Category: Church and Christian Life

Why Church Greeters Are Important

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Not long ago, I noticed a church billboard I had not seen before.  It had the name and address of the church with a picture of their smiling pastor and his wife.  The following words were displayed across the bottom:

The friendly church with the friendly pastor

“Well,” I thought, “That certainly sounds like a friendly church. I should visit there some weekend when I’m free.”

Ironically, at that moment I was on my way to visit another church in town for their regular Sunday evening service.  One of my friends was going to be leading the musical worship and had invited me to observe and participate.

My friend, let’s call him Mack, had warned me not to tell anyone where I was from.  He told me his church was internally focused and did not trust pastors, leaders, members of other churches, or guests of any kind.  I thought this was a little strange, but I guaranteed Mack that I wouldn’t speak with anyone about who I was or what church I was from.  I even decided to dress down for the evening.  (Not the best decision)  I suppose I was trying to look like someone who decided to attend the service on the spur of the moment.

I arrived at the church building about 10 minutes before the start of the service.  The building looked deserted, but I walked through the empty foyer and found the worship center without encountering another human being.  As I entered, the worship team was just breaking from their pre-service music run-through.  Mack came and shook my hand, but none of the others on the team spoke to me.  After interacting with Mack, I took a seat near the back row of pews and waited for the service to begin.

After a couple of minutes, a man in a suit entered and spotted me from across the room.  He immediately headed my way.

“Ah,” I thought, “He must be coming to greet me.”

I was wrong.

“Hello,” he said without extending his hand for me to shake.  “I’m the associate pastor here.”

“Nice to meet you, Pastor” I said.  “My name is John.”

“Ok,” he replied, putting his hands on his hips.

“This is a very nice church building,” I said, trying to make conversation.

“Yes.  Why did you come tonight, John?”

I was somewhat taken aback.  I was dressed down, but I didn’t look like a homeless person.  I replied, “Oh, I know Mack and he told me he was singing tonight.  I had the night off so I thought I’d come hear the music.”

Suspicious-eyes

The man looked me over cautiously.  I expected him to shoot me the I’m watching you hand signals, but instead, he replied, “I guess that’s ok.”

“Thank you,” I answered, not knowing what else I could possibly say.

Without another word, He shifted on his shiny black loafers and walked away.

“Man,” I thought, “I should have gone to visit the friendly church with the friendly pastor.”

I wish I could tell you the pastor redeemed the church with his sermon, but I left shortly after the music ended.  Up to this point, I’ve never returned, much to Mack’s dismay.  Every so often, when I drive past the building, I shake my head, remembering my dreadful experience.

And then I wonder…

  • How often have people gone unwelcomed in the church where I serve?
  • How many guests have felt like the foyer of my church building was deserted?
  • How often have our church leaders failed to have someone greeting guests as they enter to worship?
  • How often have I been guilty of turning away visitors by my words, actions, or disposition?

The answers to all of these questions should help us all remember why it’s important to build a culture of friendliness in our churches, especially surrounding our worship services.  This is one reason why church greeter teams play such a vital role in vibrant, growing churches.

Greeters are groups of church members (or regular attenders) who work cooperatively to ensure that every person (first time guest, regular visitor/attender, or long term member) entering the church facility is welcomed warmly and directed sufficiently.

When I think of church greeters, I can’t help but think of Wal-Mart.  Many Wal-Mart stores around the country hire greeters to stand at the door in their blue vests with the sole purpose of greeting people as they walk through the door.  So, you may ask, what does this accomplish for Wal-Mart?

A lot.

  1. A friendly welcome at the door helps the customer feel (at least the slightest bit) welcomed, can serve to put them in a better mood so they have a more pleasant shopping experience.
  2. The Wal-Mart greeter is an instant source of information to the customer entering.  It doesn’t matter if the person wants to know how to find sporting goods, electronics, home office, or the nearest restroom.  The Wal-Mart greeter, often with the words How May I Help You? written across their back, is a plethora of knowledge, especially when you don’t have it.
  3. Wal-Mart is known for hiring Senior Adults as front door greeters which creates positive feelings (for some at least) for a company which hires people in this demographic group to fulfill these roles.

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Church greeters accomplish a lot for the church as well.  Here are just a few of their responsibilities:

  • Monitoring the cleanliness of the gathering place entryway.
  • Opening the door for guests and greeting them as they enter.
  • Passing out worship guides to people as they enter the worship service.
  • Assisting the church ushers, pastors, and staff with unforeseen emergencies.
  • Helping guests know where to go for the worship service, children’s ministry, or restroom.

