There Is No "I" In Team

Have you ever seen the power of people working together to achieve great things?

Recently, I was browsing the web, reading various blogs and websites of inspirational stories. While I was surfing, I ran across a site that had dozens of famous quotes attesting to the power of good leadership and teamwork. Here are just a few.

The ratio of We's to I's is the best indicator of the development of a team."

Lewis B. Ergen

"None of us is as smart as all of us."

Ken Blanchard

"No one can whistle a symphony. It takes an orchestra to play it."

H.E. Luccock

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success."

Henry Ford

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed. It is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

"Synergy - the bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously."

Mark Twain

"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime."

Babe Ruth

"Working together, ordinary people can perform extraordinary feats. They can lift things a little higher, a little farther, towards excellence."

Author Unknown

"When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence - excellence becomes a reality."

Joe Paterno

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

Helen Keller

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

Andrew Carnegie

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual."

Vincent Lombardi

And my personal favorite…

"There is no ‘I’ in TEAMWORK."

Author Unknown

As we continue in our series on Judges, we come to one of the most famous women of the Bible: Deborah. As we read her story and how God uses her as an instrument to His people, we are reminded how important it is to fully understand the concept of co-laboring in community with others. In your worship this week, meditate on ideas such as community, submission, and seeking the will of God.

Resounding Themes:
Reign of God
Power of Community
Trust
Submission to Each Other, to Christ

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 4

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- How long did Israel stay faithful after Ehud died? How do you explain their ongoing fickleness toward God? How did God respond? How long did it take Israel to seek God once again?

- Whom does God raise up to be his mouthpiece to the people? Why is His choice interesting/strange? What role does Deborah play to the people, as well as judge?

- What word to the people does God give Deborah? How does her general Barak respond? What does this action say about Barak? Deborah? God? What happens to the Canaanite army and it’s leader? Once again, whom does God choose to carry out his will?

- Is there anything in this story to be said about God’s ability to use different persons to do his will? Does Barak show himself to be a whip or a genius in demanding Deborah to accompany him to battle? How well do we favor when it comes to partnering with God’s work in the world, rather than going it alone against the enemy?

Ready, Set, PRAY

I saw you this morning, God. As the night gave way to dawn and the earth woke up one again to your unforced rhythms of grace, I could see Your mighty hand at work. I sit here, right now Father, aware of my very breath – keenly aware that each one is a gift directly from You. How far, O God, could I make it without Your presence in my life? And what would it profit me to capture the very riches of the earth – if You had not ordained it for Your glory alone. Jehovah God, my soul aches for You. As the dawn need the sun to part the blackness of evening, so too am I in desperate need of Your leadership and power.

And with these thoughts, we pray to You these ancient words from Pope Clement XI:

I offer you, Lord, my thoughts: to be fixed on you; my words: to have you for their theme; my actions: to reflect my love for you; my sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me: in the way you ask, for as long as you ask, because you ask it. I pray, Lord, that you enlighten my mind, inflame my will, purify my heart, and sanctify my soul.

We don’t’ want to go anywhere without You!

In Christ’s Name. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Once a Truth, Always a Truth

Have you ever believed this idea: something that was true once is always true?

When I was in college, one of my favorite pastimes was walking – and it still is. I love to walk – I’ve told you that before – but when I was in college, I walked a lot. One time, one a dare, I walked across Abilene to the grand opening of the first super WalMart in Taylor County…and back again. The total was 16 miles. A month later, like Forrest Gump, I put on my shoes one Sunday after noon and sought out to walk the entire loop around Abilene. Eight hours and 26.6 miles later, I’d done it. Think that’s crazy? A month after that trek, I decided to walk 50 miles from Eastland to Abilene. I had calculated every angle of the trip – except the temperature! It was 97 degrees that day, and I ended up collapsing with multiple leg cramps at mile 32 in Baird. The point is, I love to walk.

My roommate, Joel, was a long time walking buddy. Many nights when the homework was done and the duplex was closing in on us, we’d set out to walk the neighborhood. It’s amazing the conversations you can have when you’re walking and the juices are pumping! One of our most favored routes took us across a field from one subdivision to the next. It’s hard to believe there are houses there now, but back then, there was nothing more than infrequently cut weeds and no lighting.

