Are you feel'n it?

This past Sunday we continued our NEW SERIES "Unwrapping Worship." We are going through various characters in the Christmas story discovering the heart of worship. For part 1 we looked at the lives of Mary & Joseph. We talked about how surrender is worship!  This past week for part 2 we looked at the wise men and their heartfelt pursuit. If you missed it you can listen on-line at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can listen on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4. 

We live in such an energized, emotional and stimulating society. There are constantly new movies with better graphics, larger booms, more surprises and greater romances. TV shows now change camera angles every 2-3 seconds. ESPN can have several pieces of information on the screen at the same time in different ways.  Because of this phenomena, it has impacted our relationship with God. When we think of worship we often can think of emotions and feelings. (I know I have been guilty of this many times). We want to experience a feeling during church or we will stop going or find another place to go.

Yet when we truly unwrap worship and look at the wise men we see heartfelt pursuit!! During a pursuit there are times of great feelings and excitement. However, there are also challenges and dry times as well. 

Here are some questions to wrestle with today...

#1--Have you ever pursued something long after the emotions of which the pursuit began are gone? If so, what kept you going? If not why did you quit? 
#2--What do you think about this quote, "Emotions are great servants but terrible masters."--Tommy Newberry
#3--If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, is there an area right now you need to pursue? (regardless of your feelings) 
#4--If you are not a follower of Jesus Christ yet, how could you continue to pursue God on this explore?

Pursuit is heading toward a destination and not allowing yourself to be deterred or stopped. Imagine what the wise men had to go through and encounter to travel all the way to where Jesus was. They had plenty of opportunities to quit along the way. Yet they pursued!! 

It is my prayer that we become a people who learn to pursue God for who He is not for what He can do for us. Whether we "feel" Him in the moment or like the circumstances, may we find ourselves still worshipping Him. We worship Him when we pursue Him with our hearts!! 

Two last questions and feel free to comment...

What are some ways we can pursue God from our hearts throughout the week?

How did Jesus pursue regardless of the circumstances or feelings He had?

Sweet Surrender (or is it)?

This past Sunday we launched our NEW SERIES "Unwrapping Worship." We are going through various characters in the Christmas story discovering the heart of worship. For part 1 we looked at the lives of Mary & Joseph. We talked about how surrender is worship! You can listen to the podcast at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can listen on iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158?mt=2&ign-mpt=uo%3D4. 

As we look at the Bible, we see that there are many people who worshiped through surrender. The amazing reality is that as people have surrendered, there are two common themes we find. First of all, the surrender process if often painful, challenging and hard. Second, the end result is full of God's blessing and presence. 

So Who else in scripture came to a collision with their will vs. God’s will? What did they do?

Abraham and his surrender (worship)—Genesis 22

Jesus and His surrender—Matthew 26:36-44

Surrender is the ultimate form of worship. It is when we choose to trust His will and His way even if we don't understand. 

I pray that we will be a people who grow the rest of our lives in this kind of Worship!!