Preparing for Worship: March 28th, 2010

What a crazy couple of weeks coming up here at Crossroads! I'm so excited for all the really cool stuff going on!

Tomorrow night we have "Crossroads LIVE" featuring comedian Carlos Oscar! Two shows at 6:00pm and 7:45pm with the proceeds going to our Haiti fund to continue helping with relief efforts over there. If you didn't buy tickets shame on you! Maybe if you're really quiet you can sneak in the back for one of the shows. I have some buddies coming to help me open both shows with some rockin music to get the energy up. You don't want to miss it!

Then next week we celebrate the resurrection of our savior from the dead! A friend shared a quote from Phillip Yancey regarding the risen Jesus:

"In many respects I find an unresurrected Jesus easier to accept. Easter makes him dangerous. Because of Easter I have to listen to his extravagant claims and can no longer pick and choose from his sayings. Moreover, Easter means he must be loose out there somewhere."

Wow! Convicting words to be sure! We're going to be having a total of FIVE services this Easter: two services around the big cross on Good Friday, and three services on Easter Sunday! I'm looking forward to some really great times reflecting on Christ's death and resurrection; especially as we sing some really great worship tunes that wrap these truths into song.

Good Friday services are at 6:00pm and 7:30pm, and then our Easter services are at 8:00am, 9:30am, and 11:00am. Heck, you should just come to all five!

So this Sunday we want to gather again, as a group of ruined sinners who've been bought and cleaned by the blood of Christ. The gathered church is one of the most unique groups on the planet, and we need each and every part of the "body" to be there to worship as fully as we can!

Here's what you can do to prepare:

We're going to start with the new song we learned last week: "Let Your Kingdom Come," so make sure you've listened to it a few times, and are familiar with the words and the tune. Then we'll sing "The Father's Love" as a celebration of the truth that we have been brought into the glorious household of God, and we are now a part of his kingdom come here on earth. I think most of you know it by now, but click on the song title and let it's truth excite your heart to come and sing it with fellow heirs with Christ!

Then we have a few minutes to welcome visitors and greet each other, and we'll also get to see a cool recap video from our Mexico team that got back last week from building a house for a needy family down there. Use this time to get excited for what the Lord might call YOU to in a short term missions trip or something similar. Also use this time as an opportunity to give thanks for the IMMENSE blessings we have living in the United States, and in Valencia. We are a rich, rich, filthy rich people, and how often we find ourselves greedily wanting more!

Then we'll sing "Crown Him With Many Crowns," an old hymn of coronation honoring Jesus as the name above all names, and recounting his life, death, and resurrection for our salvation. Let it remind you of the Lord you serve, who is truly the King of all Kings, and as such, deserves our full adoration and praise!

We'll continue the theme of Christ as King by singing the song "You Are My King." Think through the unbelievable truth that the King of the universe became a humble man, and died a horrific death on a cross for our sins, and has sent his Spirit to reside in each and every one of us that has put our trust in Christ.

Then Pastor Todd will preach from God's Word; from the apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesian church; continuing his series called "Sovereign Grace." His passage this week is Ephesians 5:18-21, and it's all about living a Spirit-filled life. It's the second half of his mini-series called "The Wise Walk" so don't miss it! Read the passage by CLICKING HERE so you know the terrain, and ask the Spirit to teach you, and direct you to how you can glorify God by living out these commands.

Then we'll finish up with a song that is all about living in the Spirit: "Breathe." This song compares the Spirit to the air we breathe and the daily bread that sustains us; basically saying that he is absolutely essential to our life as Christians! Think about how you can live a life that is even more surrendered to his leading and convicting every day. Let this song motivate your heart to gospel-centered emotions that will remind you of this desire.

That's what's going on, and I hope those tips are helpful in your preparation to gather and worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Happy Prep!

New Downloads Section...

on the Crossroads website!

I had a couple of random things floating around that I thought I should put somewhere that's easy to get to, so I set up a page to download various recordings and things I do every now and again.

