Month: May 2016

Church worship gatherings are one of very few environments in America anymore, where corporate singing is encouraged. Outside of “Take Me out to the Ball Game” in the middle of the 7th inning, almost no one sings together in our culture much anymore. Then there’s church…

We get together weekly with a guy and a guitar who has a whole band with him, and nice backgrounds on a huge screen, showing the lyrics of every song being sung – all with the expectation that we’re to join in the singing.

So I thought I would address why we do something so bizarre in other public gatherings…

It’s not a concert. 
At a concert, you have the performers and you have the audience. And the audience is there for the performers, and the performers are there for the audience. In corporate worship, there is a third element. Most Christians get this, but get it mixed up. That third element is the catalyst, the one who is prompting the worship of the performers.
Most feel that God is that catalyst, the people up front are the performers, and those of us listening are the audience. But the truth is, God is the audience – the One who receives the worship. The leader up front is not the performer, he/she is the catalyst – the one calling and prompting others to worship. Meaning that the people – you and I, sitting in the seats – are the performers, motivated by those leading to offer our hearts of worship to God through song, prayer, and gratitude to God for who He is and all He does.

It’s emotional and intellectual
Jesus said in John 4 that those whom God is seeking to worship Him must worship Him, “in spirit and in truth.” Worship to God is intended to be spirit, and truth – with the heart and with the mind. At LifeCity, we try to lead others in worship through music that is solidly truthful and consistent with the teaching of Scripture, but also soul-stirring, bringing out emotions conducive when offering our hearts and lives before the presence of God. Truth without spirit in our worship is stoic and soul-sucking. Spirit without truth is a superficial frenzy. Both unbalanced perspectives on worship are cheap counterfeits of what God intended for us. So we seek to worship Him in spirit and truth.

There’s three types of worship songs
Ephesians 5:19, “…speaking to yourselves in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Speaking, and making melody in your hearts to the Lord…”

Psalms. Psalms, like that of the book of the Bible with the same name, are simply God’s Word set to music. The book of Psalms was primarily used as a song book for worship in the temple of God. But in general, a psalm is any of GOd’s inspired word – the Bible – put to music. Much of our music includes quotes taken straight from God’s Word.

Hymns. Most people are confused about this one, because it gets equated with a specific genre of songs that were written between 50 and 500 years ago. But a hymn is actually jut any song that is intended to directly address God. Not just a song written about God, but a song written, played, and sung to God as the intended audience. Because of this, most songs that we sing are hymns – just, not the ones they might be singing at your grandma’s church. And just so we’re clear, we do have grandma’s at LifeCity, and they love our music.

Spiritual songs.
The verse in Ephesians encouraged us to sing “to yourselves” meaning to one another. A spiritual song is a song in which the lyrics are still completely consistent with the teachings of Scripture, but the intended audience is other believers, not God directly. Last Sunday, we sang “O, Clap Your Hands” as our opening song. While that song is directly from the book of Psalms, it’s also a spiritual song. We were not singing to God asking Him to clap His hands… we were singing to one another encouraging all people to get excited about coming into God’s presence for worship.

Other spiritual songs are intended to lift up each other to trust in God during difficult times, or to speak life, do good, serve others, forgive, etc.

We aim for excellence
I am so grateful for the ministry Christian Luper, our worship leader, brings to LifeCity. We’re blessed to have talented, passionate people who lead people, in spirit and truth, to sing and praise God through music, and are also encouraging people trying to live it in their own lives. Why do we have drums, electric guitars, and bass guitars, and an organ synthesizer playing in our worship gathering? Because we have a team that can blend the melodies and harmonies of various instruments together for an excellent sound that is an effort to give God our best. In 1 Chronicles 15, the choir director of the temple was chosen to his position, “because he was skillful”. He was uniquely gifted to lead music. All of us are called to worship, some are called to lead. Like the preaching of the Word, we try to only put people in our worship team who have been gifted by God to lead in that capacity, because they are skillful. I’m grateful that the people who lead us to worship through music each week have talent that is only outmatched by their hearts.

