What Inspires Me

I feel the biggest area that I was strengthened in this week from the readings is the reminder that God actually wants us to be living a joyful life. The understanding that Jesus was probably having fun with the kids before the disciples told them to go away was something I hadn’t thought about before. So, when I am laughing and doing what I love to do He loves it too.

I actually love to worship using music. I love to worship amongst many other believers and I love leading others to worship by singing and using their bodies as an instrument of praise.

I also enjoy writing down my thoughts and then re-reading them trying to make sense of them. I find it difficult at times to allow myself the permission to seek the inspiration that I need to be all God wants me to be. I tend to waste so much time, as it is, doing not much at all that to allow myself to do the things I love seems like time gluttony.

What tends to happen though when I have made time for ‘wind’ moments it does give me what I need to do the stuff and the once ‘mundane’ somehow becomes transformed into something that is also inspirational.

When we see, in the natural, wind blowing away the wheat chaff and the dust out of the barn I find that inspirational moments can have the same affect on my mind. The frustrations and niggles of life that can get me down at times need only a little wind to blow out the dust and the cobwebs and I’m ready to go again.

I actually love the job I have at the moment. Part of my role is to organise and lead a worship team each week and another part of my role is to create and edit film that keeps my church informed of what’s on. Sometimes I need only to stop for a minute or two when things get hectic and say thanks to God that He has given me a job that I love and if it didn’t have deadlines and I didn’t have a family to support I think I’d do it for free.

One last inspiration of mine is to see breathtaking sceneries and I think this is because I know who made all this beauty and sometimes I think that He made it for me to see and that we could enjoy it together. I remember visiting the Grand Canyon in 1996 and it literally took my breath away and I thought “God, that is remarkable!”

When I am Raised from the Waters

I’ve been thinking about Worship Symbols

“For: The Essentials Red Online Worship History Course with Dan Wilt”

The thing that stands out from this week’s readings is how important it is for us to partake in remembering what Jesus did for us and involve all of our senses.

Immediately, I think of the rugged cross which is a symbol for all of us to recognize that our saviour died the death of a sinner and definitely without the glory you may expect for its King.  Part of me wants to run my hands on that cross, even at the risk of getting a splinter for He laid his whole life down on it for me.  However, I also want to turn and run in the other direction, knowing full well that someone should not have to go through this type of torture for me.  Similarly, Jesus’ disciples did not want Him to wash their feet nor did John want to Baptise Jesus. They wanted to take that place of the servant and felt ashamed of their pride that struggled to allow Jesus to humble himself before them.

These symbolic acts can be so powerful when taken in and re-enacted. I would love to see foot washing ceremonies in our church. I think these would be done well in a Home Group Setting and would take some organization for a whole church to manage. If it could be done it may have even more of an impact especially if it was the leaders washing the feet of the congregation.

With the Eucharist I feel there needs to be a time of contemplation about the fact that this act needs to be done in a worthy manner (1 Cor. 11:27-32). This may mean taking some time of careful reflection before receiving the emblems. This time may focus on those people we may have offended in the church and there would be a time to make things right and seek forgiveness.

Another idea may be sharing out the bread and wine with each other and reaffirming the commitment we’ve made to our Lord Jesus by asking questions like these for the bread: “Do you accept the sacrifice of His body and are you willing to lay down your life as He did for you?” And for the wine: “ Do you accept the sacrifice of blood spilled for you and are you willing to pour out your life and drink the cup as He drank it for you?”

I’ve been thinking about the Languages of Worship (Essentials RED)

“For: The Essentials Red Online Worship History Course with Dan Wilt”

Time

I was brought up in a Catholic Church where church was a once a week, token hour that was to appease God. I lived a relatively carefree childhood and enjoyed just being a kid and having limited responsibilities. I enjoyed time with family and friends so much and especially enjoyed when our relatives came together for Christmas or Easter.

Although, I wouldn’t say that I knew God when I was young I definitely recall moments of my childhood where I could feel the security and love of my Father.

I have a photo which captures a time where I felt the love and humility of God. It’s a photo of me nursing a lamb on a farm. It was a cool morning on this farm and I remember the lamb being quite content to lay in my lap, humbling itself to be held by a boy that was smaller than he was. One day God reminded me of this picture and this moment in time. He showed me that just as this lamb was able to humble himself too be held by a boy, Jesus, the lamb of God, humbled himself to the point of death. He trusted himself into the very hands of His betrayers, for their sake. This moment in time causes me to remember that He trusts me with His life and that I am worthy to serve the King of Kings.

In further reflection, the way the lamb felt so safe with me might have had something to do with my long blonde curls and he  probably just thought I was one of the herd.

Space

When my brother became a teenager his room became a place that I was to enter at my own risk. It was a no-go zone most of the time. So, for this space to be the place that I gave my heart to Jesus meant that God had changed the atmosphere of that room and I remember that it even smelled different. This maybe because he was burning a candle at the time but, I’m sure, the space had become Holy ground. God had transformed my brother enough that night to get my attention and to listen to what he had to say about the salvation that Jesus offered me from the pit of hell. I will never forget that space and I will never forget the space in my own bedroom, soon after that moment, where He came and changed the atmosphere in there too.

Hello world!

My name is Damian and I am a Worship Leader at Southland Vineyard Church in Adelaide, South Australia.

I’ve started this Blog page to connect with other Worship Leaders and share what God is doing in our churches.