Category: Worship

Better a Neighbor Nearby

Sheri YatesLeave a comment

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I’m a mom of three. I enjoy watching my children participate in their activities.I frequent dance and vocal recitals, as well as music and worship nights. I do have a sense of pride and joy in my heart when I see them express their love for God through their gifts. When I watch Jaden Stanley lead worship, I feel the same way. When I see a friend’s kid dance and lead across the stage with joy in her heart—and I know her heart—I feel the same way. Yet I know so many mothers who do not have the same kind of love for anyone else’s kids or grandkids that they have for their own. I don’t understand it.

I think that having the same love for other people that you have for your own natural-born children is the spirit of adoption. How can you not celebrate every life? God does. I think sometimes we elevate the bloodline family so much that we miss the bloodline of Jesus’ family. We don’t step into the roles we need to because there might be a missing link. We don’t step into the roles where we truly love each other.

John 13:35 says, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (NIV). The world will know we belong to Christ by the way we love each other in the body of Christ—not by the way we love our own family, strangers, or lost people. It’s not by the way we serve the homeless. They will know us by the way we take care of the body of Christ.

My kids have been without a grandma for many years. One year, a friend’s mom stepped in and blessed them with the voice of a grandma in their life. She met once a week with a little group of girls just to pour the Word into them. It was so precious. I loved her so much for doing that. I have also had an aunt step in who never forgets a birthday. She always remembers them. They feel dearly loved by her. Sometimes I have so many friends who could step in, and I ask the Lord why someone hasn’t. Why hasn’t someone nearby stepped in?

“Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away,” says Proverbs 27:10 (NIV). I believe our family is supposed to be nearby, but it’s the family of God that fills those shoes while our family is away. When our family is together, we can take on the roles we were naturally born into. When we are far apart, it seems we should fill those places with spiritual roles. I should be a spiritual mother to somebody when his or her natural mother is not present. Someone should be a spiritual grandmother to my children because their natural grandmother is not present.

I think life is too busy. We’re too busy. It’s too easy to travel and fill those roles on a periodic basis rather than filling them where you are. I went through a season where I really grieved that loss for my family. It has made me realize that if something ever happened to me, I would pray to God that someone would fill that spiritual role of mother in my kids’ lives.

I wonder today if you have in your heart that love—that spirit of adoption—you need to give away to someone. Do you need to step into a spiritual family role and be a love bug to someone in your life?

When I was a little girl, I had a home with a mom and a stepdad, but I went to church all by myself for years. I went alone from the time I was ten until I was seventeen. I wonder why no one ever really adopted me and had the spirit of adoption to bring me into her family. Why didn’t anyone ever pick me up and take me to dinner or get me off of the church bus and start inviting me over for lunch? Why didn’t anyone start investing in me and teaching me the Word of God? The only conclusion I can draw is that the people there didn’t have the love in their hearts to give away.

That is why we don’t step into a role where we may be needed. We don’t have the love in our hearts, or we don’t have the time. The enemy will do anything to keep us too busy to demonstrate the love Christ put in us and show the world, “Hey, look how the people in the family of God take care of one another. Isn’t it awesome how this family cares for these children?”

As long as the enemy can keep us busy—too busy to love—the love of God will not be on display. It’s easy to love your own family, but it’s hard to find time to love others. I encourage you to look around in your life and see how you can truly love others today.

Worship Is Warship

Sheri YatesLeave a comment

Many battles in the Bible were won with worship only. Too many times, we open our mouths too quickly to defend ourselves or others. We don’t even allow God time to battle for us. What are we thinking? There would be much less drama in our friendships and families and in the world if we would learn to be still and worship the Father so He has the room to do WARSHIP! 

Today read Exodus 14:14 and 2 Chronicles 20:1–30.
Now find how many other battles were won by praise and worship!


