Ok...So I set out with a great plan to post everyday during the week up to Easter. I failed.
I wanted to show the effort and care that the writers of hymns used to carefully craft their songs. I think I accomplished this, somewhat.
I wanted to inspire you, my readers, to take extra time and effort in your worship during the week before and the day of Easter. No idea if that was successful...but I hope so.
Sometimes we set out to do things that seem incredible and we believe if we can do that thing, then the presence of God will be so think in the room that the fog of His glory would surround us. In our minds and imaginations we tend to believe that our project or task will be awesome, and everybody will hit their parts perfectly, the harmonies will be flawless, and the lighting will be perfect. Basically, we picture our team onstage lip-syncing to Hillsong, Bethany, or Bethel's music.
Reality check...As I've said before, we are not these worship teams. You will not sound like them!
As much as I wanted to accomplish my earlier stated goals, I'm not a writer for a newspaper, magazine, or any other publication outside of His Presence - Our Praise and I've failed.
The fact is that failure is part of life, and part of learning. If we don't fail, then we don't learn how to make things better.
This past Christmas, I was given an entire service to lead the congregation in worship. I had the lights dimmed to a soft ambient setting. I had candles placed strategically around the stage, and I created a background for the screen to have up. I envisioned a time of intimate worship with everyone enjoying the presence of God on that night. While it was a success, the intended result never materialized. There was sporadic worship, and everyone enjoyed the music. But I learned some things about our congregation, and their expectations. They walked in the door looking to be entertained more than looking to worship. That's not a bad thing, it's just not what I was hoping for. They came expecting a type of cantata instead of worship.
My point is this. Don't be afraid to try something and fail at it. You can only grow from it. Thomas Edison tried to make the light bulb around two thousand times before he found the one way that worked. When he was asked about it, his reply was this..."I didn't fail two thousand times, I just found two thousand ways to not make a light bulb." When you fail, you're not really failing. IF you learn something, it's a success!
......But still don't expect your worship team to be Hillsong!
Monday, April 24, 2017
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Nothing But The Blood (3 of 7)
"What can wash away my sin? What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this I see, For my cleansing this I plea.
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
Nothing can for sin atone. Naught of good that I have done.
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
This is all my hope and peace, This is all my righteousness!
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
O precious is that flow, that makes me white as snow.
No other fount I know! Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!"
Wow! What a song! The Rev. Robert Lowry felt such passion about the value and importance of the blood that he penned this song with strong and powerful wording!
Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash our sins away, can make us complete, is able to pardon, and is our hope and righteousness. Only the blood can atone for our sins, and nothing we do can make us righteous. How incredible is it that the weight of these words and the importance of understanding them is the cornerstone of our faith!
A shower with Herbal Essence shampoo and Dove body wash cant cleanse you like being totally submerged in the precious blood of the lamb! Too many times, church goers tend to live like they want to Monday through Saturday. Then, Sunday morning, they come in with their spiritual shoes on and jump, shout, run the aisles (ask your Grand Parents about it), and "work" under the anointing. I'm sorry...God doesn't want that. He wants to submerge you beneath the flow....
Did you catch that? The blood is flowing! That means it's not a standing pool like what we are baptized in. It's a flow. Once you're in it, you move to a new place. You can't get out of the flow where you entered the flow!
When you are sincere in your repentance, God totally submerges you in the flow and you are changed. You don't go back to the things that you used to do, or to where you used to go.
Strive to stay in the flow!
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
For my pardon this I see, For my cleansing this I plea.
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
Nothing can for sin atone. Naught of good that I have done.
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
This is all my hope and peace, This is all my righteousness!
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!
O precious is that flow, that makes me white as snow.
No other fount I know! Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!"
Wow! What a song! The Rev. Robert Lowry felt such passion about the value and importance of the blood that he penned this song with strong and powerful wording!
Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash our sins away, can make us complete, is able to pardon, and is our hope and righteousness. Only the blood can atone for our sins, and nothing we do can make us righteous. How incredible is it that the weight of these words and the importance of understanding them is the cornerstone of our faith!
