something we tried at church last Sunday.

Please share your ideas here by leaving a comment.

And please pass this on to one other person.

God bless, Malcolm

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“Know that the Lord is God.” Psalm 100.3

Quiet Time Coaching: Episode 32

We continue our exploration of Psalm 100 by moving on to verse 3. As mentioned in previous blogs, I am planning a very special service based on the Psalm. To make sure that it’s focused in the right way, I’m devoting a good deal of time and energy to studying, praying through and meditating on Psalm 100. I’m writing these blogs to help me with this, but also to get your feedback and thoughts.
 
 
“Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”
 
So far we have dealt with “shout” and the invitations to “worship” and “come”. Today we will explore the command to ‘know’ that the LORD is God. We will also look at the implications that follow – considering we are his sheep.
 
Why is the word “know” at the beginning of the line as an imperative? It seems a little strange to make the word “know” a command.
 

1. Yada

The Hebrew word translated “know” is ‘yada’. This is a word connoting intimacy. It is a very personal relationship. It implies experiencing the other person. In other words, not knowing about someone, but knowing their character and their heart.
 
By commanding us to “know” the Lord we are being invited into full devotion to a relationship that already exists, but is not currently as complete in its devotion as it could be. Only if we fully commit ourselves to the LORD will you find an adequately firm foundation for praise. More on this in the next blog focusing on verse four.
 
Those who truly “know” the Lord make more than an acknowledgement of his Lordship, but freely confess his Lordship. When we are wholehearted in our love of the Lord, we voluntarily express our thanksgiving and praise.
 
If you are finding it hard to pray wholeheartedly or sing with all your heart during times of corporate worship, could it be that there is a need to change your thinking about your relationship with the LORD?
 

2. Where we came from and who we belong to

Our gratitude is refreshed when we remember that the LORD chose to make us according to his will. No one made him do it.
 
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7 NIV11)
 
When we remember who formed us, we are also reminded to whom we belong. It’s difficult to praise God if we forget our identity. But if we remember how lucky we are, it becomes much easier to shout for joy.
 

3. The privilege of pasture

Perhaps the Psalmist is thinking of an earlier psalm by David:
 
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures,” (Psalms 23:1–2 NIV11)
 
Much of the time we lack what we want. But we never lack what we need when what we need is to remember that we belong to the LORD. Perhaps Jesus was thinking of Psalms 23 and 100 when he said this:
 
“I am the gate for the sheep…whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.” (John 10:7–9 NIV11)
 
We have an extraordinary promise from Jesus. That when we find him, and join his flock, we are not only safe, but in a position to “have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10 NIV11)
 
If that’s not a reason to shout for joy, worship with gladness and sing joyful songs, then I don’t know what is.

Conclusion

Have you considered how privileged you are to not only be made by God but also loved by him? Are you willing to fully commit yourself to a relationship with the LORD? Are you finding his pasture to be pleasant?
We will continue to explore the Psalm between now and 6 May. Pray over it, meditate on it. Let it sink into the mind and the heart.
 

Question

What helps you fully commit your life to the LORD? What is the most inspiring aspect of being one of Jesus’s flock?
 
Please leave a comment here so that we can all learn from one another. We learn best when we learn in community.
 
I hope you have a wonderful week of fulfilling quiet times.
 
God bless, Malcolm
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“How to be kind to kinaesthetic learners”

Tuesday Teaching Tips: Episode 102

We look at how to help not only those with a preference to auditory or visual learning, but those whose preferred learning style is kinaesthetic. Are they the most neglected of all?

The value of this approach is that it increases:

  1. Attention
  2. Contribution
  3. Stickiness

Helpful scriptures: John 6.9; 12-13; Matthew 16.5-12

I hope you find these thoughts helpful. What have I missed? What else is important?

Please leave a comment and pass the link on to one other person ….

God bless, Malcolm

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“To dance or not to dance?”

The Sunday Sample: Episode 28

I received a question recently. It asked whether we, as worship leaders, should be leading the congregation in dancing? Here is my answer….

