Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Bry Bones Worship Devotional

Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Bry Bones

Arlen Salte

“Moses took the bones of Joseph with him because Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear an oath.  He had said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up with you from this place.”  - Exodus 13:19

Martin D28

I own a very old Martin D-28 acoustic guitar.  It’s beat up. It has cracks from airport baggage mis-handlers.  It has the imprint of a crashing Shure SM58 microphone on the top. The neck is somewhat twisted and the action would challenge even Arnold Schwartzenager.  But it’s mine and every dent, scratch, split and twist carries a ministry story behind it. But it’s more than the ministry stories; it’s a reminder of the Christian heritage I’m blessed with.  I will never sell it.  Some day it will pass to one of my children.

At this point, the keyboard players may be thinking, “It’s just a guitar. What’s the big deal about something that’s always going out of tune?”

Well, there’s quite a story behind this out of tune piece of wood.

My father was a pastor. When I was seven, our family was in a terrible car accident as we returned from Bible camp.  My father was thrown from the car and brutally killed.  My mother was left with three young children, a fourth on the way and very little money to meet our needs.  But what she was left with was tremendous faith in a powerful God.

Arlen & His Father

My father had a small insurance policy that provided a few hundreds dollars for each child.  When the money was released to me as a young adult, I had an important decision to make.  What would I buy with this money from my father?  I wanted to buy something that would remind me of my father as I continued the ministry that was cut off at his prime.  By now, you’ve guessed the rest of the story.  That’s how I was able to purchase this beautiful old Martin.

For over 3 decades, wherever I ministered with this guitar I would be reminded of God’s faithfulness.  I would remember how he provided for my mother in miraculous ways.  I would be reminded about my father’s passion for God and my challenge to continue to share his words of hope.

In the scramble to be “contemporary” we must not forget the lessons of the past.  Our lessons from the past remind us that God has been with us before and He will certainly be with us again.

Our reading today refers to that.  Over 400 years before the Exodus, Joseph had his family pledge that they would carry his bones back to his homeland when they left Egypt.  Did you read that?  Four hundred years! That’s over three and a half million hours of caring for a pile of old bones.

Did Joseph really need his bones carried out of Egypt?  I don’t think so.  So what was the purpose?

These bones were a reminder for generations living in Egypt that they had made a pledge to God and that He had made a pledge to them as well.  Once they left Egypt carrying these bones they were reminded that God had fulfilled His promise to them, even 400 years later.   As they trampled through the desert those old dry bones helped to remind them that God would be with them as they faced the challenges to come.

How has God shown His faithfulness to you in your worship ministry?  Have you remembered His faithfulness lately?  How has God shown His faithfulness in your past?

·   Did you once need a bass player and God brought one to you?   

·   Was a member of your praise team struggling in a relationship and God brought healing?

·   Have you won the fight to have drums in church? 

·   Did God come through for you with an upgraded sound system?

As I travel the world I hear worship teams share countless stories of God’s faithfulness.  But I also meet many teams who have forgotten God’s blessings.  There is a danger of forgetting God’s faithfulness in our scramble to find the “hot new thing.”  We can also forget in the midst of our struggles.

God knew that His people could easily forget His promises and decrees.  He formed us and He knows that we’re made of dust.  That’s why He stated, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  - Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Do you have physical reminders of your spiritual heritage?  Whether it’s 400-year-old bones, candles, stained glass or chalices, the church has used physical reminders of God’s faithfulness for thousands of years.  These symbols weren’t just to beautify sanctuaries.  They were to help us remember and to build our faith.

Can you look around your church and see physical reminders?  Perhaps you see it in the eyes of your team members.  Why don’t you take a few minutes now to recount some of the ways God has proven His faithfulness in the past?  From now on, every time you start to lead worship perhaps you’ll be reminded of the trustworthiness of God as you see a physical representation of His faithfulness.

What are the old Martin guitars in your worship ministry?  Never forget your past as you move towards your future.

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Imperfect Scores - A Worship Leader's Devotion

You may notice that I've been a little slow on updating my blog. I'm sorry about that. The past few months have been very hectic. When I decided to check in on the statistics and saw over 25,000 readers around the world, I realized that I need to get back to writing. You can expect more regular updates from now on. 

In the meantime, here is a worship devotional from my co-authored book, Times of Refreshing. Hopefully it will bring a smile and a word of inspiration to your day. 

Imperfect Scores

Arlen Salte

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”  1 John 4:18

It was my first recording session with an orchestra.  I was 21.  Writing for an orchestra wasn’t exactly a skill that I’d picked up playing the Rolling Stones songs in my rock band days.  Mick Jagger could certainly pout and prance but I don’t think he cared too much for the oboe.

