Word

Thoughts On Writing

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It has been said, ‘Write what you know…’ or others have said, ‘I write so that I might know…’ There is no doubt that words are formative. As followers of Jesus, we should not be surprised about this because God spoke the world into existence with His words. Jesus is the Word made flesh who sustains the universe by the word of His power. And God has given us His Word through Scripture.

Words are important. And personally, I believe that writing is important. That even if you do not consider yourself a writer, there is value, benefit, and importance to writing in, and for your unique context. Yes, write songs, but also write liturgy. Write in the language of your people, write to stretch them and grow them, write so that the trues of Scripture, deep doctrine, and beautiful devotion may inhabit their hearts, minds, and lives.

When considering writing, here are a few things I believe are worth considering:

Write all the time. Writing doe not just have to be pen to paper, it can also be exploring good writing, filling your own heart, mind, and life with things that are good, beautiful, and true.

Keep writing. I use my iPhone Notes app constantly. Lines, lyrics, phrases. Maybe they will turn into something - like a song, a call to worship, a blog, a responsive reading, a prayer, or devotional writing. Maybe those words are just a place for me to make sense of my own heart, and pour out my own praise. But keeping a running list of words, phrases, or quotes that have impacted me, can often jump-start a more intentional or focused time of writing.

Consider the purpose. If it is a song - is this a corporate worship song, a song of personal devotion, or something just for fun? What is it that the people of God need to hear? What is it that I just need to be able to say to God - or that He wants to speak to me?

Where are the gaps? As I am trying to bridge Scripture, songs, and liturgy, what words will help paint a clearer picture of the truths we are declaring? Does that passage of Scripture, Song, or pre-written liturgy already exist? If not, how might I prayerfully, and intentionally allow God to shape my words to fill in the gaps?

Are you feeling a need, a conviction, or a desire to write? How might you bring those desires to the Lord and allow him to shape them to bless, serve, equip, and challenge you, and those you lead and serve?

Tuesday Refocus: April 25

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“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ.” - 2 Thessalonians 3:5

Our hearts do indeed need direction. Because every heart is deceitful, desperately sick, and misunderstood (Jer 17:9). We chase vanity and strive after the wind (Ecc 1:14). What could be more essential to our aimless, wandering hearts than the steadying, sobering, truest truth that God is love, and Christ is steadfast?

Like sheep that go astray, how easily we are distracted and prone to wander. We combat our wandering with being anchored in the person and work of Christ as revealed in God’s Word. We must continually, constantly, and repeated preach and press the truths of Scripture deeply into our hearts. As we read, meditate, apply, pray, rehearse, hear, and sing these truths - the Holy Spirit who inspired these words to be written - uses them to lead us in all truth, directing us to God Himself (John 16:13).

“We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” - Hebrews 6:19-20

Lord, in this moment, may our hearts be directed toward your unchanging character more than our ever changing circumstances. In the name of Christ, amen.

Steadied,

AB

19 February: Liturgy + Set List

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  • ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK

    Call to Worship: Psalm 19:7-11

    My hope and prayer for you and me is that we leave here this morning not delighting in a song or style, a preacher or a sermon, but in the Word of God. The Word as it is preached, prayed, sung, and read. And the Word that is the Word made flesh - Jesus Christ. Let’s sing about Him, and to Him, and remind one another of His character:

  • CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED

    We have been in the gospel of Mark for the past six weeks, and we have seen again and again, people coming to Jesus not because they treasure Him, but what He can do for them - they wanted signs, wonders, and miracles. And over and over we see Jesus saying that His primary mission is not to perform miracles, but to preach the good news of the Gospel - that God has made way for sinners to be made right with Him through life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. And this morning we are going to learn a new song that is a reminder of Christ’s saving work - we’ll teach you the chorus first, it goes like this:

  • WE ARE SAVED

    Sermon: Mark 4:1-20

    I want to encourage you, don’t just sing these words, but let these words be a prayer of increasingly yielding your life to the deep work of the Holy Spirit to produce fruitful soil in your heart. Would you stand if you’re able, we’ll sing:

  • THE GREATNESS OF OUR GOD

  • ABIDE

    Benediction: Adapted from 1 Peter 1:23-25

August 2: Tuesday Refocus

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“It seems to you that you have understood the divine Scriptures, or any part of them, in such a way that by this understanding you do not build up this twin love of God and neighbor, then you have not yet understood them.” - Augustine

When asked what was the greatest commandment in the whole law, Jesus said “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:37-40).”

As James reminds us, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Understanding Scripture is not evidenced solely in our interpretation, but in being a hearer and doer of God’s Word (James 1:22).

Lord, may our lives be built up with the twin love of God and neighbor. In Christ’s name, amen.

