“So I stationed people behind the lowest sections of the wall, at the vulnerable areas. I stationed them by families with their swords, spears, and bows.” - Nehemiah 4:13

Steven is my good friend. I sang in his wedding. He ushered at mine. When he developed Hodgkin’s Disease, he called me. When Kathy and I lost a baby to miscarriage, I called him. When the foster child he was trying to adopt was taken from him, I prayed with him. When I returned to my New Orleans home after Hurricane Katrina, he came with me. He’s my good friend.

Nehemiah stationed those working n the wall to stand guard by families. He knew that people needed to be with others with whom they have a relationship. He realized that it is easier for people to overcome discouragement when they know that somebody “has their back.”

Today, remember to make contact with your friends. Remember that God gave you your friends to help you go through difficult times. Remember also that god gave you to your friends to help them go through difficult times.

Lord, thank You for the friends that You have given me.

“Now may the God of endurance and encouragement grant you agreement with one another, according to Christ Jesus, so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice.” - Romans 15:6

“Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.” - Alexander the Great

Have you ever been in a church choir where the choir director and the accompanist were at odds with each other? It’s not a fun place to be. Before long, choir members begin to see the power struggle going on and they often are forced to either take sides with the director or accompanist, continually ignore the strife filled situation, or take a prolonged hiatus from the choir. Sometimes, the problems even grow so large that people end up leaving the church.

How must it grieve our Lord when there is intense disunity among His people who are supposed to be serving and glorifying Him. As we work together to serve and worship the Lord, let us equally strive to be in unity of mind and heart.

Lord, help us grow closer to each other as we grow closer to You.

“So God created man in His ow image; H created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” - Genesis 1:27

“But hold up and let the river rush in, you can turn around and start livin’ again, Cause your life is a beautiful bloom in the image of the One that created you.” - Toby McKeehan

To my dismay, I was not selected to be a soloist with the choir at a conference I attended in college. Sitting in the choir, I allowed myself to feel miserable and defeated during the evening of worship. Following the service, an older lady approached me and said, “When the choir sang, I watched you. You are unique and loved by God. You were created in His image and you are valuable to Him.”

Do you ever feel worthless? Do you ever feel of little value? Remember that God made you in His own image. Remember that He made you for a purpose. Remember that you are unique and loved by God. You are valuable to Him.

Lord, I know that You adore me. Thank You for creating me in Your image.

“But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” - Romans 5:8

“Jesus loves us as we are and not as we should be, since none of us is as we should be.” - Brennan Manning

Even though it was rated “R”, I went with a group of friends to see Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ. I’m not sure why but I was determined that I was not going to become emotional during the film. However, when Jesus, played by Jim Caviezel, struggled and fell under the weight of the cross and said to Mary, “See, Mother how I make all things new,” my determination meant nothing. I cried mixed tears of joy and humiliation. I thought of how much Jesus had done for me. I thought o how little I had done for Him. I thought about how much He does for me everyday. I thought about how much I must disappoint Him everyday. I thought about His faithfulness. I thought about my faithlessness.

Lore, I love You. Thank You for loving me. Thank You for dying for me.

“Your statutes are the theme of my song.” - Psalm 119:54a

“Even pudding needs a theme.” - Winston Churchill

There are several variations on this quote from Churchill, but no matter how it is stated, the message is the same. This leader was not interested in consuming a confusing dish. Puddings of the early 19th century were hardy words of art, filled with raisins, dates, and nuts. They were solid desserts, not a squishy blob of chocolate in a a plastic cup.

If we will agree that even pudding needs a theme, we will see that a worship service which includes songs on forgiveness, a drama sketch on tithing, a solo on missions, and a sermon on the second coming doesn’t qualify the worship service as eclectic; it qualifies it as unfocused.

Many products can help tie our services together: PowerPoint backgrounds, preserves music, song collections, sermon illustrations, and video clips.

If the infamous Churchill were to visit your church worship service this weekend, would he find a pudding without a theme, or would he be able to focus face-to-face with the Lord of all creation?

Show us, Lord, how to tie it all together.

