Preparing For Worship: August 30, 2009

Greetings again my friends!

Well the big piano is gone, and my cellist, Meghan, is back in Kansas City this week. I'm thankful for her giftedness and heart, and I really enjoyed playing with her.

Thanks to everyone who gave me feedback on last week, and said that they really enjoyed the piano/cello combo. I'm glad it was a blessing!

This week we're back to the old band and I'll be back behind a guitar where I feel much more comfortable!

We're gonna start with the hymn "Crown Him With Many Crowns" as we set our priority of worship on exalting the name of Jesus. We'll follow that up with a song that declares God's worth through our need for him; that we are "Hungry" for him, broken in need of his comfort, weary in need of rest in him, and empty in need of his love to fill us!

Pastor Todd will lead a time of prayer and welcome. There will be a short reminder about our FPU Preview which will take place during both services, and also our upcoming Sunday Seminar series.

We'll continue in song with "I Have a Hope" which explores the great joy and hope we have through our Redeemer, and all the joy that lies in serving him with our lives. We'll go to "Psalm 62" next and remind our hearts that the hope we just sang about lies ONLY in God, and that no matter what the cost or trial, we will delight in him alone.

Pastor Todd will then come and finish up Joshua's farewell speech to the Israelites in Joshua 24. CLICK HERE to read Joshua's address, and prepare your own hearts to hear the commands and truths of the Word when Pastor Todd preaches it on Sunday.

We'll respond with the songs "Give Us Clean Hands" which is a prayer for God's help, through his Word, and through his Spirit, to guide us, convict us, and sanctify us for his glory and purposes. Then we'll finish our time together with "Blessed Be Your Name" as we commit to live in the principles Joshua spells out for the people: choosing to bless God's name in every situation we face, and daily striving to honor him with our lives.

That's what's going on, so prepare well, and we'll see you Sunday!

PS. Even if you know the songs this week; check out the video link I posted to "Blessed Be Your Name;" it's a really powerful, real-life application of the truth of the song. Really moving. Just click on any of the song titles to view videos or hear audio of the song to help you prepare for singing!

How Loud is Too Loud?

I love to go see live music performances in small venues. I love being up close to the performer and watching and enjoying the music they make. Much of the time, that music is being pumped through a sound system. Much of the time that sound is coming towards my ears at really loud levels.

I'll be honest, I love it when it's loud enough that I feel the kick drum and the bass guitar in my stomach. At the same time, I know that prolonged exposure to excessively loud volumes can damage my hearing. That's why I ALWAYS take ear plugs (or ear filters to be precise) to EVERY concert I attend. They reduce the overall volume, and filter out the louder and more harmful frequencies.

People have different pain thresholds as far as volume is concerned. The problem in churches is that for some people the music (or preaching for that matter) is too loud and can be painful sometimes, while for others, the volumes are too soft to communicate the full energy of the worship band, or Pastor Todd when he really gets going!

While much of that spectrum relies on personal preference and hearing levels, there are some basic guidelines that we try to follow; we don't just guess!

CLICK HERE to check out a helpful and informative link that talks about sound pressure levels, decibels, and hearing safety.

Hopefully this gives you a sense of all the little details that go into making church happen, and helps you be better prepared. I want to be clear that I would NEVER be offended if any of you with lower pain thresholds brought ear plugs with you to the worship service. We try to be safe with our volumes, but also keep it up enough to accurately communicate the energy and natural sounds of our instruments and voices.

CLICK HERE if you're interested in buying a set of ear filters that will protect your hearing the same way ear plugs will, but that don't give quite as "muffled" a sound. These are the same ones I use when I attend concerts; they really preserve the sound while protecting your hearing.

Preparing For Worship: August 23rd, 2009

This Sunday is going to be a very cool change of pace. We're calling it our "Autumn Cello-bration" and I'm anticipating a great morning!

I just finished helping some piano movers deliver a 7-ft grand piano into our worship center! It's a beautiful walnut-brown color, and it sounds amazing. I'll be attempting to play this beast on Sunday and although it's about 15 times the size of any of my guitars, I'll still feel a little naked and underequipped. In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Music degree, I did have to pass a "piano proficiency" exam, but it was the type of situation where I did what I had to do and then forgot about it. Plus, the music faculty knew that I thought in guitar, and so they cut me a little slack, knowing the piano wouldn't be a significant part of my ministry. So we'll see if I can play half as good as this piano looks!

I'm flying in a friend of mine with whom I went to college to play with me as well. She is a fantastic cellist, and will really take the sound we're going for to the next level! She also played with me back in June at the Resolved conference, and I really enjoy playing with her. Her name is Meghan Zeikle, so be sure to come up and meet her on Sunday!

Here are the songs we'll be celebrating with on Sunday:

We'll start with "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" which is literally a call to worship for our very souls. Numerous times within the song, we address our souls directly, reminding them of God's character and greatness. We'll flow right into "You Alone" as we declare the sufficiency of God in Christ Jesus for salvation and eternal joy. If we were to be stripped of everything in this world as Job was, we would still be eternally secure and safe in the arms of our Savior!

Next we'll have a short announcement for our new season of Men's Ministry, including a video preview of the new 7-week course we'll be studying by James MacDonald called "Gripped by the Greatness of God." Pastor Todd will direct us to say a quick "top o' the mornin' to ya" (at least that's what Al Harris will say!) to each other, and then we'll jump back in to singing. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking of how it will sound to be standing with our fellow believers and singing along with the two beautiful instruments we'll be hearing; it's gonna be so cool!

