Three of five!

Remind me of an episode of Star Trek where all the 'baddies' were a number of another number such as three of one or two of six. In case you are now confused here are the next set of point from our service on Sunday - just realised some of you may think I am making some sort of cryptic comment about sermons and hymns in the title of this post. Might tonight be the night for three point sermons and five hymn sandwiches? Here goes.....
Offering and tithing
Christ centred
Helping and praying for each other
People leading worship clear and concise
A good relationship between the congregation and the preacher
Active participation
getting involved
Sharing testimonies
Sharing your ideas with others
Preaching

Watch for more tomorrow - still no 3 point sermon or hymn sandwich but I can say there will be mention of sermons and hymns in tomorrows ten points.
I was pleased to see preaching has made it on to the list particularly as there was no preaching element on Sunday - you never know the congregation might have said they liked not having any preaching now that really would have been an interesting result.

What is worship 2!!

I have been asked following last nights post if a 3 point sermon or a 5 hymn sandwich is on the list of points and you know what? I am not going to tell you - you will have to read this post and the next three to see what else is on there.
Here are the next 10 points and it might be worth saying that these are not listed in any particular order and there may be some things that appear more than once or are broadly similar but that is the nature of the type of exercise we did on Sunday.
On more thing to note is that in 9 years of attending this church I think we have only sung the Lord's Prayer about 6 times - hopefully this will put one of the comments into perspective.

Leaving church feeling happy
Worshipping the Lord with all your heart and soul
A challenge
looking both inward and outward
Child friendly
Open mindedness
Doing the best at whatever it is you are doing
Keeping relevant
Fellowship
Companionship and laughter
Singing the Lord's Prayer occasionally

No mention yet of hymn sandwich or 3 point sermon but who knows what may be on here tomorrow?

Worship is!!

Following on from my previous post and the feedback at Church Council last night here are the first ten points from the 50 that were written by members of the congregation on the theme of what makes a good act of worship - others will follow during the next few days.
Hearing the scriptures
A time for prayer and reflection
Praying for people
Prayer
Being still and knowing that You are God
Making time for God
Being brave not being afraid to embrace change
Something for everyone
Fun
Leaving church feeling happy

The worship leaders did not actually contribute to the discussions so these are all from the congregation.

What makes good worship?

Just a quick note following on from my previous post. The worship group at my own church led worship this morning cafe style with tea and biscuits in the middle of the service, and asked the congregation what makes a good act of worship. The congregation were encouraged to discuss in their tables groups and write their thoughts on post it notes to put up later in the service. It was very encouraging that there was a 'buzz' of talk around the church as people obviously got into the discussion and there were lots on notes being made. There was quite a lot of feedback and I think there will definitely be some food for thought among the comments made. One of the worship leaders is going to collate the comments for us to discuss at our Church Council meeting this week and who knows we may even feed the information back via the Preachers Meeting to those who lead our worship (This may be helped by the fact that I am LP Secretary).
I hope to post more details during the week of what the feedback was but for any who may be interested this was the format of the service this morning:-
Introduction/Call to worship
Hymn Be still and know.
Prayers of adoration
Psalm 111
4 songs - For I'm building a people of power, My Jesus my Saviour, I've got the joy,joy, joy; Jesus is the name we honour.
Reading - Hebrews 10 v 1 -25
Hymn Come now is the time to worship.
Discussion/Refreshments
Hymn O for a thousand tongues to sing
Feed back - people came and put post its on flip charts
Prayer of confession
Hymn God forgave my sin
Round up of comments from post it notes
Prayers on intercession followed by Lords Prayer (sung - we normally say it)
Hymn You shall go out with joy
Grace shared by all.

34 people were present with ages ranging from 3 years to over 80 and the majority being over 50 years old.

Blog missing

To any regular readers my apologies that I have not blogged much recently - I have been busy getting ready for a beach mission which I am leading next week in Borth in Wales. If you would like to know more check out the website on www.borthbm.org.uk or if you are in Borth pop in and see us especially if you have children with us. We meet each morning Monday to Friday at 10-45a.m. and would appreciate your prayers for this event. The programme for the week will appear on the website later tonight for any who are interested.
Went to choir practice last night and we sang 10 hymns/songs in just under an hour and it was a great time of praise with our very able musicians giving us the lead. We are preparing for a circuit service in August where we will help to lead the singing. This is one of a series of such events where we are trying to do something a little different - I suppose it is a sort of Fresh Expressions exercise especially as all music used has to have been written in the last 30 years which takes those leading the services down a potentially modern path. If you happen to be in Walsall on Sunday 12th August at 6-30p.m. come and join us at Aldridge Methodist Church.