This past Sunday, I talked to you about my intense desire to see us worship as well as we possibly can. This descended into a discussion forum which, while needed, was not all that I wish I had said.

I wish that I had told you how wonderful it is to share worship with you. I attend both services (duh!) and truthfully, worship better in each of them than I ever have in our blended service. My personal preference, however, cannot be the guiding principle behind our choices for worship. Instead, the Holy Spirit must lead and the decisions that are made must be his through us as we have prayed and sought his guidance.

I want so badly to share with each of you the sense of intimate closeness with the Father that I feel as I worship him. You may say to me, "Pastor, I already feel that, I know what you're talking about." But my belief is that if indeed we were all experiencing that intimacy, the talk of how many praise songs and how many hymns we sing would cease. I think that if we were really getting close to God through our worship (fueled by all that we have done throughout the week--see Live Like Jesus, our new Wednesday workshop), we would find him and enjoy him in every part of our Sunday morning service.

There is no greater pleasure in my life than to find myself flung deeply into the presence of the Father as we worship him. I feel my breath sucked out of my lungs as I stand there in awe of him and all that he is and has done. I wish that it would never end and yet it does and when it does, I am empowered to preach His Word so much that it makes me a better servant. It is my distinct and constant prayer to share this with you. You are my family and you are my friends. May God's rich love, peace, and grace be yours!