Preparing For Worship: December 30th

So it's done. Christmas came and went. My wife wants me to put away the Christmas tree (the fake one). I think that the older I get, the less climactic Christmas becomes. When I was younger, Christmas morning brought the realization of desires I had harbored for many months. As I get older, I want less "stuff" but I still expect some sort of amazing Christmas experience. Unfortunately, I look back and see that no matter how much I was "aware" of the real joy of Christmas, I always relied on the physical stuff (the gifts, the big meals with family, etc.) for the actual fulfillment.

I came across a blog post from Desiring God ministries called "Hopeful Post-Christmas Melancholy." I think it was meant as a tool for teaching children, but I found it very helpful as I considered my own Christmas experience.

Anyways, as we now skyrocket towards a new year, I want us not so much to focus on all the things that we're gonna change, or do differently this next year, but I want us to focus on the things that will never change. God is unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This world will pass away, but God's Word endures forever.

His Word tells us that it is good and pleasant for us to dwell together in unity, and to worship God together. So we're going to begin our service this week with "How Good And Pleasant." Then we have a few ministry and fellowship opportunities to let you know about before we continue in song with "Indescribable" "How Great Thou Art" and "Beautiful One." All of those songs talk about the majesty and glory of God, which never fades or tarnishes! They also talk about the glory that God that he displayed in sending Jesus to die for our sins, which hopefully is still fresh in our minds, having just celebrated his birth (talking to myself there!).

Pastor Todd will be giving us some new year's resolutions for the new year from 1 Corinthians. The apostle Paul gave these instructions to the church in Corinth around the year 55 AD, and they are just as timely and God honoring today.

We'll sing some songs that help us respond to God's truth, with "Breathe," which acknowledges that our very life and being are dependent on God, and in the same way, our spiritual lives should be dependent on his Words. We'll close with "I Stand In Awe" and take that mindset as we head out into the world.

See you Sunday!

Preparing For Worship: December 23rd

Merry Christmas everyone!

This Sunday is our Christmas service, and I'd encourage you to read my last post before reading this one if you haven't already, as it talks about how we as believers, and as Crossroads family, can be prepared for the possible influx of unbelievers and "fringe" Christians for Christmas.

This Sunday we'll continue singing the great carols that herald the birth of our Savior! We'll start the service with "Joy To The World" and then have a short time of welcome and greeting. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled for visitors, and greet them so they feel welcome! We'll keep on singing with "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" and "O Holy Night."

At this point, Linda Gray will read us the biblical narrative of the Christmas story, found in Luke's gospel. She'll be reading from the New Living Translation, which is a very beautiful and readable translation, while retaining the accuracy of the original text.

A small ensemble will then sing "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" for us to meditate on the amazing event that happened in the sleepy little town.

Pastor Todd will then bring us a Christmas message entitled "Heaven's Greatest Gift." And then we'll respond by listening/singing "He Knows My Name" which is a great reminder that our God is not somewhere out in the heavens, detached and impersonal, but he is a close God, and one that is intimately involved in his creation. We'll finish the service with "Go Tell It On The Mountain," a song that expresses our uncontainable joy in the birth of our Savior, and our resolve to tell the great gospel of Christ "over the hills and everywhere!"

See you Sunday!

PS. I've linked the songs to search results from Amazon.com as there are so many recordings of these carols that you're bound to find one you might want to download :)

PPS. I found one sample that I had to give its own link: Click Here

Twice A Year

A Christmas service is usually one of two Sundays a year (the other being Easter) that non-Christians and "fringe" Christians will make the trek to church. They somehow feel obligated to "check-in" during these two holiest of holidays. Why do they feel this? Is it ingrained in them because of our culture? Is it because they just like the Christmas festivities that the Church has during this season? Or is there, buried somewhere deep within them, a tiny hint of conviction? Do they think that gracing the threshold of the church twice a year keeps them in some sort of "good standing" with God?

There are probably many different reasons, or combinations of reasons, that they would pop in at Christmas and Easter, but regardless of what those reasons are, they're still showing up. In a culture that is ever increasingly becoming secularized, we still see church attendance spike on these two days, and we need to be about God's work on those days.

We build our services on the principles that God gave us in his Word, and we believe that when the Church (in general, hence the capital "C") is faithful to the principles of God's Word, that true biblical worship will take place, and that the Scriptures will be taught faithfully and intensely. We believe that when we as God's people participate in these things with freedom and joy, that unbelievers in our midst will be convicted by the Spirit.

If I can again reference the book "Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives On Worship And The Arts," author Harold Best talks about witnessing within the corporate gathering (church).

What happens in the corporate gathering as to witness should be no different from what happens as to worship. That is, if worship and witness are seamlessly knit, then the corporate gathering should proceed in its fullest prophetic condition, irrespective of the ratio between saints and sinners...The secret is not in talking baby talk to the unredeemed and adult talk to the converted, nor in seeking a happy medium between the two so as to conform to eased-up protocols of certain kinds of seeker sensitivity. The secret lies in the authority, the conviction, the unswerving bluntness of all truth preached, sung and written......
while the redeemed teach and edify each other, the unredeemed (in that same moment and under the authority of the same content) will fall down Godward in redeemed outpouring, newly washed.

The apostle Paul also talked about how the church should appear to unbelievers who come through the doors:

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. -1 Corinthians 14:23-25

The Corinthian church had been misusing the spiritual gift of tongues as a way to make themselves seem superior to others within their church, and the apostle has to scold them back onto the right track. The word "prophesy" means proclaiming or speaking forth (not always predicting the future, like we think of when we think of the OT prophets), and Paul is basically saying that the Corinthians are creating chaos in the way they're trying to be "spiritual." If they were to proclaim the truth, and preach the gospel instead, an unbeliever visiting the church would encounter the power of the living Word of God, which cuts to the dividing of soul and spirit, and not some cultic chaos created by Christians all trying to outdo each other with their "gifts."

So as we think about the influx of unbelievers/fringers that we may encounter this Sunday, remember that they will not be changed by any programs or methods that we can make up, and that it is not our job to tailor our corporate worship of almighty God around them! It is our job to be faithful worshipers; to sing authentically and earnestly; to give joyfully and abundantly; to pray unceasingly and confidently; to seek God through his Word fervently and passionately; and to love and edify each other sacrificially and faithfully. It is these things that will be the most powerful evidence of the presence of the Spirit of God among his people!

Busy-ness

This week has been a blur, and I haven't had much time to post anything to the blog. Which is ironic, because I was thinking about how important it is for us to take that proverbial step back from the crazyness of the Christmas season, and remember that we are celebrating the birth of our Savior to live a perfect, sinless life, and to die on a cross to take the full severity of God's wrath, which, since Adam's sin in the garden, had been destined for us!