On one particular night in May, we had been cramming for finals. After studying for a good stretch of time, Joel and I decided to take a walk. It was an enjoyable, balmy evening in the low 80’s with an abundance of humidity and a bizarre lack of wind. As our time away drew to a close, we found the opportunity to cut across the field and make our way to the house…it was a motion we had gone through many times before. As we cut across the property, I remember there being not much of a moon that night, as we were both gazing at the sky and the stars as we walked. And then it happened. It was a sensation that I can remember still to this day. I stepped on something. I wasn’t sure what it was at first, but when it started to move underneath my foot, it became a bit more clear…and then it became very clear! I had stepped squarely on a skunk! As I lifted my foot, I yelped and almost knocked Joel over with my reaction. In an instant, the skunk had discharged its repellent all over Joel and me. The progression of emotion when from startled to defensive to cowardly and then to relieved as we made some distance from the foul beast and went on our way. At first, we thought we’d dodged a bullet. The smell hadn’t matured in the late Spring air, and all seemed well…and then it happened. As though the floodgates of Gehena were opened, the nauseating remnant of the skunk on our clothes, skin, and hair overwhelmed our senses.

When we got home, the only thing to do was to strip and begin the cleaning process. Many bottles of tomato juice and vinegar were brought in…but to no avail. What we didn’t know and were soon to discover is that our open, sweating pores had become magnets for the skunk’s expectorant, and that the only way to remove the smell entirely was to sweat in out once again. Sparing many details, this process took many days and even weeks to accomplish its task. There’s so many lessons one can glean from such an experience, but the one that holds fast in my mind, even today, is this: just because a field is skunk free once doesn’t’ make it skunk free forever!

On a more serious note, do we respond with such a lazy, cavalier attitude in other areas of life – that is to say that we believe just because we could count on something/someone on one occasion that we should expect the same reception every time…regardless of our own behavior? Israel had much this same attitude in their relationship with God. Since they were the chosen, covenant nation, they assumed that God would always be on their side – even when they disobeyed him and sought after idols. In many ways, they confused unconditional love with blindness, and, in the end, found themselves in hot water with their enemies. To answer such despair, God raises up Ehud, the second in the line of Judges, to deliver them. His story is as memorable as it is challenging.

In you worship this week, reflect on the ways God has delivered you personally from foes and trials. Do you think often of those events, or are you, like the Israelites, all too quick in forgetting God’s great care and protection. In response, give God the glory for the things he has done on your behalf, and make a pact this day not to forget the mighty works of his hands, and to find blest assurance in his presence.

Resounding Themes:
The Reign and Rulership of God
Deliverance
Jesus, Our Great Protector
Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 3:12-30

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- How does the next chapter of the Israelite story open as Ehud comes on the scene? Is this a new behavior? If not, why are the Israelites so bent on rejecting God – the only good thing they have going? How did God respond to their wickedness? To what end did God do this?

- What did Israel want while in 18 years of captivity? Why Ehud? How did Israel respond? What did Ehud decide to do when he went with the offering from Israel? When he gained entrance to the king, what happened? Is there any significance about Ehud being left handed in the presence of the king?

- When Ehud escapes, what does he do? What dies he tell the Israelites? How did the Israelites overcome the Moabites? How many died and how long did it take? The Israelites were foolish and assumed that God would always be on their side – even when they were idolatrous and unfaithful. Whose side is God on? Why?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O, God…how magnificent are Your thoughts – how vast the sum of them; had I were able to count them, they would outnumber the sands on the seashore and the stars in the sky! Your works are wonderful God, I know that full well. You have worked mightily in the past on humankind’s behalf. Even in my own life, Mighty Deliverer, You have parted the waters of the rising flood that I might not drown in my own sin. And as certain as You are unchanging and unfaithful, I realize that You require something of me in return for Your great care. It’s not a raucous presentation, magnificent achievement, or even a life or perfection that catches Your attention. No, You ask only two things of me in return for Your unfailing love: a broken spirit and a contrite heart. For in your presence, a blest assurance can be found – and to be in your presence requires a humbling of the soul. Great Jehovah, I bow humbly in Your presence today, asking only that You continue to be the God of yesterday as today and forever. I can’t help but turn all things back to the praise of Your Name! God, once again show Your power on human kind’s behalf, and let it begin with me! Through the powerful name of our Lord and Savior. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

How to Ruin Your Life

Have you ever made a decision that seemed to ruin your life…only to make it better or save it?

