tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-303075872024-03-07T19:31:57.018-05:00The Gladness of My RejoicingWelcome to my little corner of cyberspace.
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Welcome!RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-5422270087713580452008-06-28T12:21:00.003-05:002008-06-28T12:34:15.475-05:00Suffering and our Songs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cyfm.net/articles/images/Trauma-Lament.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.cyfm.net/articles/images/Trauma-Lament.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Lament.<br /><br />We don't hear much talk about lamenting these days do we? Why would anyone lament? Shouldn't we be reading <i>Your Best Life Now</i> or <i>Become a Better You</i> or <i>7 <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected">Habits</span></span> of Highly Effective People</i> when life smacks us in the face? Hasn't the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God been given so we can quickly read or listen to the <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-Self-Help-Book-Youll-Ever/dp/0465054870/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214663443&sr=1-8">how <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error"><span style="text-decoration: none;">to's</span></span></span></a> </i>of our time and pull ourselves out of our <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Get-Out-That-Pit-Deliverance/dp/1591455529/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214663619&sr=1-1">proverbial pit?</a><br /><br />I recently viewed a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">You Tube</span></span> video of an interview of John Lennon after the breakup of the Beatles. The British interviewer was asking John to recount some defining moments that aided in the breakup of the group and John shared a story about a 1967 visit the band made to a lecture given by the famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharishi_Mahesh_Yogi">Maharishi</a> in Wales. Following the lecture, the group was informed that Brian Epstein, the band's manager, had died. John recounts, with come colorful language, the absurdity of the Maharishi's insistence that the band just move on saying, "O forget about it...be happy." He says that they all went along with it, but <i>moving on </i>never allowed them to conquer the sense of futility they felt, or addressed the significance of losing a close friend, much less the significance of death itself. They just moved on. They just smiled. John Lennon, looking back some years later sees the balderdash that this advice was. He recognized the insufficiency of that ty<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://signofjonah.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/stuartsmalley.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 258px; height: 204px;" src="http://signofjonah.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/stuartsmalley.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>pe of outlook and the toll it took on the four friends' relationship.<br /><br />Now, I am fairly certain that anyone who would read more than the header to this blog has probably never sat at the feet of a Hindu <span class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Brahmin</span></span> or a Yogi, and probably doesn't want to! However, can't we all think of Christians who have a similar outlook on suffering, pain, and death. I have heard Christians speak as if the key to overcoming the pain and frustration of miserable circumstances is simply to sing along with the Monty Python <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Always_Look_on_the_Bright_Side_of_Life">song</a> <i>Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.<br /><br /></i>The problem is that this type of flimsy and <span class="blsp-spelling-error"><span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">un</span></span>-biblical thinking catches up to you. Yes, Paul did say that he learned to be <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204:10-13;&version=47;">content</a> in whatever circumstance he was in. Yes, we are called to <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%206:3-10;&version=47;">a ministry that commends itself</a> to others by the joyful way we undergo persecution, slander and various types of suffering. But this isn't the same as ignoring our circumstances. It isn't the same as the lesson the self help gurus sell: that we can just tweak a habit here, think positively there and voila, we will find ourselves in complete joy and happiness. After all, the contentment that St. Paul found in the midst of jail, beatings, shipwrecks, hunger, and cold didn't come from within. It came from God. It came from a strength outside of Paul, given to him by his maker and redeemer.<br /><br />So, the question really is, how do we imitate a man like Paul? What did he do in the midst of suffering that strengthened him and was a conduit for the power of God to manifest itself on Paul's life?<br /><br />One clue is found in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are seized, brought before the local magistrates, are stripped o<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pro.corbis.com/images/CB052878.jpg?size=572&uid=%7BC8C0A02E-2E05-4089-B498-33938E5ACE33%7D"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://pro.corbis.com/images/CB052878.jpg?size=572&uid=%7BC8C0A02E-2E05-4089-B498-33938E5ACE33%7D" alt="" border="0" /></a>f their clothing and are publicly flogged. They then were then thrown in a Roman prison and were chained by the feet. Not knowing whether their death was imminent, not knowing if they had more beatings in store, not knowing what their future held, these men, suffering, beaten, and cold were found singing and praying. <span style="font-size:21;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:21;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >They worshiped.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">They did not run and hide from God. They did not sink into a self-loathing depression. They did not decide to wait till they got out of the situation to sing the glorious truths of the faith or to remind them of the sufficiency of God. They worshiped God by praying. They showed attitudes of complete dependence by casting their cares at the foot of the Lord who promises to hear and respond to His children.<br /><br />Lament, in the bible, is not a word that means, "complaining." It is properly understood as the expression of fear, doubt, doubt, regret, mourning and sadness that is used to WORSHIP GOD. Take your sorrow, your pain, your heartache and brokenness and magnify God through these times. If we learn to worship in the midst of our trials, we will find that we can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength even to sing in the midst of life's prisons.<br /><br />More on this subject later</span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-74261679694519071222008-06-18T18:01:00.007-05:002008-06-28T12:35:13.837-05:00Can You Worship with your Pain?<blockquote>Now there was a day when his [Job's] sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, and the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Sabeans</span> fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants<span class="footnote"> </span> the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Chaldeans</span> formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”<br /><br /><br />Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The <span class="small-caps">Lord</span> gave, and the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span> has taken away; blessed be the name of the <span class="small-caps">Lord</span>.”<br /><br /><br />In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.<p></p></blockquote><br />Job isn't made up. Job really did this.<br /><br />After hearing that a combination of natural disasters, terrorism, and war took everything he had AND his progeny, he blessed God.<br /><br />Seriously.<br /><br />This isn't a flippant passage of scripture.<br /><br />This isn't the the kind of thing you get in southern gospel songs.<br /><br />This is real.<br /><br />This is a level of devastation in a life to a greater degree than, likely, anyone I've ever heard of has experienced, ever -- much less in a period of 5 minutes.<br /><br />What did he do? He worshiped.<br /><br />What do I do?<br /><br />What do you do?<br /><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-66679653733741730762008-05-06T20:05:00.006-05:002008-05-07T09:33:48.749-05:00Worship Matters<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><blockquote>"God is seeking worship leaders who make Jesus look Great."<br /><br />"Being a worship leader isn't meant to be a hobby or a way to fulfill my musical aspirations, it's an opportunity to proclaim that I am a great sinner who has been redeemed by a great savior and to invite others in to celebrate that reality"<br />- Bob Kauflin</blockquote><br /></div>I have read several books on worship since coming to seminary. In the future, I hope to point those interested to some of the best resources I have been exposed too regarding worship. One such resource is the plethora of lectures, sermons and songs of Bob Kauflin. Bob is the Music Director for Sovereign Grace ministries and leads Covenant Life Church in worship weekly. I have linked to his blog (Worship Matters) in the sidebar. On top of the free resources Kauflin has produced by way of blog posts, advice columns, lectures, sermons, FREE SONGS and FREE CHARTS, he has now written a book on worship. I received a copy at this year's T4G conference and am anticipating devouring it soon. I have read excerpts from several chapters and it looks like it's gonna be a great read. You may want to think about buying this one! Watch the video below.<br /><br />If you aren't familiar with Bob, or <a href="http://www.sovereigngracemusic.org/">Sovereign Grace Music</a>, or <a href="http://www.covlife.org/">Covenant Life Church</a>, watch this video and check out his<a href="http://www.worshipmatters.com/"> blog </a>and <a href="http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/Worship/Worship.aspx">Sovereign Grace Ministries </a>website where you can search for his sermons. As always, you can download some lectures Bob has given to the students at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's Institute for Christian Worship <a href="http://www.sbts.edu/Academics/Schools/Church_Music_and_Worship/Institute_for_Christian_Worship/Past_Lectures.aspx">HERE</a>.<br /><br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/teY8g8TBmUU&hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/teY8g8TBmUU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-73460905738524579462008-03-17T00:18:00.004-05:002008-03-17T01:31:00.004-05:00Commission Stories: The Art of Braving BulletsEvery Sunday, prior to our offering, a member of our congregation reads the <a href="http://www.cpmissions.net/2003/MissionaryMoments/moment.asp"><em>Missionary Moment</em> </a>which is a short biographical blurb about a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.namb.net">NAMB</a></span> or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><a href="http://www.imb.org/">IMB</a></span> missionary who is on the field. While this may seem like a non-traditional inclusion to a worship service, it serves many purposes.<br /><br />The first of which is to remind ourselves weekly to pray for missionaries and to long for the Day of the Lord by asking that God will mightily bless the Gospel that is being proclaimed in our own public worship but also around the world wherever the truth is proclaimed. This exhortation also allows us to take time in worship to explain the importance of giving as <a href="http://www.cpmissions.net/2003/default.asp">Southern Baptists</a>. Every few weeks, one of the presenters will make sure to explain that a portion of the offering given will go directly to the mission sending agencies through the <a href="http://www.cpmissions.net/2003/default.asp">Cooperative Program</a>. We make it clear that this missionary family we are praying for is also being supported by our tithes and offerings. Thirdly, we have a built in time to mention special mission projects within our church family and special offerings like the <em><a href="http://www.imb.org/main/give/page.asp?StoryID=5428&LanguageID=1709">Lottie Moon Christmas Offering </a></em>and the <a href="http://www.anniearmstrong.com/site/pp.asp?c=8oILLTOqGnF&b=839829"><em>Annie Armstrong Easter Offering</em> </a>along with various state and associational offerings we support.