Only by your blood

The past few weeks I have been reading through the book of Hebrews. It seems to be one of those books that I find myself wanting to go back to (probably because there is so much that I don't understand). Well this past time has been a real blessing and a true eye opener. Here is a little something the Lord has been speaking to me.

"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come,
with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands,
that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but
with His own blood He entered the Most Holy place once for all, having
obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and
the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of
the flesh, How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
Cleanse your conscience from dead works
to serve the living God?"

The power of Christ blood is powerful. Often times when I sing songs about the blood of Christ I think about how it probably weirds some people out. When we say "wash me in your blood", "It's only by your blood" or "pour your blood on me" what do people think? Honestly most people probably sing it without thinking anything about it, but for the few that do think they are probably a little weirded or grossed out. But to understand Christ's blood is a real blessing. To know the importance of singing and meaning "its only by your blood". To see the power, mercy and joy found in those few words.
So next worship service you go into and you sing about the "blood of Christ" just stop and think about the beauty of it. Think of the priceless gift. Think of the freedom we now have. Think of the sacrifice. Think of how much more Christ's blood has saved you then those of bulls and goats.
Keep it real.

blue or black

I went shopping yesterday and got these really comfortable blue khaki pants. Once I got home and tried them on they looked black. I was so confused because at the store it wasn't even a question, they were defiantly blue. I put them up against a blue shirt, they were black. Up against a black shirt, they were blue. So I wore them today not knowing if they are black or blue, wearing a white shirt to play it safe. So what is the real test to tell what color they really are?

Keeping it fresh.

One of my new pet peeves is what I like to call "Filler Worship". Worship that we play just to fill in time. To play a song or two here just to allow people to come in and get seated. To use worship as a backdrop. So I have been thinking about what I would want a church service to look like to eliminate the filler songs and to allow church to be fresh. So here are a few ideas I came up with that I hope to implant in the near future.
1. Don't have a routine/mix things up. When we do the same thing every week it makes it really easy for people to lose focus. When we sit down after two songs, teach for 45 minutes, have a ending song, do announcements before the teaching every week our brains get used to it and it makes it easy for us to tune things out. A fresh schedule every week or two will allow us to stay alert. Think of SNL. If they did the same skits with different meaning in the same order, the show wouldn't last. They have to mix the order up. Mix the type of skit up. They have to keep it fresh.
2. I would love to mix the teaching and worship. As I spoke to my best friend about this this weekend he reminded me of storytellers. The show is so popular because it allows the artist to talk about the song he/she wrote, what was going when he/she wrote the song and the meaning of the song. The song becomes much more meaningful when it is explained and the concept behind the song is taught along with hearing it. The idea being to not separate the pastor teacher from the pastor worship leader. Both are teaching in different ways so why not connect the two. I feel like this will help us not zone off. Maybe even worship in spirit and in truth.
3. Not have musical Worship. We can worship in many ways... and it doesn't always have to be through music. Lets have a time where we sit in silence and pray. A time where we break into groups and talk. Think outside of the box.
These are just some ideas that I have that I feel like will help keep things fresh. God doesn't want his house full of the same old stuff. We should give the best we have for Him and just because we are Christians doesn't mean we can't be creative. Keep it real.