From Lead Pastor, Mike Moses...
Last Sunday we kicked off Lake Forest's annual 'Hope in a House of Blues' series. Mike Farris (www.mikefarrismusic.net) (or google Screamin Cheetah Wheelies) was our guest blues artist. The worship services were truly a 'God moment' for almost everyone who attended - a moment that will stand out for years in Lake Forest's communal memory.
What I took away was this - through the Psalms of Lament, God models for us the fact that the truly human, abundant-life way to handle the Blues (suffering, pain, tears, trouble, hate, doubt, loss) is to NOT solve them, NOT systemmatize them, NOT demand understanding. Sing the blues. In verse, poetry, art. Sing the Blues. As prayer. Singing our blues 'in the direction of God' is what it means to trust God and follow Jesus in our blues. That is the most profound way to live as a person of faith in the midst of suffering. Singing the blues along with Mike Ferris and our worship band experientially cemented for me this truth from the Psalms.
We get the treat of singing the blues together for three more weeks, with our special musical guests from Chicago (remember the ba-da-da-da-da McDonald's commercial/worship singer friend of Kyle's, Rene?) on September 28 to culminate our HOPE in a House of Blues worship.