Stanislav Petrov was a Soviet army officer monitoring the satellite system for signs of a U.S. attack. The year was 1983, and his instructions, if he detected missiles targeting the Soviet Union, were to push the button and launch a counter-offensive. Half an hour past midnight on September 26, 1983, he saw the first apparent launch on his computer monitor in a glass-walled room on the top floor of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) command and control post.

“I was supposed to supervise the combat crew. When the first launch happened, everyone was stupefied. After the first launch, I started giving orders, because in the room below, where there were five switchboards, and all the operators jumped out of their seats to see what my reaction was. I can only imagine what went on at the other posts.”

The warning system was by now showing five missile launches in the U.S., headed toward the Soviet Union. The “START” command Petrov was expected to give would have started an irreversible chain reaction in a system geared to launch a counter-strike without human interference. “The main computer wouldn’t ask me [what to do] — it was made so that it wouldn’t even ask. It was specially constructed in such a way that no one could affect the system’s operations.” All that was up to Petrov was analyzing the available information and either saying the alarm was false or giving the computer the go-ahead, as per the directive he himself wrote.

As the seconds turned into minutes, officer Petrov knew that a decision had to be made. One the one had, he realized if he made the decision to “push the button,” WW III would be upon them – even though the USA had launched five missiles at them, they would have launched hundreds in return! On the other hand, if he chose not to obey protocol, the result would most certainly be, at minimum, severe reprimand…if not worse.

Back to the drama at hand, all the data checked out, to all appearances, the system was right on target — or rather, the missiles it reported were.

A decision had to be made…

Petrov reported the alarm to his superiors and declared it false. Had he been mistaken, the mistake would have become obvious in minutes. However, as they waited for visual confirmation, no missiles rained on Soviet Union.

In the end, it was a false alarm started aboard a satellite,” says retired General Yuri Votintsev, then the Commander of the Soviet Missile and Space Establishment. “I noted Lieutenant Colonel Petrov’s correct actions, given the situation. Literally within a minute he informed all the command posts that the information about the launch of space vehicles was false. His actions were duly noted.”

Duly noted indeed! For in a matter of seconds, Petrov was forced to make a decision that had overwhelming consequences. In the end, what seemed like a decision that would ruin his life and end his career turned out to be the difference millions of lives and the altering of world history!

But what about in our spiritual lives? Do we have the faculty to make decisions that, from all outward indicators, might bring about ruin to life as we currently know it? Are we so bold as to stand shoulder to shoulder with decisions that might bring us personal pain, demotion, and discomfort – all for the sake of following God? As the book of Judges opens, we see a people in a land of milk and honey not even knowing who they were or Whom had delivered them! With the fear of the Lord gone, the age of the judges had dawned that God’s people might once again risk in relationship with him and be restored – ruining their lives forever.

Resounding Themes:
Sovereignty/Aloneness of God
Desperation for God
Jesus’ Sacrifice for Our Seperation
Telling Salvation’s Story

Ready, Set, READ

Judges 2:10-15

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What do we know about the “generation that had been gathered to their fathers?” What things did the Lord do with/through them? How could a generation so ignorant about God’s might and power follow such a great one?

- Without the fear of the Lord, how did the new generation act? In what specific ways did they rebel against the Lord? What does the writer mean when he says, “the Lord sold them [Israel} to their enemies?”

- Why is it important is it for us to be continuously telling the story of God’s faithfulness? If we don’t tell out children, what might become of them? In our own lives, are we living our lives in such a way as to deny the way of the world and to ruin our lives for God? Are we preparing the next generation to know and fear the Lord for the great things he has done?