<br /><br />I serve in a mission church (a church re-plant). We are making our way toward constituting as an autonomous church but we have <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">benefited</span> through the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">CP</span> financially and because of this, even with a tight budget and a lot of penny pinching, we manage to give 10% of our budget to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">CP</span>. But this sacrifice is realized when we hear the stories of persecuted missionaries. When we hear stories about John and Jane Doe (<em>the missionary moments always says, "not real names") </em>trying to reach particularly militant Muslims in Indonesia or dangerous natives in the upper Amazon with the gospel, we see how important it is to hold the ropes here, to give and to be attentive in our prayers for these missionaries.<br /><br />One such missionary that we can all take time this week to pray for is Eric Reese. Eric Reese is the Strategy Coordinator for the urban poor of Rio De Janeiro, and his team of Brazilian nationals are taking the Gospel to the most violent and dangerous slums in all of Latin America, called favelas. You can see how God is allowing him to minister in a tumultuous environment by going <a href="http://www.commissionstories.com/?p=25">HERE.</a> This video is a call to prayer and a call to the gospel.<br /><br />Here's how Eric sums up why he's serving: "The gospel got to get to them."<br /><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2010:14;&version=77;">It's as simple as that</a>.<br /><br />As we are all focusing on the cross of Christ this Holy Week, remember to pray for our missionaries who are braving bullets and much worse for the Glory of Christ and the spread of the Gospel of the Kingdom and <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205:6-11;&version=77;">the reconciliation </a>that was bought and sealed on that first Easter morning. And lets make a point ourselves to tell this great, true, life-changing story to as many as we can. At the end of this video, Eric says that when people ask him if he's afraid doing what he's doing, he can't help but respond that he would be more afraid if he were not doing what he knew he was called to. May we all be encouraged to live how we're called: to be making our own <em>commission stories</em>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-47794483419611826872008-03-11T16:48:00.008-05:002008-03-11T18:39:48.767-05:00The Transforming Power of Proper Perspective<a href="http://theresurgence.com/cj_mahaney_2008-02-25_audio_pastoral_character_and_loving_people"></a>Perspective is very important. Here's a good example:<br /><br /><blockquote style="font-style: italic;">Dear Mom and Dad:<br /><br />It has now been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing this and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I will bring you up to date now, but before you read on, please sit down. YOU ARE NOT TO READ ANY FURTHER UNLESS YOU ARE SITTING DOWN. OKAY!<br /><br />Well then, I am getting along pretty well now. The skull fracture and the concussion I got when I jumped out of the window of my dormitory when it caught fire shortly after my arrival are pretty well healed now. I only get those sick headaches once a day.<br /><br />Fortunately the fire in the dormitory and my jump were witnessed by an attendant at the gas station near the dorm, and he was the one who called the fire department and the ambulance. He also visited me at the hospital and since I had nowhere to live, because of the burned out dormitory, he was kind enough to invite me to share his apartment with him. It's really a basement room, but it's kind of cute. He is a very fine boy and we have fallen deeply in love and are planning to be married. We haven't set the exact date yet, but it will be before my pregnancy begins to show.<br /><br />Yes Mother and Dad, I am pregnant. I know how much you are looking forward to being grandparents and I know you will welcome the baby and give it the love, devotion and tender care you gave me when I was a child. The reason for the delay in our marriage is that my boyfriend has some minor infection which prevents us from passing our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">pre</span>-marital blood tests and I carelessly caught it from him. This will soon clear up with the penicillin injections I am taking daily.<br /><br />I know you will welcome him into our family with open arms. He is kind and although not well educated, he is ambitious. Although he is of a different race and religion than ours, I know your often expressed tolerance will not permit you to be bothered by the fact that his skin color is somewhat darker than ours. I am sure you will love him as I do. His family background is good too, for I am told that his father is an important gun-bearer in the village in Africa from which he came.<br /><br />Now that I have brought you up to date, I want to tell you that there was no dormitory fire, I did not have a concussion or a skull fracture. I was not in the hospital, I am not pregnant, I am not engaged. I do not have syphilis and there is no man in my life. However, I am getting a 'D' in History and an 'F' in Science and I wanted you to see those marks in the proper perspective.<br /><br />Yours-<br /><br />Your Loving Daughter</blockquote><br />I don't know if you have heard this joke or if you have received it via your email inbox. I know I have more than once. But I recently heard this read as an illustration in a message by <a href="http://www.sovereigngraceministries.org/blog/author/C.J.%20Mahaney.aspx">C.J. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Mahaney</span></a> given to the <a href="http://www.acts29network.org/about/welcome/">Acts 29</a> network's Resurgence Conference in February. You can download the message by clicking <a href="http://theresurgence.com/cj_mahaney_2008-02-25_audio_pastoral_character_and_loving_people">HERE.</a><br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Mahaney's</span> message has been a wonderful blessing to me. Preaching from I Corinthians 1, he shows how genuinely Paul shows personal love toward the Corinthian Church in the introduction to his letter, but also has them in the right perspective. Despite the moral failure and the lawsuits, the drunkenness and abuse of the Lord's Supper, the sexual immorality and failure to expose public sin, the misuse of spiritual gifts and lack of love, Paul writes that he is thankful for this church. Paul writes that he prays for this church daily. Paul writes (<span style="font-style: italic;">authoritatively</span> mind you) that they have been enriched in <span style="font-style: italic;">every </span>way (v.5). He claims that they lack no spiritual gift (v.7). He even calls them <span style="font-style: italic;">sanctified </span>(v.2), perhaps the hardest for us to imagine.<br /><br />How can Paul say these things? How can he call this bunch of misfits <span style="font-style: italic;">sanctified? </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Mahaney</span> shows that it is because Paul has the proper perspective on their salvation. Paul goes on in the letter to give stinging rebukes of their sin, so he is by no means sweeping their evil behavior under the rug. <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Phil%201:6;&version=31;">But because he is confident in Him who began a good work in them and promises to complete it</a>, he can heartily show love and affection for this people. He can pray for them fervently and wish to come see them again.<br /><br />As ministers of the Gospel and servants of the church, it is imperative that our minds are in tune to this reality. I am a "pk" and have been in church from day one. I have heard so much disparaging talk about the church from ministers, leaders, deacons, Sunday school teachers and various brands of modern-day pharisees. I have been one in the past who is willing to write off those in the church because their progress wasn't sufficient to my standards. But this isn't Paul's attitude. God is Holy and the bible is clear that he <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%206:16-19;&version=47;"><span style="font-style: italic;">HATES</span></a> </span>sin. But His grace is such that he is working in our hearts and lives, <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208:29&version=31">conforming us to the image of his son</a> and He has poured the righteous wrath that we deserve<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2053:5;&version=31;"> </a><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2053:5;&version=31;">onto Christ, who bore our penalty on the Cross.</a> He is chastising his children and disciplining in love while showering us with blessings through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />May all of us who serve and minister to the church always remember who is at work and the great love shown to desperate sinners and the lengths to which Christ himself went to serve us and to call us brothers. Paul loved this church at Corinth and longed to be with them in person, but Christ <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=57&chapter=2&version=31">humbled himself,</a> came in person and gave up His heavenly crown for a time to take on a Crown of thorns. Paul sent a letter, but <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205:8&version=31">God</a> sent his <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:16;&version=31;">Son</a>.<br /><br /><br /><!-- This page was viewed on Buzzle.com on 3/11/2008 5:54:31 PM. More info: URL accessed: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-21-2001-4767.asp HTTP_USER_AGENT: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322) REMOTE_ADDR: 65.119.133.242 REMOTE_HOST: 65.119.133.242 Copyright 2000 Buzzle.com All rights reserved --><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-71259845284742896542008-02-15T22:04:00.008-05:002008-02-15T22:42:59.834-05:00Announcements<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcoLuBM593-WA2zugr5hU8QXQpIAjknW4DB8lMM50NpRgHkzwXwxBOyK-lQnymwmvGlZs4NRVQt6Zle2urFpViO2qbtQufnHDolcNQLiF8G8ViRM3S5-MpouhRdpDahl8fJ5Ywg/s1600-h/Church_Bulletins.htm_cmp_cofcback110_vbtn"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcoLuBM593-WA2zugr5hU8QXQpIAjknW4DB8lMM50NpRgHkzwXwxBOyK-lQnymwmvGlZs4NRVQt6Zle2urFpViO2qbtQufnHDolcNQLiF8G8ViRM3S5-MpouhRdpDahl8fJ5Ywg/s320/Church_Bulletins.htm_cmp_cofcback110_vbtn" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167415216788598210" border="0" /></a><br />While perusing my normal list of blogs at work tonight, I came across a wonderful and hilarious post linked from the <a href="http://blog.9marks.org/">IX Marks</a> website. There linked was documented the fantastic discovery of an entire chapter of I Corinthians that, until now, has been missing. You must read it. I will repost it here. But make sure to check out <a href="http://ecclesiophilist.blogspot.com/">Kelly Randolf's blog</a> and read many of his insightful posts after laughing and emailing this to all your church friends. He is now linked to in my links menu to the right of the text as <span style="font-style: italic;">Ecclesiophilist. </span><br /><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><em>Chapter 17</em><br /><br /><em>Now concerning announcements, I do not want you to be ignorant brethren. When announcements are given, let there be only two or three and let them be given in order. Let the announcements be brief. Otherwise, those who are new worshipers and unschooled in the way of announcements, will they not say you are mad? It is better if announcements are written down and submitted to the church office so that the staff may make them. Are announcements more important than congregational singing or preaching? May it never be! Therefore, use your announcement time wisely and thus maintain a suitable balance in the service.<br /><br />Let him who gives an announcement be careful lest he fall into temptation and a snare. Truly each one who gives an announcement considers his information to be holy. When giving his announcement, a spirit of rambling may overtake him and he may begin speaking in an unnecessary tongue. Let every man who makes an announcement pray that his announcement may be brief and to the point. Such announcements are edifying to the church.