Like I said last Sunday, we hear so many Christmas carols that talk about the birth of a baby. Too often though, we only hear the first verses of those carols, that make it seem like that little baby was just a cute bundle of joy, and that the world was, for some sentimental reason, supposed to be happy he was born. But if that little baby had only been born to be a "good teacher" as many call him, or to "bring joy to so many" by doing miracles, and loving people, then he wouldn't have been able to ransom our souls from the grasp of sin!

The reality is that we cannot separate the cradle from the cross. We aren't celebrating the birth of Jesus because he was really cute, or simply because he was a "good guy." We are celebrating God making a way to maintain his perfect righteousness and justice, while showing his great mercy in reconciling us to be in right standing with Him!

So amid all the focus on the birth of that precious baby, turn your eyes forward to the cross, and to the resurrection. It will make your Christmas celebration all the more meaningful.

Preparing For Worship: December 16th

I can't wait until Sunday to worship together with you all! This Sunday we break out the Christmas carols! As we count down to the big day, it's so easy to start getting caught up in the craziness of the season, and it seems like every year it gets more and more intense.

God's provided a lot of subbing work for me over at Village Christian this past week, and you can just see the kids checking out for Christmas vacation as they get closer and closer to their last day of class. Jess has had to constantly fight to keep her classes focused and under control, and she's hanging on by a thread, so keep her in your prayers!

Hopefully as we sing songs that celebrate Christ's birth, we'll be able to center ourselves again on the reality of Christmas: The birth of the little baby that would grow up to live a perfect sinless life, and who would sacrificially die on a cross for the sins of mankind.

We'll start with "Angels We Have Heard On High" as a call to worship. There's a few announcements, including final details about our Christmas care package we're sending to our missionaries, the Lovingfosses. This Sunday is the last day, so if you've got something to include, don't forget to bring it THIS SUNDAY!

We'll continue worshiping in song as we sing "The First Noel" and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear." Right before the sermon, we'll have a more responsive song: "You Alone" that will give us the chance to savor the goodness and graciousness of God in giving us his son. It will also help to remind and solidify the idea we explored last Sunday of pursuing God alone, and not a godliness or righteousness of works.

Pastor Todd will preach to us from 1 Timothy 4:6-10, which explains the proper place of godliness in our lives. We learn and build our convictions in doctrine, and that doctrine plays out into the way that we live.

We'll respond in song with "Give Us Clean Hands" which is a petition to God to let us be a people that seek God's face above all else. And we'll finish with another carol "Angels From The Realms Of Glory" so we can end the morning with thoughts of the Savior given for our sins!

See you Sunday!

The "Uncertain" Emergent Movement

Here's a great article on the mindset of the Emergent Movement.

The main purpose in Emergent thought is to question everything, while offering no definitive answer (they might word it a little differently, but that's the gist). Sometimes their questions are really good questions! Questions that the church needs to think long and hard about. But too often, Emergent leaders make a job only out of questioning and doubting long-held evangelical beliefs and such.

This article talks about how they have "canonized" uncertainty, and it is helpful in understanding where the movement is coming from, and where it is going (which according to the article is: nowhere).

Preparing For Worship: December 9th

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. -1 Timothy 4:1-5

This sort of prophecy from the Spirit makes me so sad. That some will actually depart from the faith because they're pursuing their own righteousness through obeying a law of their own invention! Rules do not lead to righteousness, only Christ does that. Obviously, we need guidelines to help us to live in a way that's pleasing to God, but those rules should never be more than the means to an end, and not the end in itself!

I've decided to put off breaking out the Christmas carols until next week, because I think that the lesson from this passage that Pastor Todd will bring to us is so important to how we respond to God through our worship singing, that we need to devote our songs to reinforcing this idea in our minds and hearts.

All of our songs this week speak of our devotion and our pursuit of God, not godliness; our focus on Christ, not on righteousness. We'll start the service with "Come, Now Is The Time To Worship" which reminds us that one day ALL will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, but that the greatest treasure is for us to embrace that truth NOW, and embrace all that it means to us as God's children.

John Book will keep us informed of what's going on in the Crossroads family with some announcements/opportunities for service, and we'll continue to explore the theme of pursuing God, and not godliness. I want to introduce a song I wrote last year called "No Other Name." It is a song that I wrote that proclaims the exclusivity of the name of Christ for salvation. It also talks about how it is our responsibility as believers to take that one name to the nations that they may know and believe on Christ for salvation. We are not the ones who save them, God has chosen those he'll bring to himself, but he uses us to accomplish his perfect and sovereign purpose, and this song rejoices in that.

Next we'll sing "In Christ Alone" which as the title clearly suggests, is a beautiful reminder of the gospel of grace, through which we are saved from the wrath of God for sin. We'll end this set with "Draw Me Close" which is a heartfelt response to the character of God, saying that he is indeed ALL that we want, and ALL that we've ever needed, and it asks for his reassuring peace in our lives as we are faithful to pursue him alone.

Pastor Todd will then preach God's living and active Word to us, that the Spirit might accomplish his work in each of our lives, wherever we are in our spiritual walk. We'll respond with two more songs that commit us to seeking God alone. "I Fix My Eyes" is a song by Tommy Walker from Psalm 27, that speaks of our desire to be in the presence of the Lord all of our days, that we might gaze upon his beauty. We'll end with "You Alone" which is such a simple, yet powerful reminder that God alone is Father, he alone is good, he alone (by Christ) is Savior, and he alone is God!

Hope that this is helpful for you in preparing to come worship together. If you ever have any suggestions, questions, or comments, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll get back to you!

See you Sunday!

New Song: No Other Name

For all peoples, and all tongues
For all nations, under the sun
For every heartache, and each tear
For every trial, and every fear

There is no other name by which we can be saved
From the sin to which we were born enslaved
But the blood of the Lamb covers our sin and shame
And we joyfully praise his holy name!

Let us go forth, into the earth
Till there’s nowhere we’re not heard!
God is faithful, to save his own
Through his people, through his word

For though man is so weak, and cannot change the soul
But with God, yes, all things are possible
When we faithfully go where he’s called us to go
They will hear, and his own will heed his voice!

I give my life, for the sake of your name
For the sake of your Glory!

-By Paul Hoover, Copyright 2006

It's Good To Have A Few Things Settled With God...

The following is an excerpt and link to a blog post from John Piper over at Desiring God Ministries. I love how Piper communicates these things, and in the case of this article, how he makes it deeply personal by sharing how he's teaching them to his daughter.

When huge pain comes into your life—like divorce, or the loss of a precious family member, or the dream of wholeness shattered—it is good to have a few things settled with God ahead of time. The reason for this is not because it makes grieving easy, but because it gives focus and boundaries for the pain.

Read the rest of the post here.

The Golden Compass

I'd be surprised if you haven't heard some pretty intense hype about this book series/movie, and if you want an even assessment of what they're about, and what a well balanced Christian response should be, check out Al Mohler's post here. He's brilliant.

