This past Sunday was one of those moments for me. It was a tremendous time of worship, praise, and thanksgiving. From the wonderful anthem the choir performed, to the passionate offerings of thanksgiving from those that shared during our prayer time, to the special treat we had with a charter member in attendance. It all fit together so perfectly! In fact, after the anthem I was feeling so elated that I was tempted to just give the benediction and dismiss us right there.
Back in 2009, I was sent to a seminar about preaching and worship. There were many lessons taught and insights that were presented. However, there was one that stuck with me more than the others. One of the presenters said that you have to make room, allow room, for the presence of the Holy Spirit. Do not make your services so rigid; do not make your preaching so rigid; that the Holy Spirit does not have room to be a part of it. Do not crowd out the Spirit. This past Sunday we made room…and we were surely blessed!
I love to stand amazed in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I love to be in awe when the Holy Spirit arrives and moves within our midst. I am always incredibly moved when the power of the Holy Spirit reaches in and transforms us from the inside out. And this is my prayer for worship each week. That somehow, some way, in some manner the Holy Spirit will move in a profound way. That is what worship is all about. It is about gathering together, giving our worship and our praise and our thanksgiving to God, and using that time to be remade as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
I hope you found Sunday to be as inspiring as I did. I pray that you were as moved by our time together as I was. It is so wonderful to serve a God that will join us in worship, celebrate with us as we express joy, grieve with us as we express sadness, and heal us as we express weakness. Our God seeks to know us personally, individually and corporately. God seeks to be a central part of our lives, of all aspects of our lives. God wants to share with us the life set out before us, so we may the enjoy God’s presence as we journey one with the other.
This Lenten, I pray that your journey is deep, that your soul is transformed, and that you come to know our Risen Savior on a more personal level. I pray you experience all the blessings God has in store for you and you that you know on an intimate level what it means to have your cup overflow.
Have a great week and I will see you Sunday!
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