Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
"You stumble through your days
Got your head hung low Your skies' a shade of grey Like a zombie in a maze You're asleep inside But you can shake away" For those that regularly attend church, does this sound like your experience of worship? For those that really don't make the time nor wish to make the time to attend church, is this one of the reasons why you stopped going? I am still on a, "The Greatest Showman," kick and I found this song appropriate to discuss with church life and worship. We have this new life through Christ yet we can still get a case of the "Mondays". Worship is meant to be full of praise, Thanksgiving, and renewal. There are countless verses where the people of Israel praised and worshiped God. Psalm 150 - Praise for God’s Surpassing Greatness 1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in [God's] sanctuary; praise [God] in [God's] mighty firmament! 2 Praise [God] for [God's] mighty deeds; praise [God] according to [God's] surpassing greatness! 3 Praise [God] with trumpet sound; praise [God] with lute and harp! 4 Praise [God] with tambourine and dance; praise [God] with strings and pipe! 5 Praise [God] with clanging cymbals; praise [God] with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! How great would it be if worship services felt like Psalm 150? Everyone one would be gathered to praise and worship God through both words and sounds. How great would it be if worship was like this song from "The Greatest Showman"? I want to encourage you to ponder these points and respond. I think it can spark a great conversation about what we look for in our churches. Ponder Points: For regular Church goers: 1. What do you like about your worship experience? What do you feel would help your worship experience "Come Alive!"? For the non-church goers: 2. What keeps you from making time to worship God in a church setting? What do you feel would help your worship experience "Come Alive!"? 3. Imagine Jesus saying these words to you to describe your new life in him: "When the world [revolves around me] [You are] more than you could ever be 'Cause you're believing with your eyes wide open And you know you can't go back again To the world that you were living in 'Cause you're believing with your eyes wide open So, come alive!"
1 Comment
Ron Peterson
1/11/2018 05:34:07 pm
While I often leave our worship services feeling joy & praise, I think there are additional ways to raise the level of praise. With our praise songs, we could encourage kids & adults to use some of our small instruments (i.e. shakers, cymbals, tambourines). We could also encourage both kids & adults who play instruments to offer their talents for our worship services.
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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