Please share your ideas here by leaving a comment.

And please pass this on to one other person.

God bless, Malcolm

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“Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Psalm 100:2

Quiet Time Coaching: Episode 31

We continue our exploration of Psalm 100 by moving on to verse 2. As mentioned in previous blogs, I am planning a very special service based on the Psalm. To make sure that it’s focused in the right way, I’m devoting time and energy to studying, praying through and meditating on Psalm 100. I’m writing these blogs to help me with this, but also to get your feedback and thoughts.
 
 
“Worship the Lord with gladness;
Come before him with joyful songs.”
(Psalm 100:2 NIV11)
 
The New Bible Commentary (IVP) sees this verse as intimately connected with verse 1. We have three invitations in these two verses: to shout, worship and come.
 
We dealt with “shout” last time. Today we will consider the invitations to “worship” and “come”.
 

1. Worship the Lord with gladness

To worship is to serve. Some translations have the word “serve” here. As Warren Wiersbe said, “Joyful noise leads to joyful service”.* Why are we glad in God’s service? Because, just as the Israelites were liberated from their slavery in Egypt, we…
 
“…have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:18 NIV11)
 
Hence, we delight to offer ourselves in worshipful service,
 
“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.” (Romans 12:1 NIV11)
 
Are you grumpy about serving God? Perhaps you have forgotten God’s mercy. Are you moody when joining your brothers and sisters in corporate worship? Perhaps a prayer for renewed gladness would be appropriate before entering the building. Resist the temptation to be like the older brother who found little about which to be glad and refused to join in the gladness of his younger brother and his father (Luke 15:32).
 
Refresh yourself with the correct vision of the future. We have much to be glad about:
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7 NIV11)
 

2. Come before him with joyful songs

We are invited into the very presence of God. The word translated “before him” is the Hebrew word ‘paneh’. It means ‘before’ and ‘face’. In other words, we are coming face to face with God.
 
That’s a wonderful invitation for us. All the more so for an Israelite, who knew he could not see God’s face and live (Ex 33.20). Although no one may literally see God’s face in this life, God is signalling his desire that we would know him personally. And he is signalling his vision that one day this will be the case.
 
What could be more appropriate, when coming face-to-face with God, than to sing joyful songs? One of the ways we serve God is by coming together to worship him in song.
 
The implication of the “joyful songs” is that we sing with confidence. Not confidence in our musical ability, but singing without hesitation. We do not hesitate in singing to God because we are confident in his mercy to us and, as we shall see in verse three, confidence in our acceptance as God’s people.

Conclusion

Today, and this week, why not explore serving God with gladness? Take some time to reflect on how lucky we are to be able to come face-to-face with him. Make it your intention to sing joyfully the next time you participate in corporate worship.
We will continue to explore the Psalm between now and 6 May. Pray over it, meditate on it. Let it sink into the mind and the heart.
 

Question

What gets in the way of serving the Lord with gladness? What helps you to be joyful in your singing?
 
Please leave a comment here so that we can all learn from one another. We learn best when we learn in community.
 
I hope you have a wonderful week of fulfilling quiet times.
 
God bless, Malcolm
 
Get coached on Coach.me
 
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“How to structure a class”

Tuesday Teaching Tips: Episode 101

I reveal the template I use to prepare most of my teaching classes. We discuss the significance of our learning objective, and how to think through what each class will need in terms of resources and variety of teaching methods.

I hope you find these thoughts helpful. What have I missed? What else is important?

Please leave a comment and pass the link on to one other person ….

God bless, Malcolm

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“How God Transforms Lives”, Acts 3

Not one, but two versions of the same sermon surveying the first part of Acts 3 looking at the Spirit’s work in bringing grace-poor and grace-rich people together. We learn lessons about noticing people and expecting the unexpected.

The first is the discussion-style version with the Watford church of Christ, and the second is the interactive version with the Thames Valley churches of Christ.

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.

Do you have a question about the Bible or the Christian faith? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send us your questions or suggestions.

Thanks again for watching. Have a super day.