Preparing For Worship: December 2nd

Wow, it's December already. I've been at Crossroads for two months, and I just want to say what a blessing it is to worship with you each week. Your encouragement and friendships have meant so much to me and Jessica.

I'm starting to write this from the Digital Photography class at Village Christian High School where I'm subbing today; God has been so good to provide part-time work to fill in the hours that I'm not working for the church.

I'm looking forward to this Sunday for a number of reasons, including our church Christmas party Sunday evening. I hope to see all of you there! Sunday morning is also going to be a great morning of corporate worship and praise that we'll offer up together. As my last post implied, I've been thinking a lot about the idea of "coming into God's presence," and when we come together as the body of Christ, by the blood of Christ, and respond to all that God has revealed himself to be, it is truly coming before the very throne of God!

We're going to start the service with a song that reminds us of the grounds on which we come before the Father: "Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus," which will be followed by a time of annoucements for opportunities to serve in various areas in the coming weeks. We'll jump right back into singing, and continue recounting God's goodness to us through the death and resurrection of his Son. We'll sing "Lord, I Lift Your Name On High," "To God Be The Glory" and respond to the glorious truth of the gospel with a new (to some of you) song called "I Stand In Awe."

Pastor Todd will then continue teaching us God's Word from the book of 1 Timothy (3:14-16), where the apostle Paul continues to instruct God's church in how they should operate as the "pillar and foundation of truth."

After the sermon we'll celebrate the Lord's Supper together, via the communion "stations" that we have done in the past. We'll take time to reflect on Christ's work on the cross, and take the bread and the cup in remembrance of him.

After this time, we'll respond in joyful song with "That's Why We Praise Him" and we'll end our service with a plea for God to ignite a passion for him in our hearts as we go out into the world with "Stir In Me." Normally, the words to the song include the phrase "I come to worship you" but since we're singing this song at the end, and we're going out to live our faith in the world, we'll change that line and sing "I live to worship you."

See you Sunday!

I Stand In Awe

Click here to get your own player.

Coming Into God's Presence...

We throw that phrase around a lot, but what does it really mean? Can it mean more than one thing?

We sang a song called "Facedown" by Matt Redman at Foundation on Tuesday night, and it talks about entering reverently into the courts of the King, and being ushered into His presence. The chorus is the appropriate response we have when we come before the throne of God:

And I fall facedown, as Your glory shines around.
Yes I'll fall Facedown, as Your glory shines around.

The Scriptures give us different degrees of being in God's presence, starting with the fact that he is omnipresent (present everywhere, all the time). As David says in the Psalms:

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)

When God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, he manifested his presence with them through a pillar of cloud during the day, and a pillar of fire at night, so that while he retained his omnipresence, he was specifically with the Israelites in this unique way.

When God gave instructions for building his temple among the Israelites, there was to be an innermost chamber where the ark of the covenant was placed, and where the presence of God himself would reside. and this place was called the Most Holy Place, and only the high priest was allowed to enter that place, and only once a year!

Hebrews 9 gives us an amazing account of how that Most Holy Place operated, and then goes on to describe how Jesus came as the Great High Priest, and made the once-and-for-all sacrifice that made it possible for us to enter directly into God's presence because of his death on the cross!

So in a general way, we are all in the presence of God simply because God is everywhere all the time. In a more unique way, we as believers have been invited into God's special presence through the sacrifice of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

It is in this unique presence of God that we enter into as a congregation each Sunday! We draw together as brothers and sisters in Christ to offer God worship through singing, prayer, exhortation from his Word, giving back to his church, and edifying one another!

What we are doing is coming together to celebrate the work of Christ on the cross that has given us access to God in an eternal sense! God's presence is ours to savor, and enjoy, and know that at the end of our lives, and at the end of history, we will dwell in the physical presence of God forever!

This also means that we can enter into God's presence when we are alone as well! The most taken-out-of-context verse in the Bible is Matthew 18:20, which says

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

This passage is talking about the process of church discipline, and that when confronting a brother or sister who is in sin, that one is to confront them one-on-one, and if they are unrepentant, to take one or two witnesses and confront them together. If they are still unrepentant, it is to be taken to the church, who then confronts them as the whole body of Christ, who then, if they still refuse to repent, is to regard them as "Gentiles and tax collectors." (basically they are to be treated as non-believers)

So the Matthew 18 verse is saying that when two or three believers are confronting sin together, that their counsel is "endorsed," if you will, by God.

When we are alone, we have the same ability to be in God's presence as we do when we are with the church body! It only means claiming the righteousness of Jesus Christ, through his death on the cross, and coming before God through prayer, reading God's Word, silent meditation ("be still, and know that I am God")or singing worship songs to him(what, sing by ourselves? Yes!! See Psalm 96!).

Basically, coming into God's presence is about our heart, and our attitude. When we are together as a church body, or are alone in our homes/cars/offices/etc., when we acknowledge Christ's work on the cross, and come directly to God to savor all that he is, we can be confident that we are coming into his very presence!

Harold Best at Mars Hill

Here's a link to video of a lecture Harold Best did at Mars Hill Church at the Continuous Worship Conference. I've mentioned Harold's book "Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship and the Arts" on this blog before. As with his writing, it took me about 1/3 way through the lecture to really be able to follow his style of teaching, and a couple times I had to do the same thing I did with his book (replay the given section 2-3 times before I caught it) but you can get some really good sections at:

0:23:44 ("limping and brokenness...")

0:28:25 ("there is no escape from the word worship...," and "the reason why Christians are free to use the things of the world without borrowing the intent of the world")

0:38:00 ("intercessory prayer and it's results..." and "when the Holy Spirit really comes in, style goes out the window...")

0:40:40 ("Jesus wants us to say 'something' about him..." and "you are not of the short-attention-span-generation..." and "relevant as all hell...")

0:50:45 ("God's glory through my wife's death...")

0:54:25 ("worship as continuous outpouring..." [the theme of his book])

Hope this is profitable for you!

Preparing For Worship: November 25th

Happy Thanksgiving! I've already posted a Thanksgiving-y type entry, so let's get right to Sunday!

We're going to start with "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)" as a call to all our hearts to come together to worship. God's love is really truly so amazing that it should make us sing hallelujah!

We have a few announcements, and we'll have a time of prayer for John Book as he is going overseas to do some work with missionaries over in Japan (I think; sorry John if it's not...).

We'll do some more worship singing and focus on preparing to hear the message that Wayne Dell will bring to us on the topic of "Surrender". "Majesty," a new song I mentioned in my previous post called "O Great God" and "Holiness (Take My Life)" all talk about how we surrender our lives to God, both in salvation and in leading a life of holiness.

Wayne will bring us God's truth from various scripture texts, and we'll respond with two specific songs of surrender: "Surrender" and "I Surrender All."

