7 Steps to Help You Become a Better Worshipper

1.     Rest well on Saturday night by going to bed early. It is very tempting to plan activities on Saturday night, but it really is better not to. Pick another night to go on a movie date or bowling with friends. We should never feel like preparing for service is an inconvenience. It is a privilege and we should treat it as such.

2.     Avoid the “Sunday morning rush hour.” Get up early. Don’t wait on your parents to drag you out of bed. Set your alarm the night before and get up on your own. (When you’re grown and no longer living under your parents’ roof, you will have to do this anyway. Get used to it. It will happen sooner than you realize.)

3.     Eat breakfast. Hunger deters focus. By eating a filling breakfast, you avoid a growling stomach and slowed senses.

4.     Avoid disagreements with your siblings and parents on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Help everyone keep a clear focus on worship.

5.     Plan your contribution and have it ready.

6.     Bring your own bible and notebook/iPad/laptop to take notes.

7.     Don’t be late. Do not assume this does not apply to you just because you are not the driver. Be ready to go on time. Once you arrive be sure to take care of restroom needs before worship service begins. Take time to get settled and focused.

“Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.”

-Paul “Bear” Bryant

list adapted from Ready For Worship podcast

available via The Light Network

Don't Feel Guilty, Resting Is Essential.

Rest is one of those words that has become almost taboo in our society. We are encouraged to push ourselves to the limit. We are bombarded with advertisements of drinks and foods that will assist in our quest to be super human, but that's just it-we are only human, not superhuman. Sometimes even as Christians we feel guilty resting because we want to be busy for the Lord. However, we need to consider that the Lord designed us with physical bodies that require rest. He even set an example for us when he created the world-on the seventh day, he rested! Jesus also knew the importance of rest. In Mark 6, He told the apostles, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while:for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.”

Resting is not quitting. Resting is essential for our bodies. So-called experts have found that we focus and retain information better when studying if we do so with a pattern of taking a ten minute break every twenty minutes. We want to do our best in everything. God expects our best in everything. Part of giving our best is providing ourselves with adequate rest.

As summer break approaches for many of you, make a point to take a break from pushing yourself so that your strength can be renewed. Evaluate where you’ve been and where you are now. Marvel in the small things that you have accomplished so far while your mind is being rejuvenated and don’t ever let quitting become an option. Balance is the key.

- adapted from Under the Juniper Tree podcast

available via The Light Network

-M

Praise Him for the roses. Thank Him for the thorns.

“And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake:for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

                  Until recently I was guilty of skimming through these verses. I focused more on what Paul’s mysterious thorn in the flesh might be than the lessons to be learned from it. Once they were pointed out to me, this became one of my favorite passages.

                  We often question why we suffer. We don’t understand. Paul admitted several things about his “thorn in the flesh.” He admitted that it kept him humble. He acknowledged that Satan often used it against him. He admitted that he had asked God multiple times to take it away, but he accepted that God was using it to help him. He awed in God’s ability to something good come from a flawed man.

                  There is an old saying, “That which does not kill you makes you stronger.” God is often using our fleshly thorns to make us stronger.

Praise Him for the roses. Thank Him for the thorns.

- adapted from Under the Juniper Tree podcast

available via The Light Network

Hello, 2014.

                  After a (rather long) break, we are launching back into 2014 rejuvenated and reenergized! We have some exciting things planned for this year which we hope will encourage you in your daily Christian walk! First up, let’s set some goals together. Yes, I realize we’re well into the month of January and the usual goal setting time is the New Year, but it’s never too late to resolve to do better. 

For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

Zechariah 4:10 KJV

                  Often after being baptized into Christ, we are on fire. We are so pumped and we want to tell the world about Jesus, but after a while that feeling fades. We have great plans, but for whatever reason our resolutions begin to overwhelm us. We become lukewarm and our desire to share the gospel takes a backseat. If you aren’t a New Testament Christian yet, you may be wondering how to prevent this from happening. If you are a Christian and fall into this category, you probably want to know how to get out of this rut.

                  Start by setting small goals. Achieve those and you will recognize them immediately, allowing yourself to see progress. Small steps allow us to believe in ourselves. Write down Philippians 4:13 and post it in a prominent place. Read it everyday. Focus on taking one step at a time. Make a goal of getting to Bible class on time (or even early) on a weekly basis and soon you will see those weeks turn into a month. Rather than taking on the rather daunting task of reading through the Bible in a year, make it a goal to read one book per month and take notes while doing so.

- adapted from Under the Juniper Tree podcast

available via The Light Network

Even when it’s hard to move, take small steps forward; because every step will lead you farther away from where you were yesterday.

-unknown

The man who moved the mountain was seen at the beginning carrying little buckets of soil.

-Chinese proverb

Little things make the difference. Everyone is well prepared in the big things, but only the winners perfect the little things.

-Paul “Bear” Bryant

Friday's Focus-Real people

Today I am going to encourage you to visit The Light Network (http://thelightnetwork.tv/) and listen/watch Emily Hatfield's podcasts titled Navigating the New Testament. In these podcasts, Emily takes the cities of first century Christianity and brings them to life. From the book of Acts and the first couple of chapters in the book of Revelation, we read about these people in these cities but I feel we don't truly grasp the fact that these were real people. They lived. They breathed. They loved and they struggled. Our fight with the devil is much like theirs was back then. I want you to see Paul and Lydia and the Corinthians not as characters in a book but as flesh and blood people. As brothers and as sisters.

We are linked through the blood of Christ. We do ourselves an injustice when we don't think of that as we learn about the lives of the early Christians.

So go check it out!

-C