our response to God through worship...

Worship is our response to God's revelation of who He is and what He has done.

God reveals Himself to us through many avenues including His Word, prayer, fellowship with other believers and personal and corporate worship. Our worship of Him is our response to God’s response. That kind of worship is direct and enabling for each of us as we draw closer to God’s plan and purpose for our life through that intimate interaction with the Living God. If you don’t see anyone responding to God in worship, one might wonder if they are in a responding mode. A mode that includes opening our hearts to His Word and His presence is one that draws us closer to Him so He can show us His ways.

I have been in worship services that were just that -- service times set aside to sing and listen to a preacher preach. I have also been in worship services where God’s presence through song and word made a huge impact right there, right then, and lives were changed forever. I think it is important for us to come ready to worship the Lord with hungry hearts and thirsty souls, ready to see Him as others worship right there with us. If you come ready, He will not send you away empty. If you come expecting nothing, you may get just that!

How do you prepare your heart for worship? Don’t wait for Sunday to come around to worship the Lord. Worship Him throughout the whole week. Spend time with Him in His Word, in prayer and in song. Live a life of worship. A life that is worshipping Him through service to your family, your friends, your neighbors and your local church is a life of worship. Be active as you center your attention on Him first and foremost. If you will do that, you will be ready for corporate worship and our worship services will be intense and life changing.

Get in the Word today and allow God to mold you and let your response be one of sacrifice and love as you fall more in love with the One who gave it all for you. Remember, God is our audience. Respond to Him and see how much He will light up your life and refresh your heart.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

walk a mile in these shoes...

Have you ever noticed how many different shoes there are in this world? You go by a shoe store and they have numerous brands and a variety of styles to pick from. But one thing I have noticed is when I go inside to pick out some shoes, I usually only find one or two pair that really interest me enough to purchase them. When I look in the window, I’m thinking of all the shoes I would buy if I just had a little more cash. The truth is I’m only liking maybe two pair, and one of them is probably not gonna make the cut. Why? Because when it comes down to the cost of something and actually giving out money you have earned, you are a little more picky about what you want to invest in.

When God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to come to this earth and take on the form of a man, he came and walked, breathed and really lived here. He saw the cost of what was before Him, and with all that He could have done, He chose to pick us, to give us new life. He could have done anything, but He chose to redeem you and me. He not only bought the shoes but He walked in them, and left a set of footprints as examples for us all about how to live. John the Baptist knew what kind of man Jesus was when He said that one was coming and he (John the Baptist) wasn’t able to carry his shoes, much less wear them. Matthew 3:11"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” John couldn’t wear those shoes, but he wasn’t supposed to. He was supposed to do everything he could with the ones he had on his feet. He wore the pair God gave him and dedicated himself to the Maker of the shoes.

Christ offers us a chance to put on the shoes of a servant every day and live a life of commitment that will impact the kingdom. Trouble is, we have a lot of choices for serving, but we have to actually choose the one that we are willing and fitted to wear. It’s called finding your place in God’s service by allowing Him to use you through the unique way, or shoe size, He has created for you. He has a footprint that is unique and made just for you. It’s up to you to discern where you are best fitted, and then pour your life into serving Christ in that area. It will probably be an area of ministry that is less glamorous than most, but your humble service will be rewarded by God. Ephesians 4:11 “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers.” If He equips us, then we have the best equipment we need. Use it. In other words, pick the shoes and wear them. He has a pair waiting just for you. Go ahead. Take a few steps. Walk a few feet. Walk a mile. Oh, just walk the rest of your life. The shoes are fresh every day and just waiting for you to put them on.


The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Are you The Hub or The Club?

A couple of weeks ago I was reading about one of the major plagues in the modern church -- guess what it was? Gossip! A person who is a gossip is defined in Webster’s as a person who habitually reveals personal or sensational facts about others. The word gossip is defined as casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. Both uses of the word smack of trouble, and trouble it is. It is trouble for the person sharing it because it is sin. It is trouble for the one being shared about because it is information that is being told to hurt or discredit.