Surrendering to God is a continual commitment for me, as my prideful will is quick to want to take control of my own life. Surrendering to God frees us from the anxiety and uncertainty of trying to live in our own strength! God's sovereignty is one of the most awesome and comforting characteristics in which we can place our full trust! I'm reminded of the simple children's song "He's got the whole world in his hands" that talks about how God has every little thing worked out and taken care of. Yet another thing to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

Jess and I are leaving tomorrow for a few days up in Mammoth. A friend graciously offered us his family's condo up there, so we're taking a few days away to relax, and recharge after a very busy couple of months. Jess has been firing on all cylinders for the past few months, so I'm glad she'll have the chance to rest and enjoy some of God's beautiful creation. We may even hit the slopes for some snowboarding (I've never been!). Please pray for safe travel, and a good time of rest, so we can come back and worship together Sunday morning. Happy Thanksgiving!

Worship On YouTube?

This is not a "Christian" song. Radiohead is not a "Christian" band. The film footage shown here is not a "Christian" film.

Can it move me to worship our almighty Creator God? Absolutely.

This is a music video a Radiohead fan made for one of the songs from their latest album, paired with footage from a 1996 French film called "Microcosmos."

The guy who did the editing said this:

"The sensual pace and delicate melody of the song reminded me of a world much smaller than ours, with all the love and violence we experience."

I say that this blend of music and images of nature points us to the common grace and unbelievable creativity of our Lord.

New Song This Week

I want to introduce this song this coming Sunday called "O Great God." It's by Bob Kauflin of Sovereign Grace Ministries, and it's based off of a prayer from the book "The Valley Of Vision" which is a book of prayers from the Puritans. It's a song of surrender and submission which is what Wayne Dell will be talking about this Sunday.

Here are the words, and the player above will give you an idea of how it goes.

"O Great God"

O great God of highest heaven
Occupy my lowly heart
Own it all, and reign supreme
Conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain
That resists Your holy war
You have loved and purchased me
Make me Yours forevermore

I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven's joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life
That's dependent on Your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul
From the evils that I face
You are worthy to be praised
With my every thought and deed
O great God of highest heaven
Glorify Your name through me

Thank God For Who He Is

Last night at "Shelter" (Crossroads' college/young adult ministry) Ken Ruggles talked to us about our misconceptions of who God is. We looked at Jesus' experience coming back to his hometown of Nazareth out of Luke 4.

Jesus has been gaining notoriety in the surrounding country, and people had been coming from miles and miles around to hear him teach. He could not enter a town without being mobbed.

It's in this season of fresh popularity that he returns to Nazareth. He read a prophetic passage from Isaiah 61 in the Synagogue ("as was his custom, he went to the synangogue on the the Sabbath day"), and proceeded to tell the congregation that the prophecy had been fulfilled that day in their hearing!

At Shelter, we talked about the various reactions that must have taken place at this declaration. They had heard of the amazing miracles he had done, and were aware of his celebrity status among the surrounding areas, but they also remembered him growing up in their midst, the son of a carpenter, the illegitimate son even!

Jesus responds to them before they even ask:

Doubtless you will quote me this proverb, "Physician, heal yourself." What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.

Jesus responds by giving them two Old Testament examples.

1) 1 Kings 17:8-16
Elijah was sent up to the Gentiles in the north, to minister to a widow and her son there. He asked her to make him some food, to which she replied that she was just going to use the last of her meal to make food for her and her son, and then they were going to die because they had nothing left. Elijah instructs her to make him food anyway, and that God would take care of it. In obedience, she did as she was told, and God provided miraculously for her and her son. She heard, and obeyed without asking for a sign.

2) 2 Kings 5:1-14
Naaman the Syrian went into Israel (with whom Syria was not on the best of terms) at the suggestion of an Israelite slave girl because he had leprosy, and the slave girl had said he should go and see the prophet (Elisha) in Israel so he could be healed. Elisha tells him to go and wash seven times in the Jordan river, and he goes and is cured of his leprosy. Jesus notes that "there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." He received instruction, and obeyed without asking for a sign.

Jesus accused the Jews of having misconceptions about who they wanted him to be, and not believing who he actually said he was. They had demanded that he give them a sign, and then they would talk about his being the Messiah. They couldn't get past the idea of youngster Jesus growing up in the town, and workin' for his dad, etc. They also couldn't accept the idea of a Messiah who was not going to come and accomplish all these military/political changes that the Jews were expecting from their Messiah. They basically had created their own idea about who they wanted Messiah to be, and when the actual Messiah came, they rejected him because he wasn't what they wanted.

Sometimes we do the same thing to God.

We create ideas about who we want him to be that are not consistent with who he has revealed himself to be through scripture. We hold God responsible for giving us a good job, or good financial situation, or physical health, or stress-free relationships (sound familiar Joel Osteen?). We box him in to all these things that we think we need/deserve, and forget that he is most concerned with his own glory, and not with our salary/health/etc.

Let's take this Thanksgiving season to be thankful for who God IS, and NOT who we necessarily want him to be for each of us, but who he is, who he has been from eternity past, and who he will be for the rest of eternity to come.

"I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you" - Malachi 3:6-7a

Preparing For Worship: November 18th

This week is our Thanksgiving service, and the week after will be Christmas! (Not really, but the way time flies...)

What a great holiday for Christians. We gather together with our church body, with family, and friends and we give thanks. What makes this holiday so much better for believers though, is the fact that we give thanks TO SOMEONE! Have you ever been at the Thanksgiving table of your non-Christian friends or family? Maybe everyone goes around and says something they're thankful for, and there's a certain sentimental fulfillment in considering each thing that's said, but without God, what is the need for giving thanks? If our lives are the the product of cold, hard chance, then who IS there to thank???

That's why it's different for Christians to gather and thank our Almighty, Sovereign God for his care and provision in our lives. For his gracious provision, for his comfort and peace in times of trial, and for his unchanging truth in our ever-changing world.

I think that we as Christians need to expand the scope of what we are thankful for. We're all thankful for the good things God has blessed us with: family, friends, provision, etc. But how often are we thankful for the trials, the hardships, the uncertainties, the deaths, and the tears? If we believe what God's Word says when it tells us that

in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28)

then all the things in our lives (the good, the bad, and the ugly) are a part of God's perfect plan for each of our lives, and ultimately will result in his name being glorified more than through any other circumstances!

Pastor Todd will be preaching from 1 Thessolonians 5:16-18 which says:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

And we'll be singing songs that challenge our hearts and minds with this idea.

We'll start the service by singing the song "Marvelous Light" which is a declaration of the salvation that we have because of Christ. Then we'll have a short time of announcements, and a short Thanksgiving video.

After that we'll have a time of public thanksgiving where Pastor Todd will have the wireless mic and go around the congregation for people to share some things they are thankful for. Be thinking of something (short and sweet please!) to share with everyone, that we might all be encouraged at God's faithfulness in so many different ways in all of our lives.

