Envy Anyone?

Pastor resumed this week his sermon series that looks at some barriers to spiritual growth. This week’s topic was “Getting Past Envy.” While pastor’s sermons are always relevant, I found this week to be more so than most – at least for me.

I have been at First Trinity for almost seven years as a part-time staff member. As such, I need a full-time day job so that I can support my family. That job is in Amherst, the church is in Tonawanda, and I live in Niagara Falls. If you know the area and do the math, with two weekend services (Saturday and Sunday) I am working seven days a week with a 20-30 minute commute (one-way) each day. It goes without saying that this is a very hectic schedule and can cause a good deal of stress. My family is wonderful and supportive, but I sometimes feel like we are at the breaking point. For at least three years (maybe more), we have been praying for some kind of solution that brings relief to the craziness. But God has not chosen to reveal it yet.

I have been thinking that I struggle with envy for some time now. At Northtown, I am surrounded by people who seem to have the freedom to do what they want. When I am at the church, it is wonderful, gifted people that God is using to spread His Gospel. Even my family can seem unhindered in using their gifts while I trod through life feeling distracted and prevented from serving God to my fullest potential. More often than not I find myself feeling jealous that everyone else around me has what I want…except me. I guess the sermon confirmed the struggle. Pastor also reminded me that God does not owe anything. If I am to follow Him, I need to follow the path He lays out for me – like it or not. It will be the best.

God, of course, does have a sense of humor and was not about to leave me to ruminate on the sermon for long. I spoke to man following the service who was in a similar situation and is seeing God bring his family some relief. The last sermon point: Celebrate Others. I did, but in the process realized how easy it is for envy to dig in!

Prepare to worship August 30-31

Following our break for Pastor’s vacation and Jason’s two-part Love Out Loud sermon from youth work camp in Piqua, Ohio, Pastor is back this week in his series looking at different obstacles to our spiritual growth. Our theme: “Getting Past Envy.”

 The scriptures readings for Saturday and Sunday are as follows:

• Old Testament:  Genesis 37: 3, 18-28
• New Testament:  Titus 3: 3-8
• Gospel:  Luke 15: 21-32

I would encourage reading these passages ahead of time and letting God’s Spirit begin to prepare your heart to hear His word this weekend. The services will include songs like: “All I Have”, “Kindness”, and “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” which was introduced last weekend. Additionally, this service is the first planned by an evolving Contemporary Worship Planning Team established to take some of the planning pressure off my schedule.

Our mission in Contemporary Worship Ministries (aka: The bands) is “leading passionate, quality worship to draw people into God’s presence.” We would love your input as we seek to constantly evaluate and improve our effort with the help of the Holy Spirit. So, go ahead. Tell us about your experience!

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 Thanks, also to Jason for getting that set up for me!

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Many are probably wondering about those fancy subscription buttons others have that allow you to subscribe to the RSS feed or to the blog by email. They’re coming! It turned out to be a bit more complicated than I first thought.

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Blog, blog, blog!

Well, I’ve finally decided to join the ranks of Jason, Sue, and Pastor as a blogging staff member at First Trinity. Actually, I decided to do this several months ago, but time has not been on my side! So, why blog if there is no time? I like to write…a lot. Not only do I really enjoy writing, but I also have a tendancy to use a lot of words. Just ask any band member who recieves my wordy emails regularly. Frequently, even! It seemed that blogging would be a good exercise in brevity…and I could use the practice!

Inside Worship is intended to provide information on our weekly contemporary services; promote discussion/feedback on worship; and let you know my heart, thoughts, and experiences as a worship leader. In addition to regaular posts, I plan to follow the example of Sue’s Sunday Night Mind Dump and Pastor’s Moments from the Weekend in publishing a weekly Worship Debrief to celebrate and review our worship experience. Due to time constraints, Inside Worship will only be published 2-3 times a week (roughly every 2-3 days). If able, I will write more.

I’m looking forward to the opportunity to communicate in a new way with band members, the congregation and, hey, maybe even the world! Look for vision; look for passion; look for theology; look for innovative and new ideas to keep our worship fresh. Above all, look for God to reveal Himself in the person of Jesus Christ as we gather in worship each weekend…and then be ready to talk it up!