Song/Hymn-writer Paul Baloche’s website, www.leadworship.com, is an anamoly in the world of commercially successful Christian artists.  Like a precious few others, he likes to offer songs and lead sheets for free!  He seems to get it, that these songs of worship – as in the days of Watts, Wesley and Fanny Crosby, need to be “out there” for the Body to use.  He also has a heart for making sure people learn from him, so he has many good “Thoughts on Worship”.

I want to specifically point you to his free songbook page.  For the non-musician, he has many full tracks you can listen to and be encouraged by (and may I encourage you to then go and buy one of his CDs, because you will be glad you did!).  For the church or private musician, most of his songs have available chord charts and lead sheets to download and use.  Of course, if you use them in worship, please be sure to give him proper credit and report the use to CCLI.

One of the neatest things about the songbook online is Paul’s sense of the seasonal.  He has placed songs for the Easter Season right there on top so you can access them.  A personal favorite right now is Great Redeemer, but there are many others worth giving a listen to!

Be blessed and equipped by this great resource!

As you are planning for Holy Week and for Good Friday, or even for an Easter Vigil, this PowerPoint presentation – which I posted last year – might be helpful.

• A silent presentation of the Passion of Christ Jesus (English and Spanish)

It’s bilingual, but should be easily edited if you have PowerPoint (and if you don’t, and would like it edited, let me know) to make it appropriate for your church situation.

In His Peace,
Tom

A couple of collects for this week:

Ascension Day

Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that He might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to His promise, He abides with His Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe Your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart and mind there ascend, and with Him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Seventh Sunday of Easter: The Sunday after Ascension Day

O God, the King of glory, You have exalted Your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to Your kingdom in heaven: Do not leave us comfortless, but send us Your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before; who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

These prayers really draw us into the story of the risen and victorious Lord Jesus! He has died, He is risen and these are true and they are historical facts with profound, world-changing effect today. But here, in this prayer, we acknowledge Christ’s current activity in History. In this prayer, we acknowledge that Jesus is now ascended, now seated at the right hand of the Father, and now our Advocate who constantly intercedes for us!

The Te Deum, an amazing fourth century prayer invites the Church to join in the worship that is now eternally happening around the throne: “You are God: we praise You… we acclaim You… all creation worships You… all angels, all powers… apostles… prophets… martyrs praise You.”

Check out how present all that worship is! How privileged we are to be invited to join in that worship, to praise, along with those fully alive in Christ’s glorious presence, our Savior Jesus who is, even now, upon the Throne…

The Ascension calls us to, as Chris Rice sings so simply, “circle up, circle up around the throne, old and young, saints of every history…”

Sixth Sunday of Easter

O God, You have prepared for those who love You such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards You, that we, loving You in all things and above all things, may obtain Your promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

This one kind of sneaks up on me. At first, I see a prayer to ask God for trust that He will provide.

But then, it hits me: “Pour into our hearts such love towards You, that we, loving You in all things and above all things…” Whoa. This is a prayer asking that we would love God so much that whatever He gives us will pale in comparison to the fact that He gives us Himself! Again, whoa. Boy, do I need that kind of love, that kind peace and satisfaction in God alone.

The cultic Word of Faith (or Prosperity) movement, a group that has run full-speed away from Christianity, wants you and me to reject this. They want you to be utterly unsatisfied with God alone. But “godliness with contentment is great gain…” (Check out 1 Tim. 6:6-8). Having God and being at peace with Him and what He provides is the key.

I think we’ve all had those brief moments in which the peace of Christ really did surpass all our understand, and in which the circumstances we faced were no biggie, because we knew our position in Christ and Christ’s stance with us. The prayer for today asks God to make that our lifestyle.

I pray we will all be so filled with the love and peace of Christ this week!

All right… I’m late today.

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth and the life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ Your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.

What to say… what to say…

This prayer seems at once to pack less theological “punch” than last week’s, and yet upon a second or third glance, as you worship with it a bit, reveals perhaps even more facets than originally noticed.

