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How would you feel, and what would you think, if this morning a prophet was in our midst, and stood up at the close of this wonderful set of worship music that Greg just led and said this:

“Hear the word of the Lord, o people of NewLife, for this is what God says to you: I hate your church services. Your worship music, your endless singing – shut your mouths and stop playing your instruments, for I do not want them. Do not bother to pray, for it will not matter what you say, for I am not listening. Even your tithes and offerings are not as important as what I am really seeking. Do you want to know what the worship is I am looking for? For it is not found in music, or prayers, or offerings. No, that is not what I seek from you. For right under your noses, a ten minute drive from where you sit today, there are families who do not know where their next meal is coming from. In your very town, there are children whose parents have abandoned them, who are crying out to me day and night for a family who will love them and take care of them. And the streets are filled with nursing homes and houses where lonely widows sit, looking for someone who will care for them, spend time with them, let them know that I have not forgotten them. And this is all within a ten minute drive of where you sit today. I have not even mentioned the millions of my children around the world, who do not even have access to clean drinking water, the millions of my children who are born HIV-positive, and the billions of my children who went to bed hungry last night. And you think that the worship I am looking for consists of four songs played on guitar?”