What is the source of gossip? Usually it is unfulfilled people trying to lift themselves up at the expense of someone else. They may be unfulfilled about how they perceive themselves and/or unfulfilled in their relationship with the Lord. What seems so small and unimportant in gossip is huge in the impact it can have after going to the second source, and then the third, and so on. Information gets left out and information is added and suddenly the whole thing is out of control. Look at what just a few scriptures in Proverbs tells us about the effects of gossip…

Proverbs 11:13

A gossip betrays a confidence,but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

Proverbs 16:28

A perverse man stirs up dissension,and a gossip separates close friends.

Proverbs 18:8

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.

Proverbs 20:19

A gossip betrays a confidence;so avoid a man who talks too much.

Proverbs 26:20

Without wood a fire goes out;without gossip a quarrel dies down.

John wrote in his third letter, “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.” It all comes down to pride. It is pride that causes us to want to be first. There is only one first and His name is Jesus. Keep him first and all the other things fall into place.

Keep in mind that Scripture is not silent to this great problem WE ALL deal with on a daily basis. Now, what do we do to stem the tide of gossip? Be The Club! You know, The Club that you put on your steering wheel to keep someone from stealing your car. They get in and cannot turn the wheel, and when you cannot turn the wheel, you cannot drive the car in any direction but straight. Be The Club on gossip and lock it up. Don’t let the enemy drive your car -- stop any gossip from going through you. When the gossip car stops, the gossip stops. On the other hand, don’t just stop allowing the gossip to go through you. Don’t even entertain it. In other words, don’t be The Hub. The Hub in our computer world is something that receives information and then sends it back out to multiple sources. If The Hub is shut down, the information goes no further. Do not be The Hub, and let others know you are not The Hub. After a while, they will stop trying to get information through you, and we will start to see victories in the war on gossip.

The question to you, and to myself, is are you The Hub or The Club? I want to be The Club. Join with me and help keep me accountable by being a part of The Club that wars against the plague called gossip. The gospel will be better served when we get a handle on gossip.

David Warren

Worship Pastor

sights & smells of our past...

Our God is in heaven doing whatever he wants to do. Their gods are metal and wood, handmade in a basement shop: carved mouths that can't talk, painted eyes that can't see, tin ears that can't hear, molded noses that can't smell, hands that can't grasp, feet that can't walk or run, throats that never utter a sound. Those who make them have become just like them, have become just like the gods they trust.

—Psalm 115:3-8
As we go from season to season, it’s amazing how the change in sights and smells brings back memories from past times. You can almost smell the honeysuckle like when you were 15 years old, or you see the way a tree is bent a certain way and it reminds you of walking on a tree lined roadway when you were just 10. Our memories are fantastic and God has given us great recollection from the past in order to live the abundant life today. The sights and smells of our past can help us reflect on the past and see great hope and balance for life that is God centered and rich.

One of these sights and smells happened to me on Thursday of this past week. We were driving to Florence, AL on our way to Missouri to attend Andra’s niece’s wedding and I had one of those epiphanies. It was one where everything lined up to bring back something from my past. We had just gone across a bridge over the Mississippi River and turned on I-55, when suddenly as I looked at the road ahead, it hit me. I went all the way back to a time when I was 19 years of age driving to my sister’s home to visit during a break at school. It was raining and the fields, the road and the way the sky was heavily clouded brought back a memory so vivid it almost shocked me. As I looked up the road, I remembered this was the trip when I went to my sister’s home for the weekend; not too long after that initial trip I met Andra for the first time. Long gone memories were suddenly there again. I cracked the window and smelled the rain, and the freshness of earlier times suddenly brought balance and peace to me. My heart was stirred. God gave me a treat! No different than when we take a very small break in our schedule to remember a treat for our dog, Mocha. Not too big a deal for us, but very tasty for her.

God has a way of taking the simple things and making us come alive in a different way for “just a moment!” -- little in time but huge in effect. Hopefully our busyness and indifference will never take away those precious little moments that can be experienced again and again through seeing or smelling something. It‘s amazing that God seems to look into our puny little lives and gives us a fresh remembrance of the past. He is able to make it seem as if it happened just yesterday. That’s Abba Father…

As we approach this Sunday in worship, hopefully all of us will get a fresh touch from God that will cause us to remember just how good God is and how much better our lives are with Him. It may be a smell, maybe something you see or maybe it will be a certain song. Whatever it is, live in the moment. Find your balance once again and then long for those memories of God’s grace and love for you to freshen your heart again and again. Remember, God is not distant and unapproachable. In fact, God is very real and very close. He wants to bless us and give us sights and smells that are real, not fake. Don’t trust other gods that have no hope, no heart. Trust God and allow Him to penetrate your heart afresh and anew. Be like Him and see your world change before your very eyes. He is real…

As we think about the upcoming Mother’s Day, I want to say a big thank you to my mother and all she has done for me. I also want to thank Andra for being a Godly example to our children. I also want to thank the Lord for the two new granddaughters he is sending our way in September. I’m already going to thank God for the mothers Natalie and Dana will be. New smells, new sights, new memories. Remember! Don’t forget!