Worship Is Warship

Sheri YatesLeave a comment



Many battles in the Bible were won with worship only. Too many times, we open our mouths too quickly to defend ourselves or others. We don’t even allow God time to battle for us. What are we thinking? There would be much less drama in our friendships and families and in the world if we would learn to be still and worship the Father so He would have room to do WARSHIP!

Today, read Exodus 14:14 and 2 Chronicles 20:1–30.
Now find how many other battles were won by praise and worship!

Jesus Is My Rock

Sheri YatesLeave a comment
Let me tell you a story from my high school years. I went to a public school, and I loved to go there for one reason. Want to guess? It wasn’t the food! There was this one guy who was seriously handsome. I was like, “Ooh, there’s Joe! He’s so cute!” He never knew. I never talked to him. But I could not wait to see him at school. He dated all the pretty girls, and I thought of myself as ugly, homely, big haired. It was a long time ago. Big hair was popular back then. I was a cheerleader with big hair.
Have you ever looked at someone else and thought, “She is so much prettier than I am” or “She is better at sports than I am” or “She has more friends than I do”? Have you ever felt like that? Do you compare yourself? When you compare yourself, do you talk yourself up like, “Yeah, I’m better than them,” or are you always feeling down?
Don’t you sometimes feel like crap when you compare yourself to someone else? It’s easy to do, right? You can feel pretty stinky most of the time if you want to.
Let’s have a look at what the Bible can tell us about this in 1 Samuel 16. David had a whole slew of brothers. Samuel went to David’s dad’s house because God told him that someone in his house would be king.
Samuel started surveying Jesse and his sons. Who is it, Lord? Who is going to be king? Guess what? God did not pick the dad. It wasn’t the dad, Jesse. He did not pick the oldest in the room or the wisest in the room, either.

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:6–7 NIV) 

The first thing Samuel did was look and think, “Yes, he’s the one! He looks like a king!” Have you ever looked at somebody like that? That person looks rich. That person looks like a hunter. We judge people from the first time we see them. 

The first thing Samuel did was start judging people by their appearances. God said, “People look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” Think about that for a minute. When you look at other people and think they are better than you, maybe that’s just the stuff they can do or what they look like on the outside. It’s not their heart.
Then Jesse called another one of his sons. He passed in front of Samuel, and the Lord was like, “Nope. I haven’t chosen that one, either.” They were old boys. It was all the oldest sons. Then another one passed by, and the Lord was like, “Nope. I didn’t choose that one, either.”

Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” (1 Samuel 16:10–11 NIV)

Samuel was like, “Man, Jesse, are these all the sons you have? I don’t see anybody here who is fit to be king.” I love this because Jesse said, “There is still the youngest” (1 Samuel 16:11 NIV).

Do you have a younger sibling? Or are you the youngest? How do we typically think about the youngest kid? Spoiled. Annoying. Bossy, sassy, loud. The youngest may be underestimated. You look down on the youngest one, don’t you? I bet David’s brothers looked down on him, too.
Guess what Jesse’s youngest was doing. He was a shepherd, so he was in the fields. He was tending sheep. Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives” (1 Samuel 16:11 NIV). Think about this. All the older sons were already present, so they must have been working near the house. They probably had honorable jobs. David, on the other hand, was far away. They had to send for him and bring him in. David was glowing with health. He was handsome.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” (1 Samuel 16:12 NIV)

Just imagine if your younger sibling were anointed by God. “Hey, you’re not going to be king, Jake, but little Tommy is. Sorry.” You know, sometimes we don’t see the heart because we don’t take the time to get to know the heart, right?

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17 NIV)

Each and every one of us is called to reign as a king in this life, including your little brother. It’s as if God looks around the world, scanning it. Every single one who knows Him, He is choosing. He has picked you, and He has called you to be a king in this life. You may be the youngest in your family or the oldest, but He has chosen you. He needs you to step up into the role He has called you to fill.