We'll respond to God's goodness and faithfulness in our lives by singing of his greatest act of goodness and faithfulness: The Cross.
We'll sing "That's Why We Praise Him" "Here I Am To Worship" and "Once Again," all of which are wonderful reminders of God's most gracious gift of his Son, for which we should be most thankful!

Pastor Todd will then bring us his message from 1 Thessolonians, and as a response we'll sing "Amazing Grace" and "Blessed Be Your Name" which comes from the book of Job, and really teaches us the idea that whether God gives or takes away, his name is still to be blessed! In Job chapter 1, Job has just been informed that his children and servants have been killed, and all of his livestock (which amounts to all his wealth) has been stolen or killed. This is how Job responds:

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."

Quite a lesson. So NOW what are you thankful for? Can't wait for Sunday!

Hope and Holiness

Tonight was a great night at Foundation Youth Bible study. Kyle taught from 1 Peter 1:13-16.

We talked about preparing our minds for action, and setting our hope on Christ. Kathleen Perdisatt shared her testimony before we sang, and she talked about the times in her life when she's tried to take control, and pursue things in her life that God has not lead her to. She recounted how God faithfully shut the door on those things in her life and, although sometimes it was painful, brought him back to his will for her life.

We sang some songs that talked about this same idea:

"Seeking You as a precious jewel, Lord, to give up I'd be a fool; You are my all in all!"

"You are my supply, my breath of life, still more awesome than I know"

"More than all I want, more than all I need...More than all I know, more than all I can see; You are more than enough for me!"

"All of You is more than enough for all of me, for every thirst and every need. You satisfy me with your love, and all I have in You is more than enough!"

"In Christ alone my hope is found, he is my light, my strength, my song"

What things are we setting our hope on?? How often are we setting our hope on things other than Christ!! Don't we know that those things, though they may deliver for a time, are ultimately unfulfilling and will pass away? Apparently I don't believe that all the time, because I am constantly setting my hope on useless things.

Here's a list of some of the things people said they put their hope in:
-their standing with others (reputation)
-education
-themselves!
-cell phones (these are 7th-12th graders remember?)
-friends

What a great reminder to consider the things that we are putting our hope in. We live in a busy world, and we can get so focused on accomplishing all the tasks we have in a day, that we forget to set our hope on things above, and not on finishing our "To-Do" lists.

What are some ways that you remind yourself to put your hope in Christ???

For You Are The Lord

Here is my song "For You Are The Lord"

Preparing for Worship: November 11th

God has been good this week hasn't he?

In the Hoover house, he's been faithful to provide for our needs in every way! I was able to substitute-teach at Village Christian (yep, the same one Jess teaches at) twice this week to fill in my open work week hours.

You also may have heard the "red light camera" story (I posted it on my other blog):
Jess was stuck behind a big truck that crossed a "photo enforced" intersection at the tail end of the yellow light. She assumed she was still OK to turn, but once the truck had turned out of her field of vision, she saw that she was turning on a full red. The cameras caught her, and sent us a ticket for $381. She then had another ordeal with trying to request traffic school, and had to actually go to the courthouse to work it out. In the meantime, she was getting so worried that the point would go on her record, and our insurance would skyrocket.
The funny thing is that when we renewed our insurance, because we changed our address, and got covered parking for both our cars (and some other things that I don't even understand), we have now received four rebate checks (one more since I first posted this story!) that fully cover the cost of Jess' ticket!

So yeah, God has been amazingly faithful to us this week. Have we been as faithful to Him? Probably not, but that's one of the things that is so wonderful about him: He is faithful, even when we are not. Can you imagine if his faithfulness was prorated according to our faithfulness?? In the words of the apostle Paul "May it never be!!"

So we'll be praising God specifically for his faithfulness to us this past week when we come together on Sunday morning for worship! What specific thing will you be praising him for? Leave a comment and encourage us with what God is doing in your lives!

This Sunday we'll start the service with a call to worship that congregations have used for centuries: The words to "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing" were written in 1758! After a time of announcements, Jon and Kerri Penberthy will be dedicating their three little girls (Emily, Brandy, and Reese) to the Lord! Then we'll sing a song I did my very first Sunday at Crossroads (before I came on staff) called "For You Are The Lord" and we'll do another newer one we introduced a few weeks ago: "Lord Jehovah."
Right before Pastor Todd comes to teach, we'll sing a brand new (some of you might know it) song called "Give Us Clean Hands" which comes from the Psalms, and asks that God's Spirit would come and make us humble, that we might come before God with clean hands a pure hearts, and that we would be a generation that seeks His face. It's really a song of submission, and it prepares us for Pastor Todd's message on the requirements of deacons, and the requirement of us all to serve in humility.

After his message, I'm going to sing a song of commitment to the Lord called "For Your Glory" and I'll have everyone join me in the simple chorus that says:

For Your glory, for Your kingdom
For Your name, oh Lord, here I am!

To close the service, we'll all sing the wonderful hymn with the same idea: "I Surrender All" Hopefully, by the power and work of the Holy Spirit, we'll leave more committed to serving our Lord and serving each other!

Can't wait to worship together this Sunday!

Preparing for Worship: November 4

I'm recovering from a sudden and nasty bout with the flu as I write this, but I should be all good to go for Sunday morning!

This week I've been savoring God's forgiveness. I am a sinful, sinful person, and when I start to think of myself too much, others around me suffer. I go into these modes of "forgetfulness" with my wife, where she and I will plan to do something, and then I'll go and double book myself, and it's usually her who gets the cancellation. Or she'll ask me to do something for her (pick up something from the store after work, look up something for her on the internet, or call when I'm going to be home later than I anticipated), and I'll just completely forget to do it. I notice that I become more forgetful when I become more selfish. All of those things take second place to what I think is in my best interest at that moment. Inevitably, those things start to add up, and each new time I forget something, her frustration is compounded exponentially. We have a few "discussions" and both get frustrated with each other. Sometimes this can last for a while, but when we finally talk it all out, and forgiveness is given, it's like a weight has been lifted.

Now take that same weight, the weight of a relationship that is not at peace, and multiply it to an infinite degree, and we get our relationship with God before salvation. When I think of how gracious and merciful Jessica is for forgiving me for those selfish things, it points me to how God, who is perfectly righteous and holy, who cannot tolerate ANY sin EVER, AT ALL, placed his Son on that cross in my place, and poured out his infinite wrath and punishment on him instead of me.

That thought has made God's mercy and forgiveness a little sweeter for me this week, and I can't wait to meet together with you all to praise God for those things and more! I know that some of you have encountered similar trials this week, and have seen God's faithfulness in many different ways, whether he's given you peace to deal with those trials, or taken them away completely, he's proved himself faithful time and again. Feel free to post on the blog about some of those things if you'd like. It's encouraging for members of the body to hear how God is working in their brothers' and sisters' lives, and Sunday morning just wouldn't be long enough to hear everything that he is doing!

