Worship Problems??

heading to church

Well, I have been home for a week and a day.  I think I am back to normal.  With one exception……..I have totally not been motivated to clean or straighten my house.  I’m currently working very hard to:  finish my two on-line classes, make earrings for the Downtown Market and try to get myself to begin thinking about getting my classroom ready!  (I have less than two weeks before I have to go back to work!! L Today, I had an in-service on our new Math series and I started to get that panicky (Is that how you spell panicky?) feeling about getting my classroom ready.  I think I’ll go work in my room Wednesday or Thursday, or maybe both days!

walking the dog bright and early before I leave for my in-service

Good News:  Last Friday night, the Clarksville Downtown Market had their first evening market in conjunction with Jammin’ in the Alley. (Jammin’ in the Alley is every third Friday and a band performs on Strawberry Alley.)  I had my booth and we had great crowds.  Between Friday night and the usual Saturday market, I made over $300.  That’s a great chunk of change to put in my Honduras fund!!  To God be the glory!!!

Worship Problems:

Sunday was my first time to worship God in the US.  I have to say that I always struggle with the differences in worship at home compared to the worship in Honduras.  It’s funny how God speaks to us through His word because Sunday’s sermon was “Does My ‘Worship’ Please God?”  Let me explain myself.

I go to my usual Sunday school class and several people welcomed me back.  We were having an issue with our central A/C.  It wasn’t working in our wing.  It made it a little stuffy, but I was recalling how a week ago, I was sitting in a small concrete block building without any form of a/c.  Later, during the regular Sunday morning service, I was looking around at our beautiful, lavish auditorium.  I again recalled the simple service that I attended in Honduras.  Before the sermon even began, I considered and wondered why it seemed so much easier to worship with the appropriate attitude in Honduras. 

Lessons from Honduras

Here is what I came up with:

In Honduras, we are completely removed from worldly distractions.  We don’t have the media, jobs, day to day worries, materialism or relationships to interfere with our focus. We begin and end each day in prayer, singing and devotion.  In Honduras, we are surrounded by like-minded Christians who are totally focused on serving and glorifying God.  As I considered these things, I realized that as Christian, I can strive to make my day to day life more like my mission trips to Honduras.

Here's a video I took during one of the Sunday services at Inglesia de Cristo de Los Pinos

Lessons from the sermon:

1.      The Bible shows us that worship can be displeasing to God. 

Matthew 15:8-9These people honor me with their lips, 
   but their hearts are far from me. 
They worship me in vain; 
   their teachings are merely human rules.

2.      Our worship should have the right focus, God.

We worship God, not humanity.

3.     We must worship with the right attitude.

4.      We must worship with the right authority.  What authority is that?  God’s authority

I hope you readers out there are doing well. If you are a teacher like me you are mourning the end of your summer.  If you aren’t a teacher, you’re probably thinking that we are lucky to have a summer vacation!!  I have to say…..WE ARE!!! It may be awhile till my next post!

xoxoPJ