Steadfast love and faithfulness, righteousness and peace all meet
at the cross. The place where God always meets man, the seat of
mercy. And this new mercy seat is Christ Himself.
How have you sought to outrun God? Where has His mercy met
You this Lenten season?
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
You are my hope, and my salvation, and my desire is ever toward You. Keep me from all error by a perfect understanding; from all impurity by a clean heart; from all kind of doubt by a right faith; from all distrust by a steadfast hope; from all disgust and negligence by a burning charity; from all disquietude by great patience; from all unclean thoughts by holy meditation; from the attacks of the devil by continual prayer; from frequent distractions by a sustained attention in reading; from listlessness and drowsiness by useful occupation, and from thinking of satisfying my vices, by the remembrance of Your holy passion.
Come with all these graces, O Lord, and conform me in all Your holy words. Amen.
THOMAS À KEMPIS
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
There is a critical 90 seconds every Sunday morning. That sliver of time between the end of the sermon, and the song. Part of our role as worship leaders is to connect what happens on a Sunday morning with all of life. To make sense of what we have heard in the Word preached, to fuel our worship in song and response. But many worship leaders struggle to feel competent and capable when it comes to speaking and communicating verbally to the congregation. If you struggle with knowing how to take advantage of those moments to hit home with the pieces of the sermon, and connect them to the songs of response, here are some suggestions:
Listen to the sermon. Be present and engaged, even taking notes of things you want to remember personally, and want to communicate to the congregation following the sermon. Don’t use the sermon as a time to check out mentally, or physically.
Read the text beforehand. Spend time in the particular Scripture passage being taught in your own time of preparation for Sunday morning. What do you see? What do you notice about who God is, what He has done, and how He has called us to live?
Speak with the preacher. Find out where the preacher is headed for the weekend. What are some of the main points? Any additional passages they will be using? How are they wanting to land the sermon? What is the one thing they hope people remember and take away from the weekend?
Connect everything to Jesus. Read the Jesus Storybook Bible. Sally Lloyd Jones does an amazing job of connecting every story to Jesus. How does the sermon/text and the morning point our lives, and lift our eyes to Christ?
Plan beforehand. After speaking with the preacher, and spending time in the text, and considering your final song(s), write down some thoughts about how you could connect the songs and sermon verbally. Practice speaking out loud to get used to hearing yourself connect and communicate in that way.
Write it down. As you continue to grow as a verbal communicator, write everything down. You can manuscript what you want to communicate so that you don’t miss any part of what you intended to say. Reading something that is written, will help to build confidence and familiarity, rather than trying to hold everything in your mind, and stumbling over your words.
Remember there is grace as we grow. Let’s not miss the opportunity to take those critical 90 seconds and point people to Jesus.
The eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over the whole earth,
to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless
toward Him (2 Chronicles 16:9). The enemy roams the earth, like
a lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
And our eyes wander. The purpose of Lent is not to fixate on an
inward gaze, but an Upward gaze. Lift your eyes.
What are you looking to this week? What has your mind's attention
and your heart's affection?
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
Merciful God,
We confess that we have sinned against You
in thought, word and deed,
By what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved You with our whole heart and mind and strength.
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
In Your mercy forgive what we have been,
Help us amend what we are,
And direct what we shall be,
So that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways,
To the glory of Your holy name.
Through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
Have you ever felt weary as you have approached the Sunday gathering? Tired to your bones, apathetic and indifferent toward God and His people? In many ways COVID has turned all of us into endurance athletes, unsure of the course we run, and the direction toward the finish line. For our teams, for ourselves, for those attending - or streaming - this has been a season of soul tiring. And yet, Sunday is coming whether we feel ready, or rested.
Even before COVID seeing people respond in ways different than we had hoped during our preparation, or feeling like the execution of a Sunday service did not accomplish all you had intended, can we discouraging, and disorienting.
So we do we do with our hearts, and minds as we encounter these weekly challenges? First, I believe we need to name the reality. That this is different than we thought, expected, and desired. We must acknowledge and confess how our own sin, pride, and ego are wrapped up in our unmet expectations. We trust that external response is not always an accurate representation of what has happening internally for those we serve. We believe that the Holy Spirit can work regardless of how well we have ‘performed.’ And we rest in the reality that Jesus perfects all of our broken offerings before the Father.
One of my youth pastors growing up told a story that whenever he felt disconnected or dry in his worship, he would hold a specific picture in his mind that would throw kindling on the embers of his heart: he would envision his father, who was not a follower of Christ, falling on his face in worship.
The beautiful reality is that Scripture tells us one day that will be true of everyone, everywhere: ‘…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Phil 2:10-11)
As you lead worship to a camera, or look out on folded arms, and furrowed brows, or feel the team limping toward the end of a set list, remember the reality of Philippians 2. You are looking out on those who one day will in fact be facedown in confession and worship. He is so worthy.
What pictures of the beauty and worth of Christ, can fuel your worship when your heart feels wearied, burdened, or half-hearted?
The rhythms of our lives have been oriented by the age, and culture
rather than the cross. The Gospel reorients our lives to be ones of
continual repentance. Remembering who Jesus is and what He has done,
growing aware of our sin, nailing it to the cross, turning toward Christ, and
receiving His forgiveness again.
What do you need to confess to God?
What do you need to confess to a brother or sister?
Where do you need to receive the comfort of God?
