Welcome to the El Camino Baptist Church blog. We wanted a place where our ministry leaders could share things that God has laid on their hearts. Please feel free to comment and join in the discussion as we share how God is moving through His church.Other places to find us on the web are our website, Youtube, and Facebook. You can also check out Hoss' music blog at hosshughes.com.









Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Face Down Worship

I would like to share with everyone a quote from I small book I've been reading entitled, "Face Down" by Matt Redman.
"Every posture in worship says something of both the worshipper and the One being gloried in.
The raising of hands tells of a soul stretched out high in praise and the worth of the One being exalted. Joyful dancing interprets a grateful heart and points in adoration to the source of that joy. When it comes to expressing our worship, what we do on the outside is a key reflection of what's taking place on the inside." It may be standing or sitting in quiet reverence, or a wonderful smile, or hands lifted high but however God leads us to worship him we should do so with our whole heart, mind, soul & body.

Blessings
Dick Dillender

Monday, June 21, 2010

We Can Know God

I was doing my devotional this morning and came across Jeremiah 44: 2-3:

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ruins and no one lives in them, because of their wickedness which they committed so as to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers."

A few interesting things in there but the thing that jumped out at me was the very last phrase. God was angered by people serving "other gods whom they had not known". Even as Almighty Creator, God not only allows us to know Him but desires it. I know this sounds odd but wouldn't you be furious if you were in God's shoes? He wants us to know him in a personal way and we, like Judah, continue to turn from Him to gods (money, objects, power, etc.) which we can never know.

Hoss

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Fourth of July Celebration

On the Fourth of July, we will only have one combined service at 9:30 a.m. followed by churchwide picnic and fun time. The service will feature patriotic music, a honor guard, special music, and a message from God's Word regarding what being free truly means. What are your thoughts about doing something like this occasionally? Let me hear from you.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Simple Happiness

Last week I had the pleasure of being up at Camp EDGE on Mt. Lemmon with the 4th-8th graders. We had great food, played games, ate some more, did some hiking, some more eating (I had forgotten how many times you eat at camp).

We also had some very special chapel times. I was fortunate to lead the kids in worship times. We sang a lot of the same songs we sing in our Contemporary service but added motions so they were easier to remember. It was great to hear the kids singing these songs outside of the chapel time too.

The thing that struck me most was during the message time. Lynne Hooge did a wonderful job of sharing the gospel and when the kids responded during question times, you could see how happy they were that Jesus loved them.

It's so simple but yet it means so much. Jesus loves us and we are His forever. It's easy to get lost in the complex issues of worship, theology, doctrine, etc. It's impossible to get lost in the simplicity of knowing a loving God died for us and will never let us go. Something to be truly happy about.

Hoss

Thursday, June 3, 2010

We Need "Duh" Moments

So I was reading Jeremiah 32 last night when I stumbled upon verse 17:

"Ah Lord God! Thou hast made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and Thine outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for Thee."

Two things hit me:

1) I had no idea where the song had come from before
2) I love the "Duh" moment that Jeremiah uses at the end.

After detailing that God is so powerful that He made the heavens and earth, he finishes by saying nothing is too difficult for God to accomplish. Well of course not!!! Duh!!! But don't we think like that all the time? We always acknowledge that God is Almighty, Creator, All-Powerful, Omniscient, etc. but many times we don't seek His help with our problems because we don't want to burden God with something really difficult.

Duh!!!

If He created the heavens and earth, I'm pretty sure anything I throw His way is going to be pretty easy.

Hoss