The moment of truth arrived when the orchestra showed up.  They filled the studio, took their chairs, tuned their instruments and started looking at the score I had written.  They ran through the pieces.   The lush sounds gave me goose bumps.  I was in heaven. 

But something was about to suddenly change my mood.  These fabulous players couldn’t control themselves any longer.  Laughter came rolling through the expensive microphones.  The conductor showed me that I had placed the stems on the wrong sides of many of the notes.  Needless to say, this was the last time I transcribed my parts by hand for an orchestra. 

Quite frankly, I was so embarrassed that day that I wanted to pack in the entire idea of music.  I had shown my ignorance in front of all these awarded musicians.  

But I take great courage in the following true story.

There was a man who desperately wanted to be a conductor.  He put his very heart and soul into it.  During soft passages, he would signal the orchestra by crouching low.  During loud passages he’d leap into the air with enthusiasm.  He’d even shout to the orchestra in excitement.

But despite his passion, he was not exactly blessed with a great memory.  In concert he once forgot that he had instructed the orchestra not to repeat a section.  As instructed, the orchestra didn’t repeat the section.  He lost his temper, yelling at the orchestra for not repeating the section.   He was horribly embarrassed!

For his very own piano concerto, he tried conducting from the piano.  He thought he could do it all.  At one moment in the concert, he leaped from the piano bench, knocking the candles from the piano.  At another concert, he knocked over a choirboy.

His hearing started to rapidly deteriorate which left him with even bigger challenges.  Not only did he have a bad memory, a clumsy body and a poorly controlled temperament; now he couldn’t hear well.  It got so bad that the orchestra started to get their cues from the first violinist, rather than from the inept conductor.

After great pleas from the musicians to give up conducting, he finally gave up and went home. 

His name; Ludwig Van Beethoven. 

While he is one of the greatest composers the world has ever known, he was a failure as a conductor.  But this did not make him a failure as a person.  He pushed beyond his fear of failure to take on new challenges and the world is richer for it.

One of the most inhibiting fears is the fear of failure.  This is the fear that has stopped great moments throughout human history. 

This may also be a fear that has stopped you from taking new steps in your ministry.  Maybe you have become constricted because you failed before.  Maybe you tried to play by ear before and it sounded like you actually were playing with your ears.  Maybe you stretched out to try a vocal solo but that little hormonal demon of adolescence made you yodel instead. 

Or maybe you wrote orchestral arrangements for an album but you put the stems on the wrong sides of the notes.

Whatever your past failures may be, they may have limited your reach.  Now, God is asking you to take great new strides.  Yet you fear the embarrassment of past failure so much that you remain in your comfort zone.

This is why it is so important to ground our ministries in God’s love and not in legalism.  We need to know that whether our efforts gain great applause or rotten tomatoes, God’s view of us does not change.  His love is with us no matter what side we have placed the stems of the notes on.  This gives us freedom to try new things in ministry, knowing that we will never be viewed as a failure in the eyes of God.

In our Bible verse today, we see that there is no fear in love.  God’s love sets us free to spread our wings and to face the possibility of failure head on.  Perfect love drives out fear.  When we know that we are perfectly loved by the creator and sustainer of all life, the highest authority in the universe, the one who holds planets in their orbits; we are freed to take great steps of faith.  When we know that our failure in the eyes of the “crowd” is really nothing to fear at all, then we are free to stretch.

Who knows how many great songs or poems or voices have gone to their graves because of a fear of failure?

But as a child of God, you have been given a new authority in ministry. God is waiting for His children to step out in the authority that comes with the gift of grace.  Do you have past failures that are holding you back?  In God, there are always new beginnings.  

Today, I challenge you to live in the reality of God’s grace. Step out of your comfort zone. Spread your wings, knowing that God’s perfect love for you drives out the fear of failure.  Have you been challenged to learn how to sing alto?  Do you need to dust off that old Hofner Beetle bass from the ‘60’s?   Take the step.

I still have those original orchestral scores in my files but now I don’t look at them with shame.  I see them as another step taken in the reality of God’s grace.  Every day, we’re called on to write imperfect scores.  God wants to use the ink of your life poured out for others.  Let’s get writing!

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Benedictions - Scriptural References

Benedictions from Scripture:

In my last installment I promised scriptural benedictions in my next entry. Well, it’s been a while to say the least. Since that time, we’ve experienced Break Forth Canada 2012 with 15,000 participants, the launch of Break Forth Israel, prepared for our fifth Break Forth Finland and seen the successful launch of our new Artists in Mission ministry department. 