<br /><br />Earnestly desire such announcements, but especially that you may read the bulletin. Announcements are of some value but the bulletin is greater. For now we announce in part and we know in part. But the bulletin gives full and detailed information so that your knowledge of ministry happenings may be complete. One who makes an announcement edifies a particular ministry. But the bulletin edifies the whole church. So then my brethren, listen to the announcements but do not neglect the bulletin. </em></blockquote>Now this is all in good fun and I certainly am not trying to anger anyone who's thinking about quoting me the end of Revelation. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/02671138145501555708">Kelly Randolf</a>, the man who wrote this, admits that this is part of his imagination, as he has a "pastoral daydream" which would correct an "announcement problem" that would have been an issue at Corinth. Then, presumably, we could use it to address <span style="font-style: italic;">OUR</span> announcement problems in our churches! So my question to you is. . .<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How do you deal with the problem of announcements at your church?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">OR</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">How do you </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">WISH</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> your church handled announcements or other areas of service planning not directly related to the preaching of God's Word, the commanded singing of praises to God or any other explicitly commanded and mandated functions within our worship services?</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span></span>Feel free to comment with your thoughts and suggestions!<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span><span><span><span>{ht:</span></span></span><a href="http://ecclesiophilist.blogspot.com/"><span>Ecclesiophilis</span><span>t</span></a><span>}</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-69133095203039216172008-02-10T00:49:00.000-05:002008-02-12T00:15:55.372-05:00Desiring God Conference for Pastors<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwKeAYBnyqGK-0_dwmYyt2aALnpKFpBfZLmKYQf_8jjGo3ygxuTlWhfqvz71KUMxvEGWwHb_MMaZinq8HdspqJg2qq3XJeEHCgD_htH4Aom1wL5G2VLOXEH5Nl7gFoZyVjD1jMw/s1600-h/BCP2008_header.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5165957882845457842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwKeAYBnyqGK-0_dwmYyt2aALnpKFpBfZLmKYQf_8jjGo3ygxuTlWhfqvz71KUMxvEGWwHb_MMaZinq8HdspqJg2qq3XJeEHCgD_htH4Aom1wL5G2VLOXEH5Nl7gFoZyVjD1jMw/s320/BCP2008_header.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div>I have just finished listening to the audio from the Desiring God conference for pastors and God has blessed me immensly through the teaching and encouragement in the messages brought.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/Events/PastorsConferences/Archives/2008/">conference</a> is an annual conference offered through the ministry of Pastor John Piper at <a href="http://www.hopeingod.org/">Bethlehem Baptist Church </a>in Minneapolis, Minnesota. If you are unfamiliar with John Piper's books, then I suggest downloading some of the audio from his many conferences. They are given free of charge, which is a rarity among many large ministries today.<br /><br />The conference is entitled <em>The Pastor as Father and Son.</em> If you are a minister, then I suggest taking the time this week while in the car, or working around the home or office to give the audio a listen. But I would also exhort those who are either fathers or sons to give ear as well. I think you will find it a tremendous blessing.<br /><br />You can stream or download the audio or video <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByDate/2008/">HERE. </a><br /><br />The speakers include <a href="http://www.tiu.edu/divinity/people/carson">Don Carson</a>, <a href="http://www.tiu.edu/divinity/people/loritts">Crawford Loritts</a>, <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1018_why_i_invited_livingstone_to_speak_at_the_pastors_conference/">Greg Livinstone</a>, and <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/AboutUs/JohnPiper/">John Piper</a>. </div><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-80433177176632698552008-02-08T18:47:00.000-05:002008-02-08T19:07:45.504-05:00POLITICSAfter hearing that Mitt Romney has <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8ULK3JG1&show_article=1">stepped aside</a>, I realized that I haven't had much to say about politics lately. I used to be a political junkie, but I think that I have moderated a bit and that is a good thing. So, as a tribute to all the Ron Paul fans and the Duncan Hunterites, all the those hoping that this was the year for Kucinich or the lovely locks of John Edwards this is for you. After months of TV debates, it's nice to look back at what was...<br /><br /><br /><br /><object height="373" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VmzKADYpGq0&rel=1&border=1"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VmzKADYpGq0&rel=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="373" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />{ht:<a href="http://locustsandhoney.blogspot.com/">Locust & Honey</a>}<div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-72121011665434510402008-01-17T08:58:00.001-05:002008-05-03T08:53:40.358-05:00The Incarnation and A SongThe incarnation of Christ and His work on the cross is the center of human history. Period. All of history and revelation prior to this miraculous <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">condescension</span> of God pointed to this event. All of the subsequent moments and seconds look back to that time, in groaning anticipation of the second coming and final <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">consummation</span> in time of the realities of that work. Christ, through the incarnation, death on the cross, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Resurrection</span>, and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ascension</span> have purchased finally and completely all the promises of God (2 Corinthians 1:20) and the final victory that we await as pilgrims in these "last days."<br /><br />This is the theological framework and backdrop that we often think about when we talk about the incarnation. It is the factual and real culmination of God's work. In heaven, we will be around the throne singing glory and honor to the lamb, who was slain and has bought for himself a people to praise Him forever and ever (Revelation 5:9-10). All true! All gloriously true. But no one could possibly read through the Gospels (much less the OT law and prophets) and miss the fact that the coming of the King of Kings would have social ramifications as well as theological ones. Jesus came feeding the hungry. Jesus came healing the sick. Jesus came and touched leapers - unclean, unholy, unfit. Jesus arrived and said that he came not to be served, but to serve AND give his life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).<br /><br />I have a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">tendency</span> to glory in the last half of that statement. I sing with vigor and my heart wrenches in pain as I contemplate the agony of the sinless dying to ransom many, but I rarely wrench in agony and distress when I think of the multitudes of desperate, sick, and hungry around me. I have little affection for the emerging church or for the liberal protestantism in our country today, but I do see that they have one critique of the modern evangelical church that is apropos. It is our reluctance to get dirty to serve the poor. We have <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">megachurches</span></span> building massive buildings with bookstores and coffee shoppes, all in the name of Christ. Christ tells us to lay up treasures in heaven and not here on earth, but we have a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">decadent</span> and misguided streak in the American evangelical church that believes that as <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Christians</span>, our communities are to be established to care for <em>ourselves</em> and promote an ease in our lives that is found nowhere in scripture. We are commanded to remember that we are <em>pilgrims and strangers </em>in this land and we are awaiting, just like Abraham a far greater city that God has prepared for us (Hebrews 11:16). We are "just passing through" as the song says. Hebrews tells us that this is the reason that Abraham <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">lived </span>in tents all his life. He, different than other tribes at the time, never built homes and walls and fortifications because He was waiting for the heavenly city.<br />It is time that we make our ministries look more like Christ's own and less like Six Flags, or the local mall.<br /><br />The hymn text below draws these two great truths together. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Beginning</span> with his life and ministry in the first verse, we contemplate the compassion and physical ministry of Christ. In the second, we are directed toward the great truth of Christ's accomplished work on the Cross. And in the second, with resolve, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">hymnist</span></span> proclaims submission to Christ by imitating his life and praying for the power and Spirit to not shrink back from carrying our cross, even if it ends in death just as Christ's did. It is a serious hymn. The refrain is a prayer for Christ, incarnate and eternal to captivate our hearts that are so prone to wander and prone to complacency toward the other half of Christ's mission.<br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br /><br />WITH A PRAYER<br /><a href="http://stuarttownend.typepad.com/">Stuart <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Townend</span></span></a><br />Copyright © 2002 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Thankyou</span></span> Music<br /><br /><br />With a prayer You fed the hungry,<br />With a cry You stilled the storm;<br />With a look You had compassion<br />On the desperate and forlorn.<br />With a touch You healed the leper,<br />With a shout You raised the dead;<br />With a word expelled the demons,<br />With a blessing broke the bread.<br /><br /><em>refrain<br />Love incarnate, love divine,<br />Captivate this heart of mine<br />Till all I do speaks of You.<br /></em><br />As a sheep before the shearer<br />You were silent in Your pain;<br />You endured humiliation<br />At the hands of those You’d made.<br />And as hell unleashed its fury<br />You were lifted on a tree,<br />Crying ‘Father God, forgive them,<br />Place their punishment on Me.’<br /><br />I will feed the poor and hungry,<br />I will stand up for the truth;<br />I will take my cross and follow<br />To the corners of the earth.<br />And I ask that You so fill me<br />With Your peace, Your power, Your breath,<br />That I never love my life so much<br />To shrink from facing death.</div><br /><br /><br />This hymn is written by <a href="http://stuarttownend.typepad.com/">Stuart <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Townend</span></span> </a>of <em>How Deep the Father's Love For Us</em> and <em>In Christ Alone</em> fame. He lives in Brighton, England and works in the music publishing industry. He has 3 children and is involved in worship leadership at <a href="http://www.cck.org.uk/group/group.aspx?id=33468"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Church</span> of Christ the King</a> in Brighton.<br /><br />To hear Stuart <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Townend</span> speak about the challenges of writing Modern Hymns and Worship Music, see <strong>October 5, 2005</strong> <a href="http://www.sbts.edu/academics/Schools/Church_Music_and_Worship/Institute_for_Christian_Worship/Past_Lectures.aspx">HERE. </a><br /><br />For purchase a recording of this song see <a href="http://stuarttownend.typepad.com/stuart_townend/2007/06/best_of_stuart_.html">HERE.