We started a short new series this past Sunday, trying to catch a fresh glimpse of who He is….
Covid Protocol Changes
But first, I wanted you to know that our leadership teams are taking this recent Covid surge seriously. How can we NOT take it seriously? We have quite a few down with it right now, and it definitely seems to be exploding in Gilmer County.
We believe it is our responsibility to be good shepherds, and to LOVE His sheep the way Jesus loves his sheep. In this case, that means providing options for people whenever we can.
So, we returned to our two-strategy Sunday morning this past week. Our 9:00 service includes social-distance-seating, mandatory masks for people serving on teams, and temperature checks for all.
We have postponed the Night of Worship to September 26. (We had to! several on our worship team are OUT with the Covid!)
I have asked our lifegroup leaders to assess their situation and to talk about how our groups should respond to the significant increase in cases, and we want you guys to decide on a per-group basis.
Our staff is NOT planning any strategy that includes any kind of Sunday morning shutdown. Period. The exception is, of course, that if enough of our leaders have to be out and we CAN’T pull off a Sunday morning. In that event, we will notify everyone as early as possible through our normal channels. (Website, Facebook, Text Messages.) We do NOT foresee that happening, but this situation is fluid… And really… Who knows what unexpected crazy might happen next?
No matter what happens, we are a family… The family of God. We will trust him and move forward. He is GOOD, and he DESERVES our worship!
Speaking of worship…
We are IN this worship series, and I am liking it so far. Are you?
In this short discussion, I would like for us to talk about our CORPORATE worship together… Not individual worship at this time. Kay?
So, I wonder how you think about this… If you could grade The Orchard Church’s “worship temperature” on a scale of 1 to 5, what would you give us?
What is your criteria for determining our worship heat level?
Do you think you as a group could agree on a number together? What would your group’s number? (Help me out, lifegroup leader… Email me a brief synopsis of how your group feels about this!)
I am convinced that a true passion for worshipping God in reckless abandon comes ONLY from consistent preaching of the gospel, holding HIM high and revealing the grace that He extends to us…. But we will talk about that more over the next few weeks.
Come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains.
The sea belongs to him, for he made it.
His hands formed the dry land, too.Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our maker, for he is our God.
Psalm 95:1-7 NLT
We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.
Is this a command? Why or why not?
God is referred to in two different terms in the first two sentences. What are those terms?
Talk about those terms. what do they mean? What insights about God do they provide? How do those two terms fuel our worship of Him?
(hint: the first term is in ALL CAPS. Why is that significant? Why do most of our English translations do that sometimes? What does that mean?)
(ANOTHER hint: the SECOND term doesn’t mean this:)
(it means this:)
When we catch a glimpse of who HE really is, we can’t help but respond, right?
How does the Psalmist invite us to respond? What are some of the responsive phrases he uses?
When you think about the way the Psalms describes our response to God, do those responses line up with OUR response? Why or why not?
The early church was marked by this ongoing response…
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47 NLT
How often did they worship together? AND how radical was their worship? Why kinds of things did they do in response to God besides sing songs?
Okay, so reading that makes me feel pretty inadequate.. What they did sounds like A LOT… Sounds like MORE than I might be willing to do. What about you?
Isn’t that why it is SO IMPORTANT that we keep meeting and worshipping together, no matter what? Look at what the author of Hebrews says:
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
Hebrews 10-24-25 NLT
What is our responsibility to each other here?