This incredible photo was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2006. Like a cosmic chandelier, the dazzling lights of the star cluster Pismis 24 hang over the dusty clouds of NGC 6357, a nebula about 8,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius.
Ministry moments…when God speaks to human hearts…
The Almighty God,
The Maker of Heaven and Earth,
The First and the Last,
The King of all ages,
The Savior of Mankind, who has chosen to demonstrate His love and mercy by the giving of Himself,
The One True God, who has chosen to be with us and within us
The Father of mercy and God of all comfort
Invites you….
Yes, you!….
To know Him,
to walk in relationship with Him,
to experience the reality of Faith in Him,
to join Him in the work of His Kingdom,
to catch glimpses of His glory,
and to worship Him in the beauty of His Holiness.
here and now in this earthly life
and for all of eternity.
And in this lifetime, He promises abundance.
In His covenant with us, He promises to adopt us as His Sons and Daughters of Redemption.
He blesses our lives with the nearness of His presence and the gifts of His spirit.
Our abundance lies in love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, patience, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control…the fruits of His Spirit at work in our lives. This is evidence of His tender care for those He calls His own.
He reveals His handiwork and His presence in our lives through moments of recognition that come from somewhere deep inside the redeemed and ransomed heart.
These are ministry moments…moments when something real and beautiful is taking place in the hearts and lives of people. True ministry moments are something that only God can do. Ministry moments can flow from God’s spirit to our hearts within any experience.
* There are moments of openness to God’s spirit and the the message of redemption and grace when life can begin anew.
* There are sometimes moments when there is no sound. There is only a holy hush, and nothing else seems appropriate.
* There are times of jubilant joyfulness when the heart says “Thank you, Lord!”
* There are moments of revelation when a new understanding of truth has been gained.
* There are moments of praise when the truth of God’s majesty and the presence of God’s glory are so apparent and transcendant that it is as though we are transported right to the gates of Heaven.
* There are moments of oneness with the Spirit of God that communicate His love for us far beyond what mere words could convey.
And yet, it is not these moments we seek. Our relationship with Him and our desire to worship and praise Him are not longings for an experience or a moment. We are longing for Him. It is only in relationship with Him that God allows us to experience times when His spirit is at work in our hearts and lives in ways that we recognize and yet would have difficulty putting into words. These moments when the Spirit of God is so clearly ministering to His people are reminders that ministry is never ours. True ministry can only take place when God is allowed to do His work in our hearts and lives to the extent that we become vessels of His grace, poured out through the ministry of His Holy Spirit. Whether He chooses to do this in times of silence and waiting upon Him, or within a time of prayer, within a personal or corporate worship time, or as we gaze upon the splendor of His creation, at times when our hearts overflow with thankfulness, or through the message of a song, and even in the depths of a valley of sorrow, God will speak and is speaking. We just need to be ready to listen. Only then can we experience moments of true ministry that are not the result of our plans, our talents or our creativity. Oh, no, these moments of true ministry flow only from His Spirit. He can take the offerings of our worship and our praise, our preparation, our heartfelt longing to praise Him, recognition of our need for him, and even our brokenness, and He can indwell the praises of His people. This kind of ministry is all His, and allowing it is our highest goal.
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This post was written by Cynthia A. Boyd
See below for a “Reader’s Theater” type of Drama Script which takes the post above and makes it into a dramatic presentation that can be shared with your small group or congregation.
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“Ministry Moments” Reader’s Theater Script
(requiring five readers and sufficient rehearsal time to present the message with excellence)
By Cynthia A. Boyd
(WorshipSounds Music Blog @ http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com)
READER ONE: Ministry moments take place when God speaks to human hearts…
READER TWO: He invites you to be a part of them!
READER ONE: The Almighty God,
READER TWO: The Maker of Heaven and Earth,
READER THREE: The First and the Last,
READER FOUR: The King of all ages,
READER FIVE: The Savior of Mankind, who has chosen to demonstrate His love and mercy by the giving of Himself,
READER ONE: The One True God, who has chosen to be with us and within us,
READER THREE: The Father of mercy and God of all comfort
ALL: Invites you…. Yes, you!….
READER TWO: To know Him,
READER FOUR: to walk in relationship with Him,
READER FIVE: to experience the reality of Faith in Him,
ALL: to join Him in the work of His Kingdom,
READER TWO: to catch glimpses of His glory,
READER THREE: and to worship Him in the beauty of His Holiness. here and now in this earthly life and for all of eternity.
READER ONE: And in this lifetime, He promises abundance. In His covenant with us, He promises to adopt us as His Sons and Daughters of Redemption. He blesses our lives with the nearness of His presence and the gifts of His spirit.
READER TWO: Our abundance is found in love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, patience, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control…the fruits of His Spirit at work in our lives.