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-42308593733578709492008-01-09T11:48:00.000-05:002008-02-10T01:24:14.861-05:00NEW BAPTIST HYMNALIn 1991, the Southern Baptist Convention press, now <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lifeway</span>, gave us the Baptist Hymnal. This hymnal is the one my church uses today. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Lifeway</span> is currently working on the New Baptist Hymnal, scheduled to be released July 1, 2008. This new offering will contain around 650 songs, only a few less than the prior version. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Lifeway</span> is also <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">supplementing</span> the pew version with an online resource and database of 1000 songs that will be available to churches in various formats: a multimedia database of texts, a recorded database for churches without musicians and, orchestrated accompaniments for larger churches. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Lifeway</span> is hoping to add 100 songs per year to this online database, giving churches access to new songs as well as all the old standards that many baptist churches love to sing.<br /><br />The aim of such an online database is to provide a centralized resource for worship planning and to confront some of the problems of hymnal publishing that are unique to our digital age and to put better tools into the hands of worship planners, giving more options than the standard pew publication provides. It also shows <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">foreword</span> thinking for those on the mission field and small churches who may be worshiping where musicians are not available. Granted, the idea of playing an MP3 recording for my congregation to sing to is not exciting to me, but considering that most of our convention's churches have less than 100 members, with limited budgets for paying accompanists, it appears that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Lifeway</span> is truly seeking to help churches where they are.<br /><br />The printed hymnal will be dually titled <em>The Baptist Hymnal </em>and <em>The Worship Hymnal.</em> Both editions will be available hardbound in order to market the hymnal to non <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">SBC</span> churches who may share our hymn tradition and theological perspectives but may be of another denomination and aren't interested in many of the "changes" to texts that many other published hymnals of the past few decades have indulged, such as gender neutrality and theological <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">tweaking</span> to take away "unhelpful" themes like "sin" and "judgment" and "<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">eschatological</span> triumph." Many denominations today find these as unnecessarily <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">provocative</span> and harmful to the christian message and have changed traditional hymn texts accordingly.<br /><br />The publishers say that they have found that most Southern Baptist churches use around 300 of the hymns in the 1991 hymnal. They have retained these <em>baptist standards</em> and are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">supplementing</span> these with over 200 new songs that have been published in other hymnals but have been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">absent</span> from the Baptist Hymnal. They also will debut over 100 hymns that have never been published in any hymnal to date. Maybe this will include modern hymns like "In Christ Alone." I'm crossing my fingers.<br /><br />Oh, in one article, they explain that "I'll fly away" will make it back into this edition. That will make my church family glad!<br /><br />For more information, check out <a href="http://www.lifewayworship.com/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Lifewayworship</span>.com</a> for news and updates on the new hymnal project.<div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-83754277868572228412008-01-09T11:13:00.000-05:002008-01-09T11:25:51.629-05:00Puritan Reading Challenge<div align="center">I am taking the Puritan reading challenge. You can click the button at the top right of the blog above my profile if you would like to join and find out more information about what it is all about...or press:<br /><br /><a href="http://timmybrister.com/2008/01/07/join-the-2008-puritan-reading-challenge/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2082/2173399562_8de817ffec_o.jpg" /></a> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />If you don't own these books, be sure to check the link. <a href="http://www.heritagebooks.org/bookstore/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=222_318&products_id=8016">Reformed Heritage books</a> is selling all 12 paperbacks in one bundle for $65.oo, nearly 40% off. If you do not have a plan for study in this new year beyond normal Bible reading, then this would be a wonderful way to incorporate devotional christian reading into your life. I am looking foreward to this and hope many of you can join with me and take the Puritan Reading Challenge. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-8634936823592889202007-12-08T09:24:00.000-05:002007-12-08T09:59:22.163-05:00Get Out The Vote!As a worship student and minister of worship at my church, I have spent a lot of time reading and thinking through the biblical <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">guidelines</span> (or lack thereof) for the Church's service of worship. The weekly job of planning worship primarily falls to me and I take this job very seriously since it effects the spiritual life of every member and visitor that comes through our doors. Making Christ known while balancing beloved tradition that reaches and speaks to the hearts of my people and teaching new music and liturgy that more fully tells the grand narrative of scripture and salvation history is a tough job. Issues like the <em>regulative principle</em> rarely get discussed outside of the classroom even though it is an issue that gets to the very heart of what we mean when we say that <em>scripture is sufficient for all of life. </em><br /><em></em><br />So, it excites me when I read blogs that are talking about this and hearing pastors who are thinking through these issues. One such blog is <a href="http://www.timmybrister.com/"><em>Provocations and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Pantings</span></em> </a>penned by Southern Seminary student Timmy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Brister</span>. Timmy has posed a question to Mark <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Driscoll</span>, pastor of Seattle's <a href="http://www.marshillchurch.org/">Mars Hill Church</a>, who is conducting a <a href="http://askanything.marshillchurch.org/">survey of topics </a>to preach on. Pastor Mark recently preached through 1 Corinthians and realized that the occasion for Paul's writing was to address specific issues that were on the minds and hearts of the members of the Church at Corinth. So, in like manor, he's asking his church and the wider church to give suggestions. At this point in the process, the questions have been narrowed down to the top 20 vote-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">getters</span>. The top Nine (9) will be answered by Pastor Mark from the pulpit when he preaches this series.<br />You can vote 10 times in one day. Please email this post to your friends and get out the vote.<br /><br />SO...I'm asking you to go and vote for Question Number #10. Here it is:<br /><br /><blockquote><a href="http://askanything.marshillchurch.org/alphas/185-do-you-believe-that-the-scripture-not-only-regulates-our-theology-but-also-our-methodology-in-other-words-do-you-believe-in-the-regulative-principle-if-so-to-what-degree-if-not-why-not">Do you believe that Scripture not only regulates our theology but our<br />methodology? In other words, do you believe in the regulative principle? If so,<br />to what degree? If not, why not?</a><br /></blockquote><br /><strong>In the future I will be discussing my take on the <em>Regulative Principle </em>and how I think about worship planning in the context of the local church, but first, let's put on our </strong><a href="http://timmybrister.com/2007/12/08/ninth-inning-rally/"><strong>Rally Caps </strong></a><strong>and get out there and vote.</strong><br /><p><a href="http://askanything.marshillchurch.org/alphas/185-do-you-believe-that-the-scripture-not-only-regulates-our-theology-but-also-our-methodology-in-other-words-do-you-believe-in-the-regulative-principle-if-so-to-what-degree-if-not-why-not"><br /></p></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-53892294445467888722007-11-19T22:33:00.000-05:002007-11-19T22:39:09.542-05:00Speaking of funny stuff...I know this has nothing to do with worship or church or God (mainly - everything in some way relates to God...) but it's just funny. If you don't get the joke, then go <a href="http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/">HERE.</a><br /><br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MDUQW8LUMs8&rel=1&border=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MDUQW8LUMs8&rel=1&border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br />{ht: <a href="http://theologica.blogspot.com/">Justin Taylor</a>}<div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-27459895915242404822007-11-17T18:43:00.001-05:002007-11-17T19:10:01.694-05:00Funny StuffThis is a funny clip that I found on the blog of Mark and Stephen Altrogge. They are gifted song writers and churchmen. Mark pastors The Sovereign Grace Church of Indiana, Pennsylvania. Stephen leads worship at the same church. Mark is an avid musician and has been writing songs for Sovereign Grace Music for several years now and Mark, his son is following in his Dad's footstepts. You can learn more about their dynamic worship music <a href="http://www.myspace.com/stephenaltrogge">Here</a>. Look around and listen to some of their christmas music.<br /><br />This Christmas, my church will be learning and singing "Hope Has Come" which is featured on the website linked above. You can download a PDF Lead Sheet for <a href="http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=M4185-02-55">FREE HERE</a>.<br /><br />These guys aren't only talented. They're funny. Here is a video I found on their <a href="http://blazingcenter.blogspot.com/">blog</a>. I laughed for several minutes. Enjoy the music and the laughs.<br /><br /><br /><p><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UdNIGxoeKh0&rel=1&border=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UdNIGxoeKh0&rel=1&border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></p><p>(ht: <a href="http://blazingcenter.blogspot.com/">The Blazing Center</a>)</p><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-4508020720351495722007-11-13T19:51:00.000-05:002007-11-13T20:33:22.521-05:00What Held Christ on the Cross?<div align="center"><strong>HOW DEEP THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR US</strong></div><div align="center">Stuart Townend</div><div align="center">Copyright © 1995 Thankyou Music</div><div align="center">.</div><div align="center"><strong><em>How deep, the father's love for us,</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>How vast beyond all measure,</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>That He should give His only Son</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>To make a wretch His treasure.</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>How great the pain of searing loss –</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>The Father turns His face away,</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>As wounds which mar the Chosen One</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Bring many sons to glory.</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>.</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Behold the man upon a cross,</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>My sin upon His shoulders;</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Call out among the scoffers.</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>It was my sin that held Him there</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Until it was accomplished;</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>His dying breath has brought me life –</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>I know that it is finished.