Sunday, October 17, 2010

worship

in sept, i made the decision to lead the worship, for the 1st time, at today's service.

for a start, i have to choose a sunday where my Care Group can support me as musicians & back-up singers. actually, it's odd i just mentioned that, because in my CG, only i can play the guitar & another, the piano. since, i'm leading, i won't play, so it's just down to the piano. i wanted it solely to be the CG's effort.

after that, i needed to select the songs that i'm familiar with, because other than the pianist, the rest of us (myself included!) are largely tone-deaf!

then, there must be a time for all of us to avail ourselves for practice, which was narrowed down to yesterday afternoon.

so, why did i take it upon myself to go through these aggravations?

well, i've been asked to worship-lead several times before some years back, but each time, i've turned it down, giving various excuses. then when i re-read the gospel where the angel appeared before Mary to foretell the virgin birth of Christ, all she said was:

"I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said."  luke1:38

if she, though not yet married to Joseph, was willing to shoulder the heavy responsibility of carrying Jesus, i reasoned that leading worship would be also a responsibility a (true) servant of the Lord would not chicken out from refuse. for the record, it went much better than expected. was it because my prayer went like this...

"even though we may not sing with the voices of angels, we praise from our hearts & may it be a sweet, sweet sound to Your ear?" 

When you feel impelled to help fill a need, when you are inwardly driven to serve – listen to those thoughts. You don’t want to miss God’s call. (Cindy Hess Kasper)

20 comments:

Reanaclaire said...

Praise The Lord.. so u made a step forward on stage! Yes, God gives us gifts and we have to make use of these gifts. Mine is also on worship, I love to lead in CG but as a lead worshiper on stage, not my time yet, I am still being a co-worshiper.. :)
"Be it unto Me" yes, as Mary said and Don Moen sings..

Unknown said...

thumbs up!

Yvonne Foong said...

HaHaHa! Sounds like something that a guy can tell his wife. "I may not sing with the voice of an angel... but may it be a sweet, sweet sound to your ear."

Adino said...

Congrats, It's a really bold move!

Anonymous said...

awww, this is so sweet. pats on your back. am sure that the Lord is delighted.

doc said...

Claire,

your time will come, too. mine came 2 years later.

still, better late than never. but don't wait too long - lest the talent is taken away.

doc said...

Keropok Man,

thanks!

doc said...

Yvonne,

ha ha! never thought i could write romantic verses.

doc said...

Adino,

thanks. all praise to the Lord!

doc said...

Anonymous,

thanks. in my vivid imagination, God is checking His diary & looking for another slot for me!!

Unicorn Girl said...

Hey doc ! You are a musician too - that's wonderful :) ! And the blessings will sure be a hundredfold - trust me on this.

zewt said...

well done... the Lord must be pleased with you...

i miss playing in worship...

doc said...

UG,

not so much a musician as someone who occasionally tinkles with the guitar.

but whatever talent one has, it should be used to glorify the Lord.

doc said...

Zewt,

thanks. i pray it has been sweet, sweet sound to His ear.

hope you are attending a church in s'pore; you definitely need to be playing again.

Anonymous said...

I think I might just chicken out of leading worship if it was in front of a large congregation.

If in a small group then it's ok.

fishtail said...

Congrats on a Quantum Leap. The next step: help the pastor serve communion, or help him (her) baptize babies?

doc said...

Mei Teng,

so, you won't chicken out if the congregation was smaller? when will that be?

doc said...

Fishtail,

already served communion & delivered 2 messages from the pulpit. baptizing would be the responsibility of an ordained minister.

the next quantum lead would be to head one of the ministries, eg. worship-leading, missions, youths, etc.

Yvonne Foong said...

Doc, you never write romantic verses for Mrs. Doc?

doc said...

Yvonne,

ah, that thought brings me back to the days of yore!