“And because of the cloud, the priests were not able to continue ministering, for the glory of the LORD filled God’s temple.” - 2 Chronicles 5:14

“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word darkness on the walls of his cell.” - C.S. Lewis

What would happen at the next worship service at your church if no one could perform their duties? How would the congregation respond if the choir suddenly couldn’t sing or the ushers found their feet stuck to the floor? What would your deacons think if the pastor couldn’t open his Bible and give a sermon?

Can we even imagine the amazing worship that must have occurred when the glory of God filled the temple to the point that no one could do their church jobs? Is i possible to achieve that kind of infilling in our churches today? Are we ready to accept so much of god’s glory that we can’t have a regular church service?

Lord, may we be ready to receive the eight of Your glory as we worship You.

“I will depart and return to My place until they recognize their guilt and seek My face; they will search for Me in their distress.” - Hosea 5:15

“To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; To seek him, the greatest adventure; To find him, the greatest human achievement.” - Raphael Simon

The Old Testament is filled with stories about the glories of worshiping God in the temple. Musicians played, dancers danced, singers sang. There are also records of terrible times when God’s people chose to worship idols. For hundreds of years prophets like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea urged the people to repent and return to God. During some periods, even when small groups did repent, the consequences of their disobedience were still administered.

As members of worship teams, are there areas in our lives in which we have set up idols? Is there pride over lyrical voices or beautiful piano playing or skill in conducting or in ability to memorize lines? Let us be sure that we don’t end up having to seek the Lord in guilt and misery.

Lord, help s worship You and not the elements we use to worship You.

“Grief is better than laughter, for when a face face is sad, a heart may be glad.” - Ecclesiastes 7:3

“If we are not willing to feel negative emotions, then we shall not experience the richness of our positive emotions.” - C. S. Lewis

I once worked with a pastor who only wanted upbeat songs during musical worship. He was OK with preaching about sorrowful biblical events such as the crucifixion. He didn’t want us to sing what he called “downer songs”. he was concerned that if the congregation was allowed too much reflection during the musical portion of the service he would have to re-energize them before they could fully appreciate his sermon.

Another minister I worked with wanted to include at least one reflective song, which would be followed by a joyful song so that people would understand and feel the transition from sorry to joy.

Music is a powerful tool. A melody can uplift us or send us plunging into darkness. Because music is such a powerful took, it should be used wisely and to its fullest and proper extent.

Lord, help us to plan musical worship that allows us to understand You and all Your depth.

“But Martha was distracted by her many tasks.” - Luke 10:40a

“We have become so engrossed in the work of the Lord hat we have forgotten the Lord of the work.” - A. W. Tozer

“Listen; watch as I do the motions,” I admonished the teens. We were preparing to take rural Kentucky teens on a mission trip to New Orleans. My job was to present the praise and worship each morning at the children’s mission center. As a former kindergarten teacher, I knew we’d have to capture and hold the children’s attention during music time or there would be chaos. I led the teens in practicing the zany movements. i sang loudly as I approached a guy who wasn’t bouncing as energetically as I thought he should be.

“Get with it,” I whispered fiercely in his ear. “We need to make this good for those kids.” His movements became peppier, but I suddenly felt ashamed. Was I teaching our teens how to control the preschoolers we were going to minister to, or was I teaching our teens how to lead others in praise and worship?

Lord, may we worship, even as we lead rehearsals.

“Make an appeal to the Lord. There has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don’t need to stay any longer.” - Exodus 9:28

“Work as if everything depended upon work and pray as if everything depended on prayer.” - William Booth

Pharaoh thought of himself as a deity and yet acknowledged that prayer was his only hope. Pharaoh was a godless pagan; therefore, he’s not criticized for turning to prayer as a last resort.

Worship leaders, for the most part, are not godless pagans. However, don’t we find ourselves rushing through the opening prayer at our rehearsals so we can get down to business? How many of us have tried to skip over taking prayer requests because we know listening to them will take up half our rehearsal time?

Yes, there are those who get Wednesday choir practice confused with Wednesday night prayer service and try your patience. How awful would it be to let a choir practice become a prayer service once in a while and reschedule the singing rehearsal for another time?

Lord, give us wisdom regarding prayer and practice. Help us to practice well and pray powerfully.