1. The music. Did I mention in my last post that I love to sing? The gift of worship through music is such an amazing release. I loved all the songs today, but the one that took me to long ago and far away came from Psalm 84 (this is just a part of it from verses 1-4):
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young--
a place near your altar, O Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
I lived in the Philippines for a couple of years when I was young and single. I was the only foreigner in my church, and although I loved my friends there, it could be a little lonely being the only native English speaker. In fact, the worship services included three to four languages used intermittently. I would joke to myself that at least the Lord was hearing and understanding my English in the middle of it all, because I was totally confused! (I did get better eventually.)
There were no screens on the windows, so the church was wide open, and frequently the birds would fly through taking no notice of all the people that had invaded "their" space. These verses reminded me that even these birds knew it was a good thing to find shelter at the Lord's altar, and being in church with other believers was such a blessing.
Today I thought how precious it was that I was praising the Lord with my own young, and what a refuge the church and the body of Christ provide for all of us.
2. The sermon was an awesome challenge from Amos 5 to not let our worship stop at singing. God wants our love for Him to be expressed through acts of justice and mercy. Otherwise our lip service is unacceptable and appalling to him. Whew.
3. Benjamin took a bold step in his journey today. More about that later!
I hope it was a happy Sunday in your world!
5 comments:
I do love the music in church! I can't sing but I can enjoy. :) blessings, marlene
Ok far too many things to comment on!
Thanks for stopping by Missouri Thursday - I'm diligently returning the calls, but it takes a while - as you know!!!
I love your letter to your daughter! I love your Olympics post with our Biblical reminders - I use those often to just FINISH a run (knowing that it's truly meant for Faith and life...)
I love how you see beyond the singing for worship.
God's Blessings!
And again, thanks for stopping by!
I love Sunday and I love singing. I teach the 12 & 13 yr old girls in my Ward and the lesson was on service, good works. It's an amazing experience to carry our love of God and put it into action.
Lately I've been getting a lot out of Veggie Tales Worship... hmm....
You need to stop by my blog - gota little something there for you!
Music is always our favorite part of church. College Girl sings in the choir--too bad the rest of us can't carry a tune! And, thanks for coming by and visiting The Great State of Wisconsin today!
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