We'll sing "How Deep the Father's Love For Us" as we spend time thanking God for the grace and mercy he showed us as, out of a love for us lost sinners, he crushed his son for us on that cross. We'll move into "Before the Throne of God Above" which continues the story of the cross up into heaven where the risen Christ ever stands before God the Father, interceding and presenting our (through Christ) perfect righteousness before him that we might be certain of our adoption as his sons and daughters.

Then Pastor Todd will come and preach the word to us from Joshua chapter 23 where Joshua addresses the Israelites shortly before his death and encourages them to develop Godly instincts as they continue to live in the land God gave them. CLICK HERE to read the passage.

After the sermon, we'll sing the new song we learned last week, "Completely Done," as we respond to the exhortations of God's Word. We remind ourselves that no matter what temptations we face in life, and no matter how many times we fail in fully honoring God with our lives, that our "sins have been paid in full; there's no condemnation here!" So we can leave our fears behind, and live boldly as children of the King.

We'll finish with "Here I Am to Worship" and respond accordingly as we declare God's authority, beauty, and worth, especially proclaimed in the redeeming work of Jesus.

That's what's going on; come prepared to worship!

Main Sessions from WorshipGod09

Many of you know that I was away a couple weekends ago at Sovereign Grace's WorshipGod09 Conference. What a great time to get away and recharge; to hear solid teaching; and to experience God-glorifying, passionate worship!

I came back with lots of great ideas, and lots of great songs to teach us!

I've been slowly trying to formulate key thoughts and ideas from the conference into a helpful recap to share with all of you. But I was thinking that since Sovereign Grace has posted all of the main sessions on their web site, I should just direct you there in the meantime.

CLICK HERE to go to their site.

All of the messages are great. I'd especially recommend either of John Piper's messages, or Thabiti Anyabwile's message that relates specifically to the church.

Preparing For Worship: August 16th, 2009

This Sunday is another opportunity for the body of Christ to meet and pursue God together by offering our praises and worship to him; by studying his revealed Word in order to know him better, and to conform our lives to the image of Jesus; by offering confession, thanksgiving, and supplication to him in prayer; and by encouraging, exhorting, and fellowshiping with one another in love and unity.

Man, that's a tall drink of water sometimes isn't it? To come to church and feel like there's all these items on a checklist that we have to go through to meet our weekly quota with God. We come to church ready to participate, learn, sing, and serve, and sometimes we forget that we are coming before the almighty creator of the universe! In light of who he is, what do we truly have to offer HIM? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Everything we offer to him is only made acceptable and pleasing because it is passing through the substitutionary blood of Jesus.

So come with joy and eagerness, but don't forget to come with humility and brokenness before God, and trust that he will fill you with all of his goodness, which was shown to us so perfectly in the face of his son.

This week we start with "Ancient of Days" that gives us perspective on the God we're coming to worship, and how great and glorious he is, that he holds all things in his hand, and that one day every tongue will confess and acknowledge him. "That's Why We Praise Him" balances us out in remembering that he is not an impersonal and far removed God, but that he came to dwell among us and reconcile us to God through the forgiveness of sin.

We'll have a time of prayer and welcome, and hear a short announcement about the next Financial Peace University course starting up in September. Then we'll get a minute or two to meet and greet friends and visitors.

Then we'll sing our new song "Completely Done" together. I love this song, and how it firmly reminds us that Christ's work is indeed FINISHED; that I need not, nor cannot add anything to it, nor is it deficient in any way. See the previous posts for lyrics, samples, and even a free download. JUST CLICK HERE and HERE! We'll go right into "How Great is Our God" which seems like the appropriate response to the marvelous truth we will have just sung. I love to move back and forth in perspective between the all-powerful creator God of the universe, and the personal, loving, redeeming God in the person of Jesus Christ!

Pastor Todd is back in the saddle as we continue the conquest of the Holy Land in Joshua. This week he'll be fast forwarding to chapter 14 and the extraordinary life of old Caleb. CLICK HERE to read the chapter so you know what's going on, and can be ready to dig in on Sunday.

We'll respond with the hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" as we glean perspective on how to live completely sold out to God's grand purposes. We'll see that as we step out in faith, and always look forward, that God meets us with abundant grace and faithfulness!

That's what's going on this week; happy prepping!

"Completely Done" Free Download!

Good news! The new song we're learning this week is currently being offered as a FREE download by Sovereign Grace ministries!

CLICK HERE to go to their online store and get your free download of the tune.

Good Christian Music and New Song: "Completely Done"

Hey everyone, I'm back from a week in Maryland at the WorshipGod conference hosted by Sovereign Grace Ministries at Covenant Life Church. I won't even try to begin to recap the conference just yet as I have so much to share with you all; I will try and do it justice in its own post.

For now, I wanted to give you the heads up on a new song we'll be doing this week that I learned at the conference. It's called "Completely Done."

The song is a part of Sovereign Grace's new album called "Sons and Daughters." I'd highly recommend any of Sovereign Grace's albums to you, but this one stands out to me a little more than the rest. The theme of the album is living in the reality that we have been adopted by God as his sons and daughters. CLICK HERE to read the real album description which is way better than anything I could say. Also, that link contains short samples of each song, so be sure and click on "Completely Done" and try and get familiar with it (it's only 48 seconds long so do your best!).

You can also check out this video someone from the conference took on their phone:


The lyrics:
What reason have i to doubt?
Why would i dwell in fear
When all i have known is grace?
My future in Christ is clear!

My sins have been paid in full;
There's no condemnation here.
I live in the good of this,
My Father has brought me near.
I'm leaving my fears behind me now.

The old is gone, the new has come,
What You complete is completely done.
We're heirs with Christ, the victory won.
What You complete is completely done!

I don't know what lies ahead,
What if i fail again?
You are my confidence,
You'll keep me to the end.
I'm leaving my fears behind me now.