There's only two items there now, but I'll let you know when I add more.

1) The arrangement I did of "The Lord's Prayer"

2) "Confession Song"

Check out the page if you're interested...

Go to www.lifeatcrossroads.org

Click on "Worship"

Scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says "Click here for other downloads"

Enjoy!

Or just CLICK HERE.

Preparing for Worship: March 21, 2010

Exciting news today blog readers! I've uploaded and released a 4-song collection of worship songs that are all focused on the resurrection of Jesus! It's a project I've been working on for the last five months or so, and I'm excited to offer it as a free download over on the Crossroads website! I'm asking that anyone who downloads it just consider making a small donation which will go to our missions fund, and specifically, will help fund our upcoming missions trip to India.

CLICK HERE to go to the download page.

I'm excited for this Sunday! We get to share baptisms together! This is always a cool time when Christ followers obediently follow Christ's example and command. We baptize them as an outward symbol of what the Spirit has done in their hearts: that they have been buried with Christ, and are raised with him to newness of life. They have died to their sin, and are raised up in the righteousness of Christ!

We're starting off with two tunes that remind us of the immutable (unchanging) God we serve; that he's the same God who parted the Red Sea; the same God who caused the sun to stand still in the sky; the same God who raised Christ from the dead! "Unchanging" and "The Solid Rock" are a stronghold in times of uncertainty and doubt, and they're a joy to belt out together at the tops of our lungs!

Then we'll have a time of baptisms, and I think we have seven people scheduled to get baptized this week, so we'll probably divide them over the two services, but either way, you'll get to share in at least three baptisms whichever service you come to! This is a great opportunity to encourage those who get baptized, 'cause it's usually a pretty significant time for them, and to share with them that the body of Christ loves them, cares about them, and shares this joy with them is a wonderful way to worship!

Then we'll sing our new song (I always try to post them on the blog BEFORE we sing them, like HERE) "Let Your Kingdom Come," followed by "May The Words (Psalm 19)" as we head toward our time in the word. These songs both deal with the state of our hearts as we live life in the light of Christ. We want our thoughts, words, and actions to always be pleasing to God, and that means we must value the things he values. This is how we follow the command Paul gives in our passage this week to "understand the will of God." We die to ourselves, submit our will and desires to him, and pursue righteousness (the things God declares as right).

Pastor Todd will come and preach to us from Ephesians 5:15-18, part one of a two-part mini-series he's calling "The Wise Walk." CLICK HERE to read this week's passage, and prepare your heart to be receptive to the Spirit as he helps you apply these commands to your life.

Then we'll respond with "From the Inside Out" which is an honest cry to God that we really CAN'T always walk wisely without his Spirit's work in our lives! He is the one who convicts us of sin so we might quickly confess and be restored; he prompts us to do those good works that God has prepared for us that we might walk in them; he gives us the words to say when we share our faith, or when we need to encourage or confront another believer. Our life in Christ is a LIFE LIVED in the Spirit.

How much of your life is lived in the Spirit? How often do you find yourself acting in ways you know aren't pleasing to God? Living in the Spirit is characterized by submission, humility, and love for others. He will fill in the details, but we need to be willing vessels!

So that's what's going on this Sunday. See you there; and happy prep!

New Song: Let Your Kingdom Come

Hey everyone,

I'm sorry I didn't post a Preparing For Worship blog last Friday! I've been waging a war with Spring in my sinuses, and last Friday the lack of airflow was cutting off the oxygen to my brain, so I took a sick day and started a strict regimen of Advil Allergy Sinus.

SO yeah, this week, Pastor Todd will be preaching from Ephesians 5:15-18 where the apostle Paul talks about how to walk with wisdom in the light of life. He says to "understand what the will of the Lord is..." and I kept thinking about the line in The Lord's Prayer where Jesus prays "Thy will be done."

Knowing what the will of the Lord is for your life is a spiritual wisdom that comes with prayer and submission. We can't know God's will if we are so determined to fulfill our own!

