by Bret Capranica | Apr 1, 2011 | Featured Articles, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching, Worship
Carefully Think Think back on the series we have done on worship and write down how you would answer the question ““ “what defines genuine biblical worship?” What did Jesus mean by “Spirit and truth” in John 4:24? How did you come up with that answer? How does that answer fit with what Jesus and the woman at the well were discussing in the surrounding context? Read through Ephesians 5:18-19. What is the connection between being filled with the Spirit and singing? In addition to edifying one another and adoring God, what other elements about singing do you find addressed in Ephesians 5:19? Prayerfully Meditate Throughout the series on worship, what has been the most impactful truth for you personally? Why? How has your thinking about music changed, been reaffirmed, or been enhanced by thinking through Revelation 4 & 5 and Ephesians 5:19? Consider what “singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” means and how it should affect your singing when the body of Christ gathers. We all have personal preferences when it comes to singing. List what yours are. What Scriptures would you associate with those preferences? Read through Philippians 2. How would this passage impact the way we view preferential issues in regard to music? Actively Respond Read through Revelation 4 & 5 again and reflect on how these passages should enhance the way you think about our public gatherings on Sunday. Read through Ephesians 5:18-19 with your family and discuss how these verses should impact you when you gather with God”™s people and sing this Sunday. Pray for those who will be leading...
by Bret Capranica | Mar 24, 2011 | Featured Articles, Pastoral Ministry, Worship
Carefully Think Read through Psalms 95-100; 145-150 and make a list of ways the psalmist outwardly expressed what he was inwardly delighted with. Why is music such a controversial element of church life? Read Ephesians 5:19 and list what you learn about the role of music in the life of the church. What role did music play in Exodus 15:1-18; 1 Samuel 16:14-23; 1 Chronicles 15:22; 16:4-6; 23:3-5; 25:1-7; 2 Chronicles 20; Nehemiah 12:42 Prayerfully Meditate How are you living out the expressions of praise you found in the psalms mentioned above? What keeps you from expressing your praise in the biblical ways you see in the Scriptures? How could Ephesians 5:19 affect your approach to singing this week? Actively Respond Pray for those who will be leading the church in our corporate gathering on Sunday. Pray that they will have a focused attention in leading the entire church in a biblical manner. Pray for all those who will be involved in the worship service, from instrumentalists to sound technicians to ushers. Pray that all we do will be done decently and orderly and to God”™s glory, and that we will be free from unnecessary distraction. Meditate often on Ephesians 5:19 and how it should instruct us regarding singing. Meditate on the lyrics to the songs we will be singing this Sunday. If you would like to hear a sample or actually purchase the song, click on the links below. We hope to regularly provide you with audio links to the songs we will sing so you can begin to build a personal library of music we use corporately....
by Bret Capranica | Mar 17, 2011 | Featured Articles, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching, Worship
Carefully Think Write down terms that come to your mind when you think about worship in the Old Testament. What terms come to mind when you think of worship in the New Testament? When you think about our church”™s worship gatherings, what words immediately come to mind? If the worship services at church were exactly as you would want them, what would they consist? Prayerfully Meditate Consider the answers to your questions above in light of what we have been learning together in Revelation 4 & 5. How many of your expectations match the emphases of worship we discussed in last week”™s sermon? What do you find that helps you to be fully prepared to worship God on each Lord”™s Day? What do you find that tends to hinder you from your own preparation for worship each week? How do you prepare yourself to come and worship with God”™s people each week? Read through John 4:20-26. What did the Woman at the well want to emphasize about worship? What did Jesus emphasize about worship? What are the key differences? Actively Respond Pray for those who will be leading the church in worship this week. Pray that they will have focused hearts and minds to lead us. Pray for yourself to have a sharp mind to see who you can serve as you come to worship. Spend specific time reading John 4:20-26 and preparing your heart to receive from God”™s Word. Meditate on the lyrics to this week”™s songs. What are they saying about God? What do they reveal about us? How do these songs reflect the major themes of...
by Bret Capranica | Mar 14, 2011 | Featured Articles, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching, Worship
How is heaven affecting earthly worship? Read through Revelation 4 & 5 again, asking, how should this affect the way we gather on Sunday morning. Read through the following questions that were asked at the conclusion of yesterday”™s message and think through your responses to each of them: How does you life acknowledge the centrality of God because it is singularly directed? How do your life decisions exalt the authority of God because those decisions are thoroughly biblical? How does your lifestyle emit the intensity of God, because you respond with passionate God-driven emotions? How is your attitude about life sobered by the severity of God, because you are full of a profound awe-struck fear of God”™s greatness? Do you carry yourself on a regular basis in such a way that you are affected by the majesty of God, impacted by the stunning regality of who God is? How do you live in a way that comprehends the transcendence of God – so you base your living in a very unique and dissimilar way than the norms of the world? Could someone examine your life, your speech, your decisions, your character, your love, your emotions, your anxieties, your confidence and see that you are steeped in rehearsing God”™s redemption through Christ? Review the sermon manuscript below to review the details, or listen again to the message HERE. Heaven help our worship pt 1 View more documents from Summit Woods Baptist...
by Bret Capranica | Mar 10, 2011 | Biblical Studies, Featured Articles, Pastoral Ministry, Preaching, Worship
Carefully Think Read through Revelation 4 & 5 in one setting (it won”™t take long). Make a list of one-word statements that would describe the kind of worship taking place in heaven. Put a star beside those words in the list that would be transferrable and helpful in how we should think about our own worship when we gather as a church. Prayerfully Meditate Make a list of one-word characteristics that you find to be true about our church”™s worship gatherings. How could the list of heaven”™s characteristics improve our worship? Review this week”™s bulletin and the various elements of our worship gathering. Which elements can you find biblical warrant for? Can you think of biblical texts that would describe each element? Can you think of biblical texts that need to better inform our worship? How would these additions help you worship with all your heart and soul on Sunday? Meditate on the lyrics to this Sunday”™s songs. What are they teaching about the subject of worship? What themes in these songs are also present in the worship scene in heaven? Actively Respond Pray for all those who will be assisting the church in our worship gathering. Pray that they will arrive with humble hearts ready to serve and focused on making God central in what we do together. Pray specifically for Dawson Bryant and Bret Capranica as they work together each week to prepare our weekly gatherings. Pray that they will be driven by God”™s word and sensitive to how we can best express our praise corporately. Read through Revelation 4 & 5 with your family. Talk through...
