The beautiful and wonderful part about teaching exegetically through the Bible is that it forces teachers/pastors to work through and engage more difficult passages. To me, at least, there is almost an exciting challenge to it (when I’m teaching) – how can I open this passage to the body so they really understand and see what the writer and the Spirit are saying through it?

But as a worship leader, in designing services, themes work much, much more easily for us. And if it’s going to be a passage, ones like 1 Corinthians 13 or Ephesians 1:3-14 are near perfect – very straightforward with strong themes to draw upon when making song choices.

But what do you do when the passage is, well, just not so straightforward or thematic?

I was handed a service recently with Galatians 4:12-20 as the passage which the pastor would be teaching from. Verse 20 ends with “…for I am perplexed by you.” (ESV) What does a worship leader do with a passage like this?

Well, I’m going to let you stew over it for a week or so (as ::cough:: I am as well…). Here’s a couple of clues, though:

• context is very important (context of the book, the passage in relation to the rest of the book, the book and passage in relation to the New Testament as well as the rest of the Bible)
• The thematic movement you use for the service you develop will not directly mimic the theme or direction of the passage – remember, you are setting the stage for the exploration of this passage.

That’s all I’m going to give you for now – I’ll break down how I am addressing and working with this passage next week!

I had a wonderful time today on Mother’s Day worshiping with my parents at their church. After the opening song by the band, a man stepped up on stage and said he wanted to share with us Colossians 3. Which he proceeded to do – from memory! My mom remarked to me that this gentleman has the rather admirable practice of memorizing large portions of scripture, which he shares with the congregation every month or so.

As a side note, I want to note that the way the man presented himself and the literal Word that he was bringing was not in the attitude of a superior, “Look what I’ve done” attitude. You could tell that he was sharing the Word of God with the Body to bless it.

The more I learn about the New Testament, specifically the many epistles, the more I appreciate the oratorical element to how many of them were written. The authors were aware that their letters were going to be read out loud, at least to a specific congregation, if not to many. So the way this gentleman was bringing the Word to the congregation was very much in line with how it was brought to the local bodies nearly 2,000 years ago.

It seems to me that our people all too often are fed bits and pieces of the Word. Yet the Bible was never meant to be digested one sentence at a time, each separated from all the others. I think it is essential for our people to be regularly presented with (i.e. read aloud) larger portions of scripture. Multiple paragraphs and even entire chapter(s).

If you have people (specifically those talented in the dramatic arts) who can memorize, or at least dramatically read, these larger portions of scriptures it can be a wonderful way of helping bring these words which date back nearly two thousand years alive once more. Your people need to be continually brought face to face with the Word itself, and utilizing the talents and/or abilities which lay in your people is a way in which you can do this and at the same time encourage and empower the members of your congregation to serve and minister to the Body.