I have no idea how many people read this blog, maybe only the four or five who have said something to me. Regardless, for those of you that have asked recently, I'm sorry for not posting more over the last couple of months. I appreciate your interest and plan to post more regularly like I did in the Spring.
Some of you know my family has been in the process of moving. Because we only moved five miles from the old house we thought it would better to move a little at a time instead of all at once. In hindsight, probably not the smartest or most time saving way to do it. It's done now though so at least one of my excuses for not posting has been eliminated. Hopefully you'll see more new content coming up.
A great idea was born today. Our congregation is launching "First Fridays For Men". This is a men's Bible study that will take place on the first Friday of each month starting in November. Obviously anytime you increase the amount of time spent studying the Bible is a good thing. Getting together with other Christians is obviously a no-brainer as well. I'm looking forward to combining the two.
In the past we've had Saturday morning prayer breakfasts. I like this new idea because we've decided the meal is not the focus. If you want something to eat, bring it yourself. We plan to start talking about the responsibility and opportunity for men to take an active role in worship. One goal is to involve more of our men in worship roles. Other ideas for study include the role of the man in the family and the role of the Christian man in the daily world. I can see nothing but great things coming from this.
One of the men who helped bring this about had a great point today. He's a man who teaches Bible classes on a regular basis and has for several years. His thought was that as a feeder, he sometimes needs to be fed but isn't able to study with other Christians because he's always teaching. There's a great lesson there. We need to be careful about "burning out" our teachers. They need the chance to learn and grow as much as anyone else.
I mention this because I'm not only excited about it and what it can do for our men and for our congregation but because it's a great idea. I think great ideas are worth sharing when it can help others. Maybe it's something your home church can use. Maybe you've done something similar and would like to comment or share results. Either way, if you care to leave a comment they'd certainly be welcomed. I'll let you known how it goes from this end.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
"Oh, To Be Like Thee"
Many of the songs we sing in worship have a personal message. Songs like "Be With Me Lord" and "It Is Well" are songs that we sing to express our own feelings. Some songs like "Bless Be The Tie" and "God Be With You" are songs with messages to to other Christians. Countless songs we sing have messages intended for God.
Recently while selecting songs I came across a standard, "Oh, To Be Like Thee". I can't tell you how many times I've sung this song in my life. On this particular occasion though, without singing I just read the words.
Oh to be like Thee blessed Redeemer.
This is my constant longing and prayer.
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's threasures,
Jesus Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh to be like Thee full of compassion,
loving, forgiving, tender and kind.
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
seeking the wandering sinner to find.
Oh to be like Thee Lord I am coming
now to receive the annointing divine.
All that I am and have I am bringing
Lord from this moment all shall be Thine.
I wonder what we would say to God if we had the chance to speak to Him. In our prayer life for instance; would we say the words of this song to Him and mean them? What for instance is our "constant longing and prayer"? Is it really to be like Him? How much would we, do we and have we forfeited for the cause of Christ? How much compassion, love and forgiveness do we show?
If we can't answer those questions in the right way, why would we or why do we sing this song? If we can sincerely sing these words to God, we should sing it more robustly than ever. If we can't believe these words or live these words in our lives, I'd say we not only need to not sing this song but we need to examine ourselves and make some serious changes. What do you think?
Recently while selecting songs I came across a standard, "Oh, To Be Like Thee". I can't tell you how many times I've sung this song in my life. On this particular occasion though, without singing I just read the words.
Oh to be like Thee blessed Redeemer.
This is my constant longing and prayer.
Gladly I'll forfeit all of earth's threasures,
Jesus Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh to be like Thee full of compassion,
loving, forgiving, tender and kind.
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
seeking the wandering sinner to find.
Oh to be like Thee Lord I am coming
now to receive the annointing divine.
All that I am and have I am bringing
Lord from this moment all shall be Thine.
I wonder what we would say to God if we had the chance to speak to Him. In our prayer life for instance; would we say the words of this song to Him and mean them? What for instance is our "constant longing and prayer"? Is it really to be like Him? How much would we, do we and have we forfeited for the cause of Christ? How much compassion, love and forgiveness do we show?
If we can't answer those questions in the right way, why would we or why do we sing this song? If we can sincerely sing these words to God, we should sing it more robustly than ever. If we can't believe these words or live these words in our lives, I'd say we not only need to not sing this song but we need to examine ourselves and make some serious changes. What do you think?
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