Author: jasondsears

5.TOWDAH -to-daw -To give worship by the extension of the hand in adoration or agreeing with what has been done or will be. This word is common- ly found in connection with sacrifice-applying the giving of thanks or praise as a sacrifice before reception or manifestation. Thanking God for something that I don't have in the natural. Agreeing with His Word - faith in His Word. This form of praise goes in operation just because His Word is true. "Father, I thank YOU that YOUR WORD is TRUE. As we raise our hearts and hands in praise to the Lord,…

Like anybody cares - Semper Fidelis - Cool book. Devotional style. Has Psalms and Proverbs broken up into daily devotionals. Given to me by my boss. Dynamics of Spiritual LifeScandalous FreedomBlue Like JazzSearching for God know whatThe Heart of a Servant LeaderThe Hallelujah FactorDesiring GodSpeechlessReign of GraceVelvet ElvisDavid

So I've been reflecting lately on the steps that God has taken me and my family through to bring us to where He has us right now. It's gotten to the point where it's fun to reflect back on relationships, locations, and decisions that God used to prepare us for where we are now. It makes me repent of my decisiveness and impatience when going through new learning situations, and motivates me to change perspective to see what it is that God is specifically teaching me.

I took this picture a couple of summers ago, when we first started our building project.

We found out today . . . After we download #3, due on January 29th, the Sears Boys will be upgraded to 3.

So I'm in the middle of planning our Christmas season. It's always a humbling experience for me. The season of advent always seems to prompt me to reflect on the incredible grace found in the condescension of God to Earth; taking on the form of a baby; living a man's life, dying on the cross, in order to save ME from MY sins. And then, upon reflection of the manger, the humility, the rejection, the sacrifice (on the part of Joseph and Mary), the worship from the shepherds, angels, and wise men, I begin to realize, as if for the…

Here's an interesting quote I dug up, regarding contemporary worship:“There are several reasons for opposing it: It’s too new. It’s too worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not as pleasant as the more established style and because there are so many new songs you can’t learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than on godly lyrics. This new music creates disturbances, making people act disorderly. The preceding generation got along without out.” This quote was made in 1723, in reference to Isaac Watts, writing "Joy to the World," and "I Sing the Mighty…

4.HALALScripture: 1 Chron. 16:4, 23:5,30, 25:3, 29:13, Neh. 12:24 (this word appears over 110 times in the OT) halal (haw-lal'); a primitive root; to be clear (orig. of sound, but usually of color); to shine; hence, to make a show, to boast; and thus to be (clamorously) foolish; to rave; causatively, to celebrate; also to stultify:KJV-- (make) boast (self), celebrate, commend, (deal, make), fool (-ish, -ly), glory, give [light], be (make, feignself) mad (against), give in marriage, [sing, be worthy of] praise, rage, renowned, shine.

As we await the completion of our new sanctuary, and the opportunity to return to only two services on a Sunday morning, we have an 8:00 problem. The 8:00 service is awesome. It's a smaller crowd - first thing in the morning. To me, it seems more intimate, but that could be because of the initial worship time on a Sunday morning. Our 9:15 and 10:45 services are packed. And so, speaking of leading worship (in my last post), we're hoping that some of our families will take the opportunity to lead by starting to attend our 8:00 service for…

I observed a really cool conversation this morning between a choir member and a deacon. The choir member was talking about the service of the deacon - faithfully serving most Sunday mornings, doing the jobs no one else wants to do (arranging chairs, parking cars, cleaning up trash, counting people). It was neat to hear the heart of the choir member commenting on how the deacon led her in worship.Think about it - how many times have you considered your means of service on Sunday morning as leading in worship? You can lead in worship by keeping a nursery class,…