So the last time i wrote i mentioned needing a renewal this Christmas in my own personal worship. I had been challenged to find the story behind some of the carols and came across an article that I thought was written quite well and gave a new insight on responding to the carols this season. Please feel free to follow the link to the article.

Click Here

Feel free to share your thoughts!

I know it may seem a little early to be writing about Christmas. However, I have been listening to Christmas music since August in an effort to pick out our Christmas program for this year, so it is not too early for me.

In all seriousness, I have had something on my heart about worship at Christmas. I know this is a personal thing and I am sure that there are others who struggle with this as well. I have found it is easy to lose true worship at Christmas in our music specifically. We join together and sing some worship songs and some carols most every Sunday leading up to Christmas. This is great. God has called us to meet together and worship corporately. But are the songs we are singing truly worship from our hearts? We sing carols that may have lost some meaning. Are we thinking about what we are singing or just going through the motions of the “Christmas Carols”. Do we look at the words “Joy to the World the Lord is come; let earth receive her King” and think to ourselves I am joyful that my king came to earth as a baby only to die for my sins so that I may be free or do we think “oh, what a pleasant song to sing at Christmas time”. This may be just me, but I want to worship and celebrate even more at this time of year. Think about what he did for us! It is a wonder that he was willing to come for us and in such a lowly state. Isaiah 53 says,

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

He was willing to come and be despised only for us to know what love is! My challenge to myself and everyone who reads this is that this Christmas we worship our God like never before. We think about the songs we sing. We consider lifting our praises to the Lord in carols, modern praise songs, classic hymns, our own personal songs and in our very lives. Make Christmas a time to truly celebrate and not just go along with what we do every year, but to break the mold. I personally am writing a Christmas song because I want to express my gratitude toward God in the way he has blessed me. We expect to be given gifts every year. Why don’t we give the gift God has already given us and turn it right back to him?

This past week we started our new series: Hurt, Hard Times and Hope. The thing I love about this title and the series as a whole is that it leads to something. You look at the title and you can focus on hurt and hard time and feel the weight of those words but once you look at the word hope, you know it is leading you somewhere. Without hope we have nothing to look forward to. We are stuck in darkness. But that is why our God is a God of hope! We need to look to him and continue moving forward. I learned this first hand with my recent problems with my health. The moment I decided to live in God’s strength is when I noticed a drastic change. Too often we try to live in our the hope of ourselves. That will lead us nowhere! God is our hope, our strength and salvation.

This Sunday there will be a song performed called “My Hope” off of Matt Redman’s latest album. You will recognize some of the lyrics from the hymn “The Solid Rock”. I want to encourage you to take just a few minutes out of your busy lives and meditate on these lyrics. Some of you may not want to do this because you can’t see the hope beyond the hurt and hard times. We need to take those moments of “selah” to recenter ourselves and make sure we have open eyes to see the glory of the hope of God! Please pray for God to reveal his hope to you.

“My Hope”

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly live on Jesus’ name

When the mountains are falling
When the waters are rising
I shall be safe in You
Though the nations are quaking
Every kingdom be shaking
Still I will rest in You

When darkness seems to hide Your face
I rest in Your unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.

When the mountains are falling
When the waters are rising
I shall be safe in You
Though the nations are quaking
Every kingdom be shaking
Still I will rest in You

So the last few months I have been undergoing tests and have had many Dr. visits trying to figure out why I have a pain in my shoulder and numbness in my arm and hand. I had an arthrogram (which is a fairly painful procedure) and an MRI on my shoulder. It yielded no results. Then I had an X-ray on my neck which showed some abnormalities and looked like I might need surgery on my neck. They sent me to get an MRI to be sure. I got the results back today and it turns out I do not need surgery. That is a huge answer to prayer. I am trying to look at this as somewhat of a healing from God. A week ago I was panicked thinking I would have to go under the knife and on my neck of all places. Now I am still in the dark as to why I am having pains. But I live in the light knowing that God is in control of it all. I may have to just wait it out. I am currently in therapy trying to relieve some tension on my neck to see if that makes my nerves stop flaring up. Please pray that I will either be healed of the pain or that an answer can be found so I can be treated. It is a trying time because it is easy to get discouraged when there seem to be no answers.