So, finally, without any more excuses here are some benedictions from the scriptures ready for you to use in worship. There are many more scriptures that can be used verbatim or paraphrased. However, this can serve as a quick reference:

The most commonly used scriptural benediction is called the Aaronic blessing (as it was spoken by the High Priest, Aaron). As it’s the most frequently used blessing, I’ll include several translations below:

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” - Numbers 6:22-27 TNIV

“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” - Numbers 6:22-27 NKJV

“May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” - Numbers 6:22-27 NLT

“God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper.”  - Numbers 6:22-27 MSG

“The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; the Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).”  - Numbers 6:22-27 AMP

These are in canonical order:

“May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from another.” - Genesis 31:49b NKJV

"Take good care to observe the commandment and instruction that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, and to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."  - Joshua 22:5 NRSV

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other. And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” - 1 Kings 8:56-61 (TNIV)

"Let these words of mine, with which I pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires; so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Therefore devote yourselves completely to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day."  - 1 Kings 8:59-61 NRSV

"Peace, peace to you, and peace to the one who helps you! For your God is the one who helps you."  - 1 Chronicles 12:18b NRSV

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations." - Psalm 67:1-2 NRSV

 “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” - Acts 20:32 

“I pray that God, who gives your hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” - Romans 15:13 (NLT)

“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” - Romans 16:24

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” - 2 Corinthians 13:14 (RSV) 

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” - Ephesians 3:20-21 NKJV

Ephesians 6:23-24 TNIV

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:7 TNIV

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” - Colossians 3:15-17

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

“May our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father, who loved us and in His special favor gave us everlasting comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and give you strength in every good thing you do and say.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NLT)

“May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.” - 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (RSV) 

“May God our Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.” - 1 Timothy 1:2 (NLT)

“God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, who is the Great Shepherd of the sheep as the result of his blood, by which the eternal covenant is sealed. May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do His will, and may He, through Jesus Christ, do in us what pleases Him. And to Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen.” - Hebrews 13:20-21 (GNT)

“May grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God our Father and from Jesus Christ his Son, be with us who live in truth and love.” - 2 John 1:3 (NLT)

“Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” - Jude 1:24-25 (KJV)

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The Benediction Part 2

It my previous post I wrote briefly about the power and purpose of the benediction. In this post, I want to write about some practical suggestions on pronouncing the benediction for greater impact.

Some Brief Tips:

• Meditate on the benediction before you give it. When you understand the meaning, your blessing will have a greater impact as you pronounce it. Your engagement and immersion into the text will be clearly telegraphed to the congregation.
• Pause after you say the words, “Receive the benediction.” This will allow people to prepare their hearts through this method of building anticipation.
• Most ministers who pronounce a benediction lift their hands towards the congregation. This has been a common posture since the Old Testament.  Jesus Himself blessed through the lifting up of his hands. (Lev 9:22, Luke 24:50)
• Have the congregation bless each other. You may project the benediction on the screen and have the congregation say it together and towards each other. This is a wonderful way to live out the Priesthood of all believers:  (Ex. 19:6; Hos. 14:2; Ps. 50:23; Ps. 51:17-19; Ps. 141:2; 1 Pet. 2:5-9; Heb. 13:10-16) 
• Invite your congregation to place one hand of the shoulder of the person beside them as the benediction is pronounced either by the minister or by the congregation as an entire body.  Please be aware that there are some settings where this may not be appropriate. Always be sensitive to your setting.
• Sing the benediction over the people. This can be performed in a canted (chanted) format (possibly with or without a predefined melody) or by members of the worship team through a song of benediction.
• Consider placing a music bed underneath the benediction in the key that the closing song will be played in. (I will share more on this in a later post on the principle of the unbroken line)
• Play a benediction video. Many are available online. You can start here.   
• Bring up a child to pronounce the benediction.
• Play a short piece of instrumental music as a benediction and invite people to meditate on a meaningful scripture of blessing during this piece of music
• Recite a poem with deep spiritual blessing.
• Play a Youtube or Vimeo video of a slam poet. One of my favourite is Mike Young. See his work here and here.

In my next post, I’ll provide many benedictions from the scriptures for you to use in your times of worship. 

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Worship Coach Practical Tips and Tools: The Benediction Part 1

Worship Coach Practical Tips and Tools: The Benediction Part 1: God speaks to us with heavenly realities in spite of our earthy frailty. This awakens within us the affirmation of the Father, th...

The Benediction Part 1

God speaks to us with heavenly realities in spite of our earthy frailty. This awakens within us the affirmation of the Father, the hope for tomorrow and the assurance of God’s presence in our lives.