This song is called "Let Your Kingdom Come" and it is about God's will for man to be saved from sin through faith in Jesus. There is plenty we may never know about God's perfect will, but we know that he has called us to be vessels to share the good news of the gospel with the lost, and this song reflects that!

It's by Bob Kauflin from Sovereign Grace Ministries.

Check out the lyrics and then sing along with the video underneath!

Let Your Kingdom Come

Your glorious cause O God

Engages our hearts

May Jesus Christ be known

Wherever we are

We ask not for ourselves

But for Your renown

The cross has saved us so we pray

Your kingdom come!

Let Your kingdom come

Let Your will be done

So that everyone might know Your name!

Let Your song be heard

Everywhere on earth

'Till Your sovereign work on earth is done!

Let Your kingdom come!

Give us Your strength O God

And courage to speak

Perform Your wondrous deeds

Through those who are weak

Lord use us as You want

Whatever the test

By grace we'll preach Your gospel

'Till our dying breath

"Confession Song" Lyrics

I've had a few of you ask me to post the lyrics to a song I shared a few weeks ago. As I explained to those who asked, I do intend to record this song for you to download and have, but until then, here are the lyrics. This song was a different experience for me, as songwriting is usually a more structured and intellectual exercise.

The Spirit had really been teaching me and showing me kindness in the process of (what seemed like) numerous instances of confessing and repenting for my "pet" sins that I seem to perpetually struggle with. The song was really my prayer of confession and thanksgiving for the powerful truth of the gospel.

As I realized that I truly had NO hope of attaining perfect, sinless righteousness in my own strength, I in essence threw up my hands and told the Lord "I have NOTHING!"

The Holy Spirit gently and graciously affirmed that I indeed had nothing to offer God in this sense; but that by understanding that I had nothing, I had everything. The chorus of the song is the reminder of the solid rock of a foundation that I find myself falling on when I am brought to the end of myself: Christ's atoning death on the cross.


Confession Song

Lord I fail you.
How often, Lord, I fail you.
How often, Lord, my sin intrudes
on my fellowship with you.
I confess Lord.
In sorrow, I confess Lord.
Mindful of how much I fall short
of your righteous holiness.

For you are true perfection
and I do not deserve your mercy.
For sin you do despise Lord
and it wells up inside of my heart!

My one and only hope;
my plea and my defense
is your Son's atoning death!
He gave me life
with his last breath,
and when you look on me
you see his righteousness.

Take my sin Lord.
Renew me from within Lord.
Help me turn from things
that grieve your heart
and delight in you alone!
I repent Lord.
I mourn my sin
and I repent Lord.
Change my heart and
change my ways Lord
so I learn to walk in light.

For in my weakness
I cannot defeat sin alone or triumph.
But in my weakness you are strong;
your Spirit resides within me.

And I'm forgiven!
Yes I'm forgiven!
When I'm faithful to confess
Lord, you are faithful to forgive!

By Paul Hoover, copyright 2010 Porterhouse Music

UPDATE 12/18/2017

I am so encouraged by how this song continues to reach people! I do my best to respond to requests for the chord chart, but sometimes I'm not as timely as I wish to be, and so in an effort to make the song as accessible as possible, I've created a link to download the chord chart which you can get by right-clicking HERE and selecting "Save As..."

In case you haven't heard how the song actually goes, you can listen HERE.

Some of you have also kindly asked about any compensation for the song. I've never really intended to charge anyone to be able to use the song, but I also know it can be a blessing to show gratitude, and I have a family and two young kids so every little bit helps! :)  

If you want to contribute to a virtual "tip jar" then you can send whatever amount you like to paypal.me/PaulHoover. Thank you for your kindness!

Preparing for Worship: March 7th, 2010

What a week! I've spent some time with some great people, had some wonderfully authentic conversations, and received some gracious and loving counsel as well! I'm really thankful for the body of Christ. Ministering to one another is one of the greatest purposes of the church but sadly is often neglected.