Happy Mother’s Day!

David Warren

Worship Pastor

land of confusion?

I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

—Colossians 2:1-5

Have you ever looked out your window when riding on a plane and noticed the whole expanse of the earth? It is a totally different view at 25,000 ft. If you are like me, you are checking to make sure you aren’t losing altitude and they haven’t told you yet from the cockpit (but that’s another article about the fear of flying I will share with you later on). When you look, you see the way land is laid out in sections, and roads seem to connect everything together. That is on FLAT LAND! When you get to the mountains, it is a totally different thing. The connectivity of anything is lost and you almost lose track of where one peak starts and the other one ends. The flat land and all its organization is a stark contrast to the mountains and their unrecognizable crevices and valleys. One isn’t better than the other but they are definitely different.

The life we live is filled with times of connected flat lands where everything is easy to see and you don’t need much. Then there are those MOUNTAINS -- those unexpected things that push the limit and cause us to really have to focus on the road ahead and keep our eyes on our compass, Jesus Christ. When the land is level and flat and you can see really far ahead, we have a tendency to let down and almost coast. But when we are going through rough terrain that is really tough and treacherous, it causes us to make sure our feet are on the right path. We may not be able to see over the next hill, so the steps we take right here are very important.

Right now our country is in the midst of trying to take many different steps to fix problems that may not be caused altogether by what one administration did or didn’t do. It may be that we are paying for living in a state of confusion. Confusion caused when we turn to man’s best plans instead of God’s best plans. Confusion caused by looking to our own reasoning for answers instead of looking to God. Confusion like this comes in the mountain passes where we can’t see our way to the right place. All we have to do is look up, and see where the Son is and then our sense of direction will be corrected.

Where are you looking for the answers in those mountains? Are you looking to make everything okay yourself? Or are you looking up to get your bearings? I want to suggest that God is the only One who can make things right. Don’t listen to too many people with too many opinions. Listen to God and find your way to peace and direction.
There is an old song by the rock group Genesis that speaks to a Land of Confusion. The song makes a lot of true statements that apply to today. God is the only One who can answer the questions and see us out of this Land of Confusion…

I must’ve dreamed a thousand dreams, been haunted by a million screams. But I can hear the marching feet, they’re moving into the street. Now did you read the news today? They say the danger’s gone away. But I can see the fires still alight, they’re burning into the night. There’s too many men, too many people, making too many problems. And not much love to go ‘round. Can’t you see this is a land of confusion? This is the world we live in and these are the hands we’re given. Use them and let’s start trying to make it a place worth living in. Oh, superman where are you now? When everything’s gone wrong somehow. The men of steel, the men of power, are losing control by the hour. This is the time. This is the place. So we look for the future, but there’s not much love to go ‘round. Tell me why, this is a land of confusion. This is the world we live in, and these are the hands we’re given. Stand up and let’s start showing, just where our lives are going to.

Read Exodus 14 – God can use confusion sometimes to protect His people. Allow His protection to guard our hearts and our minds. God is a God of order for those He loves, and His justice is real and true. Trust His Word as your compass.

David Warren

Worship Pastor

psychedelic

Defined? Resembling, characteristic of, or reproducing images, sounds, or the like, experienced while in such a state.

If you say anything near the word psychedelic, images of drug use and hippies all come to mind. And of course, that is where the term came to be widely used and also adopted by Webster’s dictionary. TV and movies have tried to reproduce the effects that mind altering drugs have on people and even though video effects have improved dramatically, they still fall short of the true perception each individual will experience. It just goes to show, if you aren’t going through it, you cannot understand it or describe it.