The world will let you just be a kid and have fun, but God wants you to be a king. Being a king comes with responsibilities and accountability. It comes with a calling and a cry of your heart. The reason David was appointed king was because he knew God so well.
David spent time away from the crowd, learning who God was and talking to Him. The Bible says he glowed (1 Samuel 16:12). Do you know that when people spend time with God, you can actually see them radiate? If you look with spiritual eyes, if you say, “God, give me eyes to see people how You see them and tell me what’s really going on with them,” you can see them glow. How seriously are you taking that charge to seek God when you are all alone? If you can’t hear His voice, you can read the Bible and hear from Him every day. You can read the Bible; you can pray; you can simply sit and listen.
I want to give you a challenge this week. In Kathleen’s challenge, you may be the first fifteen, maybe the first thirty. You read Revelations. You have led worship. But the challenge I want to give you today is to have a heart like David’s. The Bible says that David had a heart like God’s (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Don’t you want a heart like that?

Do you believe that God has chosen you to reign as a king in this life? When you start to compare yourself, remember, “Hey, wait a second. I’m to reign as a king in this life.” When you know you’re supposed to reign as a king, you don’t give up. You don’t quit. You don’t stop. You keep going back to God and saying, “I’m sorry. Will you help me?” 
Pray with me:

Father, thank You for making me a king like David. I take it seriously. I want to know Your heart better. Will You help me mine deeply into Your word? Will You open my eyes? Will You open my heart? Will You make me real? Help me to stop judging myself and others.

Father, we love You, and we praise You for this day. God, we thank You for Your word. We thank You that we get to reign as kings in this life. I pray that when we see those who are down or discouraged or frustrated, we will bring them joy and lift them up because we bring Your truth and we glow in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Jesus is my rock…