All of these tasks are extremely important, but not one of these tasks fully describes the full realm of responsibilities fulfilled by the church greeters.  I think a better description of church greeters was made by Dr. Nelson L. Price in the following:

Greeters are the personification, the representative, the exemplar, that is, the church embodied.  Their very presence is the first living impression of the church body.  Greeters need to realize they are more than themselves.  They are the style and spirit of the church in human form.  Greeters are the Ambassadors of the Door.  They are the gatekeepers in the House of the Lord; the envoy of the Lord of the House.*

Well said, Dr. Price.

Church greeters aren’t just bulletin passers, information sharers, door openers, and direction givers.  They most often serve as the church’s first contact with the unsaved, unchurched, curious, misguided, broken, hopeful and hurting people who enter our places of worship.  Church greeters provide a tremendous service for the Kingdom of God that impacts people for Christ just as much as the Sunday morning preacher or worship leader.

Imagine how different my story at the beginning of this article would have been if I had been greeted warmly, given a welcome packet or worship guide, and directed to the worship center.  Their friendliness would have impacted everyone in the building.  I might have stayed for the sermon and left with a smile referring to them as the friendly church with the friendly pastor.

*Nelson L Price, The Importance of Church Greeters 

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Why Pastors Should Keep Track of Weekend Worship Attendances

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I recently had the opportunity to dialogue with a few pastors about the importance of tracking weekend worship service attendance numbers.

In our conversation, it seemed everyone agreed that weekend attendance:

  • Is the most obvious measure of success.
  • Is fairly easy to track.
  • Is easily understood by most church leaders.

However, as we were moving on to the topic of excellence, one pastor, who may have been playing Devil’s advocate (not literally), asked the following question:

How can we justify counting people in our worship services when King David got into so much trouble with the Lord when he conducted a census?  

He was referring to a story in 2 Samuel 24.  The scripture indicates that the Lord was angry with Israel and caused the king to want to count the people of Israel and Judah.  The parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 21 actually reports that it was Satan who caused David to take a census.  However it took place, it’s possible that David’s sin was not the counting, but pride associated with the numbers.  Joab even tries to stop David from ordering the census by saying:

May the Lord your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now!  But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?  2 Samuel 24:3 NLT

After reading both accounts, it seems that King David might have been:

  • Putting his trust in the numbers of his people rather than in the Lord.
  • Taking his eyes off of the Lord when earthly success seemed evident to all.
  • Stealing the glory of what the Lord had done for himself.

Whatever the reason, before the Lord’s punishment of David for the census was completed, a 3 day plague swept through Israel killing 70,000 people.  (One could easily wonder how they knew the number of people who perished without enduring more punishment for counting).  I’ve made lots of mistakes about lots of things in church work, but never anything that’s caused even one death (that I know of), much less 70,000.

So is it wrong to keep track of your worship service attendances?

Interestingly enough, until that pastor asked that question, I had never compared knowing the attendance in a worship service with King David taking a census of Israel.  It could be because many of the churches I attended while growing up posted the weekend attendance in the worship center for everyone to see.  Another reason may be because the Bible is filled with examples of people counting.

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Here are a few examples:

  • The total number of Jacob’s descendants moving to Egypt was 70 (Exodus 1:5).
  • The Levites killed about 3,000 of the Israelite brothers after the incident with the golden calf (Exodus 32:28).
  • On the day the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, about 40,000 were equipped for war and crossed to the plains of Jericho (Joshua 4:13).
  • The 4th book of the Bible is titled Numbers.
  • The Lord limited Gideon’s Army to 300 when he attacked the Midianite camp  (Judges 7:1-8).
  • Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen (1 Kings 10:26).
  • Jesus broke bread and fed 5,000 men plus women and children (Mark 6:44) and then later fed about 4,000 men plus women and children (Mark 8:8).
  • On the day of Pentecost, 3000 were added to the number of believers in one day (Acts 2:41).

How did Jacob know he had 70 family members with him when he moved to Egypt?  You can bet with a family that large they stopped to count everyone before journeying forward each day.

How did Gideon know the Lord had left him with only 300 men to help in attacking the Midianite camp?  Someone must have counted.