I’m just gonna glance at one or two of the shimmering facets I see.  You comment and add your own perspective:

a) “… whom truly to know is everlasting life.”  Never mind the archaic word order; soak that in!  To truly know God = everlasting life.  Not “to die and go to heaven is everlasting life.”  Everlasting life, while not in its fullest form, has begun for all who are in Christ!  I have everlasting life!  That is so cool, especially on days when I feel like the world’s worst missionary, wussiest husband and lamest dad ever.

b) The Father grants “us so perfectly to know [Jesus] to be the way, the truth and the life, that we may steadfastly follow His steps in the way…” With all the mythologies in Christianity about “finding God’s will for your life” filling us with worry and uncertainty (thanks, James MacDonald, for that insight), ain’t it good to know we can trust the Father to grant us to “perfectly know Jesus… [and] steadfastly follow…”  He keeps us straight and He corrects us, because He loves us.

I ramble.  Let me go ahead and post this.  I’m sorry I wasn’t more focused today, but sometimes there’s just too much to treasure.  What do you see as you gaze at this gem?  Comments are most welcome!

All I know is that, regardless of which thought most resonates with you (or if another pops into your head I had missed), the collects and other written prayers (old and new), are teaching me to pray in a focused way, with confidence before the throne, and with great effect!  Amen to that!

Hi again; a blessed Lord’s Day to you all.

Fourth Sunday of Easter

O God, whose Son Jesus is the Good Shepherd of Your people: Grant that when we hear His voice we may know Him who calls us each by name, and follow where He leads; who, with You and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

You know, for so long, hearing Jesus’ voice just seemed to be something so uncertain, so esoteric. Are only special people, with special hearing, able to “hear” Jesus calling? In one sense, I suppose, yes; Jesus said, “He who has hears, let him hear…” so I guess we need have a readiness to hear God. I recall not being ready to hear what Jesus had to say for many of my early years; I was just closed off to Him. But then, gradually, I was… ready… I had ears to hear.

But it wasn’t some audible voice, and it wasn’t by some lightning bolt from heaven. God the Father gave me ears to hear His Son Jesus when, one summer, lonely from having just moved across Ohio from Cleveland to Dayton, I read the ratty old 70s New Testament that my neighbor in Cleveland had given me when I moved. I read the Gospels and Acts I don’t know how many times.

And slowly, reading by reading, I developed ears to hear Jesus.

So, if you are a believer, or a not-yet-believer, and you feel deaf to Jesus, you may just need to pick up a dusty Bible and read… and read… and read… asking the Father to give you ears to hear his Son, your Shepherd. ‘Cause He’s got lots He wants to say to you!

Hi. I know it’s Easter, but I wanted to share a few things I did with the high schoolers in Chapel on Good Friday. Take a little trip back to the cross with me.

As the kids came in, a silent (bilingual) presentation of Christ’s passion was playing on the screen. After that, and some singing, and then our campus pastor’s own brief testimony about what the cross means to him, I shared what the Scripture says about the cross. The above presentation is simple, and goes through the last words of Jesus on the cross. Feel free to click on it, open it, save it, edit it and use it now or next Good Friday.

I tell myself, I know Easter is not just a day; it’s a season. I remind myself, Our daughter’s got a fever of 102; staying home makes sense.

But, right or not, it’s odd to spend Easter Sunday walking to the Supermarket, eating Chef Boyardee, playing online Catan with your friend in Ohio, playing with your 3-year old (she really likes to give fake injections), and doing logic puzzles.

But there you have it. Easter 2008.

Being a parent makes odd things happen to your traditions. Granted, new and sometimes better traditions arise as you are introducing a young one to the Savior and teaching her the faith; but others seem a bit more flexible, changeable, even disposable.

I can’t wait to share with Avery and her mom Anne the joy this Easter season. After an especially blessed and challenging Lenten season, the excitement of living out the Resurrection will be great. Can’t wait.

But, for today at least, she and her mommy nap, and I ponder this darn logic puzzle sitting next to me…