Palm Sunday celebration

Rejoice, O people of Zion!
    Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem!
Look, your king is coming to you.
He is righteous and victorious,
yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—
riding on a donkey’s colt.

(Zechariah 9:9 NLT)

Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.  Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting,

“Praise God for the Son of David!
Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!"

(Matthew 21:8-9 NLT)

Part of our church's Palm Sunday tradition is that the children process in wearing biblical costumes and waving palm branches.

This year they also sang "Amazing Grace - My Chains Are Gone"

Back at home, Lael and Jaden tried to explain to Noah about the significance of waving palm branches for Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

I'm not sure that he understood what they were telling him, but he definitely was having fun!

Ten Predictions for 2010

I found these online somewhere . . . can't remember where at the moment . . . but they really encouraged me. I hope they do the same for you!

Ten Predictions for 2010

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still be the most powerful thing on earth.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will honor the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out His blessing upon His people.
8. There is still room at the cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will continue to save the lost.

Isn't it great to remember that He is really in control! The Word of the Lord endures forever! (1 Peter 1:25)

Wednesday Worship!

I was visiting Cindy Rushton's website this evening and a particular post caught my eye . . . surprise, surprise, it was about worship! It seems like everywhere I am, God is speaking to me about the importance of having a worshipper's heart . . . that worship is not a "slow song" but a life surrendered to God and willing to be used of Him to touch those around us with His love.

Cindy's article talked about something that isn't always our first thought when we consider worship -- spiritual warfare! Just like Joshua and Jehosaphat discovered, the best way to come against the enemy's strategies is through praise and worship. Worship is about surrendering control of the situation to God, and praise magnifies Him instead of the battle we are facing.

If you want to read the article, here's a link:
What a Way To Battle! Worship! by Cindy Rushton

I was blessed by it!

Worship redefined . . .

So I started reading Extravagant Worship by Darlene Zschech last week . . . it will probably take me a while to get through it simply because I really want God to speak to me as I read it. I already have a passion for worship and leading others in worship. This summer I began leading worship at our church, and I've realized that it's sometimes a battle. The devil isn't happy when God's people praise and worship Him!

Anyway, back to the book . . . I've only read part of the first chapter, but here are a couple of quotes that jumped out to me:

Our worship pleases the Lord. There is real strength when believers bring a corporate offering of praise to God in the church. I love the sense of storming heaven with our praise when we unify in faith. I love when we, the body of Christ, can just BE together in His magnificent presence.

The Lord enjoys the diversity of sincere worship when expressed through His Spirit and in truth. Worship should be a way of life, with many facets of expression. The insistence that there is only one way to worship God has often left the body of Christ confused, fragmented and frustrated.

Extravagant worship grabs God's attention. . . . Throughout the stories in the Bible, whenever someone demonstrated extravagant worship, God reacted with extravagant blessing. It's cause and effect. Extravagant worship brings extravagant results. What makes worship extravagant? It must cost us something!

Definitely food for thought and something I intend to keep pondering in the days to come!

Cool video!

I saw this video today and it really spoke to me! I've heard the song before, and the expressive worship that went along with it was just beautiful! I hope you enjoy it! (Just make sure you pause the finetunes player in the right-hand column first.)