How did Jesus and the disciples know that there were 5,000 men present when Jesus broke the bread and fish?  One of the disciples must have counted.  They would want to know because that’s a whole lot of people to serve even if the food is being miraculously multiplied.

Still not convinced?

I asked my social media friends why it would be important to count worship service attendees each week.  Here are a few answers I received.

– Counting your weekly attendance helps you celebrate what the Lord has done and also helps keep you accountable for pastoring the people with whom God has blessed you.

– You count your offering, right?  Why wouldn’t you be as faithful with the people resources God has entrusted you with?

– Tracking and then studying the numbers can help you spot trends and know your congregation…  It can also help you see decline before it is full-blown.  Numbers in organizations are like numbers on a growth chart for a child in development.  They’re indicators of what’s working and what isn’t.

– It can be used for message traction.  One church I was in before learned that too much effort went into teaching series openers.  There was a large (15%) spike in attendance for the first message compared to the others.  It helped us re-tool how the series were put together.

– I’m responsible for the team setting up for communion each month and let me tell you, counting is important.  Our church attendance kept rising, but no one ever told me so I didn’t buy enough supplies.  Do you know how embarrassing it is to have to tell congregation members they can’t participate in the Lord’s Supper because you’ve run out of juice?

– Being able to look at trends and seeing low attendance periods helps church leadership know when they need to step up marketing, promotions, etc…  It also helps to know that sometimes a slump is just prime vacation time.

While being surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses to the benefits of tracking attendance, I must say that keeping track of worship service attendance numbers is not only beneficial, but is an absolute must for any pastor desiring to serve and lead in a thriving, healthy ministry.

All this being said, here are some practical steps to remember when keeping track of attendance:

1.  Tell the truth.  If all of your attendance numbers begin with the phrase Evangelistically speaking we had… something needs to change.  Lying about your attendance is like cheating on your eye exam.  You’re only hurting yourself.

2.  Count in the second half of the service.  It’s my experience that the number of people you have in the building at the beginning of your service is no indication of how will be there by the end of the service.  (This is a different problem for a different article).  For accuracy, have someone count in the second half of the sermon.  People are normally seated during this time and they’re easier to count anyway.

3.  Create an easily accessible graph for your own reference.  Doing so will allow you to compare attendances quickly and efficiently.

4.  Compare attendances from season to season, year to year, and finally Sunday to Sunday.  Consider the why’s regarding your trends.

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Willie Nelson once said When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.  It’s uncertain if keeping track of your ongoing weekend church attendance will turn your whole life around.  However, it is certain that those you are counting are God’s blessings for you to evangelize, disciple, and lead.  Keeping accurate, ongoing attendance records will help you achieve these goals.


Happy counting!  

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I Hate This Part of the Service

I Hate This Part Of the Service:  How to Improve Your Offering Introductions

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Pastor Bob smiled awkwardly at his people.  “All right, folk! It’s time for the offering. So, let’s all give the kind of money that folds instead of jingles.”

Polite smiles appeared across the congregation at Pastor Bob’s slight attempt at humor. Mistaking their facial expressions for complete agreement, he continued. “While our ushers are preparing to collect, let’s pray.”

While Pastor Bob is praying, thanking God for “both the gift and the giver,” inwardly he was thinking, “I hate this part of the service.”

Pastor Bob may not aware that many of his congregation members also cringe at his offering humor and wonder why they should give after his lame appeal for funds. And while he’s inwardly praying for God to multiple the meager giving of those in the seats, his people are ironically thinking, “I hate this part of the service.”

Every weekend, pastors around the world ask their people to give to the Lord through their church. Often, those times are awkward for everyone involved. The pastor comes across, to both the congregation and himself, as a slick car salesman instead of a holy man of God. As a result, the people fumble with their phones as he fumbles with his words.

But what if it could be different? What if the offering introduction could become an engaging, vision-casting, worshipful part of the service?  offering-plate

Realistically, in many (if not most) churches, the offering introduction is terrible. And there’s a simple explanation. In churches around the planet, pastors and worship leaders spend hours and hours preparing their sermons, worship music and illustrations. Those same well meaning leaders spend minutes and minutes (if not seconds and seconds) preparing their offering introduction. Honestly, most leaders who introduce the offering simply wing it with no preparation at all.

That’s why it’s so terrible.

Three years ago, the pastors on staff where I serve set out to make it better. We decided to be more intentional about what we said before the offering. We decided to stop shooting from the hip.

