Reaching out to God...

For a while I have been in touch with another Christian family who went to a different church in Bracknell but due to the church being closed for many months they have been having trouble with housing and many other things. On Monday evening I was touched when a member of the family contacted me and said that she had a bit of a moment which involved crying the previous night and that she needs God back into her life – But she didn’t know where to start so her mum suggested to come to me as were good Christian friends. Before anything else she sent me a message that a friend of hers sent to her saying:

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the lord forever.
Finally, I got that although you might be feeling really low, God is there duke you because you asked for him, even though it was in secret. Please take heart that God wants to know you and go a find a church somewhere near you and talk to someone and ask them about God. I would offer to help more if I lived nearer but I live in Sheffield now and work at St Thomas church in Crookes and if you are even near there on a Sunday, come to the church or look at the website. You'll find it on a Google search.
I hope I haven't written too much but I’ve said what I feel I need to say. I hope God has spoken to you right now. Feel free to message me if you have no idea what to do now and I’ll see what I can so to help.
God bless you and your son and I’ll be praying for you both”

So this Sunday a friend of mine and her son will be visiting EBC to see if she can reach back to God!

Danny Perchard

Characteristics of a Worship Artisan

I had never heard of the word ‘Worship Artisan’ before. After reading the media for this week I think I would like to be that. It is a fresh expression. [1] ‘It gives voice to the riches of the past to the present.’ [2] ‘‘Worship’ means acknowledging the worth, the majesty, the worthiness of the One who is worshipped.’ I love the passage in Romans 12: 1 (The Message version) our response to the overwhelming love of God. Worship is not just for Sunday, but for the whole of our lives - a living sacrifice.

As worship artisans we must soak ourselves in the Scriptures. To have biblical knowledge, [3] ' Without a thorough biblical knowledge how will we know who this God is and what type of submission pleases Him?' We [4] 'must cultivate an on-going relationship with the God whom he or she is leading others to worship'
A Leader should be taking initiative, shepherding and nurturing the people of the congregation. Everyone is made in the image of God Gen. 1:26 -27. We are the pinnacle of His Creativity. As we are made in the image of God and our Father is creative, so [5] 'creativity is in our DNA. We cannot escape it, and we do great harm to ourselves and to those around us when we try! You are creative. I am creative.' [6]'Creativity becomes an option or luxury for the Christian, but rather a necessity! It is your unique language of prayer, a language of the soul of others and for Jesus' ministry to be enacted through you. We must live creatively to be whole, and to fulfill God's purposes through us.'

I was thinking that if its a necessity that we are all creative and made in the image of God then we should be encouraged to see the good in other people and to appreciate them.
Whatever are creativity we have, we must share it with others in the church, in our communities and around the world. As worship leaders we need to encourage the congregation to 'put the world to rights', to worship the one true God and His wonderful creation and to have good relationships with one another.
Artisan means a creative person who brings together the traditions of the past to the present. Its for us as worship artisans to tell the wonderful story of God creating us and that Jesus has given his life to us, by dying on the cross and risen from the dead, so that we may forever worship Him. Rev 4, 5 Rev 21. To keep this story fresh and relevant for years to come.

Community

GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON & GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT - Community

I was doing a course on the healing ministry about 2 months ago. We were talking about the Holy Spirit. This has made a distinct impression on me. Our pastor was the tutor and he explained the Holy Spirit with two pictures. One picture was the Eastern Churches approach to the Holy Spirit where three men were sitting around the table with the cup of suffering. It represents the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as 3 equal people. The other picture is representing the Western churches. The Father is big in this picture; the Son is represented by Jesus dead on the cross and the Holy Spirit is represented by a little dove.

As worship artisans we MUST adjust this balance. We are guilty of heresy, if we don’t. The God the Father is not a harsh person He is the Father of love and compassion. God the Son is not dead He is alive for ever more. God the Spirit is not a little dove but is described as the wind and fire. The breath of God. [1] ‘The task of the church can’t be attempted without the Spirit. I have sometimes heard Christian people talk as though God; having done what he’s done in Jesus, now wants us to do our part by getting on with things under our own steam. But that is a tragic misunderstanding. It leads to arrogance, burnout, or both. Without God’s Spirit, there is nothing we can do that will count for God’s kingdom. Without God Spirit’s, the church simply can’t be the church.’ But with God’s Spirit, the church is [2] ‘a place of welcome and laughter, of healing and hope, of friends and family and justice and new life. It’s where one group is working to help drug addicts and another is campaigning for global justice. It’s where you’ll find people learning to pray, coming to faith, struggling with finding temptation, finding new purpose, and getting in touch with a new power to carry that purpose out. It’s where people bring their own small faith and discover, in getting others to worship the one true God, that the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts. ’ Thankfully I’m in a church like this.

We need to remember to [3]’specifically address the different Persons of the Godhead in worship songs, art and creative media that define the specific creational and redemptive roles of each. Instead of praying prayers that mention all Three Persons of the Trinity in every sentence, consider a prayer simply and directly to the Holy Spirit, or the Father, or to the Son. Each Person of the Trinity should be regarded, worshipped and magnified according to that Person’s unique work in the redemptive project.’

[1] N.T. Wright ‘Simply Christian’ p. 122 – 123
[2] N.T. Wright ‘Simply Christian’ p. 123
[3] Dan Wilt, ‘Essentials in Worship Theology’ p.29 (e-book)

Written by Ruth Edgson