November 8: Tuesday Refocus

“If you want a spiritual life, you must unify your life. A life is either all spiritual or not at all.” - Thomas Merton

We are people of divided time, 

half-hearted affection, 

scattered attention, 

and distorted desires. 

If we are to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, soul, mind, and strength (Luke 10:27), our lives must echo the prayers of the Psalmist: 

“Teach me your ways, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” - Psalm 86:11

A spiritual life is a life that is ever seeking to learn from the Master.

A spiritual life walks in God’s truth, not our own truth. 

A spiritual life is a unified life because all of life is spiritual.

A spiritual life lives in fear, and awe of God, rather than man.

Lord, unite these fragmented pieces of our lives for Your glory and our good, and the good of the world. Amen.

Unifying,

AB

The Corporate Gathering Forming One Another

There is perhaps nothing the modern, Western, American loves more than personal rights and freedoms. We love our independence and the idea that we are self-made, capable of pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps, and are self-sufficient. Is it any wonder that this kind of cultural value embeds itself in the local Church as well?

When our lives are marked my individuality, why would we desire to…

…give of ourselves in service?

…die to our preferences?

…be inconvenienced?

…consider others more significant than ourselves?

…attend church when we don’t feel like it?

The corporate worship gathering is - in large part - for the spiritual formation of God’s people. And forming people spiritually is forming them counter to the currents of our individual culture.

One of the reasons we gather is to be reminded that we are a part of a story bigger than ourselves. That we belong to the family of God, made up of people from every tribe, tongue, nation, and language on the planet. This is a family that stretches throughout time, and history and will last into eternity. This family has existed before us, and will continue once we return to the dust. When we gather, we are once again caught up into the larger story, and find our place as one member of the body. The corporate gathering is not just for the individual, it is for the family.

And as the family gathers, we each contribute as many members of one body, as the Apostle Paul reminds us:

“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.  If all were a single member, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” - 1 Corinthians 12:14-27

As members of this body we represent Christ to one another as a kingdom of priests:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” - 1 Peter 2:9

“and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” - Revelation 1:6

One of the ways we represent Christ to one another is by putting on…

“…as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” - Colossians 3:12-17

All of this is why we should not neglect…

“…to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:25

We are forming the community, and the community is forming us.

August 29: Set List + Liturgy

• THIS IS AMAZING GRACE

Call To Worship: Psalm 40:9-10

Part of the reason we gather is to remind one another about the saving work, the great deliverance of God, His steadfast love and faithfulness. We know these things in our minds, but often our lives do not reflect that we recognize these things are true. So when we sing, we sing to God, yes, but we also sing to one another reminding each other about the heart and character of our God. So lets sing to Him, and sing to one another.

• HIS MERCY IS MORE

• NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD

Read + Pray in Response: Psalm 106:47

SERMON: Psalm 133

Relationships are hard work. We never drift toward unity or oneness - it is always hard fought. But the unity we see displayed in this passage, unity which commands a blessing, is not anything you and I can summon in our own strength and power. This unity is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in us, through us and among us. And I think part of walking with the Holy Spirit toward unity and oneness with one another is recognizing God has already crossed the greater divide to reconcile, to redeem, to unify sinful people to Himself - a Holy God. Maybe one of the reasons we see such division among Christ-followers is because we don’t actually believe that is true - we look at others and think ‘Yeah, God had to cross the greater divide for those sinners over there, but He didn’t really have to cross too great of a divide to reconcile this sinner right here.’ Brothers and sisters, that is a lie. We all stand in great need of the redeeming, reconciling, unifying work of God. And if God can be reconciled to sinful people, who are we to not work toward unity and oneness with our brothers and sisters. Let’s use the words of this song to recognize the redeeming, reconciling, unifying work of Christ on our behalf.

• COME BEHOLD THE WONDROUS MYSTERY

• YES AND AMEN

Pursuing Unity

‘We are more divided at this moment than at any point in history…’ How often have we heard this or some similar refrain over the past number of years?Politics, racial justice, COVID-19, are just a handful of things which have exposed our deeply held beliefs. And divided not just our nation, but our churches and families.

