I invited Jesus to my worship service...

Let's play a game. An imagination game. Think of FCC's current worship service, and think of how we 'used to do' worship service. Now, imagine that one day, we see Jesus pull up in the parking lot. I'm guessing he'll be driving a 4-door Jeep Wrangler- a blue one. And maybe it's a 4-door because he has a lot of people coming with him. Like maybe Peter, or Paul, or maybe James. Yeah, I'm just having some fun now,but seriously- here comes Jesus in from our parking lot!! WOW, right?



Now, we know that Jesus will be greeted very emphatically- probably not just by the greeters, but by numerous people. Heck, since its Jesus I may even crawl out of my hiding place and say hello. The ushers will probably 'usher' him and anyone he brought with him to a good seat- maybe up front or something.



Now, here is where things will be different, relating to old service vs. "new".



In our old service, we have a concrete schedule- -everything is planned. We'd hand Jesus a bulletin and say, "Follow along." The songs are chosen, the sermon is planned, we go by the numbers. So, Jesus would be there, singing along maybe, listening to the sermon, placing his offering in the plate, and....then it's over. Jesus would walk out, shake the pastor's hand, go grab a cookie and chit chat a bit, then go back out to his Jeep and go home, or maybe out to lunch with a few friends. I don't know.



Now, our NEW service- Jesus comes in, and WOW! Come in! Please! Lord! Do you have a song we can sing to you? What is your favorite? Shall we sing that now? Please let us sing for you- anything you'd like. I have one, Lord, to sing for you- oh please, may I sing it for you, Lord? And LORD! Do you have a Word for us? Do you have scripture you'd like us to hear? A teaching, maybe? Please! Go right up there and begin! We are listening, we are ready. Whatever you have for us, Lord, we are open to it, let's do it, let's hear it. This is about YOU, Lord- please lead us, let us bless you.



Are you getting my point? The thing is, the Lord IS with us as we worship- always. We don't do all this, package it up and send it to him as a gift. No. He comes here and is among us- in the very present, alive, moving. The Holy Spirit leads. The Holy Spirit may not arrive in a nice blue Jeep, but He does come in, and He does seek to lead our hearts.



Now, how can the Holy Spirit lead if we are so glued to a schedule- to a tradition of worship? If the Lord has something to say to us- I want to hear it- whether it comes through pb, Leon, Kelly- whoever! If someone wants to sing a specific song to their Lord, and wants us to join in - I say let's do it! Let's bless Him! Maybe that's the song He wants to hear, anyway, and that is why this person has a strong desire to sing it. Maybe, just maybe, the Lord isn't into what pb has on his mind at the moment, in fact, the Lord wants us to hear something ELSE in this moment- so maybe Jesse stands and reads some scripture. And that scripture, well, it starts to fuel a fire of some kind in my soul, and I've just gotta say something to elaborate that scripture- not for my own purposes, but because its what God has for us today. Not what we have for ourselves, but what the LORD has for us. We are here for HIM.



I know, I know. That is kind of chaotic. It can be scary, it can invite some very uncomfortable circumstances...but, do we really want to shut out the Lord, just so we can be safe from the discomfort? Safe from having to deal with things that may not be OF the Lord? Surely, we should be seeking to be mature enough in our faith that we can discern these things. But to stifle the leading of the Spirit just so we don't have to deal with any possible icky, squirmy times- well, I just don't think that is going to cut it pretty soon.



I want to follow God's lead- whatever the cost. I know that all things work for the GOOD of those who love Him. Do we love Him enough to trust Him to lead us in this way? That He has good things in store for us, who obey Him, even if we are scared, taken out of our comfort zone? No- no, let's do this thing.