Ready, Set, PRAY

O Lord – You are God alone! Who could compare to your matchless worth? If we could even dare to stand in the proximity of your holiness, we would be brought low and humbled because of our impurity. O God, we are a sinful people with unclean lips who live among a people of unclean lips, and our eyes have seen You, the Lord Almighty! We have traded glory for shame, riches for rags, blessings for curses, and love for scorn. What a bankrupt people we are! Yet…in Your infinite mercy, would You restore our fortunes, oh Lord. As You teach us humility in the presence of our own pride, would You provide a hand of comfort and constancy that only You can give? As an oasis in the desert, would You quench the thirst of our souls with Your living water. In our desperation, would You be our salvation? O Lord – You are God alone!

Unchangeable

Unshakable

Unstoppable

That’s what You are! Our humble prayer in the name of Jesus. AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!

Extraordinary Moms

This Sunday, we will be focusing our thoughts on two groups of people: mothers and new born babies. Since it is Mother’s Day, we want to take an opportunity to applaud the moms among us. Moms play an integral role in the development of the world around us. Their work is under-sung, under-appreciated, and often over-looked…but not today! Today, we will shout “Hooray!” for our mothers and their tireless efforts to make our world and our church a better place. Along with moms, we will also be recognizing our newborns over the past 12 months. It is the goal of Highland Oaks Church of Christ to bring everyone along in their awareness and walk with Jesus. We believe this should happen at all stages of life, but none more important than the early years of one’s development. In light of that revelation, we, as a congregation, will dedicate ourselves on an oath to the development and spiritual nurture of our newborns – knowing full well that they are tomorrow’s mothers and fathers and leaders.

As we set our worship heart aright for this week, consider these thoughts as given from a mother to her child:

I gave you life, but cannot live it for you.

I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn.

I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.

I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it.

I can take you to church, but I cannot make you believe.

I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot always decide for you.

I can buy you beautiful clothes, but I cannot make you beautiful inside.

I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.

I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.

I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.

I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.

I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.

I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.

I can tell you the facts of life, but I can't build your reputation.

I can tell you about drink, but I can't say "no" for you.

I can warn you about drugs but I can't prevent you from using them.

I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can't achieve them for you.

I can teach you about kindness, but I can't force you to be gracious.

I can warn you about sins, but I cannot make you moral

I can love you as a child, but I cannot place you in God's family.

I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.

I can teach you about Jesus, but I cannot make Jesus your Lord.

I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.

I can love you with unconditional love all of my life . . . and I will!!!

Thank you moms!

Resounding Themes:
Thankfulness For Our Mothers
Dedication of our Children to God
Glory to Christ At Work Within Us

Ready, Set, READ

Exodus 1:15-2:10

Ready, Set, MEDITATE

- What horrible thing is going on at the time this text occurs? Why is Pharaoh doing this? Who does he employ to do his bidding? What is their reaction? How does Pharaoh react?

- What extraordinary things does Moses’ mother do to ensure her son’s survival? What were the risks? How does God honor her efforts? In the end, what effect did Moses’ mother have on the world because she chose to be a faithful mother? What do we learn about Moses’ mother from this story

- When you think about your mother, what stories come to mind? What was the funniest thing your mom ever did? What was the toughest decision she ever had to make? If you are a parent now, how much more clearly can you see your mom’s work on your behalf? If you could tell your mom one thing today, what would it be?

Ready, Set, PRAY

How great Thou art, a magnificent Creator – how great Thou art! In your intelligent design, you established the family, and placed at the very center of that family the mother. God, thank you for our mothers! Our mothers give us comfort, nurture, care, and sacrifice. And in this day and age when so many families fall on the shoulders of a single parent, we thank you for the strength and dignity you give moms everywhere. Yet, even as we acknowledge this truth, we understand that not all moms are not created equal in their ability to parent. Even so, we give you the glory for our moms – for they gave us life and a chance to change the world. Lord God, who teaches about true love, we are glad to have experienced earthly love firsthand in the persons of our mothers. May you bless mothers everywhere, that they may find their strength in You! Our prayer in Jesus Name, AMEN.

Ready, Set, WORSHIP!