Now, speaking of this Sunday, Pastor Todd is preaching on the requirements of an elder this Sunday. This is an important passage in the life of our church as it is a goal of the church in the near future to call an elder board to leadership at Crossroads. As we hear what God requires of those in leadership, let's also use these things to look at our own lives. Read through 1 Timothy 3:1-7, and think about how your own lives measure up to these standards.

We're going to offer God our songs of praise this Sunday, praising him for his goodness, love, and mercy, and also reflecting on the work of Christ on the cross, as we take communion together.

We'll begin the morning with the song "Good To Me" which puts our hearts and minds in the right mindset of humility before our God as we come together to worship. After a short time of announcements and greeting, we'll see a short slide show recap of the ministry that our people had at Hope Gardens a few weeks ago, and we'll go right into the song "Enough" that reminds us that God is always more than enough for our lives, and when we are tempted to look to other things to fill us, that it is only himself that is satisfying! Then we'll sing "Your Love Oh Lord" which comes from Psalm 36 and praises God for his unmeasurable love. As we turn our attention to God's Word, we'll sing "May The Words (Psalm 19)" that express our desire to be a blessing unto God through our words, thoughts, and deeds.

After Pastor Todd preaches, we'll take communion from the communion stations, and as we meditate on Christ's sacrifice, we'll respond with two songs: "Jesus Paid It All" and "Forever My Love (The Nails In Your Hands)." Communion is such an awesome command of Christ, and it keeps us near to the cross, that we may never "move on" from it so as to forget its power.

I look forward to worshiping with you this weekend!

What Worship Is

Here's a link to a link to a FANTASTIC sermon on worship. It resonates with what I've said on this blog before: that we are by nature worshipers (whether it is God that is the object of our worship is another question), and that worship is so much more than singing! This link goes to the blog from Desiring God Ministries (the ministry of one of my favorite Christian authors John Piper), which then links to Sovereign Grace Fellowship.

Christians and Halloween

One of my favorite bloggers, Albert Mohler, has written about Halloween and the Christian response. Check out the full article here, but here's an excerpt:

Christian parents should make careful decisions based on a biblically-informed Christian conscience. Some Halloween practices are clearly out of bounds, others may be strategically transformed, but this takes hard work and may meet with mixed success.

The coming of Halloween is a good time for Christians to remember that evil spirits are real and that the Devil will seize every opportunity to trumpet his own celebrity. Perhaps the best response to the Devil at Halloween is that offered by Martin Luther, the great Reformer: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn."

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther began the Reformation with a declaration that the church must be recalled to the authority of God's Word and the purity of biblical doctrine. With this in mind, the best Christian response to Halloween might be to scorn the Devil and then pray for the Reformation of Christ's church on earth. Let's put the dark side on the defensive.

Preparing for Sunday Oct. 28th

I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and hold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness-with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing-if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

This is a somewhat debated section of scripture among evangelicals, specifically the instructions to women as to how they are to behave in the church. The debate is over whether the command was one that applied only to the culture at the time, or if it is based on God's order of creation, and applies regardless of time or place. You'll have to come and hear Pastor Todd's message to find out which one it is! (No pressure Pastor Todd)

In order to prepare our hearts for this somewhat loaded passage, we're going to be singing songs that focus us on how great and amazing God is. We won't be following a specific theme, except for the greatness of God, so that when we encounter this passage that may take some time to digest, we can always turn back to knowing that God is sovereign, and he has revealed everything he intended to reveal to us in his Word. Even when we face passages that are hard to process, God knew what he was doing, and as the apostle Paul says in his second letter to Timothy: ALL scripture is breathed out by God, and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

We'll start with the song "How Good And Pleasant" which I introduced a few Sunday ago, which brings our hearts together in the joy of corporate worship. Then we'll have a time of announcements to keep us up to speed on what's happening in our local body.

We'll jump back into singing with "Holy Is The Lord" "Indescribable" and "Beautiful One" which all point us to the glory and majesty of God!

Hopefully we'll take that mindset with us as Pastor Todd brings us God's Word from 1 Timothy, and we'll pray for God's Spirit to enlighten us, and give us discernment in how to understand and apply his Word.

We'll respond with "How Great Is Our God" and end by committing ourselves to seek after God as we sing "Be Thou My Vision."

Hope to see you all there, and look forward to worshiping together!

Keeping Music In Its Right Place

I read a post on worship leader Bob Kauflin's blog. He was commenting on a recent interview with "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen. Read it here.

Bill Cosby!

One of my favorite bloggers Albert Mohler, posted an entry reviewing Bill Cosby's new book. It addresses the breakdown of the family, and calls for a recovery of fatherhood. I won't try to describe it anymore, having not read it myself, but check out Mohler's review. It sounds like a timely and necessary book for our culture.

Preparing For Sunday Oct. 21

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

This is the apostle Paul's call for prayer. The church had apparently stopped praying that the lost might come to a saving knowledge of the sacrificial death of Christ! He also urges them to pray for leadership, both that they may be saved, and that as a result they would be able to live godly lives under that leadership.

This Sunday we will have a special segment in our service devoted to prayer for our leadership, and we will pray for 1) our national leadership, 2) our state leadership, and 3) our local leadership. It is our prayer that this will model what we should be doing in our own personal prayer lives, as it is a command of Scripture. Set aside some time in the next few days to pray specifically for those that don't know the Lord, either people you know, or the lost in general, and also for those that the Lord has placed in leadership over us.

We'll also be able to meet the pastor of the church "next door" (in the gym): Real Life Church. Pastor Rusty George will stop by Crossroads' service so that we can be introduced to him, and to pray for their ministry that takes place a few short feet away. Pastor Todd will also have the opportunity to pop into Real Life's service for the same purpose.

Here's how our morning will look. We'll sing a few songs to call our hearts and minds together to corporate worship: "Stir In Me" and "Your Grace Is Enough," and then we'll have a short time of greeting. We'll come back and sing "To God Be The Glory" together, which is an arrangement by worship leader Tommy Walker. Take a listen to the sample, because though it's a familiar hymn, he does a few really neat changes with the rhythm of the verses and chorus. Then I'll read the Scripture passages I posted above, that will call our hearts to corporate prayer. The song "May The Mind Of Christ My Savior" is a well known prayer-hymn that echoes the call of the apostle to live peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified lives in every way.

Pastor Rusty will hopefully be over by this time and we can introduce him, and incorporate that into our prayer time for leadership. Wayne Dell, Ken Ruggles, and Darrin Utley will then lead in corporate prayer for national, state, and local leadership, and then we will respond with a prayer in the form of a song that we might live in a way that is honoring to God as we live ultimately under His leadership. The song is called "May The Words Of My Mouth (Psalm 19)."

