"God inhabits the praises of His people". This is a very popular verse amongst Pentecostal circles. A more accurate translation of Psalm 22:3 however would read, "Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel." ESV
Praise and worship is a very important ministry in Kidzville. We don't believe it is just another part of "Kids Church" that we need to have, we believe that praise and worship is essential to leading kidz to an encounter with God.
God spoke to me very clearly concerning this verse as it relates to our praise and worship ministry. God showed me that His throne is the place from which He reigns. From the place that He reigns He also sends out judgment, redemption, restoration, and healing. It is from the place that He reigns that He sends out His Spirit. It is from the place that He reigns that He raises valleys and lowers mountains. From the place that He reigns He breaks strongholds and tears down walls.
If God is not seated on His throne however, He will not act on our behalf. God showed me that the praises of His children are His throne. As the verse says, He is enthroned on the praises of Israel(His people). God is calling on us tell the kidz that God says, "build my throne"(His praises). When the kidz build His throne, He will come and sit and send out decrees, mobilize angels, and defeat their enemies.
Psalm 8:2 says that God has ordained praise to come from the mouths of children in order to stop the enemy. How does this happen? When the throne of God (His praises) is created He can sit on the place from which He rules and fight on our behalf from that place. But none of this will happen if the children do not first build His throne.
This is why in the atmosphere of praise and worship we see healings, miracles, signs and wonders. During these intense moments of worship prophetic words are given out, kidz are set free, filled with the Spirit, delivered, called into the ministry. etc. It is because God's throne has been built and He sits on the place from which He reigns and acts on their behalf.
Praise and worship is not simply another part of a kidz service that we need in order for us to have all the parts of a Kids Church service. It is the ministry which God has ordained for the releasing of His power in the lives of the little ones we serve. Let us all inquire of the Lord as to how He desires for us to build up this ministry and as a result, Build His Throne!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Tear Down the Wall
Every morning somewhere between 7:30 and 8:00 I go into Kidz Zone, turn on the stage lights, turn on my Jesus Culture, and just go after God. I take this time to pray for the volunteers, the ministry, and especially the Kidz of Kidzville.
As I was praying for the kidz I asked God to prepare their hearts to receive whatever He had for them. I asked God that if their hearts were hard like stone, He would melt them and make their hearts like the dark, deep, rich, fertile soil. While I was praying about this God showed me a wall. He showed me that a lot of the kidz have either consciously or subconsciously built a wall around their hearts.
Now the reasons they have built this wall around them varies from child to child. Some have built the wall because they have been hurt too many times and are using the wall as protection. Some have built the wall because they don't like who they are and don't want anyone to see them for who they truly are. Others have built the wall because of a hard past and don't want anyone to see it.
Whatever the reason, this wall is a major hindrance for these children. You see this hinderance in praise and worship. The children will not step out and be as expressive in worship as they might like too because of the wall holding them back. The wall keeps them from form important relationships with other children and their leaders and volunteers. Most importantly, this wall that they have built around their hearts has hindered their relationship they have with God. They are not as open with God as they could be or open TO God and all He desires to do in and through their lives because of this barrier that is, the Wall.
After God had shown me all this, He then showed me that this wall is like the wall of Jericho. The city of Jericho is the children's hearts. God wants this city(their hearts). He was commissioned us the Kidzville volunteers and leadership team as His army. He has called us out of the desert to approach this city and march around it. He has called us to bring down this "wall of Jericho" and take the city that He has given us for Him.
But practically, what does this look like? Quite honestly, I do not know. I mean, how do we tear down the wall around a child's heart? What I do know, is that Joshua and the Israelites did three things to prepare themselves for the taking of Jericho.
As I was praying for the kidz I asked God to prepare their hearts to receive whatever He had for them. I asked God that if their hearts were hard like stone, He would melt them and make their hearts like the dark, deep, rich, fertile soil. While I was praying about this God showed me a wall. He showed me that a lot of the kidz have either consciously or subconsciously built a wall around their hearts.
Now the reasons they have built this wall around them varies from child to child. Some have built the wall because they have been hurt too many times and are using the wall as protection. Some have built the wall because they don't like who they are and don't want anyone to see them for who they truly are. Others have built the wall because of a hard past and don't want anyone to see it.
Whatever the reason, this wall is a major hindrance for these children. You see this hinderance in praise and worship. The children will not step out and be as expressive in worship as they might like too because of the wall holding them back. The wall keeps them from form important relationships with other children and their leaders and volunteers. Most importantly, this wall that they have built around their hearts has hindered their relationship they have with God. They are not as open with God as they could be or open TO God and all He desires to do in and through their lives because of this barrier that is, the Wall.
After God had shown me all this, He then showed me that this wall is like the wall of Jericho. The city of Jericho is the children's hearts. God wants this city(their hearts). He was commissioned us the Kidzville volunteers and leadership team as His army. He has called us out of the desert to approach this city and march around it. He has called us to bring down this "wall of Jericho" and take the city that He has given us for Him.
