God

12 November: Tuesday Refocus

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"God patiently waits until we are ready to trust and surrender, In other cases, we genuinely have the desire, but need more time to grow. Even though God's grace moves swiftly, all authentic human growth happens slowly. Little by little, his grace stretches us through holy desires, careful not to break us.” - Fr. Derek Sakowski

In sorrow and suffering we can be tempted to believe that God is distant. But perhaps, these realities for the children of God are not evidence of God’s distance, but of His nearness (Psalm 77). And the good news for the people of God is that God’s nearness is always our good (Psalm 73:28). He is holding our days and our longings in the same hands where are names are engraved (Psalm 31:15, Psalm 38:9, Isaiah 49:16).

Father, thank you that our lives and longings are safe in Your hands. Amen.

Amen,

AB

1 October: Tuesday Refocus

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"It is going to be a very long road. Every time I pray I feel the struggle. It is the struggle of letting God be the God of my whole being. It is the struggle to trust that true freedom lies hidden in total surrender to God's love." - Henri J.M. Nouwen

For followers of Jesus, we know that our lives are not our own (1 Corinthians 6:19). We know that our very breath is a gift from God (Acts 17:25). But still we naturally cling to the natural - attempting to exert our will, our whims, and our desires on and over our lives. In prayer we come face-to-face with the God who says ‘“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding (Job 38:4).’ In prayer we recognize that His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). In prayer we realize that our words should be few - because what is there to say when we see the One who inhabits the heavens (Ecclesiastes 5:2)? Prayer is not a battle of wills (mine against God’s) but the enfolding of my will into the One who knows and loves me best.

Father, may we be quick to surrender deeply, fully, completely. In Christ’s name, and the Spirit’s power, amen.

Amen,

AB

17 September: Tuesday Refocus

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‘Every art unfolds its secrets and its beauty only to the man who practices it. To the humble soul who prays in the obedience of faith, who practices prayer and intercession diligently, because God asks it, the secret of the Lord will be revealed, and the thought of the deep mystery of prayer, instead of being a weary problem, will be a source of rejoicing, adoration, and faith, in which the unceasing refrain is ever heard: "My God will hear me!”’ - Andrew Murray

It is easy to lose patience in prayer. It seems slow, and we wonder if anything is happening. It seems important and yet we wonder if we are doing it right. Like the Psalmist - and every person in Scripture, and throughout history - we wonder aloud: ‘I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where Is Your God? (Psalm 42:9-10)”’ 

But if we labor on, lean in, show up, bring our sighing and ourselves we find “…the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name (Isaiah 45:3).” This is not easy work - not because God is withholding, but because we are often half-hearted in our pursuit of the One who gives us Himself (Psalm 38:9, John 1:16). Why else would we call those rare saints who seem to have been able to lay hold of something deeper and more meaningful in prayer, warriors?

Father, would you make us persistent in prayer? Amen and amen.

Amen,

AB

10 September: Tuesday Refocus

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One should hallow all that one does in one's natural life. One eats in holiness, tastes the taste of food in holiness, and the table becomes an altar. One works in holiness, and raises up the sparks which hide themselves in all tools. One walks in holiness across the fields, and the soft songs of all herbs, which they voice to God, enter into the song of our soul. - Martin Buber

For the follower of Jesus, there is no sacred/secular dividing line. Because all of life is an act of worship offered in view of the mercies of God (Romans 12:1). Eating, drinking, working, and resting give evidence to whom we belong (1 Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 127:2).  

“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” Colossians 1:17

Father, may this day, and every day be lived before Your face. In view of your mercies, and consecrated to You. In Christ’s name and the Spirit’s power, amen.

Amen,

AB

16 July: Tuesday Refocus

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"Ever-loving God, who having loved us loves us still, help us to hear again your word, 'By this shall they know you are my disciples; that you love one another." Turn our hostility into hospitality and our callousness into care. Through Christ, we pray. Amen.” - A Guide to Prayer for All God’s People

Forgiveness and love go hand in hand (Luke 7:47). If enemies of God can be welcomed as friends, and called family - what a small thing it is for us to love one another (Colossians 1:21, John 15:15, 1 Peter 2:9-10)?

Father, may we as your children show how much you have loved and forgiven us by loving and forgiving one another. In Christ’s name, and the Spirit’s power, amen.

Amen,

AB

18 June: Tuesday Refocus

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“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” - Proverbs 27:6

Every person has been wounded in relationship. This is a part of life in a fallen world: necessary things intended for our good and flourishing have been distorted and warped by sin. I believe it is not the wound of a friend that leaves a scar, but the unwillingness to be so committed to those we love that we are willing to speak the truth in love and walk alongside one another for the long haul that leaves us grieved and groaning.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend. Faithful.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:12-15

Father, in your grace, would you make us the kinds of friends who are faithful in our wounds, amen.