</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>.</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>I will not boast in anything,</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>No gifts, no power, no wisdom;</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>But I will boast in Jesus Christ,</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>His death and resurrection.</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>Why should I gain from His reward?</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>I cannot give an answer;</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>But this I know with all my heart –</em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em>His wounds have paid my ransom.</em></strong> </div><div align="center">.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">This hymn by the British hymnist <a href="http://stuarttownend.typepad.com/stuart_townend/">Stewart Townend </a>has been a blessing to me since the first time I sang it. It opened up the richness of the cross to my heart in a fresh new way. <a href="http://www.challies.com/">Tim Challies</a>, perhaps the most widely read evangelical blogger, recently posted his reflections on just one line of this beautiful hymn that caught his mind while singing this song during a communion service. It was a blessing to me and I wanted to bring it to you. You can read the article <a href="http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/personal-reflections/it-was-my-sin-that-held-him-there.php">HERE.</a></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">---</div><div align="left">If you would like to read the author's words on writing this hymn, click <a href="http://stuarttownend.typepad.com/stuart_townend/2006/05/how_deep_the_fa.html">HERE.</a></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">---</div><div align="left">If you would like to hear the author speak to the importance of modern hymnody for the church today and the importance of Hymns in the Worship and thoughtlife of christians from October 5, 2005, download files from <a href="http://www.sbts.edu/academics/Schools/Church_Music_and_Worship/Institute_for_Christian_Worship/Past_Lectures.aspx">HERE.</a></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">--</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">I love this hymn, maybe I'll have a post forthcoming on the intricacies and precision of the propositions in this hymn. That would be fun!</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">May God continue to bless you all. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-24415356095237349692007-11-09T14:07:00.001-05:002007-11-09T15:15:39.035-05:00To thine own self Preach Truth...In my last post, I mentioned the importance of preaching to one's self the truth of the gospel when we observe communion and when we sing songs in worship. I wanted to spend a little more time thinking about the importance of this in the life of the believer and to see a few ways scripture exhorts us to make this a priority in our own lives.<br /><br />Last Sunday night, I had the opportunity to bring the sermon in our evening worship service. I spoke from Psalm 43 which is an amazing prayer to the Lord where the psalmist ends by preaching to himself to "hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God."<br /><br />The psalmist begins with a prayer of vindication from his enemies in verse one.<br /><br /><blockquote><p>1 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man deliver me! </p><p>2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge; why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? </p><p>3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me<br />to your holy hill and to your dwelling! </p><p>4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you<br />with the lyre, O God, my God. </p><p>5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.</p><p>Psalm 43 (ESV)</p></blockquote><br /><br />We see that he is locked in a struggle with those around him and he is tormented by the thought that he is forsaken and rejected by God because he is enduring persecution. He is a man with a divided mind because he admits that God <em>is</em> his refuge, but <em>feels</em> that he's forsaken. So he has outer circumstances influencing his inner spiritual life.<br /><br />But there is a drastic shift in verse 3 that gets to the heart of the matter. The psalmist may be struggling in a battle against those around him, but ultimately it is not the REAL battle. His real battle is against unbelief. It is <em>worship</em> of the true and Living God that is the solution. He asks for guidance (send your light and truth) so that he will be led to God's presence and to the altar where his sins are forgiven and finally to God himself who is his ultimate and final greatest joy. When God, as his exceeding joy (or literally the <em>gladness of his rejoicing</em> reigning) is in His rightful place at the center of this man's worship, the Psalmist confesses that he will be whole.<br /><br />He walks through these truths: that God gives guidance through light and truth; that God forgives sins; that God is to be the soul and foundation of all joy; that God is rightly to be praised even in the midst of persecution.<br /><br />The result of recounting these truths is that the Psalmist then turns inward on his divided heart and preaches to himself. He questions his own heart in the light of these great truths when he says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul, and why are you downcast within me?" His next step is to preach to himself to hope in God. He acknowledges that his circumstances and his feelings are not the source of his hope. As Christians we are not to be tossed about by our circumstances and he confesses this. All of this culminates in the hope that in spite of circumstances he will worship and praise God and worship him.<br /><br />On Sunday nights, part of our worship practice at our church is to read through a chapter or section of scripture together. We always have a scriptural call to worship in our Sunday morning services but we seek also to have the plain reading of scripture in our other services in accordance with 1 Timothy 4:13. We began this practice with Psalm 119 and we have read about 30 psalms, the books of Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 and 3 John, Jude and we just finished Ephesians. This Sunday night we read Ephesians Chapter 6. In this chapter, Paul exhorts the church to put on the full armor of God as a way to combat the the attack of Satan and reminds us that the battle we fight, ultimately isn't against earthly forces or our earthly enemies (just as the Psalmist understands). My sermon was a little long so I didn't get the opportunity to draw out this point from this passage, but I was pondering as we read that PREACHING to YOURSELF is how we "PUT ON" the belt of truth and the helmet of salvation.<br /><br />This is not optional for any true Christian. The act of "putting on" truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation is the act of preaching to ourselves these truths. We are to actively affirm what scripture tells us to our hearts. We are to actively speak to our divided hearts. We all experience it and it is combated in our hearts by putting our minds and emotions in the way of the train of God's word: his light and truth. This is why it is so necessary to preach to ourselves.<br /><br />Next Sunday, as you enter your place of worship, pray with Paul that great prayer he prayed for the Ephesians that the eyes of their hearts will be enlightened in order to know what is their hope.<br /><br />Next Sunday, when you bow your head in prayer at the close of your churches service of worship, preach to yourselves the light and truth that you have sung and heard opened to your mind in the sermon time.<br /><br />Next Sunday, make God the gladness of all your rejoicing!<div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-70943647105441698252007-11-06T20:51:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:27:49.192-05:00Communion and the Art of Preaching to Yourself<span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:130%;">My church observes communion on the first Sunday morning of every month. Prior to this, we observed the Lord's Supper every quarter, but not on a set Sunday, so at times it seemed sporadic. I have been so thankful and happy about this change to our service planning. I love communion. I love proclaiming the Lord's death till he comes. I love glorying in the cross and in my savior Jesus Christ. I love my brothers and sisters at my church and I love seeing a visible representation of our unity in Christ as we take the elements together. I am also encouraged and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">strengthened</span> as I see foreshadowed before our church, the great final supper where the bride will meet the bridegroom and feast in the comfort and peace of the Lord, God Almighty. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The Lord's supper could be preached every Sunday and the immeasurable riches of God, the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">unparalleled</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">sacrifice</span> of our Savior, the glory of being accepted into God's family, the hope that it gives as a sign that he is coming again, the beauty of the atonement, the pervasive reality of the forgiveness of our sins, the importance of eating it in a worthy manner, the importance of the proclamation and remembering, all these could never be mined to their depths in any way. Nonetheless, we try. We remind ourselves of its significance. We seek the wisdom and encouragement of its promise. We seek the communion with our risen Lord. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">This past Sunday, my pastor preached a wonderful sermon on the importance of proclaiming the Lord's death till he comes. It was a beautiful service although it had a few glitches that bother the worship leader side of me (caused by yours truly!!!). But as a worshiper, I was reacquainted with my hope that is expressed in a multitude of ways through participating in communion with my brothers and sisters. And it is this hope and our assurance of it that sustains us. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">of things</span> not seen. (Hebrews 11:1, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">ESV</span>) Proclaiming the value and the nature of Christ's death till he comes is one of the most tangible ways that we can preach the cross to ourselves as well as preach our hope for his return to own mind and heart. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Preaching to ourselves is something I'll pick up on later, but more and more I see that singing is exactly this. I think that when Paul tells the Ephesians to "speak to one another with Psalms and hymns and spiritual psalms" he's giving them the greatest tool they have to preach to one another and to themselves. Singing songs in worship, for me, is a chance to meditate on great spiritual truths and to preach them to my own heart. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and Righteousness"</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"Let goods and kindred go, the mortal life also. The body they may kill, God's truth <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">abideth</span> still"</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"No guilt in life, no fear in death: this is the power of Christ in me. From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny"</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">changest</span> not, Thy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">compassions</span> they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">rightousness</span> and wonders of his love."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain, Who hath <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">borne all</span> our sins, and hath <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">cleans'd</span> every stain."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I could go on and on, but I won't. My point is that when we sing these lines, we preach to one another the truth of scripture in these songs. So, we preach to ourselves as we sing as well as when we take communion. Below is a new hymn for communion written by Keith and Krystyn Getty. Read and preach its truths to your own heart. </span><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><br /><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Behold The Lamb (Communion Hymn)</strong></span></div><div align="center">Words and Music by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty & Kristyn Getty<br />© 2006 Thankyou Music </div><div align="center">.