This is the benediction.

It’s not a “wouldn’t it be nice if . . . “ It’s not a “Have a nice day.” It’s not a “When you wish upon a star.”  It is the truth and power of the Word of God spoken over our lives.

When we choose to believe the solid foundation of the truths of God’s Word over our fickle feelings and corrosive culture, our hearts and lives are transformed.

This is the benediction.

The whisper of God’s Fatherly voice. The resounding thunderous proclamation of the finished work of Christ. The peaceful treasures of the assurance of the Holy Spirit.

This is the benediction.

Our repetition of God’s assuring, affirming, transforming truth upon our people.

This is the benediction.

Throughout history, people have known the power of words to change someone’s destiny for good or evil.

Countless times, cutting words have ruined a person’s life or at least damaged their hearts so deeply that without a miracle they are destined to become the very curse that was placed on their hearts.

However, the opposite is also true.

Words have brought people into the profound hope and potential that God designed for them. Overnight or over time they have been changed into becoming who they were destined to be.

I’ve experienced this. You have as well.

When my wife and I were in Israel, the traditional greeting was Shalom. This term is thought of as simply meaning peace. But, it is so much more. It’s a blessing that God would grant peace, goodwill, good health, prosperity, and well-being.

This is the benediction.

Perhaps the best known benediction heard today is from Numbers 6:24 – 26, “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”

This was not just some slap on the back with the words “Good Luck!”  This was life-altering.

In verse 27 it says, “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.” (NIV)

As Aaron and his sons proclaimed these words over the Israelites, things began to shift and change. This benediction brought about transformation.

And so it is today as the benediction is proclaimed over God’s people, they are prophetic words of God’s ongoing actions to change our destinies. When the scriptural blessings are spoken over the congregation it is a Shalom that is founded in the ever-changing Word of God.

Perhaps it’s time for us to reclaim the power and promise of the benediction in our services.

My next posting will offer some suggestions for pronouncing the benediction or blessing.

Until then, “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17: 

Twenty Top Tips For Corporate Prayer in Worship: Part 2

This is Part 2 of Twenty Top Tips for Corporate Prayer in Worship. To read Part 1, click here.

11.    Match the mood and delivery of the prayer to the mood and placement within the service.

12.    Pray a song. Many songs (both ancient hymns and contemporary choruses) are actually prayers. There are many forms this can take such as praying a verse or chorus together, speak the prayer antiphonally (responsively) alternating between lines from leader to congregation, or singing a verse and chorus and then being instructed to quietly pray thematically about the words in that verse.

13.    Have a quiet time of meditative personal prayer, often with a quiet music bed underneath for cohesion. You may wish to give suggestions on this to help those who are new to prayer or to create a unified prayer voice within the congregation.

14.    Break your prayers down to one short thematic sentence with a 10-30 second silence in between for people to pray for that need or to thank God for that gift. Repeat for several minutes.

15.    If your church’s comfort level is high enough for this, consider breaking up into small groups of 2 – 5 people for prayer. You can either leave the prayer format to the groups or ask someone to volunteer to lead in prayer within the group. Please be cautious with this format if you are dealing with new Christians or seekers.

16.    Again, if your church is comfortable enough with this, have a prayer walk by walking around the church exterior and/or the interior where people are prompted to pray for what they sense in front of them. (for example, the children’s Sunday School rooms may prompt them to pray for the children and their teachers, the bulletin board may prompt them to pray for events, the foyer may prompt them to pray for visitors, etc.)

17.    Focus on being a “sent people” within your church, reaching out in prayer to the community, the nation and beyond.

18.    Definitely pray for those in need within your church body but make sure that this isn’t all you are praying for. Generally speaking, the older and / or smaller the congregation the more you need to watch this with caution so you maintain a healthy “mission” ratio in prayer.

19.    Consider use of prayer ‘helps’ such as prayer painting (like we will offer at Break Forth Canada 2012), icons, scents (i.e.- fresh baking bread), prayer bowls, listening to sounds (running water, thunder, wind in rustling leaves, etc.) or other helps.

   

20.Total, complete, utter, ultimate, uninterrupted silence.  

Corporate prayer was one of the cornerstones of the early church gatherings as we see in Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”  I pray that it becomes a critical cornerstone of every Christian church around the world.

One of your most important callings in the worship service is to enrich and engage your church in meaningful corporate prayer. God will richly bless your leadership in this area.

Where do we go from here? Over the next couple of weeks I'll cover closing songs, benedictions and postludes.  Then we're wrapped on worship service elements. After that, it's on to practical application. I'm looking forward to sharing all the things I've learned with you from the many mistakes I've made.  

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