Month: November 2019

Entering Worship Undistracted
Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Devotion, Encouragement, Faith, Life

Entering Worship Undistracted

Life seems to be filled with a constant stream of distractions.

When I work, there is typically people coming into my office to talk, mounting tasks that need to be addressed, administrative tasks that require attention, and, yes, music that is playing in the background. That is just the things going on inside my office. There are other distractions that are my mind, such as our family, Noah’s needs, Abbi’s health with the pregnancy, and many other things.

All of these things are necessary concerns, but they can take my focus away from the things that need my energies, especially when it comes to growing in faith and loving God.

What about you? Do you ever feel distracted when it comes to your faith with God? Even more, do you ever feel distracted when it comes to give our full attention to worship?

Psalm 100:4a. says, “Enter his praise with thanksgiving: go into his courts with his praise.” (NLT) We are to be people who respond to our love of God with acts of adoration for all that God has done in our lives.

Can we do that if our hearts are distracted from the presence of God? Continue reading “Entering Worship Undistracted”

The World Turned Upside Down
Christian Leadership, Christianity, Culture, Devotion, Encouragement, Faith, Life, Sermon

The World Turned Upside Down

I had waited four years to see it.

For four years, I tried everything that I could to convince people – especially Abbi – that I needed to go to New York to see this one show. That didn’t work. When it left New York and started a nationwide tour, I began to calculate Christmas gifts and possible vacations for the family. That still didn’t work.

It wasn’t until the week before we moved here that I, finally, was able to sit in an auditorium and watch the one show I had been dying to see. That show was Hamilton. I loved it, and if it wasn’t for the cramped seating, I would have danced in the aisle the entire show. The show is right up my ally: hip hop music to American history. You can’t go wrong!

One of my favorite songs from the musical describes the events surrounding the victory at Yorktown. With the musical’s focus on history and catchy lyrics, it told how the Americans secured the victory and, ultimately, the war on the shores of the James River in the Chesapeake Bay region of Virginia. It did so with a refrain that was sung in the background to describe what took place: the world turned upside down.

The world turned upside down! I love that refrain. I love how it speaks to history. I love how it speaks to the moment of the unexpected becoming reality. I love how it gives us, even, a way to consider what happens when the kingdom of God breaks into the world. Continue reading “The World Turned Upside Down”