READER THREE: This is evidence of His tender care for those He calls His own. He reveals His handiwork and His presence in our lives through moments of recognition that come from somewhere deep inside the redeemed and ransomed heart.
READER FOUR: These are ministry moments…moments when something real and beautiful is taking place in the hearts and lives of people.
READER FIVE: True ministry moments are something that only God can do. Ministry moments can flow from God’s spirit to our hearts within any experience.
READER ONE: There are moments of openness to God’s spirit and the the message of redemption and grace when life can begin anew.
READER TWO: There are sometimes moments when there is no sound. There is only a holy hush, and nothing else seems appropriate.
READER THREE: There are times of jubilant joyfulness when the heart says “Thank you, Lord!”
READER FOUR: There are moments of revelation when a new understanding of truth has been gained.
READER FIVE: There are moments of praise when the truth of God’s majesty and the presence of God’s glory are so apparent and transcendant that it is as though we are transported right to the gates of Heaven.
ALL: There are moments of oneness with the Spirit of God that communicate His love for us far beyond what mere words could convey.
READER ONE: And yet, it is not these moments we seek. Our relationship with God and our desire to worship and praise Him are not longings for an experience or a moment. We are longing for Him. It is only in relationship with Him that God allows us to experience times when His spirit is at work in our hearts and lives in ways that we recognize and yet would have difficulty putting into words.
READER TWO: These moments when the Spirit of God is so clearly ministering to His people are reminders that ministry is never ours. True ministry can only take place when God is allowed to do His work in our hearts and lives to the extent that we become vessels of His grace, poured out through the ministry of His Holy Spirit.
READER THREE: Whether He chooses to do this in times of silence and waiting upon Him, or within a time of prayer,
READER FOUR: within a personal or corporate worship time, or as we gaze upon the splendor of His creation,
READER FIVE: at times when our hearts overflow with thankfulness, or through the message of a song, and even in the depths of a valley of sorrow,
ALL: God will speak and is speaking.
READER ONE: We just need to be ready to listen. Only then can we experience moments of true ministry that are not the result of our plans, our talents or our creativity.
READER TWO: Oh, no, these moments of true ministry flow only from His Spirit.
READER THREE: He can take the offerings of our worship and our praise, our preparation, our heartfelt longing to praise Him,
READER FOUR: the recognition of our need for him, and even our brokenness,
READER FIVE: and He can indwell the praises of His people.
READER FOUR: He lives in our praise.
READER THREE: He moves and works in our hearts within the context of our praise.
READER TWO: This kind of ministry, with all of its life-changing moments, is all His.
READER ONE: Allowing His ministry to take place within us and then flow out to touch the lives of others is our highest goal.
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This Reader’s Theater script can be copied and used for worship free of charge. However, if the service is to be broadcasted, permission for use is required. E-mail Travis@worshipsounds.com for futher information. See the post which contains only the script for the Reader’s Theater to print the script without the original post, and save paper.
It is found at:
Note: A suggested song to sing following this Reader’s Theater presentation would be “A Prayer for the Saints”, which is a modern hymn that expresses the longings and prayers of God’s people to know Him and to grow in their faith and in their walk with the Lord. This modern hymn is available on our website in two formats.
* There is an SATB Choral arrangement available for $15.00 (Master Copy PDF, from which you are allowed to make an unlimited number of copies for your choir and accompanists).
* There is also a Worship Pack available for $10.00, which includes the PDFs for a Vocal Solo with piano accompaniment, a reproducible lead sheet for rhythm section, and a reproducible hymn sheet in bulletin or hymnal insert size. (all of which come with permission granted to make copies as needed…for your church only).
“A Prayer for the Saiuts” is available on our website’s Adult Choir music page @ http://www.worshipsounds.com
Look for this thumbnail photo on our Adult Choir music page:
Click photo to go directly to the Adult Choir music page of our website, where “A Prayer for the Saints” can be found.
Here is a link to a Youtube video of the Choral anthem, “A Prayer for the Saints” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4ostIootKU&feature=BFa&list=PLMJind8w21aQ26cyw7AKYC2xHGis9ZEG9
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For further inspiration in your private worship and public witness, read our blog page entitled “Lifestyle Worship.”
http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/lifestyle-worship/
For a useful worship scripture resource, see our blog page entitled “Lift Your Voice!”
http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/lift-your-voice/
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Do you know someone who is looking for answers?
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading the contents of this page. We hope that it has been helpful to you. If you or someone that you know is looking for answers about life, we hope that you will visit our page called “Do You Know Jesus?”. The links provided on this page will help to answer life’s deepest questions. Here is the link to “Do You Know Jesus?”: http://www.worshipsounds.wordpress.com/do-you-know-jesus/
Please feel free to share this URL with anyone who is looking for answers about life and eternity.
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