A shower with Herbal Essence shampoo and Dove body wash cant cleanse you like being totally submerged in the precious blood of the lamb! Too many times, church goers tend to live like they want to Monday through Saturday. Then, Sunday morning, they come in with their spiritual shoes on and jump, shout, run the aisles (ask your Grand Parents about it), and "work" under the anointing. I'm sorry...God doesn't want that. He wants to submerge you beneath the flow....
Did you catch that? The blood is flowing! That means it's not a standing pool like what we are baptized in. It's a flow. Once you're in it, you move to a new place. You can't get out of the flow where you entered the flow!
When you are sincere in your repentance, God totally submerges you in the flow and you are changed. You don't go back to the things that you used to do, or to where you used to go.
Strive to stay in the flow!
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Are You Washed In The Blood
"Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow'r?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you walking daily by the Savior's side?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
When the Bride-Groom cometh will your robes be white?
Pure and white in the blood of the lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansion bright?
And be washed in the blood of the lamb!
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin.
And be washed in the blood of the lamb!
There's a fountain flowing for the soul un-clean
O be washed in the blood of the lamb!"
The writer is calling you out! If you're washed in the blood, then you should doing the following:
1) Fully trusting in His grace
2) Walking daily by the Savior's side
3) Resting in the security of Him who was crucified
And if you are washed in the blood, you need to do these things:
1) Make sure your robe is white
2) make sure your soul is ready
3) Lay aside all sin stained garments
4) Be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
What does this mean? This is a daily guide on what we need to do to make sure we are ready when He comes back. The writer is compelling, reminding, and challenging us to live as if He was coming back in the next few minutes. As Christians, we should be doing this because we love Him, not because this song tells us to.
As worship leaders, sometimes we have to compel, remind, and challenge our congregants to help them focus on what is required of us. Too many churches and church members live for themselves and don't really focus on how they should be living. They focus on "being fed" by the minister, enjoying the music, and keeping the status quo. The fact is that too many church goers are not going because of their conviction to serve Christ. No, they are going because they expect Christ to serve them. This way of thinking is killing our churches and causing an epidemic. Now, people say that they don't have to go to church to feel God. While this is true, they stay out of church to hunt, fish, have family time, go to ball games, or whatever else they want to do. They don't pray or read scripture while they are doing these activities...No, they are enjoying life.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying life, or taking a Sunday off from church every once in a while. The fact remains though, We need other believers to encourage us, to uplift us, to edify us, and to walk with us through life's trials.
This is where we compel, remind and challenge. This is where we help others see the importance of these things. This is where our music needs to deliver a clear, concise, message to the members.
It's not just the Pastors job....Welcome to ministry!
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Are you walking daily by the Savior's side?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the lamb?
When the Bride-Groom cometh will your robes be white?
Pure and white in the blood of the lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansion bright?
And be washed in the blood of the lamb!
Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin.
And be washed in the blood of the lamb!
There's a fountain flowing for the soul un-clean
O be washed in the blood of the lamb!"
The writer is calling you out! If you're washed in the blood, then you should doing the following:
1) Fully trusting in His grace
2) Walking daily by the Savior's side
3) Resting in the security of Him who was crucified
And if you are washed in the blood, you need to do these things:
1) Make sure your robe is white
2) make sure your soul is ready
3) Lay aside all sin stained garments
4) Be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
What does this mean? This is a daily guide on what we need to do to make sure we are ready when He comes back. The writer is compelling, reminding, and challenging us to live as if He was coming back in the next few minutes. As Christians, we should be doing this because we love Him, not because this song tells us to.
As worship leaders, sometimes we have to compel, remind, and challenge our congregants to help them focus on what is required of us. Too many churches and church members live for themselves and don't really focus on how they should be living. They focus on "being fed" by the minister, enjoying the music, and keeping the status quo. The fact is that too many church goers are not going because of their conviction to serve Christ. No, they are going because they expect Christ to serve them. This way of thinking is killing our churches and causing an epidemic. Now, people say that they don't have to go to church to feel God. While this is true, they stay out of church to hunt, fish, have family time, go to ball games, or whatever else they want to do. They don't pray or read scripture while they are doing these activities...No, they are enjoying life.
There is nothing wrong with enjoying life, or taking a Sunday off from church every once in a while. The fact remains though, We need other believers to encourage us, to uplift us, to edify us, and to walk with us through life's trials.