Sheri YatesLeave a comment
I’m here tonight to give you a short little message.
Who knows who David is in the bible? Everyone? Okay. I really want you guys to read this if you can this week. It starts at 1 Samuel 16.
Before I start, let me tell you a story in high school. I went to a public school and I loved to go there for one reason. Want to guess? It’s not the food! Okay, there’s this one guy, he’s seriously so handsome. I was like, “Ooh, there’s Joe! He’s so cute!” He never knew. I never talked to him. Never ever, ever, ever, ever. But I could not wait to see him at school. He dated all the pretty girls. He liked all the pretty girls and I just thought of myself as ugly, homely, big haired. It was a long time ago. Big hair was popular back then. Like this, kind of. I was a cheerleader with big hair.
Have you ever looked at someone else and thought, “They are so much prettier than me,” or, “They are better at sports than me.” Have you ever felt like that? Do you compare yourself? Every day of the day. When you compare yourself, do you put yourself up like, “Yeah, I’m better than them,” or are you always feeling down?
Don’t you sometimes feel like crap when you compare yourself to someone else? Don’t you? Really? It’s easy to do, right? “They talk better.” “They have more friends. These two spent the night together and I wasn’t invited—right? You can feel pretty stinky most of the time if you want to.
Well, David had a whole slew of brothers. Samuel went to David’s dad’s house and God told him someone in his house is gonna be a king. So he’s like, “Go to Jesse’s house. Someone in the house of Jesse is going to be king.” God was choosing them and picking them out. So Samuel shows up and he scans.
Samuel just started scanning the room with Jesse and his sons. “Who is it, Lord? Who is gonna be king?” Guess what? God did not pick the dad. It wasn’t the dad, Jesse. He did not pick the oldest in the room or the wisest in the room either.
When Samuel saw Eliab, he said, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed one standing here.” The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his height for I have rejected him.” The first thing Samuel did was look and think, “Yes, he’s the one! He looks like a king!” Have you ever looked at somebody like that before? They look rich, right? They look like a hunter, right? We judge people from the first time we see them. 
The first thing Samuel did was he started judging all the people by their appearance. God said, “People look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” So think about that for a minute. When you look at somebody and you think they’re better than you, maybe that’s just the stuff that they can do or what they look like on the outside. But it’s not what their heart is.
Then Jesse called another one of his sons and he passed in front of Samuel. He sees him and he passes by and Lord’s like, “Nope. I haven’t chosen that one either”. They’re old boys. It’s all the oldest sons. And then another one passes by and the Lord’s like, “Nope. I didn’t choose that one either.”
Jesse had seven sons that had already passed by Samuel and the Lord was like, “I have chosen none of these. None of them.” He’s like, “Man, Jesse are these all the sons that you have? I don’t see anybody here that is fit to be king.” I love this, because Jesse says, “There’s still the youngest.”
Do you have a younger sibling? Or are you the youngest? So how do we typically think about the youngest kid? Spoiled. Annoying. They are bossy, sassy, and loud. They may be underestimated. You look down on the youngest one, don’t you? I bet David’s brothers looked down on him too.
But Jesse’s like, “Well there’s still the youngest.” Guess what he’s doing. What did he do? He was a shepherd so he was in the fields. He was tending sheep. So they sent for him and Samuel said, “Send for him and we will not sit down until he arrives.” Think about this—all the oldest sons are already present so they work near the house. They probably have an honorable job. But David is out far away and they have to go send for him and bring him in. “He was glowing with health. He had a fine appearance and handsome features.” God said, “Rise and anoint this one.”
Can you imagine if your little sibling was anointed by God and said like, “Hey, you know what, you’re not gonna be king, Jake, but Abby is. Sorry.” But you know what, sometimes, we don’t see the heart because we don’t take the time to get to know the heart, right?
Here’s what I do know: I do know that every single one in this room is called to reign as a king in this life. Including your little brother. That’s what Romans says. Romans 10:17, if you look it up in the Amplified Bible, if anyone’s taking notes, it says that we’re to reign as kings in this life.
So it’s as if God walks in this room and he scans it. Every single one that knows him, he is choosing. He has picked you and he has called you to be a king in this life. You may be the youngest in your family or you might be the oldest, but he has chosen you. He needs you to step up into the role that he has called you.
The world will let you just be a kid and have fun but God wants you to be a king. When you’re a king, it comes with a responsibility and accountability. It comes with a calling and a cry of your heart. You guys are here worshiping God but David, the reason he was appointed king was because he knew God so well.
David spent time away from the crowd learning who God was and talking to him and speaking to him and learning. It said he glowed. Did you know people, when they spend time with God, you can actually see them radiate? If you look with spiritual eyes, if you say, “God, give me eyes to see people how you see them and tell me what’s really going on with them,” you can see them glow. How seriously are you taking that charge to seek God when you’re all alone? If you can’t hear his voice, you can read the bible and hear from him every day. You can read your bible, you can pray, you can just sit and listen.
But I wanna give you guys a challenge this week. In Kathleen’s challenge you may be the first fifteen, maybe you are the first thirty. You read Revelations. You have lead worship. But the challenge is can you have a heart like David? The bible says that David had a heart like God’s. Don’t you want a heart like that? I just wanted you guys to know that. 

Do you receive that God has chosen you to reign as a king in this life? When you start to compare yourself, just think like, “Hey, wait a second. I’m to reign as a king in this life.” When you know you’re supposed to reign as a king, you don’t give up. You don’t give up. You don’t quit. You don’t stop. You keep going back to God and say, “I’m sorry, will you help me?” 
Would you guys like to make a pledge to just take that up and pray? Leaders, raise your hands if you’re interested. You don’t have to raise your hand.  So we’re just gonna say a little prayer-ish pledge.
Father, thank you for making me a king like David. I take it seriously. I wanna know your heart more. Will you help me mine deep the word of God? Will you open my eyes? Will you open my heart? Will you make me real? Help me to stop judging myself and others.
Father we love you and we praise you for this day. God, we thank you for your word and we just thank you God that we get to reign as kings in this life. I pray that each one of these kids will make an impact in their family, that when their family is down or discouraged or frustrated that they would bring joy and lift up because they bring your truth and your word and they glow in you. In Jesus’s name, amen.