Then Pastor Todd will bring us his message from 1 Timothy 2. Each week I've been reading from the beginning of 1 Timothy through the specific text Todd is preaching on, this way I keep myself familiar with what we've already studied, and prepare for his teaching on the next section. I find that it has been really helpful to remind myself of where we've been, and how it all contributes to where we are going in the book, and to stay mindful of the context in which the apostle is writing to Timothy. If you don't have another way that you prepare for the teaching each week, you might give that a try.

We'll respond to the truth of God's Word by returning to the chorus of "May The Words" and then closing with the song "Humble King" which reminds us that even Christ, God incarnate, did not come into the world to dominate the culture, or to put Himself on a cultural pedestal, but He came humbly, to do the will of the Father, and ultimately, to die a death He did not deserve in order that God's wrath for sin might fall on Him and not on us!!

I hope this helps you to prepare your hearts to gather together and respond to all that God has revealed Himself to be through His Word. The corporate worship experience is one that I hope we all look forward to, and take seriously, as we come before his presence as one body, and offer up songs of praise, prayers, offerings, and our desire to know Him more through His Word!

See you all on Sunday!

The Corporate Gathering And The Sum Of Its Parts

What a great morning this past Sunday! It is truly a blessing to be able to worship our God together as the local body of Christ at Crossroads Community Church!

The following is an excerpt from a book I've been reading entitled "Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives On Worship And The Arts" by Harold Best. It talks about the unique environment that is created when individual believers, who are all fully indwelt by the Spirit of God, meet together with other individual believers, who also are fully indwelt by the Spirit of God:

In a synergy, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and in a particular way, the coporate gathering is this kind of synergy...Even though Christ is the same in a single believer as he is in a million believers, a corporate gathering is somehow more than the sum of its individually indwelt parts, especially in this sense: no one has the same story. Everyone is diversely working out his and her salvation, and the Holy Spirit is at work making a sum of this diversity. Christ is at work with him, presenting this combined story, Sunday after Sunday, synergy after synergy, to the Father. This will not show itself visibly or measurably but authoritatively, powerfully and spiritually. The power does not lie in sheer numbers, for where two or three are gathered, the synergy is just as real. The power and the glory of this is inward, in the heart of each worshiper. If the Holy Spirit chooses to make this outwardly manifest, and should the entire assembly break into unpredicted ecstasy (whether in charged silence or Pentecostal polyphony), so be it. Our task is to be so spiritually alive that readiness for anything is as normal as lighting the candles or singing a chorus.

Sunday mornings are a melting pot of the goodness and faithfulness of God in each of our lives, and when we come together to lift up and glorify his name as one, it is, as Best puts it, a "synergy."
The main argument of Best's book is that God is a being of continuous "outpouring" (outpouring of himself), and since we are created in God's image, we were neither created TO worship, nor FOR worship, but that we were created worship-ING, and that our worship is indeed "Unceasing." The issue then is whether the object of our continual worship is God or something else. I highly recommend this book to you; it will challenge your thought process, and how you view worship.

Holding Faith And A Good Conscience

This Sunday Pastor Todd wraps up 1 Timothy chapter 1, with the apostle's call to "wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience." He's spent the majority of this first chapter warning us against getting sucked into false teaching and doctrine, but to hold fast to the "gospel of the glory of the blessed God."

We realize that this "good warfare" we are called to wage is not purely against teachers with wrong doctrine, but in a greater sense, against the "devil's schemes" as Paul says in Ephesians. In chapter 6, he tells us

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

We must take take seriously the call to hold fast to faith and a good conscience. This is a call to godly living and integrity in each of our lives! And I know in my own life, this is a significant battle each and every day that leaves us bruised and battered at times.

The good news is that we rely not on our own strength, but on the strength of an all-powerful, sovereign God, who equips us to do that which he has called us to do!

This Sunday, we will corporately seek God's strength and wisdom in our lives, that we might walk in a manner worthy of our calling as Christians. We'll start the service with "Hallelujah (Your Love Is Amazing)" which has such a great chorus: "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, Your love makes me sing!" It reminds us that we're not offering God something he needs when we sing, but we're responding to how he has met our needs, both by being who he is, and because of his perfect plan of redemption in our lives!

Then we'll have a few short announcements, and then a baby dedication! How great it is that these parents want to stand before the church body and commit to bringing their child up in the ways of the Lord, and how great it is that the church body commits to encouraging, and helping them to keep that. Then we'll sing some more: "Be Glorified" again cries to God to accomplish his perfect will in our lives through his strength, and we'll learn a new song called "Lord Jehovah" which is a song of commitment on our part to bow before the Lord's throne and bring glory, honor, and praise in everything that we do. Right before the sermon, we'll sing "Change My Heart Oh God" as turn our hearts to the life changing truth of scripture and seek the Spirit's sanctification through it.

Pastor Todd will preach a message entitled "Don't Let Satan Blow It Out" calling us to the same charge Paul give to Timothy.

Then we'll respond with two "Take My Life" songs: the great hymn "Take My Life And Let It Be" and "Take My Life (Holiness, holiness, is what I long for)"

Looking forward to worshiping with all of you this Sunday!

Sunday October 7, 2007

Happy Friday everyone!

I hope your week thus far has been filled with examples of God's faithfulness and goodness (even in the trials!). I am so excited to come and worship together with you this Sunday as my first "official" Sunday as Worship Director!

Even as I consider what the title "Director of Worship" connotes, I hope that we will together learn what it means to worship God with the entirety of our lives. Many people have isolated the word "worship" to mean the singing of 5-6 worship songs in church on Sunday. If that were my only responsibility, my title would be much more accurate if it were "Director of Music." However, it is my passion and desire for all of us as part of God's bride to be more than "singers of worship songs," but to truly be "worshipers."

We'll explore much more about what this means in the coming weeks, months, and years (God willing), but I want to continue to emphasize the opportunity of coming together with the community of believers that call Crossroads home (and also with those God would bring to visit). When we gather together to pray, sing, give, sit under teaching from God's Word, and edify each other, we are bringing glory to God!

Hebrews 10:19-25 offers us a glimpse of the joy and responsibility of entering the "holy place" by the blood of Christ:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting meeting together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

So we see that we must come with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, coming with our sins confessed and forgiven by our just and faithful God! And we must hold fast our confession of hope: the gospel, which is exactly the theme that the apostle Paul is writing to Timothy about in his first letter, which Pastor Todd is preaching through right now. We must consider how to "stir up" each other to good deeds, encouraging and exhorting each other to live out our lives as those worthy of the call of Christ. We must not neglect meeting together; be at church, don't miss, the body suffers when one of it's parts is missing. And encourage one another; we are God's chosen people, we have an unfailing God, and a sure hope of salvation from the consequences of our sin!