Today there are so many people who are hurting in so many different ways, and they cannot adequately reproduce the feelings they have about their struggles. Someone loses a longtime job, a marriage breaks up, an illness unexpectedly occurs, a person is just about to drown in this depressed state of mind…all very real problems faced every day by many. All of the above and many others affect two things: our mind and our heart. In Missouri they used to say, “If you don’t like the weather, then wait around, it will change.” That statement made in jest about weather is a reality in today’s world of uncertainty and stress. One thing is for sure: there will be tough times that will come our way. There is no doubt about it. How we handle those tough times is the issue. Our first source of strength is God’s Word. It is where we find wisdom, strength, peace, and hope. Think about it — it’s not like we don’t know that we are going to face various trials, because we do know. Just look at 1 Peter...

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

--1 Peter 1:3-9

In the midst of these tough times, we do need one major thing…COMFORT! To be comforted in knowing that God will deliver us; to be comforted in knowing that God is with us; to be comforted that there is hope! That really makes all these other emotions that are brought on by tough times seem to lessen and even subside. Even though we cannot understand the psychedelic emotions each of us are experiencing, we can see when a person is at peace with God and themselves. Their face is different. Not so stressed, but calm…comforted. God’s comfort has a way of healing the stresses of life and how they affect each of us.

What mental and emotional state are you in right now? Are you turning to God’s Word and wisdom to help you not only make it through, but defeat it? Now is the time to get refocused on looking at life from God’s perspective. Come to the God of all comfort. Life that seems almost psychedelic and warped from your perspective is much clearer from His perspective. It’s according to what state of mind you are in that makes the difference. Let’s get in a God state of mind and see God’s hand working in an extraordinary way. Read this scripture and see what it says to you: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7)

We can share this load with God, and with each other, and find true victory in troubled times. It may seem psychedelic and almost unbelievable what you are experiencing right now, but remember, God can make it a better day. Take comfort. He is faithful!!

David Warren
Worship Pastor

wait watchers...

Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
—Matthew 4:4

I was trying not to pig out over the weekend since I had pigged out the week before. So I made up my mind: no big portions and no sweets! I did pretty good until Andra brought out the Ziti for our noon meal after our Easter services. There’s something about certain foods that drives me to become a stark raving food lunatic. Ziti is one of those foods. I could actually taste it before it was put on my plate, and when I actually did taste it...BAM! Wow, what a great taste, and the expectation was fully warranted. I was like the dog on the dog food commercial, where he says bacon, bacon, bacon, except I was saying Ziti, Ziti, Zi—ti. I scarfed it down and then looked at Andra with puppy dog eyes and said, “More?” Second helping, just as good, except now my taste buds were rolling! Could there be a three-peat? I had to stop. I just walked away from the table knowing I could not have eaten even a little bit more. I was one bite away from gluttony as it was. I wasn’t over the edge, but I could see it from there. Scary, you might say. Oh yeah.

When reading the scripture where Jesus was tempted by satan with food, or the lack there of, I couldn’t help but think about the Weight Watchers healthy eating plan. I know just enough to be dangerous, but I think it involves discipline, direction, drive and dedication. There are weigh-ins, encouragement sessions, ongoing calorie counting, and an increasing understanding of the right and wrong foods to eat. It’s a great plan and I really want to commend those who I have personally seen change their eating habits through WW and who now look totally different. They have been able to resist the foods that aren’t good and refocus on those that ARE good.

In Matthew 4, Jesus had been without much food or water for forty days and satan tempts Him to use His power to turn stones into bread. He could have done it, but in turn He resisted satan and quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 in the process and moved on. He is the Word of God and quoted the Word of God. Wow, double trouble for the tempter. Christ showed discipline, direction, drive and dedication. He knew where the strength came from and not only thought about it, but said it.

God’s Word in Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” God’s Word slices out life in the right portions for each of us. Not useless fatty portions, but the “good stuff!” Scripture says in 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” That means we are to be Wait Watchers, much like some people are Weight Watchers. We wait on the Lord and trust in His Word. We are disciplined, directed, driven and dedicated to His Word. Scripture says in Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” This food is worth waiting for and we must have a craving in our souls for it. Once you taste it, you want more and more and the end result is your life on track with God’s plan. ‘Nuff said!

Be a Wait Watcher and see just how spiritually in shape God can get each of us when we learn to crave His Word and His ways. One taste and you are hooked. Take a bite today and see what happens.

David Warren

Worship Pastor