Friberg's Friday Favorite

He shall reign, forever! He shall reign, forever! He shall reign, forever and ever!

True Worship

What is worship? Think for a second...when you think of that word, what comes to mind?

When people discuss worship, the Sunday morning music experience is generally the foundation for the conversation. However, God desires (and commands) more from us than what we do inside the church walls. He wants us to honor and worship Him throughout the entire week. We do that by obeying what He commands.

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: to obey His commands." (1 John 5:2-3)

With regard to worship, what does this passage mean? Is He commanding us to sing a hymn with six choruses (better make sure Chris Tomlin wrote one of them!)? No. Jesus commands us to love others as we would love ourselves (Matthew 19:19). We are to look after the orphan and the widow and care for those who are unfortunate (Matthew 25:34-45). How we treat other people is a reflection of our worship to God.

Vernon Whaley (Called To Worship) says, "True worship includes right actions toward others and God wants worship from repentant hearts." What a powerful statement!

Repentance is the next step for a worshiper to live a life of true worship. If a person cannot come to God in honesty, how can they worship God on Sunday morning? Because of what Jesus did, we can enter freely into worship with a clean heart. When a person is truly worshiping God, their life will display His grace and love throughout the week.

We need live our lives for God, asking Him to use us in all we do, and watch the glory of the Lord touch those around us. Music will then be an important, powerful way to honor and glorify God.

Wednesday's Brian Teaser

How many common words of four letters or more can you make from the letters in the following word? (You may use each letter only once for each word you use)

CHINA

In your answer, include the words (don't just guess a number). Prize to the winner!

Parent/Child Dedication

This Sunday, a number of parents will have their newborns/infants dedicated to God at one of the worship services. This is an amazing time where parents and loved ones make commitments to raise their child (or children) in the Lord.

Some people wonder why parents choose to go through this process. Our associate pastor, Dave Sautner, explains:

"The pattern of Parent/Child dedications have ancient origins in the Bible. The Israelites, on the 8th day of a child's life, brought their children to the priest for a blessing. Hannah brought Samuel to Eli, the priest, to dedicate him to the Lord (1 Sam 1:21-28). Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple for His dedication (Luke 2:21-40).

As the pattern for Scripture teaches, we recognize that faith comes to a child when they are able - by an act of their own will - to trust Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10). Faith and salvation are not passed on through this Parent/Child dedication. Instead, parents are promising to raise their child (or children) in the training and instruction of the Lord, with the desire that one day, their child will receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Leader."

Dedicating one's child to God is a massive, public statement by the parent(s). These families are going to raise this next generation in Jesus Christ. What an awesome opportunity to witness these commitments!

A+ to the CRU team!

Yesterday, the Campus Crusade team did a phenomenal job in leading the church in worship. They led a variety of songs that had joyful singing and praise, thoughtful meditation and scripture, and meaningful worship and adoration to God.

In addition, here some highlights from Sunday:

1) The tech booth set the table for the worship service. Joe, Jim, Ali, and Isaac did an outstanding job handling the sound, lighting, and computer presentation.

2) The entire team (vocals and band) worshiped as they led. They have a genuine heart for God and this authenticity was evident in their leadership and music.

3) The idea to include scripture in the middle of Fire Fall Down was perfect. Singing "Fire, fall down" over and over again can be confusing to anyone that does not know the song. 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 brought appropriate direction and power to that part of the service.

4) The overall quality (vocals and band) was tremendous. At times, I thought I was hearing a produced recording (once again, props to the sound guy)!

The church was blessed and I look forward to the next time the CRU team leads at Westwood!