Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Evening of Worship

This is a presentation from Pat Humphreys, the Worship Team leader for the Sacramento Metro church of Christ; it was delivered on November 21, 2009:

Revelation 4:1ff
-Do you see how intense worshipping God is?
-Worship shows our loyalty to Him.
-We must surrender our souls to Him with a humble and contrite heart.
James 4:6-10
-You are responsible for your humility before God.
Habakkuk 3:10
-Do you stand in awe of God's deeds?
Romans 12:1
-Worship is how Christians live!
-True worship demands complete engagement to God.
I Peter 2:9-10
-Are you, as a Christian, living up to your new description?
Acts 17:24-25
-You must worship God to please Him.
James 4:8
-Draw near to God to develop a Christlike character.
Romans 12:2
-You must renew your minds in worship
-Remember, God's people are His treasured possessions.
Colossians 3;16
-Sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs.
I Timothy 2:1
-Prayer is important to remain engaged with God.
I Corinthians 4:8-13
You can either help or hurt the body of Christ by proper worship.

Comment: If each of us worships God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24), growth occurs. The Worship team is not formed to entertain, but to edify the saints. May God bless this new ministry! -CL

Friday, November 6, 2009

Love your Neighbor

"If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ,Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. " -James 2:8-10

The second part of the Great Commandment is to love our neighbors. Over the past month in the Sacramento Church, we as a congregation went through a month of repentance. As a fellowship, we have sinned greatly in not loving our neighbors, not only nonbelievers, but within the Body of Christ.

One concept that I personally struggle with is giving my heart to people. Often using my past hurts and the mistakes I made affecting others around me as an excuse, I come off a man who just doesn't want to be around humanity. I often have to fight to allow the Spirit to work with me as i interact with people. Yet, sometimes my ego and my fears conquer me. I even go as far as judging people without really getting to know them based on age, status, and even intellect.

James the Elder in the above passage of Scripture warns us that if we do not love, we are lawbreakers. I personally do not want to continue to commit this sin; I want to move forward and learn how to love as Christ loved me. -CL