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
Fast from the swelling darkness, feast on the power of His light
Fast from discontentment, feast on the joy that He brings
Sustainer, Protector, the Well of Life My Helper, my Comfort, the Bread of Life is You
Fast from the Fear that haunts us, feast on the power of His might
Fast from the trap of judgment, feast on all that's been redeemed
From the sorrow's shadow to perfect light From the darkness of our doubt to a cleansing white
From the sorrow's shadow to perfect light From the blindness of our sin to healing sight
LATIFAH ALATTAS, DAVID WILTON (INSPIRED BY WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD)
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
Although the word ‘worship,’ has been turned into shorthand for describing the music accompanying a service, or a church gathering, I believe many people within our congregations conceptually grasp that ‘worship is more than a song.’ If we pressed the issue, perhaps our people would even agree that ‘all of life is worship.’ Author, Harold Best, moves us even deeper when he says,
‘We were created continuously outpouring. Note that I did not say we were created to be continuous outpourers. Nor can I dare imply that we were created to worship. This would suggest that God is an incomplete person whose need for something outside Himself (worship) completes His sense of Himself. It might not even be safe to say that we were created for worship, because the inference can be drawn that worship is a capacity that can be separated out and eventually relegated to one of several categories of being. I believe it is strategically important, therefore, to say that we were created continuously outpouring.’ (Unceasing Worship)
Worship cannot be compartmentalized to our songs, or our services, it knows no boundary or borderline of our time, or our lives. This continuous outpouring of worship is happening all the time, always, and forever. It includes the most mundane, ordinary, unseen, monotonous, seemingly insignificant moments of our lives.
If we are called to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice and do everything to the glory of God (Rom 12:1, 1 Cor 10:31), how do we do that on our commute, or dressing our children, paying our bills, making dinner, watching television, and brushing our teeth? We must begin by recognizing that we are constantly worshiping. There is no on and off switch. That worship is not the exclusive right of song or Sunday service.
Then we focus our attention and intention. When asked what was the greatest commandment, 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 (Matt 22:37-40).” Worship is the right response to who God is and what He has done. He is the One who loved us first, and we love in response. When we live as people experiencing, and responding to the love of God by loving God, and loving our neighbors, our lives are marked with attentive intentionality true of those who recognize all of life is worship.
It is important we understand this reality as worship leaders because we have a responsibility to connect corporate sung worship and the corporate worship gathering to all of life. To help people understand why what we do, and sing in our churches matters to all of life. Because the worship that happens in the gathering should be the culmination of lives lived in worship throughout the week.
Our God dwells not in temples made by human hands,
but indwells the heart of every believer through His Spirit.
Our only safety, only sure foundation, only place of refuge
is God Himself.
What desires, attempts for control, and comfort
have been exposed during your fasting?
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
Only pierced hands
are gentle enough
To touch some wounds.
The quivering flesh
Shrinks even from love,
Yet knows
That without this touch
There can be no healing.
How can one reach
A deeply hidden hurt
Without revealing
A massiveness of pain
That makes the helper
Cringe in dismay?
You need
To have been crucified yourself
If you would find the tenderness
To stay and share the pain
Again and yet again.
ELIZABETH ROONEY
To download a complete PDF of the Lent Devotional, click here.
We hope and pray that our churches and areas of ministry grow. We desire for growth to not just be represented numerically, but in deep, life-long discipleship. One of the ways we can see evidence of growth and discipleship is when people begin to give their time and talents and invest in areas of ministry within the life of the church.
So when people express interest in serving musically on the worship team, how do we onboard and integrate people in a way that allows for discipleship? In a word, auditions.
When people think of auditions, usually the first thing that comes to mind is American Idol. Don’t auditions make it seem too much about performance, and not very Christian? If your audition is focused exclusively, or primarily on someone’s musical ability, that could be an easy pitfall. But I believe there is a way to set up auditions that are kind, gracious, welcoming, and discipleship-oriented. I like to break my auditions into two parts - musical, and personal.
Musical.
A musical audition is not so much about finding the best musicians as it is gauging an individual’s musical ability and where they will best fit within the team. Helping provide the best opportunity for those new team members to thrive, grow, and offer their gifts to the team and the congregation. I think one of the best ways to gauge someone’s musical ability for a team is to have them prepare two or three songs that are already in use in your team. Some questions to considering during a musical audition:
Can you sing harmony by ear?
Can you transpose on the fly?
Have you served in a team before?
Where do you see your instrument/style fitting best among the team?
Personal.
Anytime someone stands on the platform, we are communicating trust in their abilities, and their lives. Serving on the worship team is not just about assembling the best musicians, but assembling the people who will model and shepherd the community of faith on and off the platform. So when you break an audition into two parts, it gives you the time to ask people about themselves, their relationship with the Lord, and their desire to serve on the team. Some questions to consider during this part of an audition:
What does your relationship with the Lord look like these days?
How would you define worship?
Why do you desire to serve on the team?
Are you a member of the church?
Are you participating in other ways (small group, giving, regular attendance, other areas of ministry, etc)?
Finally, the last piece of auditions is clearly communicating expectations and next steps. Before moving immediately into scheduling a new team member, it is always a good idea to follow up with pastors, elders, or small group leaders - someone who has more awareness of the life and walk of the potential new team member - to see if the individuals involvement on the team gives them pause . If everyone feels confident, then let the new team member know what comes next. Do you want them to attend several rehearsals before serving during a weekend? When can they expect music in hand? Do they need to memorize music? Will you provide lyrics and chord charts for rehearsal, or do they need to bring them along? How frequently will they be scheduled? What is the dress code for a weekend? How can they expect communication to be handled?
Auditions do not have to be an ugly word, or a performance-based interaction. Auditions enable you as a worship leader to continue to shepherd your team well, and see an individual rather than a musical gift.