Learning,

AB

May 22: Liturgy + Set List

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  • HOUSE OF THE LORD

    Call to Worship: Psalm 86:1-7

    It is a gift of Grace to the people of God that God has spoken to us through His Word. And not just that but that He desires to speak to us through His Spirit as we gather around His Word. He has spoken, He is speaking, but He is also the God who listens and hears. He invites us to pour out our hearts as we seek to respond to His Word preached. Let’s stand and sing in response to God’s Word:

  • GRACE ALONE

  • CHRIST BE MAGNIFIED

    Sermon: Ezekiel 37:1-14

  • The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. The heavens will pass away, and the earth will pass away but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Why would we seek to anchor our lives to anything other than the immovable, enduring, eternal Word of God? Let’s stand and respond together:

  • ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK

  • HIS MERCY IS MORE

October 5: Tuesday Refocus

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“God is not too great to notice you, but He is too great to overlook you.” - Ray Ortlund

He upholds the universe by the word of His power and is acquainted with all our ways (Heb 1:3, Ps 139:3).  

He established the foundations of the world and knit every person together in the womb of their mother(Ps 104:5, Ps 139:13).  

He has numbered and named the stars and knows every hair on our heads (Ps 147:4, Luke 12:7).  

He holds the water of every ocean in the palm of His hand and knows every word before it is uttered (Is 40:12, Ps 139:4).  

He dwells in unapproachable light, and He knows even the hidden corners of our or hearts (1 Tim 6:16, Heb 4:13).

We are kept by the One who does not slumber or sleep (Ps 121:3).  The One who is not too great to notice, but too great to overlook.

Lord, may we be reminded of your transcendence and your immanence.  Your holiness and Your nearness to sinners.  May our lives be marked by both realities.  Amen.


Remembering,

AB

Three Prayers of Preparation

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There are many ways to approach Sunday service. Whether you are a part of a team that plans collaboratively, flying solo, following the liturgical Church calendar, or reinventing the wheel weekly. Regardless of the methodology, there are three questions - three prayers - which I have found to be helpful in the time of preparation for a service:

God, what are You saying through Your Word?

Spend time in the text. Read through the passage that will be preached - read the whole chapter, understand the context, fill up your mind and heart with the Word of God before you ever pick up an instrument, or choose songs. Ask God to illuminate His Word through His Spirit to you as you read, meditate, pray, and plan. Speak to your pastor, what are the points of the sermon? If the pastor has one thing they want the people to remember from the sermon, what would it be?

God, what do You want to say to Your people?

Scripture tells us, ‘Who can know the mind of God?’ Romans 11:34. Preparation should never lead to a rigid assumption. ‘God, I’ve got this, I read the passage, I know what You want to say here.’ No. We must continue to be led by the Spirit, listen, and respond to His voice in our preparation as well in the moments during the service. Preparation gives us the freedom to respond to the Spirit, wherever He may lead.

God, what do Your people need to say to You?
The first two prayers should guide the third. What is God saying through His Word and desiring to say to His people? Now, we prayerfully consider how He should lead us as a people to respond. What are the songs we need to sing, the Scripture which needs to be read, the liturgical elements to incorporate, or the ways we need to lead? What is happening within the life of the Body, the community, country, and world? How do we help give language to those who are hurting as well as those who are rejoicing?

Preparing to lead worship is more than choosing songs and keys. Preparation can be just as prayerful and worshipful as the actual worship gathering. If your preparation for Sunday could use some prompting, you can download my free Worship Leader Weekly Checklist here.

What is Worship?

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The concept of worship can be difficult to describe. Often the word worship is used as short-hand, catch-all phrase to describe a Sunday service, a style of music, or singing together as the Church.

When we try to define or find the edges of worship, we quickly realize there are no borders to worship because no aspect of our life is free of worship. Worship is the right response of our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to God’s revelation of Himself. It does not turn on and off, nor is it more engaged during singing than any other time of life. Worship is aimed, as Harold Best brilliantly articulates in ‘Unceasing Worship.’

Worship always begins with God.

We do not choose God, He chose us.

We love because He first loved us.

Worship is a rhythm of revelation and response.

God reveals and we have no choice but to respond: ‘Therefore brothers, in view of God’s mercy, offer your bodies as living sacrifices, this is your spiritual worship.’ Romans 12:1

So if worship is more than a song, and all of life is worship, why do we gather and worship together? There are certainly a number of reasons: God is worthy of our worship, He delights in and inhabits the praises of His people, we are told not to forsake the gathering of the people of God, and as Charles Spurgeon reminds us: ‘Man’s heart is never large enough to hold either its joys or its sorrows.’ We gather to share in the joy, and sorrow of lives lived in worshipful response to God throughout the week. We gather to catch a greater glimpse of who God is and be sent out allowing ‘joy to escape.’

Corporate worship reminds us that all of life is lived before the face of God. And we are invited to behold Him and be conformed more closely to His image in all of the moments which seem less than worshipful.

With every breath, with every nation, for every generation, for all eternity - worship is our lives responding to the beauty of our God and King.