Here are a few lessons we’ve learned:

  1. It works best if we script out the offering introduction from start to finish. In other words, we plan ahead for everything that is said.
  2. We attempt to tie some of the offering introductions to vision. We try to help people understand how people’s lives will be impacted because of their giving.
  3. We often turn the offering introduction into a story. Whether it’s personal or biblical, it often helps to present it in story form, which most often increases engagement.
  4. We often try to connect the offering introduction to a holiday or current event. Whether it’s Thanksgiving, the Superbowl, or the Sunday after a natural disaster, use what people are thinking about anyway.
  5. Sometimes, we use an object lesson for the offering introduction. Unique physical objects really capture people’s attention because they’re different.
  6. As often as possible, we try to illustrate the purpose of giving with video testimonies from missionaries helped supported financially by the church.
  7. Whenever possible, we frame the offering introduction with pictures. A picture really can be worth a thousand words. Sometimes, if presented well, they can also be worth thousands of dollars.

Here’s an example of a good offering introduction:

We’re about to collect our offering. While our ushers are preparing to collect, I’d like to show you a picture of wind farm. (Show picture on screen)

Wind farms like these now produce almost 3% of the world’s energy usage. Many of you may have seen farms like these in your travels.

Have you ever wondered how these windmills are able to capture the wind’s energy? Here’s a brief explanation: A wind turbine blade works like an airplane wing. When air passes around both sides of the uniquely shaped blade, the uneven pressure causes it to spin. Those blades are attached to a shaft, which turns about 18 revolutions per minute, which doesn’t seem like much at first. However, the shaft is connected to a series of gears, which increases the movement to about 1800 revolutions per minute. At that speed, a generator can produce a lot of electricity as long as the wind is consistent.

You may be thinking, “What does this have to do with the offering?” I’m glad you asked. Sometimes people think the small amount of money they give doesn’t matter. Like the large shaft that only turns 18 times a minute, they think their gift is not making much of a difference. Fortunately, God blesses the offerings given by individuals and allows the church to connect it with the gifts of others, multiplying it in various ways producing amazing results.

The secret is faithful and consistent giving.

Let’s pray.

Conclusion

This type of offering introduction won’t work in every context, but it will work perfectly in others. Some pastors love to write their own “giving talks” while others find them online. The secret is finding the style(s) that works best in your respective church and spending the necessary time perfecting it in both content and delivery.

If you have other suggestions about how to improve offering introductions, please share in the comments section.

So what about Pastor Bob?

Because it concerns money, some of his people may always feel uncomfortable during the offering (especially those who never give). But if he spends time developing his offering introduction, it’s possible that both Pastor Bob and his congregation may finally stop hating that part of the service.

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Stop the Worship! Let’s Pray…

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How to More Effectively Connect Musical Worship and Prayer

It may sound like a silly question, but have you ever found it distracting when someone stands up to pray in the middle of a worship song set?  I have.

Think about it.  Your morning’s already been a hassle, you’re walking into the church building much later than you intended, you get your kids situated for children’s ministry, and you finally find a seat in the worship center in the during the first song (at least you think it’s the first song).  It takes you a song or two to stop thinking about the pressures of your life, and then, just when you get into a spirit of worship, some staff member comes out, stops everything, and says “Let’s pray.”

Someone’s probably asking right now, “What’s the problem?  Isn’t prayer a part of worship?”

Absolutely.

Too often the worship music and prayer are totally disconnected from one another.  As church leaders, pastors, worship leaders, and pray-ers, we must take time to connect the musical worship and the prayer taking place within the worship set without destroying to the flow of worship.

To take it further, both singing and prayer are worship.  Both can lead us to the throne of God.  Both allow us to exalt and petition the Lord.  Both are important.  That being said, how much better would the entire time of corporate worship be if they didn’t function independently of one another.

That’s why worship leaders, pastors, and prayers need to take appropriate time making the spoken prayer during a worship set fit into the flow of the musical worship.  If this doesn’t happen, there is a disconnect between the two.

It’s like we’re screaming out, “Stop the Worship!  Let’s pray.”  

Breakthrough!

I don’t want that to happen in the worship services where I’m leading, producing, or participating.

Do you?

So what are some ways we can more effectively transition from worship music into prayer?

  1.  Micro-Testimony – Before the prayer leader prays, making a 30 second connection between the theme of the song or the service and the prayer can be most helpful.  This allows the prayer person to seamlessly personalize the worship, connect or reconnect disengaged people to what is happening while adding purpose to the prayer.