Just a quick look at the service so you can prepare:
I'll be introducing a new song by worship leader Tommy Walker called "How Good and Pleasant" which comes out of Psalm 133, as a call to worship. We'll have a few announcements, and then sing some songs that direct our thoughts to the Word of God, and specifically to the ideas found in the passage Pastor Todd is preaching from- 1 Timothy 1:12-17 (reading the passage=always a great way to prepare) : "Amazing Grace," "Overwhelmed," and "Immortal, Invisible God, Only Wise." Pastor Todd will then bring God's Word to us, and we'll follow that with a time of communion where we will also be able to respond in song with "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross." We'll end the service by singing "Majesty" by Delirious, rejoicing in the hope of our salvation through Christ!

I look forward to seeing all of you at 9:30 am this Sunday as we gather to worship our great God!

Stand Firm in the True Grace of God!

Crossroads' youth group, Foundations, began a study of the book of 1 Peter last night at their biweekly Bible study ("biweekly" meaning every two weeks, somehow it means both "every two weeks" AND "twice a week" in the dictionary...go figure). Kyle Ruggles is heading up this ministry, and it's a privilege and pleasure to serve with him.

He gave us a little background of the environment in which Peter was writing this letter: Nero had burned Rome to the ground in order to make room in the city for him to build his legacy (literally, to build buildings, structures, monuments, etc. that people would "ooh" and "aah" over), and he's gone and blamed the Christians for it!! Naturally, these Christians would be encountering some significant persecution, both from Nero, and from other Romans, and Peter is writing to encourage and instruct them.
He states his purpose and theme of the book in his final greeting:
"By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him,
I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring
That this is the true grace of God.
Stand firm in it." (5:12)

Kyle then talked to us about his initial greeting in verses 1 and 2. Immediately we encounter the word "elect" which necessitates at least some discussion on predestination. Kyle was thankfully honest about the fact that we were not going to solve this centuries old debate at our hour-and-a-half Bible study, and he briefly explained the seemingly opposing ideas of predestination and free-will, and the reality that because God's ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours, that in his perfect will and plan, these things somehow work together, and better display his glory.

Verse 2 describes the process of salvation, that God foreknew those who would be his children, sprinkled them with the blood of Jesus Christ, and sanctifies them through the Spirit. He then gives his customary: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Kyle then asked the big questions: Do we have peace? Are we at peace with God?

The Roman Christians were struggling to keep their faith alive, and no doubt they went through periods where they lacked peace. Wondering why God would allow them to go through the things that were happening, wondering if he would be faithful to provide for them, to take care of them. Realize that these questions probably opened their mind to bigger issues: if God isn't saving me now from these earthly trials, how do I know he'll save me from his own infinite wrath that I deserve because of my sin??

If you want to know how Peter reinforced their weakening faith, just read the rest of 1 Peter ch. 1! He doesn't tell them any new secret, he tells them the gospel!!

How often do we wonder if God will be faithful in our lives. Probably not that many of us have experienced persecution such as the Roman Christians were experiencing, but we have our own trials and hardships, and we (I know I do) catch ourselves wondering why in the world God is letting these things happen, and if he will come through (sometimes the ways we think he should "come through" for us can be a little skewed as well).

I'd encourage you to read 1 Peter 1, and to put yourself back in Rome in 64 AD, in the shoes of a 1st century Christian, and to understand that the gospel is living and abiding within you, so that nothing in this world can shake you from the firm foundation of God's Word!

"...you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable,
through the living and abiding word of God;
for 'all flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers, and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.'
And this word is the good news that was preached to you."

UCLA Update

Just wanted to thank those who prayed for the Campus Crusade event last night at UCLA. There was a good response (both in numbers, and in attitude), although John (Book) said it was probably competing with many other things going on around the campus. They had a great time of worship singing, and time to get to know each other and sign up for Bible studies, etc. They even gave away an 80 gig iPod! Let's keep that ministry in our prayers, that God would work through these students and empower them do accomplish his perfect will among the UCLA community.

I took this about 5 minutes before we started, all those front rows filled in pretty good.

Pray for UCLA

John Book of Crossroads called me up the other morning and asked if I'd be available to sit in and play drums with the Campus Crusade group that meets at UCLA. I was excited to do so, as I do not often get to play the drums these days, but also that this would be the first time I will have been a part of a Campus Crusade event!

I had never actually been on the campus of UCLA, but when I went down to University Lutheran Chapel (which is right next to campus) to rehearse with their worship band, I was struck with the gargantuan size of the school. So many students living in such a close proximity who need the gospel! It made me very thankful for the ministry of Campus Crusade, that they would go in and take God's truth to a demographic that is becoming increasingly secular and "scientific," and who for as much as they wail for "tolerance," are becoming more and more INtolerant of Christianity (noted celebrity Ben Stein is actually making a documentary on this called "Expelled").

Would you worship through intercessory prayer for the ministry of Campus Crusade at UCLA, and especially for this first meeting of the quarter that takes place tonight at 7:00 pm? Pray that God's truth would break through walls of intellectualism and doubt, and that his Spirit would be mightily at work on that campus!

I'll be sure to take some pictures, and recap a little bit after the event. Remember to pray tonight at 7:00 pm!

Sometimes God Doesn't Open Doors...

Instead, he opens huge airplane hangar wings!

As many of you know, Jess and I currently live in a little apartment in Pasadena. Valencia is not that incredibly far away, but a thirty minute drive is still a thirty minute drive, especially when we want to try and be as involved as we can with the Crossroads community.

We were thinking that we'd move out to Valencia when Jess finished her master's/credential program at Azusa Pacific University, which would be 1.5 years from now, at which point I would also have more hours at Crossroads, and we'd be in a better position, financially, to move. But God had other plans for us...

One of the gals from the Crossroads family, Kathleen (I'm sorry Kathleen, I don't remember your last name!!), offered to rent us her condo in Valencia for a really great price...for Valencia. That was still a little more than we were comfortable with, and we were praying that God would lead us and direct us to where he wanted us. Then yesterday afternoon, Kathleen sent me a text message saying she had just spoken with a family from Crossroads who offered to pay $200 a month towards our rent for our first year!! Jess and I couldn't believe it!

So it looks like we'll be able to move out to Valencia in the coming weeks, and we'll be able to invest more in our community, and church family! Jess will face a little bit of a trek coming home from APU twice a week, but the 210 freeway rarely has traffic, especially at 9:30 pm, and we'll save on our commute on Sundays and during the week out to Valencia! I can't stop using exclamation marks!!!

So we are praising God for providing so amazingly for our needs, and for this family who has blessed us beyond what they probably realize (I wish they could've heard Jess on the phone when I told her...)!

Now, if anyone wants to help us move, or has a truck we could borrow... ;0)

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your request be made known to God
– Philippians 4:6

For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious about your life,
as to what you will eat or what you will drink;
nor for your body, as to what you will put on.
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow,
nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about your clothing?
Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace,
will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Do not worry then, saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’
or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’
For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things;
for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
-Matthew 6:25-33