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Behold the Lamb who bears our sins away,</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Slain for us - and we remember</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>The promise made that all who come in faith</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Find forgiveness at the cross.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>So we share in this bread of life,</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>And we drink of His sacrifice</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>As a sign of our bonds of peace</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Around the table of the King.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;">.</span></em></strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong></strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>The body of our Saviour Jesus Christ,</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Torn for you - eat and remember</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>The wounds that heal, the death that brings us life</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Paid the price to make us one.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>So we share in this bread of life,</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>And we drink of His sacrifice</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>As a sign of our bonds of love</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Around the table of the King.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;">.</span></em></strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong></strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>The blood that cleanses every stain of sin,</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Shed for you - drink and remember</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>He drained death's cup that all may enter in</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>To receive the life of God.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>So we share in this bread of life,</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>And we drink of His sacrifice</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>As a sign of our bonds of grace</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Around the table of the King.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:130%;">.</span></em></strong></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong></strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>And so with thankfulness and faith we rise</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>To respond, and to remember</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Our call to follow in the steps of Christ</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>As His body here on earth.</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>As we share in His suffering</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>We proclaim Christ will come again!</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>And we’ll join in the feast of heaven</strong></em></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Around the table of the King</strong></em></span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-25176074435047406502007-11-06T19:50:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:28:19.665-05:00Where's my smarts?<p align="center"><a href="http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/reading_level.aspx"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none" alt="cash advance" src="http://www.criticsrant.com/bb/readinglevel/img/high_school.jpg" /></a></p><br /><p align="justify"><small><span style="font-size:130%;">I saw this on another site and thought I'd check it out. </span></small></p><p align="justify"><small><span style="font-size:130%;">I'm in the process of improving the blog, then I'll get </span></small></p><p align="justify"><small><span style="font-size:130%;">down to serious blogging. Check back soon!</span></small></p><p align="justify"><small><a href="http://locustsandhoney.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size:130%;">ht: Locusts and Honey</span></a></small></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-43619561552929399142007-06-09T11:34:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:28:51.937-05:00A Look at a New Hymn<div align="center">Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God</div><div align="center">Words and Music by Keith Getty & Kristyn Getty</div><div align="center">© 2006 Thankyou Music </div><div align="left">.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,</div><div align="center">Breathe new life into my willing soul.</div><div align="center">Bring the presence of the risen Lord</div><div align="center">To renew my heart and make me whole.</div><div align="center">Cause Your Word to come alive in me;</div><div align="center">Give me faith for what I cannot see;</div><div align="center">Give me passion for Your purity.</div><div align="center">Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">.</div><div align="center">Holy Spirit, come abide within;</div><div align="center">May Your joy be seen in all I do—</div><div align="center">Love enough to cover ev'ry sin</div><div align="center">In each thought and deed and attitude,</div><div align="center">Kindness to the greatest and the least,</div><div align="center">Gentleness that sows the path of peace.</div><div align="center">Turn my striving into works of grace.</div><div align="center">Breath of God, show Christ in all I do. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">.</div><div align="center">Holy Spirit, from creation's birth,</div><div align="center">Giving life to all that God has made,</div><div align="center">Show your power once again on earth;</div><div align="center">Cause Your church to hunger for Your ways.</div><div align="center">Let the fragrance of our prayers arise.</div><div align="center">Lead us on the road of sacrifice</div><div align="center">That in unity the face of Christ</div><div align="center">Will be clear for all the world to see. </div><p><br /><br /><br /><br />As Christ's followers stared into his beautiful new face, I can only imagine their heartache and fear coupled with with a renewed strength and hope in Christ, this one who arose from the dead. They witnessed him die and they saw the size of the stone, yet there he was speaking with them. He had spent 40 days with them and he smiled down as he told him that he would send another, the helper that they remembered he had spoke of earlier. They asked him their last questions and watched him enter into the heavens...These men and women believed that Jesus was telling them the truth. They were waiting and praying on the day of Pentecost, when the promised Holy Spirit came down. </p><p>Today, all those who worship the God of the Bible have been called to be FILLED with the Spirit. Paul tells us what the fruit of that Spirit in us will look like in Galatians 5. He tells us that the we must live by the Spirit to keep from fulfilling the desires of our sinful flesh. This is so important for every Christian. The depths of what this means would fill one thousand blog posts. The intricacies of this truth and the myriad of ways the redeemed have sought to be filled with the spirit would fill one thousand blogs! My point is that I am not going to write much about this. I am presuming you all know of the Holy Spirit's work in your salvation as well as his work in your Sanctification. </p><p>Today I want us to think about the way we think about the Holy Spirit's work in our public worship. The hymn above is another wonderful offering from <a href="http://gettymusic.com/">Keith and Kristyn Getty</a>. It zeros in on the Holy Spirit's work in all of our life, but also has great indications and reflections on what the Spirit is doing in every worship service we attend. Like most songs we sing in church, this hymn is a Prayer. In lines 5-6 of the first stanza the congregation is asking that God's Holy Spirit make his word have a new life in us, so that, in turn, we will have greater faith.<br />Do we pray this before we read scripture? Do we, as worshipers pray this for our Pastor before he is about to deliver the sermon from God's word? Do we ask God for greater faith when we don't understand? I recall a conversation with a college classmate who shared that she was (although she didn't put it this way) losing her faith in the God of the Bible. All the objections of her religious education were mounting and she was doubting more and more. She was carefully lamenting the inevitability that she would probably soon stop believing completely. I remember asking her (remember she said that she still did believe!) if she had prayed for more faith. When we are in the depths of theological despair, or in the depths of personal despair, do we pray that God will give us more confidence in his promises and in his work? Do we ask (line 4) to renew our hearts and to mend those that are broken? </p><p>The second stanza turns from issues of our own belief and inward worship, to the aspects of our outer worship. Romans 12 teaches us that worship is not about our personal feelings, it involves our public actions. The sacrifice we are to give is ourselves, and we are to make that sacrifice to God through the way we love other believers (vv 3-9). We need to be reminded as we worship, that we are supposed to treat those we worship with in the next pew over as more important than ourselves. We are to sow paths of peace among our brothers and sisters (St.2, line 6) and we should recognize that the bible teaches that our strivings, or controversy, or hard times are all means for God's grace to be displayed in our Christ-like attitudes and the Christ-like attitudes of others. We should ask that God's spirit help us to display the proper attitudes in bad circumstances but also to recognize the encouragement that other's attitudes should be for us. This goes along with the forgiveness that is spoken of in the third line of this stanza. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us love enough to cover every sin that we commit when we apologize to a brother or sister for a wrong we have done, and to cover the sins of others who have sinned against us. </p><p>I have been attending church, literally, from before my birth! It is sad to say that I have watched more arguments between brothers and sisters than reconciliations. Is that your experience? Do we allow hurt feelings and grudges to fester and grow, lurking under our skin...perhaps looking for another person we can “vent” to, and perhaps get them to see the importance of recovering the pews in this particular color, or show them how we can't support the pastor any longer since he's been preaching about?...We all know the way we act. Do we seek God's Spirit to help us purge these sinful attitudes that we harbor and tendencies that we know we have? We need to search our own hearts to see if there is any way that our attitude is producing sinful actions and stirring evil thoughts. The Holy Spirit will bring sin to light. It will be obvious. Do we pray that, when the conviction comes and our sin is obvious that we will be given the strength and grace to seek God and forsake the flesh, the grace to crucify our flesh? We need to do all of this corporately as a body of like-minded believers who have been washed in the blood. </p><p>The final stanza is the corporate expression of the first two stanzas. As a church we need humility to realize that the work God does on Earth comes by his power, not ours. I know many pastors who have forgotten that along the way. We need to hunger for God's ways. That will be shown by the way we handle and seek to understand the word of God. Hunger is a wonderful metaphor. It is something we will never satisfy completely. Hunger lasts as long as we have breath. O would that we all would think on the precepts of our God as much as we think on our next meal. In lines 7 and 8, we are praying for the end to which God created Church is to live out for the World's sake. Jesus told his