Getting Ready For Sunday: How To Prepare For The 7/12/09 Sojourn Gathered

This week we continue our trek through the history of the “good” kings of Judah who turned to God and brought revival and renewal to the land.  We’ll hear a sermon from 1 Kings 15, focusing on the reign of King Asa.  You’ll see that his story is short and interesting: he expelled male shrine prostitutes, deposed his wicked grandma as Queen Mother, fought with the King of the ten northern tribes of Israel, secured a costly treaty with the king of Aram, and then got diseased feet in his old age. I can’t wait to hear how the sermon takes shape this Sunday.

We always begin our worship services with a “Call To Worship.”  This week’s will come from 2 Samuel 22:1-3, which will lead beautifully into our new song “Refuge.”  Read the scripture in your Bible.  Then if you have our Over The Grave CD, practice belting out “Refuge” in your house and car this weekend.

That goes for you guys, too.  At the Sojourn elders’ retreat this week, the elders talked about the importance of “man singing.”  Men — even a couple generations ago — used to sing when going to war or into the fields and factories to work.  Now, our society has so feminized singing that many men simply let our sisters carry the workload when God commands us to sing praises together.  This is the job of every Christian — men and women, good singers and rough singers.

As always, we’ll have the “Passing of the Peace” before the sermon.  This is often the most “feared” part of the worship service.  Many people (sometimes me) are uncomfortable with greeting and welcoming those who are new or outside of our circle.  But remember a worship “service” is just that — it’s our service.  It’s a movement of “liturgy” (a scary-looking word that simply means “the work of the people”).  Check out this quick interview to find out why we do the “Passing of the Peace,” and how to do it wholeheartedly even if you’re an introvert.

If you haven’t brought a friend to Sojourn Gathered with you in a while, why not ask someone this weekend?  Summer is a time when people often go out of town, but it’s also a time when they may be up for doing something different.  With two service times in the morning and two in the evening, we’re bound to have a time that fits most schedules.