Jon

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”

What a great story of the power of God! Paul and Silas were facing dire circumstances and yet the continued to sing their praise to God. Our God is so gracious that he showered his love upon them and set them free because they were worshiping. Think about that. Worship is meant to be us giving our love and service to God and yet he responds! When we get “praise” from people do we respond by blessing them? God does!

No matter you are going through in your life, he can set you free! Just keep worshiping him with all that you are.

In my life, I have been undergoing many tests and doctor visits trying to figure out where my pain is coming from. I have numbness and pain in my arm and shoulder. I have been extremely distracted by everything. God gave me clarity this week and gave me a song. We are called to be free not only from sin but also distractions. Here are the lyrics to the song that we will be singing this Sunday during service. Please read it over and meditate on God’s great freedom.

Free
Jon Gerten/Kris Tarkiewicz

E C#m A
We come before You
E A
With hearts filled with praise
E C#m A
We bow before You
C#m A
And we come just as we are

E C#m A
we all have distractions
E A
We all have pain
E C#m A
we’ve all been sinners
C#m A
but you created us to be

E
Free in You presence
C#m A
We are Free in Your strength
F#m
You’ve broken our chains
E/G# A
and set the captives free
B E/G#-C#m-A
Praise to the King

C#m E/G# A B
We give thanks to the One who sets us free
C#m E/G# A B
We glorify the King above all Kings…..We are (chorus)

1 John 4:9-11
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

What encouraging words! When i read through this verse this past week it automatically flooded my mind with the greatness of God. It also reminded me of a song I wrote for the worship CD i recorded. I wrote the song based on a verse that was used on a Sunday sermon. It is similar to this 1 John passage. Love is so much more than just words. I believe that worship is the same. Worship is an extension of our love to our God. So if we are just saying the words and not living it out…does it really count? God showed us love by sacrifice. What have we sacrificed for God lately? Just something to challenge yourself with this week leading up to our corporate worship this Sunday morning. I know it is challenging me. Go ahead and listen to this song and meditate on what you can sacrifice to the Lord in love to show that you love him and get beyond the “word service” of worship. Just click the link below.

http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/song_2521051

Job 8:20-21 (New International Version)

20 “Surely God does not reject a blameless man
or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.

Job is this guy who has literally everything taken away from him. God allows his family, possession, livelihood and more to be ripped away from him. His friends tell him he has done something wrong so he needs to make amends. He takes the stance that he is going to worship God regardless of his circumstances. I cannot fathom being in his shoes and reacting the way he does.
We all may be having hard times due to economic, relational, physical, mental circumstances. Are we able to worship God through it all? This is our worship scripture this week and we are singing about worshiping through trials. Lets prepare our hearts and know that God is in control at all times and he deserves our praise even when we do not feel like it.

Just wanted to write and encourage everyone to go check out the Worship Arts Gallery in the youth room at FBC. There is some really cool stuff to check out. The way the room is set up is great too. You actually engage in the gallery. It is not just something you come in and stare at. You even get to add to a piece that is up front in the youth room. This gallery is only up until Friday so be sure to get in there before it ends. Take your small group, come with family or come alone. You don’t have to be a part of our church either. Just come in and check out how others worship God and worship in your way as well! Below you can watch a quick preview of the gallery.

Hey Everyone
Just wanted to remind you to check out the Pause Blog for our series “Selah”. Share your thoughts on this past weeks sermon. Listen online or watch online.
Share what God has been doing in your individual worship and how you have been taking moments of “Selah” this week. Be a part of the conversation!

This Sunday, Kris will be sharing about seeing the presence of God in everyday life. We can worship him in all we do! Remember what Romans 12:1 says, “So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.”

This post is set aside for the new series at FBC, “Selah:pause.praise.lift up.”. On this post you can respond with comments about the series and how you are taking personal moments of selah throughout your week. Be sure to check back and see how God is moving in our worship. Remember to move beyond the walls of the church in our worship and make it a lifestyle. As Romans 12:1 (MSG) puts it: So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.