followers that the ultimate witness to the world isn't people knocking on doors, or religious leaders on CNN or on their own radio shows. The witness God has chosen, purchased, prepared for and planted on this earth is his bride, the catholic Church (little “c”) that is represented in our communities by us. We may be feeble and broken hearted and persecuted, but we are God's witness to the world. The way we love each others is a witness to the World. </p><p>We need to prepare our hearts and ask for the Holy Spirit when we worship so that the face of Christ, shining through our transforming faces, will be visible and clear to each other and to every unregenerate person we have contact with. </p><p>Pray for our churches and our Denominations that we will humbly submit ourselves to these scriptural truths and that as we worship, we will be seeking to be changed by giving glory to our Tri-une God who seeks to help us be conformed to his image. </p><p>A final note I want to make is that the humility displayed in asking and seeking the Holy Spirit in these things show the tremendous amount of faith and trust we have in our Great God of highest Heaven, which is also the title of the Sovereign Grace song that I will look at in my next post. </p><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-29854128807152436082007-06-01T21:35:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:30:00.659-05:00New Blog for Southern Seminary Bloggers<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">SBTS</span> Blogs<br /><br />I am currently a student at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">SBTS</span>. There is a wonderful new resource out there in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">blogosphere</span> for those who want to hear what the young voices of are seminaries are saying. The new site <a href="http://www.saidatsouthern.com/">Said at Southern Seminary</a> is a very clean and useful <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">metablog</span> that links to many blogs of students, faculty and alumni. It is their blog debut today, so check it out.<br /><br />One important and useful resource on the SASS Blog is the Seminary worship <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">podcasts</span>. As a seminarian, one of the greatest <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">privileges</span> of this time in my life is the ability to be fed by some of the country's greatest preachers and sit under the teaching of our institution's fine instructors when they preach. Seminary worship audio is free to download. So take a look at that. Also in the Podcast section, you can download episodes of Dr. Mohler's Radio program as well as his weekly Sunday School audio from Highview Baptist Church. Dr. Russel Moore, the Dean of the School of Theology also has Sunday School audio that you can access there. These can be great resources if you, say drive a long way in to work from out in the boonies and would like to listen to great preaching, teaching or ...radioing? I suppose that's what you would call it...radioing...anyway. I recommend highly the Seminary Sermon Audio. Dr. Mohler's sermon on the 10th commandment is highly recommended.<br /><br /><br /><br />More on worship to come!<div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-66057663720965075692007-05-05T12:16:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:31:00.185-05:00A.W. Tozer and Worship in the Church<div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />It is c<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">inco</span></span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">de</span></span></span> Mayo. For those of us at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, this means the official last day of classes for the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">semester</span>, and the looming dread of finals week which begins on Monday. I probably should be studying, but I am at work, where I can only concentrate in spurts, so I generally read blogs or short prose. I am reading a collection of sermons by A.W. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Tozer</span></span></span> entitled </span><a href="http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=6016X&netp_id=446850&amp;event=EBRN&item_code=WW"><span style="font-size:130%;">Whatever Happened to Worship</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><u>?</u> It has been a blessing. In a sermon entitled "Born to Worship God," <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Tozer</span></span></span> preaches from Genesis 3 on the fall of Adam and Eve. In it, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Tozer</span></span></span> characterizes the world as a man with amnesia who can't put his finger on who he's supposed to be. He moves to revelation and the Gospel and makes an interesting statement about the Church's purpose. Below is the quote in context:<br /><br /></div></span><div align="left"><em><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">"Yes, worship of the loving God is man's whole reason for existence. That is why we are born and that is why we are born again from above. That is why we were created and that is why we have been recreated. That is why there is a genesis, and that is why there is a re-genesis, called regeneration. </span></em></div><div align="left"><em><strong><span style="font-family:times new roman;font-size:130%;">That is also why there is a church. The Christian Church exists to worship God first of all. Everything else must come second or third or fourth or fifth."</span></strong></em></div><div align="left"><em><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></em></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I think that nearly everyone would agree with this after a few moments thought. I am a worship leader, studying worship and thinking always about corporate and private worship, so I agree quickly. But I think that, while we all may agree that this is the reason the church exists, we all live a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">different</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">existence</span> . I wonder if our children and teens were asked why the church exists, whether their immediate response would be that the church (<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Christ's</span> body) exists for all eternity to worship and give glory and praise to God. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">I wonder how many church members think that the church exists <em><strong>first</strong> </em>for evangelism and baptisms? As a Southern Baptist I have heard more than one sermon that would not hold up to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Tozer's</span></span></span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">assessment</span>. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">I wonder how many <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Christians</span> think that the church exists PRIMARILY to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">alleviate</span> the pain and suffering of others? Or how many people think that the church FIRSTLY exists as a means of grace for other <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Christians</span> to be <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">strengthened</span> and girded up in their struggle against sin? </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">The thing is that it is so easy to be led by this kind of thinking. The truth is that the worshiping church, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">those who</span> worship the the great and mighty and awesome God of the Bible WILL do all these 2<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">nd</span></span></span> and 3rd and 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">th</span></span></span> priorities. Feeding the poor isn't left out because it's not first. </span><a href="http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/bio/johnpiper.html"><span style="font-size:130%;">John Piper</span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"> is famous for, among other things, writing that "the reason why missions exists, is that worship doesn't." </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">Worship is our motivation for evangelism, our motivation for caring for our brothers and sisters, for caring for the sinner, for loving the orphan. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">SO...Sunday morning, before you go to church, how will this effect you? </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">When you're showering and getting ready to go to your Sunday Gathering, how will this reality shape your thoughts?</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">How will it shape the planning of our public gatherings?</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">How will it effect our programs, our ministries and our outreach? </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">How will this reality change what our choir anthem will be this S<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">unday</span></span>? </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;">Should I even have a Choir anthem? </span></div><div align="left"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">As a worship minister how does this effect the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">lengths</span> I will go to to preserve and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">strengthen</span></span> worship in my church?</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span></div><div align="left"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 cor. 10:31 </span></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-3009375275564854422007-04-17T17:58:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:31:25.790-05:00Virginia Tech and Spring Break<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br />At seminary, we do not have spring break. Technically speaking, it is called "Reading Days." We get a week off, giving us an opportunity to do the reading we've undoubtedly gotten behind on. Mine was a spring break as I got to spend a wonderful week with my family and didn't do as much reading as I should have done. I also was able to be at the burial service for a close friend who passed away recently. I did not make it for the funeral service that was the day before Easter, but I was extremely thankful for the opportunity to make it to the burial and to visit with many of our mutual friends, church members, and her family. I am thinking about doing a series of 4 or 5 posts about the ways that this blessed saint helped me grow and learn more about Jesus Christ (It's hard to call her a saint without tearing up even now). But that is for some other time. My point is to explain where I've been for over a week after boldly proclaiming that "I'm Back!"<br /><br />I've been thinking a lot about my friend Karen's death and find myself remembering odd things at odd times. I can only imagine what the friends and family of those murdered at Virginia Tech must be thinking. It will be months of remembering the little oddities and idiosyncrasies about their classmates for some. For others it will be a wound deep in the heart of a mother, father, sister, or brother, best friend...a wound that will never be healed.<br /><br />I don't want to say much more about the hard days ahead for these folks who will be forever changed this evil act, mainly because no words seem right in my mind. I hear people discussing this for the purposes of pushing their own ideologies and political agendas and I hear many, in the media at least, sensationalizing the story. But I know there <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">is</span> an answer to why this happened. There <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">is</span> a solution to the problem that caused it. It's just not going to be found in punditry or from politicians or from the anti-gun lobby.<br /><br />Sin is the reason.<br />There is only one solution to it.