Elder Tony McGill
Minister, Director, Musician and Vocalist!
Worship
There is transforming power in the declaration of praise. I believe that worship along with our praise, thanksgiving, and confessing the word of God is essential to our Christian life. Worship is our response to God in our lives which only enhances intimacy, obedience and revelation of who He is and who we are. I leave every worship experience in the presence of God more influenced by Him and more like Him than before. That's why I take advantage of every opportunity to praise and worship the Lord. It always brings more strength, wisdom and understanding toward whatever situation I might be going through.
Worshipping the Lord is not only a privilege, but it is life. It's in the life of every believer. The Bible says that even the rocks cry out and give God worship. God is so worthy of our worship and adoration. We all have something in which we are thankful; for one, Jesus saved us and came to give us a full life! We have a reason to live and we have hope in our lives. That's reason enough! Through worship, we activate and release our faith by acknowledging God's lordship in our lives. And according to Psalm 1, when we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, He directs our steps and gets us into proper alignment.
Worshipping the Lord is not only a privilege, but it is life. It's in the life of every believer. The Bible says that even the rocks cry out and give God worship. God is so worthy of our worship and adoration. We all have something in which we are thankful; for one, Jesus saved us and came to give us a full life! We have a reason to live and we have hope in our lives. That's reason enough! Through worship, we activate and release our faith by acknowledging God's lordship in our lives. And according to Psalm 1, when we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, He directs our steps and gets us into proper alignment.
Peace
We all have times when we wake up in the morning and feel the blahs and blues; we don't feel very excited. But just because we feel those emotions doesn't mean we have to stay there and give in to them; we can shake it off and move forward in faith relying on God's strength.
Sometimes the best thing we can do is talk to ourselves and speak scripture over our lives. When you're tempted to be in a bad mood, go look in the mirror and say, "Listen here, self. You need to cheer up. Get your joy back, get your peace back. I'm not going to live this day defeated." You have to stay on the offensive. Don't wait until you've been down for three days before you decide to do something about it. The moment you feel that discouragement trying to come on you, rise up and say, "No, I'm not going there." You wake up in the morning and feel the blahs, you say, "Nope, that's not for me. This is going to be a good day. It's the day the Lord has made."
Sometimes the best thing we can do is talk to ourselves and speak scripture over our lives. When you're tempted to be in a bad mood, go look in the mirror and say, "Listen here, self. You need to cheer up. Get your joy back, get your peace back. I'm not going to live this day defeated." You have to stay on the offensive. Don't wait until you've been down for three days before you decide to do something about it. The moment you feel that discouragement trying to come on you, rise up and say, "No, I'm not going there." You wake up in the morning and feel the blahs, you say, "Nope, that's not for me. This is going to be a good day. It's the day the Lord has made."
Faith
Faith is always trusting God even when you don't understand it. Important decisions typically challenge our faith to some degree. In 2 Chronicles 20, God revealed He didn’t want Judah to fight at all. He told them, “Station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf” (v. 17). Sure enough, by the time Judah’s army reached the battlefield, not a single enemy was alive—in confusion, they had killed each other (vv. 21-25). The Lord’s instructions won’t always make sense from a human point of view. But if the answer is truly from Him, He will give you the faith you need to follow His commands and resolve even seemingly impossible situations.
Sometimes, the things that worry us affect other people—our families, churches, communities, and even entire countries. One of the greatest treasures in life is godly, caring friends who know how to go to the Father on your behalf. Don’t be too prideful to open up to a trustworthy person about your struggles. The blessing is two-fold: friends help carry your burdens, and seeing God answer your prayers can increase their faith. God doesn't just bring us out like we were, He makes us stronger, better off than we were before.
Sometimes, the things that worry us affect other people—our families, churches, communities, and even entire countries. One of the greatest treasures in life is godly, caring friends who know how to go to the Father on your behalf. Don’t be too prideful to open up to a trustworthy person about your struggles. The blessing is two-fold: friends help carry your burdens, and seeing God answer your prayers can increase their faith. God doesn't just bring us out like we were, He makes us stronger, better off than we were before.
Glorify
Glorifying God means putting His character, His will, and His ways into action in all that we do. The apostle Paul reminded us that we “are being transformed into [Christ’s] image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor. 3:18). The purpose of our lives is to let others see what God is like as they watch and experience His love through us.
In 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, the Bible talks about considering the good of others in the things that you do. It is important to be aware of the moral standards that those around you have, because we should respect that in our behavior. It is our responsibility as Christians to lead by example and do what we can to help others get saved. We should not do things that make those around us stumble.
No matter what we are doing, it should glorify God. If something you say or do doesn’t make living for Jesus look good, then we should try to change that behavior. Aiming to give glory to God at work, school, at home, or out on the street will make our lives more meaningful and blessed. Most importantly, we can offer a testimony to the fact that it is the Lord who motivates us to give our best everyday, and it is His anointing that strengthens us to do what we need to do each day.
We honor God by giving our best effort in whatever task might be in front of us. Not only does this attitude bless our lives, but the lives of others as well. As a result, we can lead more souls to Christ.
In 1 Corinthians 10:23-33, the Bible talks about considering the good of others in the things that you do. It is important to be aware of the moral standards that those around you have, because we should respect that in our behavior. It is our responsibility as Christians to lead by example and do what we can to help others get saved. We should not do things that make those around us stumble.
No matter what we are doing, it should glorify God. If something you say or do doesn’t make living for Jesus look good, then we should try to change that behavior. Aiming to give glory to God at work, school, at home, or out on the street will make our lives more meaningful and blessed. Most importantly, we can offer a testimony to the fact that it is the Lord who motivates us to give our best everyday, and it is His anointing that strengthens us to do what we need to do each day.
We honor God by giving our best effort in whatever task might be in front of us. Not only does this attitude bless our lives, but the lives of others as well. As a result, we can lead more souls to Christ.