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!