<br /><br />I want to refer you to a post at Tim Challie's Blog. He is acquainted with a couple of pastors in Blacksburg. He posted some emails and correspondence he's kept for the last two days. One email gives some prayer requests and details about the prayer service that was held last night and he quotes one of the speakers who referenced (i know it's confusing) an email from his Archbishop Emannuel Koliny of Rawanda. He quoted a Benediction that was dear to the hearts of many African believers, one that has been spoken in response to many atrocities on that continent. <a href="http://www.challies.com/archives/002505.php">Here</a> is the link to the entire post. The benediction is below.<br /><br />Let us all pray earnestly that God will work and heal and pour out His Spirit so that this evil act will be used to unite strong families and churches, to rally the hopeless, and awaken the sleeping for the Glory of the Almighty God who is the only soothing balm for the pain of this life through his Son Jesus and the Spirit that is within those who love him. Our hope is not in the quick response of a police precinct, or in the wisdom and judgment of a university president. It is in Jesus Christ, who died for our sin, arose from the grave according to scriptures ascended to God's right hand and intercedes now for us, leaving us his Holy Spirit to help us till the day he comes again to judge sin and evil and to reign forevermore where we will have every tear wiped and every eye dry. God speed the day of your appearing.<br /><br /></span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Minister</b>: All our problems . . .<br /><br /><b>People</b>: We send them to the cross of Christ!<br /><br /><b>Minister</b>: All our difficulties . . .<br /><br /><b>People</b>: We send them to the cross of Christ!<br /><br /><b>Ministe</b>r: All the devil's work . . .<br /><br /><b>People</b>: We send them to the cross of Christ!<br /><b></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>Minister</b>: All our hopes . . .<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b>People</b>: We set on the risen Christ!<br /></span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><b face="times new roman">Minister</b><span style="font-family:times new roman;">: Christ, the Son of Righteousness, shine upon you and scatter the darkness from before your path: and the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you, forever and ever. Amen.</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-1176034515017417942007-04-08T07:02:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:32:03.368-05:00Christ has RISEN! He has Risen Indeed!<span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="font-size:78%;">Easter people, raise your voices. Christ has conquered the grave! What a blessed morning. I won't make a long post this morning, but I wanted to direct you to a song by Andrew Peterson. It is Called <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">High Noon</span> from the album "Love and Thunder." I've been singing it for a week and a friend of mine did an excellent post on this song just yesterday. I told him I was going to save my words and use his! You can read his wonderful post </span><a href="http://thelowercase.blogspot.com/2007/04/out-of-grip-of-death.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">HERE.</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br />His name is Stephen Caveness and his blog is thought provoking and always interesting. It's called <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">the lower case</span> because he types with %60 of his fingers and can't hit the shift key, but I don't hold that against him!<br /><br />Go check it out and enjoy the beauty of our risen Christ.<br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-1175828495042280292007-04-05T21:32:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:32:29.087-05:00A Good Friday<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">What a good Friday! Christ bore our sins on the cross. Ephesians 1:7b says that in him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. I'm so thankful to be free from the guilt of my sin and reconciled to my God through Jesus Christ but I can never get through this day without being completely humbled. I pray that we all will realize that our freedom was bought with a price: nails in perfect hands.<br /><br />I'll leave you with a new-ish (2005)hymn by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. They are the wonderful writers of many wonderful new hymns for the church. Their hymn <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">In Christ Alone </span>is now the #1 song in Britain according to CCLI. That is a blessing. It's great that British churches are singing these glorious truths about our wonderful savior. Maybe we will soon be singing God honoring and Christ exalting <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">NEW </span>songs that will help build our churches and ground them in the orthodoxy of scripture. You can see many of their other songs and learn about them <a href="http://www.gettymusic.com/">HERE</a> and <a href="http://stuarttownend.typepad.com/">HERE</a><br /><br /></span></span></span><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><em><b><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;">"The Power of the Cross"</span></b></em><b><i><span style="font-family:georgia;font-size:130%;"><br /><em>Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend </em><br /><em>Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music </em><br /></span></i><br /></b>Oh, to see the dawn<br />Of the darkest day:<br />Christ on the road to Calvary.<br />Tried by sinful men,<br />Torn and beaten, then<br />Nailed to a cross of wood.<br /><br /><i>CHORUS:<br />This, the pow'r of the cross:<br />Christ became sin for us;<br />Took the blame, bore the wrath—<br />We stand forgiven at the cross.<br /></i><br />Oh, to see the pain<br />Written on Your face,<br />Bearing the awesome weight of sin.<br />Ev'ry bitter thought,<br />Ev'ry evil deed<br />Crowning Your bloodstained brow.<br /><br />Now the daylight flees;<br />Now the ground beneath<br />Quakes as its Maker bows His head.<br />Curtain torn in two,<br />Dead are raised to life;<br />"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.<br /><br />Oh, to see my name<br />Written in the wounds,<br />For through Your suffering I am free.<br />Death is crushed to death;<br />Life is mine to live,<br />Won through Your selfless love.<br /><br /><i>FINAL CHORUS:<br />This, the pow'r of the cross:<br />Son of God—slain for us.<br />What a love! What a cost!<br />We stand forgiven at the cross.<?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><o:p></o:p></i></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30307587.post-1175824299598292362007-04-05T17:28:00.000-05:002007-11-06T22:32:58.486-05:00THURSDAY THOUGHTS<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="font-size:130%;"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;"><br />Today is Maundy Thursday. This is the day in the holy week in which Christ served his disciples the cup and bread after observing the Passover meal. He broke it and served it and proclaimed that it was his body, given for his disciples. He took a cup and proclaimed that it was his blood poured out for the forgiveness of the sins of many. John's gospel tells us that, after they had eaten, he also washed their feet in a gesture of humility. He stooped with his shirt around his waist and served them...he touched their feet, a very lowly act to their near-eastern sensibilities and customs. He commanded them to do this also and gives them a new commandment that his followers love one another in the same way that he loved his followers. He continued teaching that night and journeyed with them to a garden to pray, knowing exactly what the night would hold. What makes these events amazing is that Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He was sinless and perfect. He was before all things and ...well, just let the Holy Spirit through Paul make it clear:<br /></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation;<br />16 because by Him everything was created,<br />in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible,<br />whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—<br />all things have been created through Him and for Him.<br />17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.<br />18 He is also the head of the body, the church;<br />He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,<br />so that He might come to have first place in everything.<br />19 For God was pleased [to have] all His fullness dwell in Him,<br />20 and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself<br />by making peace through the blood of His cross—<br />whether things on earth or things in heaven.<br />Col. 1:15-20 HCSB<br /></p></span><p align="left"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">It is this amazing man, who occupies the first place in EVERYTHING who condescended to serve others. This is utterly amazing. This majestic God-man washed the feet of people. He healed people. He smiled at children. He had compassion on the crowds of people. He hung on a tree to reconcile people to God. He poured out his blood for people. While I marvel in astonishment at this truth, I would have to admit that I don't think about it enough. I don't dwell on the implications of Christ's humility. The picture of the strong showing his strength in weakness doesn’t enter into my self-seeking attitudes very often. We see this “great reversal” throughout scripture from the exodus to Hannah’s Song in 1 Samuel, to David and Goliath, all the way to the song of Mary in Luke’s Gospel. Paul spoke about God using foolish things to confound the wise so that they will be shown to be the true fools by their unbelief. God will exalt the humble, but the proud will be made low. Paul understood humility and this great reversal and with that understanding and he also wrote to some other Christians and said:<br /></p></span><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">5 Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, </span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.<br /></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave,taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form,<br /></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient<br />to the point of death—even to death on a cross.<br />Philippians 2:5-8 HCSB<br /><br />This humility is so important. We are exhorted to follow Christ’s lead and wash the feet of our brothers and sisters.<br />Many wonder why marriages between Christians fail. I know that I am a stronger head of my house when I display humility and service.<br />As a member of a church staff, I often wonder about how dissension crops up in the church body and I can’t help believe that a failure to have this understanding of Christ-likeness is the culprit every time.<br />Many Christians wonder why the world doesn’t come rushing to the spring of living water and flood the doors of churches all across our nation and world because of the infinite value of our savior. Many Christians think, how can people just throw their lives away, and repeat things like, "It takes more faith to believe there is no god than to believe in God!" The real reason is that they don’t see real humility in us. They see no advantage in Christianity and hey, why should they? The bible tells us that they don't discern or understand spiritual things, so how are they to truly know that they are wasting their life and missing out on the bread of life and the well that flows with living water? Humility is important because Jesus taught us that the world would recognize us by how we care for each other. Humility can be explained as beautiful evangelistic selflessness. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:130%;">If you are interested in following Christ’s example of humility, there is a great little book by <a href="http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/bio/cjmahaney.html">C.J. Mahaney</a> that uses scripture to help transform our minds into the likeness of Christ. It is called <a href="http://www.sovereigngracestore.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=B3615-00-11">Humility: True Greatness</a>. I highly recommend it. </span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><b style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-size:12;"><br /></span></b></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span></span></span><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">WWW.WORSHIPLEADER-RON.BLOGSPOT.COM</div>RonKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17297654202504994941noreply@blogger.com0