What does your Sunday morning worship look like?

Psalms 149 1-6 Praise the Lord.  Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints.  Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.  Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.  For the Lord takes delight in his people.  He crowns the humble with salvation.  let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands.

Last year around this time I was getting ready to depart to Haiti, and another team of South Adams students and staff are departing tomorrow morning to return to Haiti.  As I was thinking about the team and lifting them up in prayers, I was reminded of the LOVE the Haitians have!  This trip opened my eyes!! I HAVE ENOUGH AND I AM VERY RICHLY BLESSED!  These women, children, and men...have very little...next to NOTHING!  I bet you don't even give it a second thought when you pour yourself a glass of water to quench your thirst.  I know I don't!  Consider yourself blessed to have clean drinking water that won't make you sick!  Many of these Haitians don't have that luxury, and some may walk many many miles just to get "clean" water.  (at least what they consider clean)  Many of them think that if the water is clear it must be "clean," so they walk miles to find clear (clean) water.  Sadly, the clear water doesn't = clean water and a lot of them become very ill with a water borne illness.  This illness, cholera, can wipe out a village.  Here in America it would be very treatable with antibiotics.  However, in Haiti and other parts of the world, they don't have access to this medicine.  The team from South Adams will be installing water purification systems to provide Haitians with clean drinking water!  Please pray for them as they depart tomorrow morning!  (You can find them on facebook....look for Dots in blue water)

HOWEVER, while we provided the Haitians with clean drinking water, they taught us much more! Most of these people have little to next to nothing they call their own.  BUT...while they don't have much...they have A LOT OF FAITH AND LOVE FOR THEIR KING!  They gather together every Sunday morning to worship, praise, and learn about God for THREE HOURS OR MORE! They gather together in a small, crowded building that doesn't have cushioned seats or the luxury of AC on the HOT HAITI SUMMER DAYS of excruciating heat!  We are talking about over 100 degrees and lots and lots of bodies shoulder to shoulder!  (talk about sweat dripping down your legs, beading up on your forehead, and perhaps rubbing off some of that sweat on your arm next to the person beside you...ya...ew!) Despite the circumstances, they come, they gather, and they worship!  Some may even walk miles to get to church!  WOW! Would you do that EVERY Sunday to worship, praise, and learn about God?  When the Haitians gather to sing and praise God....THEY DON'T JUST STAND THERE STILL AS STATUES AND BARELY MOVE THEIR LIPS (like some of us Americans do every Sunday in a comfortable, cozy church).  They dance, they move, they lift their arms and hands high! THEY TRULY WORSHIP GOD WITH THEIR ENTIRE BODY!  It is amazing the amount of love and joy that can be felt in that small Haitian church in Chamburn, Haiti on any given Sunday.  It brought me to tears to think about how little the Haitians had, yet they STILL SERVED GOD WITH ALL THEY HAD!  They weren't angry, bitter, or jealous!  It saddens me to think that here in America we have become TOO COMFORTABLE IN OUR CHAIR OR PEW on Sunday morning.  Perhaps to some it is just a routine...part of what we do on Sunday.  BUT IT SHOULD BE SOOOOOO MUCH MORE!!  WE HAVE SO MUCH! WE ARE RICHLY BLESSED HERE IN AMERICA!  WE HAVE FOOD IN OUR CABINETS (perhaps an abundance). WE HAVE A ROOF OVER OUR HEAD!  WE HAVE SHOES ON OUR FEET! WE HAVE A BED TO SLEEP IN! (with sheets, warm covers, and maybe even a pillowtop mattress).  AND THIS IS JUST THE BASICS PEOPLE!  WE ALSO HAVE TVS, IPADS, IPODS, COMPUTERS, TOYS, TOYS, TOYS, CLOTHING GALORE, FURNITURE.... (this list could go on and on...fill in the blank as you wish).  So the next time you find yourself at church worshiping God....RAISE YOUR HANDS, DANCE WITH JOY, CLAP YOUR HANDS, AND GIVE GOD ALL YOU HAVE!!!  Don't be afraid of what people might think......BECAUSE ALL THAT MATTERS-YOU ARE WORSHIPING FOR YOUR KING AND YOUR KING ALONE!  Don't settle for comfortable!  (I am not excluding myself in this either....I am just as guilty as anyone)