³We [Paul, Silas and Timothy] continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)

Um, ok…”caught” is probably not the best word.  “Convicted” is probably more appropriate…

Mainly because at times, if I were honest, Paul may have phrased this a little differently about me (…maybe even you).

Maybe something like:

³We continually [lift you] before our God and Father [because of] your work produced by guilt, your labor prompted by obligation, and your endurance inspired by fear of our [gracious] Lord Jesus Christ [and the totally wrong thought you have that you've got to "bank" good things to make Him love you, accept you, and answer your prayers].

x

Oh, to be like the Thessalonians…

Your name and renown [Lord] are the desire of our hearts. (NIV)

My Observation: It’s all about “heart”…without it appearance, words, & deeds are empty. I saw some HUGE hearts on Sunday. I was Blessed and I have to believe God smiled…

Sunday, our church held its 7th annual Car and Bike Show on our lawn. It’s come to be a great annual event that draws many from the community and offers a chance for car and bike (the motor and the pedal-types) enthusiasts to show off their toys and those who don’t have the toys to check them out, even drool (in a dignified way, of course).

The afternoon is always filled with cars & bikes, food, music, a dunk tank, a jump house, and tons of conversation. As in past years, we had a lot of people and the lawn was filled with cars.  People come and hang out for 10 minutes or for three hours…it’s all good!

If that were all it was about, we’d call it good and start planning next year…

But that is not what it was about. As Pastor John put it Sunday morning, “it’s about people.”

It was about people.

It was about community.

It was about getting out of the “cube” in the corner of the lot on 2827 Flint avenue we call “church” and being the tangible hands and feet of Jesus.

Being the true Jesus.

The one that cares unconditionally and that is approachable and interested in talking without any “hitch” or angle – just being a friend.

I saw that. I heard it. I saw people at worship.

For sure, God smiled.

Anyway, here we go:

<you>: Dennis!  How’s it going?  Love the blog, keep up the great work!
<me>: ‘sgoing pretty good.  How ’bout you?
<you>: Fantabulous!  Hey, What did you do on your Summer vacation?
<me>: I’m glad you asked…

The Deets:

This summer, our church went through a program called The Bible in 90 Days (aka BIND, aka B90X).  It’s not a hard program with hidden details – it’s reading the Bible in 90 days (OK, actually 88…there were two “grace” days built in).  We started on June 7th and from that day until September 3 (for me), we read about 12 pages each day – straight through…Genesis to Revelation.  Our adult Sunday School class and Sunday service sermons also followed the readings, highlighting various themes or characters from the previous weeks readings.

The Story:

True confessions here – I actually saw the official BIND Bible at our local Christian bookstore over a year ago. I bought it and thought I’d give it a go.  It didn’t go…  But, when we decided to go through the program at church, I decided I was going to do it!  GULP!

I read & study the Bible daily – but I don’t generally read 12 pages.  I’m also a slow reader (I’ll admit it!), so this was especially a challenge.  [FYI - my reading speed is really a product of wanting to fully understand and I just can't get there by scanning...some can - I can't.]

In addition, having just started this blog a few months before, I decided that I would write a post about each days reading.  Yes, EACH DAY (read: Leviticus).  My decision was based on two things:

• If 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is true (and I believe it is), then I ought to be able to glean at least one nugget from each day’s reading.  Yes, even from Leviticus.
• A comment I heard from a speaker a while back.  He said that he tried to find at least one thing in every sermon or talk he heard that was applicable or edifying.  This should be true of anything read in the bible.  [BTW, I hold to this truth in any meeting, seminar, conference, presentation.  It forces me to listen!]

So I started.  I read…and I blogged, and I read…and I blogged…  Eighty-eight days of reading, too many late nights trying to stay on track, and 67 blog posts (some were catch-up days) – all in all, an incredible journey.  I am glad I stuck it out.  It was great to read the whole Bible in a concentrated time frame.  It was amazing to see the thread of God’s redemptive love and care for man (me, you!) in this life-changing, life-giving book that has been lovingly preserved.

So, there’s no badge, t-shirt, or tattoo (?!) for completing the program.  But, there is the joy in knowing that I am a little bit more “equipped“  to be a better worshiper of my awesome and amazing God!

What’s Next?

For the Christ Follower, the Bible shouldn’t be a book that is read and then put on the shelf – saved for future reading if desired.  So, for that reason, I’ll never be “finished” reading the Bible…  I think I’ll even do BIND again next year.

I am starting two new books though:

• Adopted for Life, by Dr. Russell Moore.
• Forgotten God, by Francis Chan

Both look to be GREAT reads…even blog subjects!

HEY, if you’d like to give BIND or B90X a try, here is a reading schedule that Elevation Church in North Carolina has posted.

I was prepping for Sunday School this evening (Francis Chan’s Crazy Love), and two things hit me smack dab between the eyes:

First, in watching the Crazy Love Study DVD, Chan says (paraphrased for this post):

Can you imagine if the early church, having seen the Son of God tortured, die on a cross, and rise again, decided to simply to get together once a week and have services, where one of them would preach and they would have really cool music, and then they would go back to life as usual?

Wow – I quickly tweeted a paraphrase:

“Imagine if the early church only got tgthr once a week for services & then went back 2 life as usual? -F Chan / wld I be writing ths? -me”

The second, was a tweet that hit my TweetDeck at 6:15 (five minutes after the tweet above).

The tweet was a link to a blog post at shaungroves.com about a pastor in India who is doing church “wrong.”  I won’t lift any of the post…you need to read it yourself and absorb the pictures to get the whole effect.

The upshot is that we (American churches) have predominantly got it wrong – as the pastor eloquently says, “Our witness is our service.”  At times, I think we get lost in the programs, the “sound”, decor, and image at the expense of our witness.  Of course, we should do everything well for the Lord, but if we don’t have the Gospel at the heart of it all, well…

OK, I’m Listening God…may Your Holy Spirit work in and on me!

Following the lead of some of my worship leader friends, I think I will try to do a post-service entry…here’s the first!

Being Palm Sunday, my desire this morning was to certainly remember Christ’s triumphal entry, but also to take the congregation on the journey that He would follow this week. I think it worked pretty good…

Worship Set List:

• Our God Saves [Baloche]
• Hosanna [Baloche]
• Lord I Lift Your Name on High [Founds] Acoustic vocal transition Only
• You Are My King [Foote]
• CLOSER: Be Glorified [Funk]

We opened the service with our choir singing a song from the Brentwood-Benson musical My Savior, My God that tells the story of Jesus’ ministry leading up to the triumphal entry: That’s the Heart of God/Hosanna. With narration and images that told the story of Jesus’ ministry, I think it was a great way to begin the service.

Bethany sang the offertory - Before You Call (Lyrics below).  It really prepared hearts for Pastor John’s message: Jesus: Compassionate Savior (from John 9:1-41.)

What a wonderful day of adoration and praise of our glorious God!

x

Before You Call
Daphne Rademaker

Come to Me my people come
There’s no need to be afraid of your Father
When I see you I will run
I will be there, I will be there
Before you call I will answer you
While you still speak I will hear
My ears are turned to the cry of My chosen ones
In My love you can rest in Me
For you are My very own
So hold on to the hope you have
That I would draw you to Myself
I will never leave you alone
I will not forget you
I gather My lambs in My arms
So I will comfort you
And carry you close to My heart

© 1991 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing

x

Check out the the “Sunday Setlists” carnival at FredMcKinnon.com

]]> http://dennarr.com/2009/04/05/worship-service-set-list-recap-april-5-2009/feed/ 0 dennarr base-image-wc