Here’s an example sent to me by a friend of mine:

“I had a tough week emotionally.  However, God reminded me through my Bible reading this morning that “His grace is sufficient for me.”  You see, not only does God’s Word sustain us, but it proves that He knows exactly where we are and what we are feeling.  Let’s pray.”

  1.  Scripture – Before the actual prayer, quoting or reading scripture that relates to both the musical worship and the prayer brings both connection and spiritual validity to both song and prayer.  We are blessed to have the Word of God.  We should use it, not only in our preaching, but in our prayer leading as well.

In Isaiah 55:11 (NLT), we read the following words of God:

It is the same with My Word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

If sharing God’s Word always produces fruit and will accomplish all God wants it to in a given moment, it only makes sense to use it wisely in times of corporate worship.

A great scripture to use before praying in worship is Psalm 97:1-6 (seen below in the NLT), especially if you’re focusing on the greatness or holiness of the Lord.

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.  Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.  Fire goes before Him and consumes His foes on every side.  His lightning lights up the world;  the earth sees and trembles.  The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.  The heavens proclaim His righteousness and all peoples will see His glory!

  1.  Praying within a song.  To some worshipers, it may sometimes seem as if prayer breaks up the flow of worship because it always takes place between two songs.  If this is where the prayer always takes place within the worship set, the prayer person and worship leader should work together to find the perfect place within a worship song where the prayer can happen with the instrumental music playing in the background.  Then, following the prayer, the worship leader can move right back into the worship song seamlessly.  Even though this takes more coordination, it can certainly be worth the effort.
  2.  Music intensity.  The musical worship leader and prayer person should coordinate with each other to ensure that the music flows with the prayer.  If the prayer person builds in volume and intensity, the music should build in volume and intensity to create a dynamic, electric atmosphere.  If the prayer becomes more reflective and intimate, the music should diminish in volume and intensity to create a more intimate setting.  The more this becomes the practice with the prayer person, the worship leader and the worship team, the more the worship team will be able to follow the prayer person naturally if the Holy Spirit leads them in different ways during the prayer.

So what’s the secret?

  1.  Preparation.

The person praying must prepare ahead of time.  Preparing to pray something meaningful for 30-90 seconds usually takes longer than most people are willing to spend.  An unprepared prayer spoken on the fly can ruin hours of preparation from the worship and technology teams.  However, a well planned prayer creates a launching pad for a great God moment in our services.

The worship leader and team must be prepared for what is going to happen in the prayer time.  If the music and prayer emphasis doesn’t work together, everyone in the worship center can tell.  However, if the worship team knows what is going to happen, it can help build a spirit of anticipation throughout the worship center that is contagious.

Take the time to prepare your prayer and you will see results.

  1.  Prayer.  

It may seem silly to hear that you need to pray about how you are going to pray.  Isn’t prayer simply “talking with God?”

Yes, it is.  But praying during a worship set is also a powerful tool God has given us to lead people deeper into His presence.  He wants us to “dialogue” with Him about the best way to do this for a particular worship moment.

Besides, if a prayer is important enough to pray before tens, hundreds, or even thousands of people, isn’t it important enough to pray about?

In case anyone’s wondering, the answer is “yes.”

If you have further thoughts about how to more effectively connect musical worship and prayer, I’d love to hear your comments.  

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How I’m Learning Spanish For Free

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Hola, mis amigos!

My third goal for my 45th year is to learn Spanish. After speaking to some of you, I believe it is time to clarify this goal.

I’ve discovered a free app called Duolingo, which assists individuals in learning other languages through a steady, systematic process. Several months ago, I spent about a month working through the Duolingo App and made it up to level four.

What I plan to do this year is start over at level one and work all the way through level 25. I started over yesterday and just this evening progressed to level two. I may do another level over the next couple of days since I’ve already been at this level once before, however, my plan is to simply learn at a slow and steady pace.

If you would like to join me in learning Spanish, check out Duolingo in your smart phone App store or online at www.duolingo.com.

Related Posts:

Hello 45!

Lose 45 at 45

Sit Still! No Talking

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Lose 45 at 45

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When I was in my 20, my dad described me to others as being busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest.  It that was true then, it’s cold hard fact at 45.  Therefore, I knew it was going to be hard to find time to workout.  It turns out there’s plenty of time if you get to the gym at 5:30 AM.

