Aaahh our worship group on Sunday morning’s! From left to right: Elle Causie; Mark Aoki; Kurt Schultz; Corey Reynolds; Cathy Cross; Faith Causie; Pete Denham; Sarah Denham; Shannon and Bill Parish; Damian Horne (guest worship leader); Dora Haupt (not pictured)
Greg Denham
knowing Him and making Him known
I look so forward to coming to church each week and worshipping our Lord. You all do a wonderful job leading the congregation into a beautiful time of worship. THANK you for all your hard work.
WOW:
06-07-2009
At first service the worship team rocked.
They brought fire.
It was glorious, to be ushered into His presence with singing!
It caused me to search the word, because in the world today there is so much bad news, terrible reports, we need to remember the word of God.
Ephesians 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Psalms 95:2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.
Psalm 105:2 Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto Him: talk ye of all His wondrous works.
A lifestyle for Christians to “model” when the “sky” is falling comes from James 5:13-18:
“Keep your chin up & your knees down!”
All of life is to be bathed in prayer! (prayers when we’re up, songs when we’re down, prayers for the sick, & prayers for each other!)
Suffering: Persecution, emotional, mental.
Cheerful: If you’re joyful…let it out!
Eccl. 3:4 “A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance;”
Sick! (14,15) NOTE:THE SICK PERSONS RESPONSIBILITY!
James places the responsibility upon the sick person to seek the Church, not on the church leadership.
Why is that? Well; maybe they didn’t know you were sick.
Maybe it is a challenge to the sick person’s faith? Is your faith mixed with action?
James then brings the sin question into the scenario.
I have to ask: Is sin linked to illnesses?
How does sin effect illnesses?
How often does it?
A Sickness linked to Sin is found in the Bible: 1 Cor.11:29,30 “For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.”
To the paralytic man at Bethesda Jesus said, “Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” (John 5:14)
But wait: Disease is not always linked to Sin: John 9:1-3 “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
Before you call for someone to lay hands on you it is best to examine your life 1st for any known sin & humble confess it before God!
James has great instruction on that as well; James 4:6 But He giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
And James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
THE CHURCH ELDERS RESPONSIBILITY!
The 2 directions are pretty clear for the Elders Pray & Anoint!
Note: James doesn’t say ask for someone specifically with the gift of healing. – Nor does it mention find a faith healer or a faith healing service. – But to simply call for the leaders of the local assembly!
[1] ANOINT WITH OIL? Is James talking Sacramental or Medicinal, or both?
Is it Sacramental? – The Roman Catholic sacrament of “Extreme Unction”. {Where the dying is anointed with oil for the purpose of removing any remnant of sin & strengthening the soul for dying.}
If you re-read James text you’ll note that this is to promote healing not ease dying!
Is it Medicinal? – Medicinal means “to rub” or simply “apply”.
This Greek word was used for a “trainer” who rubbed down athletes in a gymnastic school. It was also used frequently in medical treatises.
In this passage of James it is suggested, use the best medical means of the day, accompanied with prayer!
They are to be used together; neither in exclusion of the other.
Besides, getting the best of medical treatment isn’t a lack of faith…it also requires faith because remember our Physician’s are only “practicing medicine!”
Is it Symbolical? – Oil is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit
Anointing with oil is usually associated with consecrating or setting apart someone for special service or attention.
A rich symbolic act setting the sick apart to be ministered to in a special way by the Holy Spirit.
James says that it will save!
Not all those believers that are prayed for get well!
Some have said that it must be your faith that is failing then if they are not healed. {of course these same “faith healers” fly to different states for their treatments}
Did Paul have lack of faith when he said he had to leave “Trophimus in Miletus sick”(2 Timothy 4:20); Or when his good friend Epaphraditus was “ill, & almost died.”
And of course he prayed 3 times for his own healing yet wasn’t healed.
Nothing is beyond our God Can He heal? Yes! Does He still heal? Yes! But James has a different focus here!
John Blanchard said, “the prayer offered in faith is circular in shape; it begins & ends in heaven, in the sovereign will of God.”
He does as He wills in every circumstance, working all things to his glory!
In 1540 Luther’s good friend and assistant, Friedrich Myconius, became sick and was expected to die within a short time. From his bed he wrote a tender farewell letter to Luther. When Luther received the message, he immediately sent back a reply: “I command thee in the name of God to live because I still have need of thee in the work of reforming the church — the Lord will never let me hear that thou art dead, but will permit thee to survive me. For this I am praying, this is my will, and may my will be done, because I seek only to glorify the name of God.” Those words seem harsh and insensitive to modern ears, but God apparently honored the prayer. Although Myconius had already lost the ability to speak when Luther’s reply came, he soon recovered. He lived six more years and died two months after Luther.
James says, do it, “in the name of the Lord”(14b) – Leave the results of the medicine & prayers in Gods hands!
Raise them up before God.
Now we see James focus: Its all about forgiveness, “They will be forgiven!”
James seems to indicate, we all need to either be forgiving or receive forgiveness, sometimes we get sick because we hold in in.
We all offend in many things, and James seem to indicate that we need to seek the elders for prayer, because it holds a promise of forgiveness!
[2] PRAYER! He doesn’t say when to anoint the person(before or during?)…but what is clear is that not the anointing but the prayer(the main verb) is by far the most important action.
We the call comes on Sundays: Will you join me in going forth for prayer, many in our congregation need forgiveness. Given & received! Maybe; of we “stand” in the gap [intercession] peoples lives will be changed!
I think that’s what America wants, change, & we know who can do it!
James 5:16 Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Can we make a difference by humbling ourselves, seeking the Lord for us and others, and watching God move and perform His will in our Congregation, City, County, State, Nation, World?
I can only imagine what if?
Lets take James at his word, Jesus’s word!
Worship! What a wonderful way to demonstate our love for Him. I, too, want to thank you all for leading us into His presence. I also want to thank you, Greg, for your diligence to bring God’s word in such power and anointing. I can truly say I can always remember the sermon. It hasn’t always been so in other churches I have been in. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I know that as we continue to embrace our Jewish roots, in worship, in song, His spirit will break the chains in all of our lives. Blessed be His Name! Everyone–have a day filled with His glory. Love, Pat
Worship has been so beautiful. The team gave such glory to our Lord this past Sunday. Every time we worship together there is such glorious unity in worshipping our KING! “Safety at Your Feet”, “None But Jesus”, say it all.
Thank you worship team!
Praise Jesus!!!
I love our worship time at church… It’s always such an amazing time of worshipping our Lord, and we have just some amazingly talented (gifted from the Lord) people to help facilitate our worship. Praise God!
Beth
I want to compliment Sarah and Pete on their worship leading. It is the BEST. I love our worship time. Also, the Five Song CD is my favorite CD to listen to right now. Thank you so much. Sarah’s voice is just like an angel. It is a blessing to me to see how God has blessed your family with such talent.
I listened to that CD all the way to Placerville last week and all the way home this week. I love the songs, especially ‘Everything is moving toward the coming King’. I can almost sing along (HaHa). Pastor Greg, your family is just so precious.
Love you all,
Marilyn