Worship: More Than Actions

I'm privileged to be preaching this week and I'm looking forward to it. I've been thinking a lot lately about worship. A good friend and mentor of mine, Loyd Naten, wrote an article a month or two ago about worship and I've been thinking about it ever since.

It's funny how "worship" has been redefined over the years. Some people think that worship always involves music and singing. We even call the part of our Sunday services when we sing, "Praise and Worship". Can't we sing and play music without worshiping?

In looking for a picture for this blog entry, a huge majority of pictures representing worship showed people with their hands lifted up. Are we worshiping every time we stretch and lift our hands over our heads? I would contend that we can even go to church without worshiping.

God is seeking for us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth and that takes more than just an action or being at a particular place. Bro. Naten states, "a personal encounter with the living God" is what enables us to worship the way God calls us to.

Do you have any thoughts about worship you'd like to share? Maybe I'll use them in my sermon tomorrow.

Christmas Services

On Saturday night and Sunday morning, we held 3 Christmas service at New Life Church in El Cajon. We had over 350 in combined attendance at the 3 services and it was by far the best Christmas service I've ever seen or been a part of.

Several people raised their hand for salvation and the kids' performances were outstanding. My buddy, Isaac had his first speaking part in a service and he was great!

My daughter was part of the hip-hop dance routine that the Uturn Youth Group did and my two boys were outstanding on the grand finale. Jason played one of the trash cans with his cousin Alyssa and DJ and Terry V. Skiles played the drums on the best version of the Little Drummer Boy you've ever seen. I'll post some pictures of the services as they become available.

The service will be posted on the church website in the next day or so. I highly recommend you check it out.

Quick Update

Ok, a lot has happened since my last entry. I've been lazy with my blogging. So here's a quick update.

My son DJ turned 18 last week. It is unbelievable how fast time has flown. I was looking at some pictures of him in Jr. High this last weekend and the changes in him just over the last 4 or 5 years is amazing. He's a fine young man with a heart for God and I'm very proud of him. Here are a few pictures of him learning how to play drums with his Great Grandpa Hack (that's Alyssa on the right in the picture on the bottom.)

I taught our Connection Class (Membership Class) at church yesterday. We had 3 couples and two individuals attend. I love to teach it and get to know new people. It's funny that I used to know everyone that came to the church. The 3 couples that were there yesterday have been coming to New Life for 2 or 3 months and I hadn't even met them before yesterday. I feel bad, but I don't think it's possible to know everyone when the church continues to grow.

We've had a few practices now for our Christmas program. I love playing old songs in new ways and Terry V. has put together a great program for this year. I don't want to give too much away, but I'll just say that you gotta come, even if it's just to see the Little Drummer Boy song. DJ is amazing (proud dad talking) and Terry is pretty good too. Jason and Alyssa are some of the best "trash talkers" I've ever heard.

My Mom and Grandma are visiting until Christmas and it's great to spend time with them. Our house is a little crazy with 4 dogs running around, but it's only until Sharon's family gets here on Christmas. Then we'll have 6 dogs running around (I'm not talking about her family. They have 2 dogs too).

4 Pounds?

Wow, after 4 days of eating and cooking (yes, I cooked not 1, but 2 turkeys this year) I only gained 4 pounds. I know that's a lot for 4 days, but you should have seen the amount of food I was putting away. It was unbelievable. On top of that, even though I had planned to run while I was out of town, I didn't run at all after last Tuesday.

It got so bad that as my family and I went to Knott's Berry Farm on Sunday on our way back home, I couldn't even finish my dinner at the Chicken Restaurant at Knott's. That place is awesome and I ended up taking half of my fried chicken dinner home. I did have enough room for the boysenberry pie a la mode though. Outstanding!

I'm back on track though. Ran 3 miles today and I'm back to eating normally. At least until the Christmas cookies come out. Then all bets are off!