In case you missed it yesterday, I am trying to lose 45 lbs while I’m 45.  I reported to everyone yesterday that I was 220 lbs, which is high considering my height and build.  However, I weighed this morning and realized that I am actually only 217!  So, only 42 lbs to go.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been going to the gym at least 4 times a week, building up my time on the elliptical machine.  I like the elliptical machine because it works out your arms, chest, glutes, and legs at the same time.  Then, if you add an appropriate amount of resistance, you’re not just doing cardio, but building muscle as well.

My first step is to continue exercising on the elliptical for at least 45 minutes for 4 to 5 times a week, then begin adding additional weight training.  This morning, I stopped at just past 48 minutes.  🙂

If you have exercise advice for me, I invite you to comment.

Related Post:  Hello 45!  https://johnjfrady.com/2014/06/09/hello-45/

 

 

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The Beauty of the Garden Spoken Word

Here’s a link to a Spoken Word written and performed by Niko Snead for the Good Friday Services at Celebration Church.  The video was filmed and edited by Javier Acosta.  Great job Niko and Javi.

The Beauty of the Garden

Related Post:  2014 Celebration Church full Good Friday script

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Full Good Friday Script

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A few people from various churches have asked me about our Good Friday service, so I’ve listed it below in a simple listing.  Remember that we are a multi-site church so we create services and events that can take place in multiple places and they have freedom to make changes based on their environment and need.  I should also say this production was a collaborative effort and could not have been possible without input from Alex Moore, Stacey Barr, Beth Luca, Dwight Fitch, Victoria Acosta, Kristian Sanchez, Javier Acosta, Haylee Thacker and with feedback and input from our campus pastors and associate pastors.  Enjoy.

Good Friday – 2014

Pre-Service

3 Songs – 15 minutes

Song suggestions include:

– This Is Amazing Grace

– All Because of Jesus

– Sweetly Broken

– At The Cross

– This Is Our God

– Overcame – Jeremy Riddle

– Savior King – Hillsongs

– Your Great Name – Natalie Grant

– Lead Me To The Cross

– Stronger

Live Welcome with Just Like Jesus Bumper – 3

– Communication Card

– Kidztown and Club 56

Offering Introduction and Prayer Transition (with background music – keyboard pads) – 2

(Offering Collection begins as spoken word video plays)

Part One – FALLING PLATES VIDEO – (Spoken Word on video – recorded in a garden-like setting – Niko) – 3

Part Two – REJECTED – (Campus Pastor or Associate Pastor Sharing) – 5

2.A. Betrayed by Judas

Speaker:  On the night before Jesus was crucified, He was in anguishing prayer, knowing what was about to happen.  Then, He was betrayed with a kiss by one of his disciples, a friend, or at least a pretend friend named Judas Iscariot.  Judas had spent three years with Jesus.  Three years.  Jesus had commissioned him, fed him, loved him, taught him, cared for him, and invested in him, but Judas betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver.

(Speaker 1 holds up small biblical purse with 30 pieces of silver)

Speaker 1:  It sounds like a lot of money, but in reality, it was only enough money to buy a small field in that time period.

(Speaker 1 pours pieces of silver slowly into a metal bowl, creating a loud clanging sound with each quarter that falls)

2.B.  Denied by Peter

Speaker 1: After Jesus was arrested, Peter followed Him to the home of the high priest, but had to stay outside the gate until a woman opened it for him.  As he entered, the woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?”

“No,” he said, “I am not.”

Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards made a fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.  Once again, someone asked Peter, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?”

He denied it once again, saying, “No, I am not.”

Soon after, one of the slaves of the high priest, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?”  And for the third time, Peter denied it.

(Play Audio of Rooster Crowing)

2.C.  Condemned by Pilate

Speaker 1:  Jesus was taken to Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked Him.

Jesus replied, “You have said it.”

But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent, much to the governor’s surprise.

It was Pilate’s custom each year during Passover to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted.  This year there was a notorious prisoner named Barabbas.

(Crowd sound effect begins and continues until next cue)

As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas or Jesus?”

Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death.

So Pilate asked the crowd, “Then what should I do with Jesus?”

(Sound effect of crowd shouting, “Crucify Him!” continues until Speaker 1 pours water below)

“Why?” Pilate demanded. “What has He done?”

Then Pilate sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.”

