When We Respond

One of my favorite moments of Sunday morning was our time of prayer at the end of the song "Great Are You, Lord." There are times when everything clicks together perfectly, in a beautiful expression of the heart of our church as we worship God. We sang together "And all the earth will shout your praise, our hearts will cry, these bones will sing, 'Great are You, Lord!'" Then members of the Global Team directed our prayers for the people of India, refugees in Nebraska, schoolchildren in the UAE, and international college students in Lincoln. The song helped focus our prayers like a strong melody or lyric can do, and the prayer brought the song greater relevance and urgency because this is where we are as a church. These are the people we are in contact with, and these opportunities are given us for a reason.

Whenever we sing, my hope and prayer is that the song will prompt us all to worship in some way. It might be a conviction of the Holy Spirit to do something more, to take a step of faith, to rearrange priorities, to make that difficult phone call, to prepare a meal for our neighbor, to give above and beyond, or to pray for that one person you met last week. We only have an hour together most weeks in corporate praise: I want to make sure those songs count for something, if we're going to spend time singing them. More than catchy melodies and memorable lyrics are the moments within a song when we hear from God and respond from our hearts. And when we are open to God's prompting, and obedient in our response, then will we be able "to transform our world through Jesus by connecting, developing and mobilizing people for God's glory."

What songs are God prompting in you this week? How are you responding? May we respond together, that all the earth would shout God's praise!

Communion is the Reminder

Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church has said, many times, "I truly believe that the Church is the hope of the world." That thought used to stop me short. "Wait a minute," I'd reason, "isn't Jesus the hope of the world? Where does Billy get off putting that mantle on the Church?" I still think I'm right, but I also think Hybels is right. Christ is the hope of the world, and the Church is the hope of the world. The problem is, we tend to forget the relationship between the two. Communion is a reminder of that relationship.

In John 14:20 Jesus tells his disciples that they are, essentially, one with Christ, one with the Father. By the power of the Holy Spirit, those of us who have put our trust in Jesus Christ are invited into fellowship and union with God. This is reinforced in 1 Corinthians 10, where Paul writes, "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf." We are one with Christ, we are one with each other.

And that is important. We are now active agents in bringing Jesus to the world. We have been empowered to proclaim the good news until Jesus comes again. Communion should remind us that because we have found Jesus to be the hope of the world, we can offer hope to the world.

This is especially important today, as we cast our votes for our next president. Politics can prompt heated discussions, strong feelings, accusations, even divisions. But wait! We are one body. We are different branches grafted into the same vine: Christ. No matter our differences, the roots of who we are is the same: Christ living in us. More important to our identity than Republicans, Democrats, or Independents is our identity as the Church. Today as we await the count of the ballots, we are the Church. Tomorrow, when some are ecstatic and some are despondent, we will still be the Church. Make sure to treat one other accordingly. Again, remember the words of Jesus: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you" (John 15:12).

On Sunday we sang one of my favorite hymns, featuring the following verses. Meditate on these words this week, and especially today. Remember that we are one in Christ, one with each other:

Though with a scornful wonder
Men see her sore oppressed,
By schisms rent asunder,
By heresies distressed:
Yet saints their watch are keeping,
Their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping
Shall be the morn of song.

Yet she on earth hath union
With God the Three in One,
And mystic sweet communion
With those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
Like them, the meek and lowly,
On high may dwell with Thee.

Breath

Planning Sunday services is an exercise in listening to, and trusting, the Holy Spirit. Dane experienced a bit of that a couple weeks ago as he was putting together songs for this past Sunday. He wrote,

"There is a little bit of a breath theme. When I think about that I don't have to think about my breathing, it helps me realize that it is all about God. It tends to take me to a place where I am more fully recognizing His presence with me and my dependence on Him. There is also a purifying component to me: kind of... out with the bad, in with the good."

The cool thing is seeing how the Holy Spirit moves. Heather Funk, responding to Dane's song selections, sent a message of encouragement to Debra Hansen. Many of you probably know Debra. She had a lung transplant 20 years ago, but even today has difficulty breathing. After living in St. Louis for the past 2 and 1/2 years waiting for a new lung transplant, she returned to Lincoln last month after a cancer diagnosis disqualified her for new lungs. She is cancer-free now, and enjoying her time back with friends and family in Lincoln.

Heather wrote on Debra's Facebook wall, "Girl, you are on my mind and heart! Today's worship is dedicated to you, my dear friend." If anyone is "breathing in Your grace, breathing out Your praise" in response to God, it's Debra. She has always inspired me with her joy, her peace, and her smile.

The Holy Spirit works in the planning of a Sunday morning, in the gentle prompting to write something encouraging to a friend, and in the way another friend is thankful for each breath. May we praise God, no matter the circumstances, and in a variety of ways.