Greetings to my new Crossroads family!
I hope to get to know all of you in the coming weeks and months as my wife, Jessica, and I embark on a new chapter of faith in God's perfect plan for our lives!
I intend to use this blog as a guide and tool for preparing our hearts to worship God together each week. Worshipping together as a church family is one of the most unique and awesome human experiences, and one that should not be entered into lightly. I firmly believe that if we are not worshipping God Monday through Friday, we will not be able to worship him Sunday mornings.
This means pursuing God through prayer and reading of his Word throughout the week. And even (as a recent sermon on Psalm 96 convicted me) singing to God throughout the week! Can you imagine that? Singing to God each day, and not having it be at church, or a Bible Study or Small group? Our culture has taught us that we should leave singing to the professional entertainers, but God commands us in the pages of scripture to:
Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
-Psalm 96:1-4
So as we endeavor to know, love, and serve God better, let's keep in mind this command from the Psalms, and let those praises erupt from our lips each day! God has even given us places like the shower and the car (with the windows up or down, I'll let you decide) that seem to be MADE for singing!
So my first challenge to you as your new Worship Director is to sing praises to God each day. Maybe there's a CD out there with some of your favorite songs suitable for the car stereo, or maybe you play an instrument and can accompany yourself! Even if you wouldn't count yourself as an able singer, God has commanded us to sing, so warm up your vocal cords and let his praises ring!
-Paul