(Speaker 1 pours water into the basin and begins washing his hands)

So Pilate released Barabbas to the people. He ordered Jesus to be scourged, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Part Three – CRUCIFIED –5

3.1. – Scourged

Speaker 2:  Then the Bible says, “They took Him and had Him scourged.” Now, scourging was such that it often killed the victim.  But Jesus was a young and strong man in his early thirties. He was in good physical condition. That could be why He didn’t die from the scourging.  They stripped Jesus nearly naked, and shackled his hands over His head. Then soldiers stood on either side of Him and whipped Him brutally with what’s called a flagrum or a cat o’ nine tails.  It was a wooden handle that had long straps of leather protruding from it.  At the end of each strap was a ball of either metal or stone, and that would tenderize the human flesh.  Sometimes there were hooks at the end, usually made of metal.

(Sound effects of Roman whips begin and continue through the next sentence)

Speaker 2:  So the soldiers took turns doing their job, inflicting as much pain as possible on Jesus.  

(Whips sound effects stop)  

Speaker 2:  At this point, for Jesus, the process of death has begun.

3.2. Nailed to the Cross – Jesus was forced to carry His cross to the place of death. The cross was an enormous wooden beam that you would use to secure a roof in an ancient home.  This was recycled timber.  Other men had carried it to their own crucifixion.  It was covered with their tears and their blood, and their sweat.

On the way, Jesus was so exhausted that He collapsed under the weight of the cross.  Simon of Cyrene, a bystander, was commanded to help Him carry the cross to the place of crucifixion.  And then, this Carpenter who Himself had driven many nails, had the equivalent of railroad spikes driven through His hands and feet.

(Speaker 2 holds up a railroad spike as a sound effect of nails pounding plays.  There will be 3 sets of 3 pounds each.  After the nailing stops, stage hands raise cross in silence.)

(As soon as the cross is in place, lead instrument for song below begins playing)

Speaker 2:  Jesus’ cross was then lifted up and dropped into the ground, shaking His body violently.

3.3.  It Is Finished –

Speaker 2:  From the cross, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  In that moment, something legal, something spiritual, something eternal happened. Jesus traded places with us.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” Adam and Eve, in the Garden, substituted themselves for God and introduced sin to mankind.  But here, in this place God substituted Himself for us, defeating the power of sin.

Then He cried out, “It is finished!”  His last words might have been hard to understand, but they were triumphant just the same.  Salvation through Him was available.  It was finished.

Song – Your Love, So High by Hillsong – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MakjmEUkY6M – 5 –

(Worship Leader motions for everyone to be seated at the end of the song.  Falling Plates video plays as soon as most of the people are seated)

Falling Plates Video –https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08peJK0m510 – (Starting at 0:04 and ending at 3:55)

Part Four – ALIVE – 5

Campus Pastor –

–       Resurrection, Letting Go/Decision Time

Communion – 8 – with At The Cross https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOY0mjjmx8Y  or Worthy Is The Lamb https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz5F4ntVKvU orequivalent song

Closing Announcements – 2

Baptisms – (timing t.b.a.)

Short Closing Song – 1

59 Minutes plus baptisms

Props List:

1.  6 foot table with black cover

2.  Small container for 30 pieces of silver

3.  30 quarters ($7.50) or 30 silver dollars

4.  Large metallic bowl for 30 pieces of silver to land

5.  1 Large Railroad Spike

6.  Large Wooden Cross with stand

7.  Water pitcher filled with water

8.  Water basin

9.  1 small hand towel

by Categories: Church and Christian Life, WorshipTags: , , , , 2 Comments

do you ever feel worthless?

worthless1

Do you ever feel worthless? Good for nothing? Without purpose? Insignificant? Unlovable? Ordinary?

Did you know that God created you in His image?

He said so in Genesis 1:27:  So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. Genesis 1:27

It doesn’t matter if you are male or female; you were formed in the image of God. That means something. Your life is not an accident. God made you on purpose. You have worth. You have value. God formed you after Himself. He loves you and has amazing plans for your life. Every single day of your life was planned before you were even born.

The Psalmist wrote:  I will praise You because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made…Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began. Psalm 139:14a, 139:16

God didn’t create the planets, earth, sun, moon, stars, rocks, rivers, canyons, mountains, trees, birds, or animals like Himself. Instead, He formed you after Himself, in His image. He made you special.

If you ever struggle with feeling worthless, pray something like this and mean it:  God, thank You for creating me in Your image. In that alone, I have great value.

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