God bless,

Malcolm

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A new ‘sending’ song: “Send us out”

The Sunday Sample, Episode 27

Here is a new ‘sending’ song we’ve learned recently in Thames Valley.

Have a look at www.resoundworship.org/song/send_us_out for more resources.

Do you have a favourite ‘sending’ song for concluding your service? Please share your ideas here by leaving a comment.

And please pass this on to one other person.

God bless, Malcolm

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“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.” Psalm 100:1

Quiet Time Coaching: Episode 30

We continue our exploration of Psalm 100. I am planning a very special worship service based on the Psalm on 6 May for the Thames Valley churches of Christ. To make sure that it’s focused in the right way, I’m devoting a good deal of time and energy to studying, praying through and meditating on Psalm 100. I’m writing these blogs to help me with this, but also to get your feedback and thoughts.
 
 
Last time we took a birds-eye view of the Psalm looking at its major themes. Today we will begin breaking the Psalm down verse by verse.
 
Psalm 100:1  “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.”
 
The best known hymn based on this Psalm is, “All people that on earth do dwell”. But there is another by that famous hymn writer Isaac Watts. The first two verses connect with the global call to praise:
 
1.
Sing to the Lord with joyful voice,
Let every land his name adore;
The British isles shall send the noise
Across the ocean to the shore.
 
2.
Nations, attend before his throne
With solemn fear, with sacred joy;
Know that the Lord is God alone;
He can create and he destroy.
 
Let’s break this down into the three primary phrases of Psalm 100 v1.
 

1. Shout for joy

The Hebrew word translated “shout for joy” is ‘rua’. It means to raise a battle cry, sound a trumpet blast, or shout in triumph. We are not offering a moderate expression of joy. We are expressing an almost uncontained and definitely unconstrained exclamation.
 
Because there is joy, there is a shout.
 
Is energy missing in our prayers because life is tough? Or is it because we have misplaced the source of our joy?
 
Is there less volume in our corporate worship because we don’t like the songs? Or have we lost connection with the one about whom the songs are written?
 
When our joy goes missing, it’s time to reconnect with the Lord.
 

2. To the Lord

Is the Lord our primary source of joy? Is he the one on whom our hopes rest?
 
My broadband gives me faster download speeds than upload speeds. This causes me frustration when I upload large files. But it makes sense because I am even more frustrated when trying to watch something online and the dreaded buffering fills my screen.
I do well to be more concerned about what I’m ‘downloading’ from God, rather than what I am ‘uploading’ to him. If I’m downloading the right stuff then I will have what I need to upload.
 
The shout of joy is offered to the Lord. There is a big difference between praying to hear my own words as opposed to praying to the Lord.
 

3. All the earth

What does, “all the earth” mean? Is the Psalmist hoping that all people will shout to the Lord? Or is it an even bigger vision than this? Is it that all of creation will praise Yahweh? The Psalm immediately before this one gives us some ideas.
 
In Psalm 99 the nations “tremble” (v1) because the Lord reigns. The Lord is “exalted above all the nations” (v2).
 
The vision of Psalm 100 is that the nations who tremble will recognise the exalted nature of the Lord. And they will come to worship him with gladness.
 
Do we have the same vision in our prayers? Do our times of corporate worship contain a strong sense of vision that the good news is not only for us? Is it not also for all around us and all who inhabit this globe?
 
Let us pray for our family, friends, neighbours and nations who are far from God.
 

Conclusion

Today, and this week, why not explore shouting to the Lord because of the joy he has given you. Pray not only that you can enjoy this joy, but that the whole earth will share in your ability to rejoice. Focus your prayers on the Lord more than on yourself.
We will continue to explore the Psalm between now and 6 May. Pray over it, meditate on it. Let it sink into the mind and the heart.
 

Question

What gets in the way of shouting for joy to the Lord? What helps you to be exuberant in your praise of God?
 
Please leave a comment here so that we can all learn from one another. We learn best when we learn in community.
 
I hope you have a wonderful week of fulfilling quiet times.
 
God bless, Malcolm
 
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