So when you come to LifeCity for a Sunday, you’ll see why we love our music. It’s one of the best parts of our Sunday as we lift our voices together and acknowledge God for who He is and all He’s done for us.  If you are uncomfortable with that, no sweat! You don’t need to feel compelled to join us in sining. Feel free to check it out and see why we love our church so much. And if you do feel like it, join us in a song that seems to speak to your soul. It feels good! And if you think you sing bad, don’t worry. There’s enough of us singing, you won’t feel like you’re standing out off key! 😉

Blessings,
Pastor John

LifeCity is in a marriage series right now called, In the Ring: fighting for your marriage. So I thought I would add a quick list of five simple, practical things you can do in your marriage to make it better, stronger, and happier.

1. Date nights. We pursue people while we’re dating, and then slow down after the “I do”, and sometimes stop altogether after the babies start showing up. Go on a date again! Invest TIME with your spouse.
2. Do the thoughtful stuff. Flowers, notes written on the mirror, bringing their favorite food for lunch, watching the kids so they can have dinner with their friends…this list is limited only by your imagination. Need ideas?  That’s what Pinterest is for!
3. Chores… Nothing screams “I love you” like doing the dishes, putting the kids to bed, folding the laundry, or making the bed. Especially if it’s a a chore THEY normally do. “That sounds lame…” No, it just sounds like work. You know what’s lame? A loveless marriage… and a dirty house… a loveless marriage IN a dirty house. THAT is lame.
4. Time with the kids. My wife consistently reminds me that the hottest thing I do is spend time with our children. It speaks to her heart and need for our kids to feel loved by their daddy. And, coincidentally, it fulfills a desire in my heart to be a good dad. Win-win.
5. Pray together. This is one of the hardest things to commit to doing. Your spirituality matters, and your spiritual lives together is even more critical. In a future post, I’ll share a few basics of praying together as a couple. If you did pray together regularly at one point but have gotten out of the habit, start by acknowledging that and admitting that you want it to change.

Blessings,
Pastor John

I’ve read a lot articles and posts lately about what proper church behavior, attire, and protocol consists of from a myriad of sources. SO! I thought it was time to give some thought to the subject myself about the how people should come to LifeCity Church. If you call LifeCity your church home, or if you’ve ever thought of visiting us and giving it a try, I hope you’ll consider these helpful tips about coming to our church…

1. Dress comfortable. We really don’t have a dress code… “Sunday’s best” has more to do with how we love than how we look for us. I usually preach in jeans, flip flops, and a V-neck – and I’m the pastor. You can even come to our church wearing a Raiders jersey… because… obviously you need Jesus. (KIDDING! Relax!)
2. Bring someone with you. Life is meant to be experienced in community. So we encourage you to bring someone to experience LifeCity with you. It’s often comforting to know there’s at least one person that you know already.
3. Come early! Currently, we start our main Sunday services at 10:30am at Montague Elementary. But those who come just 10-15 minutes early get to visit KidsTown where their child might make some new friends and have a great time. Also you’ll get first dibs on coffee and pastries… Seriously though, you don’t miss out on the worship, news, and so much more. We work hard to make the whole experience on Sundays an opportunity for everyone to experience God.
4. Be friendly. Every week, I accept that a variety of people come to our gatherings with an unknown load they’re carrying. I don’t have to know everyone’s struggle, but I do need to show them that it’s ok to have one, and that they’re not alone. By offering a sincere smile, greeting, hug, or handshake, we’re communicating to people that they matter. Learn someone’s name. Get together after church. Build a friendship with someone new. You’ll be blessed, too.
5. Come expecting. We believe there is power in people coming together in the name of Jesus, to honor Him in song, open and learn from His word, and encourage others on their journey. We’re better together. Sometimes, when I feel the least motivated, God works in me the greatest. And lastly…
6. Keep an open heart. We would never force anyone to do anything they were not ready to do. Our job as a church, is to provide opportunities, and trust God to work on people’s hearts. So all we ask, is be honest with what you feel God doing in your life. If you’re thinking about getting baptized, let’s talk about it. No pressure. If you’re not ready to sing the songs we worship to, just sit/stand and listen for awhile.

Tomorrow, we continue through an exciting marriage series called In the Ring: fighting for your marriage. I’m talking about the most important foundation of your marriage this week. It’s going to be an awesome day together!

Blessings,
Pastor John