Jesus prayed for us, that as His followers we would be one, as He and the Father are one (Jn 17:21). He said that the world would know us by our love for one another (Jn 13:35). Love and oneness require considering another over ourselves. We never drift toward oneness. Love does not grow without sacrifice. Working for and toward unity is an intentional, daily, ongoing work, until one day when Jesus returns and all of His followers will be one, and will love one another as He intends.

Specifically as worship leaders, there are many opportunities for disunity:

with your pastor, elders, or leaders about the length of sung worship, or how to structure a service,

with the musicians and vocalists over parts and responsibilities,

with sound and tech people over execution of the corporate gathering,

with children’s ministry volunteers for running too long, or too loud,

and with the congregation over songs and style

just to name a few!

So how do we navigate a fallen world, broken relationships, and our own sin as we desire to become the unified, loving Body that Christ has called us to be?

An obvious, yet critical answer: Pray. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12). When we recognize that this is a spiritual work, we must also recognize, apart from a work of the Holy Spirit, we are incapable of becoming unified and loving - sharing the same heart and mind with our brothers and sisters. Pray often. Pray with those whom you desire unity. Pray for your heart, and the hearts of those you serve alongside.

Die to yourself. This is the work of every follower of Christ - dying to ourselves daily, taking up the cross, and following Jesus. Some hills are worth dying on, others are not worth losing - or splintering unity with - a brother or sister. When we mistake personal preference for gospel issues we do not model the self-giving, self-surrendering love of Christ.

Name and clarify expectations. There is truth to the saying, unnamed expectations are resentments waiting to happen. It may take time to surface subconscious expectations you hold for your relationships, but once they begin to surface you can start to ask yourself: are these expectations reasonable? How do we need to solidify and clarify expectations for this relationship? Are there things in your relationships which need to be acknowledged, forgiven? What needs to be swallowed up by an ocean of grace?

Check in regularly. Once you have named and clarified expectations, checking in regularly is essential - are we okay? Are these expectations reasonable? How do these expectations need to shift and change over time, as the relationship changes? I have found knowing people and being in relationship with them outside of a shared common task enables understanding, familiarity, and empathy.

Be honest. Being honest and being brutal are not the same thing. Honest conversations are truthful, soaked in grace, and motivated by love. Honesty in relationship will help you keep short accounts. It can uproot bitterness before it has the opportunity to take hold. Be honest, and learn to invite and receive honest conversation.

Relationships, location, seasons of life and ministry are not obstacles to becoming more unified and loving, they are the means by which God uses to conform us to the image of His Son. The One who prayed that we would be one, that we would be known by our love. So don’t fight these gifts, embrace these gifts.

July 7: Tuesday Refocus

'Man's heart is never large enough to hold either its joys or its sorrows.' - Charles Spurgeon

I do not know that those words have ever felt as true as they do at this moment.  Our stories and suffering have been given for sharing.

Our illusions of self-sufficiency have ruptured under the weight of each individual having to think outside themselves when it comes to quarantine response.  And even the most introverted among us feel the ache of grief accompanying the loss of regular gatherings of family, friends, co-workers, and fellow worshipers.  With the ever-flowing stream of statistics and fear, we can feel it.  It is too much to bear.

We cannot carry the weight of this life on our own.  But because Christ has taken our sin, suffering, and death upon Himself, the weight is no longer ours to carry (1 Pet 2:24).  In fact, we are invited to come to Him - the One Whose yoke is easy and burden is light (Matt 11:30).  And because Christ has carried us and our burden, we too can ‘Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal 6:2).’

I have no idea what life after COVID-19 will look like, but I hope that we will emerge as people who have learned to deeply bear the burdens of one another as Christ bears us up.

‘Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation.’ Ps 68:19

Lord, in the confusion of our world, would You continue to bear us up.  May we emerge from this time with hearts that have been carried and learned to carry.  In Christ’s name, amen.

Carried,

AB