Tag: worship

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Sunday Worship Take-away 11/19

November 19 – Sunday Worship, KCC Mall de Zamboanga. (My Take-away)

The word shared by our preacher, Engr. Clydeon Cantina, revolved around the topic “Maximize”.

Let me give a gist of his preaching.

With the introductory verse from Ephesians 5:16 saying, “Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days,” the preacher reminded us that our lives but just breath to be spent on things that have no meaning and that does not impact eternity. So he shared 4 things that we should maximize:

Maximize Potential

Each of us is gifted with talent and abilities that should be used to advance the kingdom of God.

Maximized Potency

Each of us has been granted the energy and we are not entitled to waste it on activities that would only please our selves, little dreams or selfish gains.

Maximized Position

God has placed us where we are right at this very time for a reason. It may not be a pleasing place where you have been positioned today, but if God allowed or brought you there then he has a purpose to fulfill thru you. I like when he said that (my paraphrase) “where you are might just be a prelude to the grand purpose he has for you, so be faithful.”

Maximized Possession

Just as God bought our lives with the highest price of heaven – Jesus’ blood – all of us and our possessions are no longer ours. Freedom and true joy comes when we are set free from being mastered by our possessions. Instead, we become the boss of our possessions and let it serve our purpose in this life.

 

MY TAKE-AWAY

The word “maximize” is not new to me. I took up BS in Economics so this term is a concept I enjoyed learning back in my undergraduate studies.

In Economics, to maximize means to get the best and greatest value possible from a limited/least amount of purchasing power. The objective is to get the most utility (or in simple term, “satisfaction”) from that choice.

So our life that is brief and little, least and limited – how is it maximized?

God’s word says that our life gets maximized the most when we give it to God and is minimized when we serve our inner cravings.

Because indeed, we can only become truly satisfied if God is fully glorified.

So maximize your life. Give it to God.

Matthew 16:25
New Living Translation
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

You can listen or download this preaching here : https://chirb.it/decpk1

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How to put ‘power’ into your exhortation

In the article Tip: Worship leaders exhort too we explained that worship leaders need to learn the art of exhortation. But how do we really craft just the right exhortation that will spark the praise of the people?

I’d like to share with you the “POWER” tip that our worship team uses in preparing our exhortations. As you prepare your words, do not forget to add P-O-W-E-R to it

1. Prayerful Praises

The exhortation is more than just arrangement of words; it has to be prayerfully inspired. And we will not just be saying any kind of insights on the microphone, but our insights are themed on praising and honoring God. Our words should lift God and magnify Him.

Sample:

“Come, let us worship the Lord. Our God is good and His love never runs out. His love never goes dry. He is faithful and He will never leave us”

It is important to carry our “toolbox of prayerful praises” when we lead worship. As we speak this, it will encourage the congregation to follow and speak up their own words of praise. But if we are quiet, they will just wait on our next move.

2. One-line or the “Bomb”

Drop a bomb. The secret to stirring people up to worship is by dropping a bomb that will explode worship and praises among God’s people. This bomb should be so atomic that it shatters away worries, lies, and deception that lurk in the people’s hearts, hindering them from experiencing full and free worship.

This one-line has to be something that the congregation will easily understand, remember and react. There has to be a one-line phrase that will sum up your major point, the big idea of your exhortation. This is like your main idea where the rest of your lines will be anchored or where it will revolve.

Sample:

“The Lord treats us with grace, not as our sins deserve.” (The Bomb)

See Item 4 “Extract” for the full sample. This one-liner usually comes with the “extract” part of your exhortation. Most of the time, if you already thought of a one-line, you will most likely be able to craft your brief exhortation.

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Shameless Worship 1

Have you ever felt hesitant to worship God?

As a worship leader, I have witnessed many moments in worship when the people feel hesitant to raise their hands, shout personal praises, and just be free and wild in the presence of God. And sometimes we are one of them.

Many are the reasons that inhibit the praise of the people. This includes worries of the future, present condition that seems uncomfortable and distracting, and the strongest worship-buster one may ever carry: shame the heart feels because of the sins we do. For this post, let me cover the very last one.

How important is it to be unashamed, uninhibited in our worship?

Very much. I believe that our way of expressing our faith in God is by getting bold, loud and proud in our worship.

One thing that makes a person shameful is that when he knows his debt has not been paid. If you have experienced having a huge debt, you won’t feel comfortable and free because at any time the debtor would appear and ask you for something you cannot afford to pay.

But not between us and God.

2000 years ago Jesus overpaid our debts when he died on the cross. That means we can be shameless today because we have a settled past!

Heb10:19 And so, dear brothers and sisters,[f] we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death,[g] Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

God’s Word tells us that we can stand free and confident today, we can stomp our feet, and we can stretch our hands wide open because we are free and our past is settled. The psalmist adds in Psalm 103:

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

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