The Habit of Worship

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from a good friend who lives in Kansas. One of his friends had just found out that their baby girl Cora had cancer. Over the next weeks I prayed for the family as I read about their struggle on their blog. It was heartbreaking and encouraging to think about a couple dealing with the diagnoses and treatment of cancer in their 11 month old daughter. For those of you who were at youth group this week, you know that a week ago yesterday Cora went to be with Jesus. At this point you may be thinking, ”what’s encouraging about that?”, and rightfully so.  

The encouraging thing obviously wasn’t that a little girl got horribly sick, but to see the response of trust and worship in her parents through the entire ordeal. I would encourage you to read their story on their blog here, pray for their continued perseverance in faith, and as you do ask yourself, “Would I respond like this? Would I greet this situation with a dependence on Scripture, a firm trust in God and a choice to worship?” None of us can really answer that question unless we are there, but we can examine our lives now and see if we are setting the patterns that would allow us to worship God in the most difficult of times. When life is good, or when little things go wrong do we choose to worship? If we don’t make the choice to worship now, why do we think we would make the choice to worship God then? Are we in the habit of choosing to worship?

I’m not trying to say that this couple are any better than any of us, I’m not saying they are spiritual superheroes, and that’s the beauty of it. I want to share their story with you because they are an ordinary couple who chose in extraordinary times to trust and worship our extraordinary God. I hope and pray that you and I can do the same.

Let’s do it again!

Between the good times had on the hill with the high school students at Oasis and the good times on the hill at the Badlands with the middle school students, we thought “hey, let’s go tubing with again!” This time it’s for HS students only (sorry MS students, you had your shot this year). We’re going February 27th. Leave church at 5:00, be back around 10:00. Sign up now to get the early bird rate! Click here to download the permission slip. See you at the bottom.

Which One?

For the last three weeks we have been talking about the letter that Paul wrote to Philemon, and how it helps us understand what we need to do in our own lives to forgive others, ask for forgiveness, or help two friends forgive each other. I know that some of you acted right away, taking steps to restore relationships that were broken. I want to encourage each of you though to remember that forgiveness is something that isn’t just a one time deal. Maybe two weeks ago you needed to ask for forgiveness and this week you need to forgive someone. Maybe when we first started looking at Philemon you helped two people to forgive each other, and this week you need to go ask for forgiveness. We are all sinners, so we will all hurt each other from time to time, and when that happens we need to ask for, and give forgiveness. Being an offender, forgiver or intercessor isn’t just a one time thing, so maybe you should ask yourself, “which one do I need to be this week?”