But practically, what does this look like? Quite honestly, I do not know. I mean, how do we tear down the wall around a child's heart? What I do know, is that Joshua and the Israelites did three things to prepare themselves for the taking of Jericho.
- They prepared themselves spiritually Joshua 5:2-15
- They didn't take the city all at once, they first made their presence known and established a pattern of surrounding the city with worship Joshua 6:4-14
- They let the worshippers, and the Ark (symbol of God's presence) lead them in war, not weapons, defenses, or the infantry.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Social Media and Technology in the Church
Facebook now has over 1 billion users. If Facebook was a country, it would be the third largest country in the world by population. Twitter has over 500 million users. Thats more people than there are living in the US. YouTube, the 2nd largest search engine uploads over 60 hours of content per minute with 4 billion videos viewed per day. There are over 13 million articles on Wikipedia. There are 60 million professional users on Linkedln.
1 in 5 couples meet online. Generation Y and Z consider email to be a thing of the past. To the point where some universities have stopped issuing email accounts. Its too "old fashioned". The mobile device will be the worlds primary tool for connecting to the internet by the year 2020. Kindergartens are learning on iPads, not chalk boards. 11 is the average age that children in America receive a cell phone. 10% of parents say that their children received a cell phone between the ages of 7 and 9.
With these trends needing to be updated at an increasing faster pace, a question then arises. Should the Body of Christ be heavily plugged into social media, social networking, and new technologies? It can be a heated debate depending on who we ask. One side would say that we need to stay out of the world and not get into the toxic environment that social networks can bring or involve ourselves in the distractions that surrounding ourselves with technology and mobile devices can create.
Proponents of the Church engaging in social media and technology would argue that sites like Facebook and twitter give us a method of influence never before achieved. I would like to argue for a more digitally connected church from a different perspective. Look back in church history and what do we see? Historically the Church has always led the way in innovation and progress.
The Gutenberg Bible was the first book ever published by a printing press. From then on the Church led the way in literature and poetry. In music, the monks developed the foundation for modern western musical notation. Likewise in art, much of the renascence art now famous around the world was commissioned and promoted by the Church. Even in the areas of philosophy and science the Church was on the forefront promoting progress in these areas.
The Church historically has led the way in education. Centuries ago the most literate among the people were the clergy. Sunday School was started in the 1700's as a means of educating the poor. In Americas infancy, the Church and religious institutions were responsible for educating the public. The Church has led the way in nearly every area of progress and innovation in society EXCEPT social networks, social media, and technology. Instead we resist it, speak against it, and now at the last minute are trying to play catch up.
The world is leading us in this area instead of us leading them. Why? God has called the Church to be His body on this planet. We are Kingdom ambassadors with the local church being the Kingdoms embassy. We the Church should be leading the way in this new area of progress and innovation. Not only do social networks and technology open new doors for evangelism and outreach never before imagined, it keeps the Church's tradition of being the leader and example in our society alive.
1 in 5 couples meet online. Generation Y and Z consider email to be a thing of the past. To the point where some universities have stopped issuing email accounts. Its too "old fashioned". The mobile device will be the worlds primary tool for connecting to the internet by the year 2020. Kindergartens are learning on iPads, not chalk boards. 11 is the average age that children in America receive a cell phone. 10% of parents say that their children received a cell phone between the ages of 7 and 9.
With these trends needing to be updated at an increasing faster pace, a question then arises. Should the Body of Christ be heavily plugged into social media, social networking, and new technologies? It can be a heated debate depending on who we ask. One side would say that we need to stay out of the world and not get into the toxic environment that social networks can bring or involve ourselves in the distractions that surrounding ourselves with technology and mobile devices can create.
Proponents of the Church engaging in social media and technology would argue that sites like Facebook and twitter give us a method of influence never before achieved. I would like to argue for a more digitally connected church from a different perspective. Look back in church history and what do we see? Historically the Church has always led the way in innovation and progress.
The Gutenberg Bible was the first book ever published by a printing press. From then on the Church led the way in literature and poetry. In music, the monks developed the foundation for modern western musical notation. Likewise in art, much of the renascence art now famous around the world was commissioned and promoted by the Church. Even in the areas of philosophy and science the Church was on the forefront promoting progress in these areas.
The Church historically has led the way in education. Centuries ago the most literate among the people were the clergy. Sunday School was started in the 1700's as a means of educating the poor. In Americas infancy, the Church and religious institutions were responsible for educating the public. The Church has led the way in nearly every area of progress and innovation in society EXCEPT social networks, social media, and technology. Instead we resist it, speak against it, and now at the last minute are trying to play catch up.
The world is leading us in this area instead of us leading them. Why? God has called the Church to be His body on this planet. We are Kingdom ambassadors with the local church being the Kingdoms embassy. We the Church should be leading the way in this new area of progress and innovation. Not only do social networks and technology open new doors for evangelism and outreach never before imagined, it keeps the Church's tradition of being the leader and example in our society alive.
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