Will you worship with me? Yes, right now. Mark Batterson says that the Bible isn’t for reading it’s for praying. I discovered that reality when I was just a young mom. It really bolstered my prayer. I felt more confident as I learned to pray the will of God for situations I was facing. Scripture […]
Have you ever experienced an electric fence? When my oldest granddaughter, Karyn, was a baby, I was invited to speak at a church in a rural community. They booked a room for me in a gorgeous bed and breakfast in the middle of farmland. The land adjacent to the house was a pasture with cows […]
Do you ever read a quote and feel it all the way through your being…I mean like all the way to the tips of your toes? And you’re not really sure why it resonates so loudly, but it just does? This quote did that for me. “ And, I’m not even musically inclined! So, it […]
Clay toddled away from his dad’s reach as he chased the wagging, furry tail of the neighbor’s golden retriever. But Clay’s curiosity dissipated into fright when the friendly dog greeted Clay with affectionate licks. As Clay backed away the dog nuzzled closer to be petted. Clay turned and ran crying to his daddy. He buried his […]
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7 NAS It is only mentioned in Luke. And Luke doesn’t comment. He simply states the fact…no room. Nothing more. I want more information. How many […]
Granny, just plain Granny, was a character we all, staff and kids alike, loved. I was in charge of the children’s ministry and Shirley was the pianist, lover of kids and my partner in everything that went on in Children’s Ministry. Shirley decided to stretch herself by developing a grandma costumed character. Granny was the […]
I’d love to tell you about a lesson my granddaughter Ashlyn taught me on love. Click here to listen. My grandchildren teach me all kinds of things. I’m surprised at how often my grandchildren are the teachers and I’m the student. Both Brayden and Ashlyn were excited to be spending the night with us. Karyn […]
Our time in Denali National Park was limited. The Alaska Pipeline was actually number one on my “Had to See List.” And we wanted to see the North Pole. We wanted to see Fairbanks and eat in at least one of Guy Fieri‘s suggested places on Diners, Drive–Ins and Dives . We wanted to see Seward and Haines. I […]
With an elevation of 20, 237 feet, Mt. Mckinley is the highest mountain peak in North America. Our highest elevation, east of the Mississippi river is in the Appalachian Mountains. It is Mt. Mitchell at 6,683. That means Mt. McKinley’s summit is 3 times our highest peak. You would think with a summit that high, you […]
I got my socks blown off last week (I lose more socks that way!) and it wasn’t even my fault. I was cleaning the kitchen, Praise the Lord! Might as well do some praising, it doesn’t do any good to grumble about dirty dishes, especially since the food was good and it wasn’t even burned this time. Beside that, praising God makes everything better, but I digressed.
You know me. I’ve got to do more than one thing at a time, that’s why I burn everything. So, while I washed dishes I was listening to Bryan Jarrett. I love that man. Listening to him is like trying to drink from a fire hydrant! Honestly, in the first five minutes of that sermon my faith was ignited and my socks went missing. Most of the time I skip the introduction and go right for the meat of the sermon. But even his first five minutes was riveting. I had to listen again and again.
If you have my Prayer Object Lesson Kit for Kids you know I love the verse in Psalms 34:3 KJV “O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.” If you’ve ever played with a magnifying glass you understand that it allows you to focus and analyze more clearly what you are seeing. Worship causes us to stop and focus on the nature and wonders of God. It is a powerful way to move into God’s presence to experience the wonder of who He is.
Pastor Jarrett expounded on this verse. Magnify means make bigger. Yet our worship cannot make God bigger. God is already big, really BIG. So big in fact that it take a universe that spans the distance of billions of light years to reflect His glory. God is immeasurable. God is unfathomable. But if we can’t make God bigger, why does the Psalms tell us to magnify God.
Listen to his explanation: “Our worship does not change the nature of God. Worship changes the perspective of the worshiper. When the Psalmist says come magnify the Lord, He was not saying ‘Come make God bigger’. He was inviting you into a mind shift, a perspective shift where you right size your God, and in the process of right sizing your God you right size your mountain. You right size your difficulty. You right size your perspective.”
Wow! When our perspective is right, we understand God is big and our problems are little. That’s the kind of perspective that turns a youth into a giant killer. It turns a fiery furnace into a revival center where you dance and praise God. It turns a lion’s den into a place to catch up on your rest.
Bro. Jarrett explains there are two methods of magnification:
1.A microscope takes something small and make it bigger, so we can see what it looks like and examine it more closely.
2. A telescope takes something enormous, but because it is so far away we can’t see what it looks little. So the telescope makes it look bigger so we can see what it looks like; so we can be awed by its splendor and beauty. Like the pictures taken from the Hubble Telescope.
Bro. Jarret explains that God is not little. And because God is so big, our praise is like a telescope. The church is like a magnificent observatory filled with telescopes. When we begin to praise God, it gives us a lens to focus on God and see more clearly what He is like. Our praise focuses our attention on Him and brings Him into our view so we can see more clearly what He is like.
Magnify enables us to take something big, like a star that is much bigger than the Earth, pull it closer, so we can analyse it and see it in all its glory for what it really is. Our worship magnifies Him by bringing his presence near. Our worship gives us the opportunity to study, feel and experience and know God for Who He is. Worship is the lens that allows us to see how wonderful, powerful and glorious He really is. Worship brings His presence near.
He also quoted from the classic sermon of Dr. S.M. Lockridge. It is one of the most powerful sermons ever given. I’ve listened to it dozens of times, and every time I am moved to tears and worship! He paints a graphic word picture of Christ our King, Redeemer and Savior. Here’s the link to the audio with slides of this amazing sermon entitled That’s My King
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Listen to Bro. Jarrett’s sermon. Even if you only have 10 minutes, you’ll be blessed. https://northplacechurch.com/resources/watch/ Select Incomparable/Magnify Don’t forget to take off your sock first though.
And if you haven’t read his book, Extravagant, run, better yet, take the car and get to the Bible book store or Christian Book Distributors online and get his book! It will bless you. Great book!!!