This Sunday we get to gather again and offer corporate confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and praise to God. We also try and cultivate relationship with one another within Crossroads, but is this really possible during the 10-15 seconds you see someone during our greeting time??

Our Sunday morning worship services are primarily about corporate worship; when the whole body gets together to do the thing we were created for: dialog with the Lord, expressing our prayers and praises to him, and seeking his word for us through His Word. The Spirit works in our hearts and minds to help discern how we can apply God's truth to our individual lives, but we seek to grow in the knowledge of God as a whole.

Our Life Stage groups is one way we try to facilitate the cultivation of relationships here at Crossroads. Age-based groups that share appropriate teaching and discussion really helps relate people one to another. From there, it's our hope and desire that you'll take those relationships outside of Crossroads and into your own homes, or softball games, or other recreational activities where you can really share the day-to-day of life with each other.

So if you haven't been to a Life Stage group yet, you should at least find out more about them. Here's the basic info:

-Foundation: Students in grades 7-12

-YAM (Yound Adult Ministry): College and "Career" age

-Young Marrieds: Couples married less than five years (generally...)

-Family Matters: Couples or individuals with kids in school (pre k - high school generally...)

-Legacy: Couples or individuals who've raised their families and want to pour themselves into establishing their legacy for future generations

For more information on any of these groups, leave me a comment, or email info@lifeatcrossroads.org.

This Sunday...

"Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)" is the tune that we'll sing to bring us in, and to focus us on the reason that God sent his Son: his great love for us while we were yet sinners. I think sometimes we can get into the routine of knowing God loves us. Sometimes we might even think we are just that lovable! The fact is, that when we were straight up ENEMIES of God because of our sin, he STILL loved us. Loved us so much that he desired to repair the relationship we had screwed up in the Garden of Eden. Loved us so much that he had his Son, Jesus, put on humanity, and then be rejected, despised, and tortured before he was put to a criminal's death.

All for us. While we were yet sinners. Because of HIS great love.

So then we'll pray on that, and be reminded in our minds and in the deepest part of our souls. Todd will give a quick welcome to visitors, and then we'll go on the hunt to do the same. I've always thought it'd be kind of fun to have a competition with my friends to see who could find and welcome the most visitors the fastest...just a thought...

Next we'll sing "He Lives" which is that old hymn that we've given a little bit of a blues twist to! CLICK HERE to check out a samples from our Worship Band CD ("He Lives" is about 3/4 down the page). The CDs are free, so if you don't have one, be sure to pick one up from the ministry table this Sunday. Then we're going to learn a new song that really fits with the passage from Ephesians that Pastor Todd is preaching from this week. It's called "Alive in Christ" and it's a song that was written by my good friends Ryan Foglesong and David Zimmer. I play with them at the Resolved Conference, and you can check out the video by clicking the song title. I'll teach it to us, and then we'll all sing it together and just GO FOR IT.

Then Pastor Todd will come and preach from the apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesian church. We're working our way through the book, and it's amazing to see how much rich theology we've covered up to now. The first half of the book really describes our salvation, and who we have become in Christ, and the second half is helping us figure out how to live that out in a way that honors God! It might be a good time to take 20 minutes and read from the beginning of the book up to where we are this Sunday, chapter 5:8-14 which you should ALSO read. In fact, I think that's such a good idea, that I'm NOT going to put a weblink for the sermon text! HA! Now you HAVE to actually read your own Bible! I'm so sneaky.

At the close of Todd's sermon, we'll share a time of remembering Christ's death by taking communion together. We'll sing "Jesus Paid it All" while we take the bread and the cup, and then we'll all eat together after the song. If you're not familiar with communion, or if you are not a Christian, it's totally fine to let the plates go by. The Bible says to not take communion unworthily, and it's not like it's a 5-star meal you're missing out on; it's a small wafer cracker and a tiny sip of grape juice.

Then we'll close our time together by responding to the apostle Paul's declaration and command to "live in the light" by singing of the "Marvelous Light" that God has called us into from the darkness of our spiritual death in sin.

So that's the deal for this week. I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am! Happy Prep!