This is where we compel, remind and challenge. This is where we help others see the importance of these things. This is where our music needs to deliver a clear, concise, message to the members.
It's not just the Pastors job....Welcome to ministry!
Monday, April 10, 2017
There Is A Fountain
"There is a fountain, filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains."
"The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day.
And there may I, tho vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away"
"E'er since by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die."
Then in a nobler, sweeter song I'll sing
Thy pow'r to save
When this pool lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave."
This is a beautiful song written by W.M. Cowper. Look at the wording, the emphasis on certain words, and how he follows a distinctive structure.
Cowper didn't just write a song. No, he wrote an anthem about The Crucifixion of Jesus. The blood wasn't spilled, it was drawn. The thief rejoiced when he saw that fountain because even he knew of the grace that it supplied. Then Cowper references his own conversion and tells that his one declaration on the Earth shall ever be of Jesus' redeeming love. Lastly, he looks across death and into Glory. He looks to the time that he sings God's praises in Heaven; to when he is singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord; Who was and is and is to come!"
The eloquence that Cowper uses should make all songwriters take a second look. I think too many times we "Dumb Down" our worship to make it easier to sing too, or more relevant to a generation of people that refuse to think on a higher plane of thought.
Millennials tend to think with emotion versus logic. So, we adapt to what they need in order to understand grace and salvation. Once they get it - once they realize what salvation truly means; we then need to direct them to the elegance of worship. What does that mean? It means once a student knows what a painting is, and what the purposes of a painting could be, we introduce them to a Monet, or a Picasso. Once the student understands what music is and how it is made and written, then you introduce them to the complexities of Beethoven, Bach, and Tchaikovsky. They will have a greater appreciation of the beauty of these great painters and composers once they understand the basics.
We have to give them the meat. We have to get them off of the milk and help them mature in Christ Jesus. Their worship needs to mature as well.
This process isn't the music directors alone...No, it falls on all leaders in the church.
But for now...take some time and ponder the wondrous cross. Discover eloquent verses that reflect a writers most passionate and compelling emotions. Discover how they described our God. Not in simple mans terms, but in complex phrases and thoughts, as well as fluid scores of music.
Be inspired by this song that Cowper so elegantly penned.
Drawn from Immanuel's veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains."
"The dying thief rejoiced to see
that fountain in his day.
And there may I, tho vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away"
"E'er since by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply
Redeeming love has been my theme
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die."
Then in a nobler, sweeter song I'll sing
Thy pow'r to save
When this pool lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave."
This is a beautiful song written by W.M. Cowper. Look at the wording, the emphasis on certain words, and how he follows a distinctive structure.
Cowper didn't just write a song. No, he wrote an anthem about The Crucifixion of Jesus. The blood wasn't spilled, it was drawn. The thief rejoiced when he saw that fountain because even he knew of the grace that it supplied. Then Cowper references his own conversion and tells that his one declaration on the Earth shall ever be of Jesus' redeeming love. Lastly, he looks across death and into Glory. He looks to the time that he sings God's praises in Heaven; to when he is singing, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord; Who was and is and is to come!"
The eloquence that Cowper uses should make all songwriters take a second look. I think too many times we "Dumb Down" our worship to make it easier to sing too, or more relevant to a generation of people that refuse to think on a higher plane of thought.
Millennials tend to think with emotion versus logic. So, we adapt to what they need in order to understand grace and salvation. Once they get it - once they realize what salvation truly means; we then need to direct them to the elegance of worship. What does that mean? It means once a student knows what a painting is, and what the purposes of a painting could be, we introduce them to a Monet, or a Picasso. Once the student understands what music is and how it is made and written, then you introduce them to the complexities of Beethoven, Bach, and Tchaikovsky. They will have a greater appreciation of the beauty of these great painters and composers once they understand the basics.
We have to give them the meat. We have to get them off of the milk and help them mature in Christ Jesus. Their worship needs to mature as well.
This process isn't the music directors alone...No, it falls on all leaders in the church.
But for now...take some time and ponder the wondrous cross. Discover eloquent verses that reflect a writers most passionate and compelling emotions. Discover how they described our God. Not in simple mans terms, but in complex phrases and thoughts, as well as fluid scores of music.
Be inspired by this song that Cowper so elegantly penned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)