Amen,

AB

16 June: Liturgy + Set List

  • FOREVER NOW A CROWN

    Call to Worship

  • CREATOR

  • ALL HAIL KING JESUS/I LOVE YOU LORD

There are three persons in one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And of all of those titles, perhaps the one that can feel most complicated to us is Father. Because part of living in a fallen and broken world is that even the things intended for our good and flourishing - like fathers - have been distorted, warped, and broken by sin. But if you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you have a Heavenly Father who has never been distorted, warped, or broken by sin. And so as we continue in worship, I am going to read a prayer that shows some of the heart and character of our Father that we see in Scripture:

God, You are our Father

We are the sheep of Your pasture

The work of Your hand

You have loved us with an everlasting love

You have welcomed us into Your family

We are Your dearly loved children

Nothing can separate us from Your love

You discipline those You love

Your anger is for a moment,

But Your favor lasts a lifetime

You have called us by name, we are Yours

You know us for You have made us

You have shown us Your love in sending Your Son

Nothing is hidden from You

You quiet us with Your love

And You delight over us with singing

You comfort us in our distress

You are the giver of every good and perfect gift

No good thing do you withhold

See what kind of love the Father has given

That we should be called children of God,

And so we are

From Is 64:8, Ps 100:3, Ephesians 5:1, Heb 31:3, Eph 1:5, Rom 8:38-39, Pr 3:12, Ps 30:5, Is 43:1, Rom 4:8, Heb 4:13, Zeph 3:17, Ps 86:7, Jam 1:17, Ps 84:11, 1 Jn 3:1

Sermon: 1 Peter 1:10-12

If you are here this morning as a follower of Jesus, you will never move on or past the cross. We only ever move deeper into our understanding of what God has accomplished through Christ. We only ever grow in our awareness of our need for a Savior, and deeper in our affection for Christ. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to lift our eyes to behold the our suffering servant Savior, would you stand if you’re able…

  • SON OF SUFFERING

  • GOD, YOU’RE SO GOOD

    Benediction

11 June: Tuesday Refocus

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“The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” - Psalm 25:14

Fear may not seem like a solid foundation for friendship, but Scripture tells us: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Proverbs 9:10

In the original Hebrew, this text reads, “The secret of the LORD is for those who fear him…” To be friends - to know him deeply, and intimately - is to rightly recognize, to stand in awe of who He is and what He has done. To see that, “Our God is in the heaven; he does all that he pleases.” Psalm 115:3

But this is not a one-way friendship: God makes known His covenant to those who fear Him. He makes known His heart and character, He makes Himself known.

Father, thank you for all the ways you have revealed yourself. May we see and fear you rightly, and walk closely with you, in Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

4 June: Tuesday Refocus

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“Prayer is the act by which we divest ourselves of all false belongings and become free to belong to God and God alone.” - Henri Nouwen

In arguably the most famous prayer in Scripture, Jesus pleads with the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane to ‘…let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:39).’ Jesus knew that all of his longings could be place before the Father because He also trusted the Father (Psalm 38:9, John 8:28-29).

Perhaps this is why prayer - for many of us - can seem weak, boring, or unnecessary - we sense that there are places in our own hearts, minds, and lives that have not fully been given over (divested) from our own desires. We fear that God will ask of us something that we are unwilling to give. But God always meets us with Himself. God always gives more grace (James 4:6). Hallelujah.

Father, give us more grace to increasingly divest ourselves of all false belongings and to become free to belong to You and You alone, in Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

28 May: Tuesday Refocus

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“To say that God is holy once is enough. To say that God is holy twice is emphatic. To say God is holy three times is superlative. God is holy that our minds cannot comprehend it and our mouths cannot express it. To say that God is holy is to say that God is God. Holiness is the ‘Godness’ of God. Worship that does not revere the holiness of God is not worship. It is the idolatrous veneration of a god of our own making.” - H.B. Charles Jr.

A glimpse of God is to be reminded that He is holy (and that I am not). Beholding the One who dwells in unapproachable light inspires an endless, and repeated song that somehow perfectly articulates who He is without ever becoming repetitive or emptied of meaning (1 Timothy 6:16, Isaiah 6:3). This is the song of eternity past and eternity future. It is the cry of the saints and angels and all of creation - may it be our song as well:   

“…and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8

Father, would you help us to be holy as Jesus is holy, in Christ’s name, and in the power of the Spirit we pray, amen.

Amen,

AB

Familiarity Leads to Presence

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The first time I led worship in an Anglican service, I was glued to the printed liturgy - I didn’t know the order and did not understand the rhythms and movement of the gathering. Anytime I have been asked to play or sing at a wedding, I stare at the program as if I am looking at a flight tracker in the airport - as though each element will be changed and updated in real time.

When I am unfamiliar or uncertain, I find it very difficult to be present to the Lord, present to His people, and present to what He might be doing in this moment.

I wonder if you might feel the same. When the order of our service and liturgy change weekly, when we add in something outside of the normal rhythms of our gathering, and when we are unfamiliar with the music, it becomes increasingly difficult to be present to anything other than simply executing whatever right before you.

But when we are familiar, we are freed to be present. When our minds know a melody, when our fingers find the chords without looking, our eyes can be lifted to the people, rather than the paper. Our hearts can be attentive because they are still rather than churning.

So why not find more regular rhythms in your gathering if it means you can listen and speak from a greater degree of presence to the Lord and His people? Why not spend a little bit more time learning and internalizing that song before introducing it to the congregation? Why not spend a little longer lingering - a little longer rehearsing, a little longer being present?