But why was it great?

The Holy Spirit united us as a body of believers with the same power that raised Jesus from the dead. It goes beyond just singing songs.

Another aspect of God’s active involvement this morning is how a huge chunk of the congregation is so passionate about Jesus that they are willing to give their whole life for Him. Singing With Everything this morning took on a fuller definition. Everything – as in, like, everything.

It’s not a passion for emotion’s sake; it’s passion inseparable from biblical truth. On Friday, Carl Medearis talked about the parables of Jesus and challenged people to consider why they love Jesus. This morning he talked about Luke 4:16-30 and 2 Kings 6. The crowd in the synagogue in Luke 4 is really fickle. “Wow! Such authority. We speak well of you. Wait a minute! Wrath! Wrath!” (My summary, not Carl’s.) You tell a story in Israel about God blessing a Syrian guy and a Lebanese guy and some people will get mad. Not much has changed over the centuries.

And have you thought about what it means to love your enemies? Sure, it’s simple to say, but could we do that as foreign policy? Could you have tea with Hezbollah?

So how is this different than the other Sunday mornings out of the year? Answer: it’s not, really. Yes, we had a ton of people from different parts of the country in our congregation this morning, but I would be willing to bet that not everyone who regularly attends FCOV was born in Chandler, Arizona. We also have a number of religious traditions show up each week, much like this morning.

I think the passion was more noticeable to me this weekend for two reasons:

1. Most people are not in TOAG because it’s just a part of their weekly routine.
2. We’re familiar with each other.

If you’re going to church simply because that’s what you’ve always done, I hope that God is sparking a reviving fire in your heart. I hope that I can come by your side and encourage you towards life.

By being familiar with each other, we can sometimes let interpersonal issues distract us from admiring God’s handiwork in His masterpieces around us. Who are we to give an art critique on what God has created? He makes even my best efforts look like cracked macaroni glued to construction paper. (No offense to the Macaroni School of Art.)

Here’s the beauty of it, though. Our familiarity should give us the freedom to take risks with God, to trust that Jesus knows what He’s talking about when He says that we are all a part of the same vine and that true life comes from abiding in Him. We take risks with God’s people. We don’t have comfort for comfort’s sake. We have life to live for Jesus and His Church.

We’re in it for the long haul with the regular attenders. Much like any relationship worth maintaining over an extended period of time, it takes work. It takes faith, hope, and love.

Encourage each other towards loving enemies. And remember: we’re called to the same hope.

Rejoice in being connected to believers around the world. You are a part of the most powerful kingdom ever to set foot on Earth (or anywhere else) and the kingdom is ruled by the most righteous king ever. Now we know in part; then we will know fully, even as we are fully known.

Rejoice in being connected to believers locally. You need them to fulfill God’s design for His people.

Rejoice in being a part of God’s family here and there.

Bryan Chapell shared with us on Thursday morning.  However, before that we were lead in worship by Rich Gunderlock (and others), the worship was absolutely amazing God was right there and for those of you that know me well this statement will seem odd.  I was so overwhelmed at many points I felt unable to sing.  I just stood there in his presence.  God is just awesome.

Now back to Bryan.  He shared from Isaiah 6:1-8.  I’ll give you a similar run down as I did yesterday

-When King Uzziah died the people were left without a king…Isaiah sees the Lord sitting on a throne basically letting the people know that there is still a king on the throne

-God is not just sovereign but separate..untouched by the stain of the world. separate from the impurity of the world

-The hosts of heaven wilt before the Holy glory of God

-Worship that honors God prioritizes God and prioritizes his word the gospel.  I want the contours of my worship to follow the contours of the Gospel.

-Worship in the glory of God leads to humility and a need for grace.

-Before the holiness of God our sin should be too great to stand.  We see the need not just for his glory but also for his grace.  Great glory is holiness transcended… the greater glory is Holiness transferred (grace) WOW

-How is it (the glory) transferred? The coal from the alter was the sacrificial atonement and that alter burned until calvary.  The fire on the alter goes out because the price of atonement has been paid.  The coal touching Isaiah’s lips transferred the glory now Jesus sacrificial death and resurrection is now where the transfer happens.

-Glory leads to grace which leads to mission.  You see the glory, you receive the grace, now go live it!

Thanks Bryan.  I am currently reading his book Christ Centered Worship and it has helped tremendously in helping me articulate some of the new directions we are heading in our worship at Faith.

@lampmode

First I have to start with a HUGE blessing I received tonight. Apparently I was the first person to register for WorshipGod11. So Bob Kauflin gave me a check for the cost of my registration! I am now being richly blessed for free. Plus I got a roommate for the week so I cut those expenses in half. God is really being overly gracious to me, well he was overly gracious when he save me so…well…uh…THANKS GOD.

Worship was amazing. There is something very special about singing with 2000-3000 (I’m not sure how many people are there) other worship leaders and pastors all passionate about worshipping God. Devon Kauflin did a wonderful job leading. It was also great fun watching Jacob Campbell worship and play keys/loops.

Then Ray Ortlund Jr. shared on Gathering to Behold. He spoke from II Corinthians 3:1-18 but specifically verse 18. He was talking about when we gather as the church are we just there to meet with each other and hear someone talk or are we there to behold the glory of God. I have a ton of notes from his message but I’ll share just some of the highlights.

-It is the presence of God that changes us on a deep level. In verse 18 it says that we are being transformed from one degree of glory to another. I would be great if we could just be fully transformed now but no, our sin runs too deep for that, however God is patient as we transform.

-We are being transformed into the image of Jesus. Can’t you see two angels talking to each other, “Hey Michael, look at that Jeremy Poehls he so looks like the King” (insert you name where mine is) WOW!!

-This (transformation) is the work that God wants to accomplish through us (leaders) at church. We minister by miracles, we change by miracles not of us but of the Lord.

-We are charged to love one another, care for one another, I’m not aware of the bible calling us to sanctify one another. Real change comes from the Lord who is the Spirit so cut each other some slack.

-As a leader the ministry come through me but it is not from me.

-The preaching of the word of God, is the word of God. (If we can see that what the preacher is saying is in the bible we are hearing God speak. God may speak to us by the mouth of a man.

-Jesus must come first. When we gather if we come for one another, one another is all we are going to get.

-The main purpose for the Sunday gathering isn’t just for the life application of scripture, it’s for the transformation of the believer, only accomplished through an encounter with the glory of God.

So much good stuff, I can’t wait for the sessions tomorrow.

“It’s Summer…in Theory”

UPDATE: I received a 95 out of 100.  A few voice leading errors and labeled a chord tone as a non-chord tone.  All in all I was quite pleased, and so was my instructor…I think.

I’m going to be more intentional about blogging, I have a lot to talk about.  I’m working on overdubs and mix down of the live worship album we recorded back in May.  I’m working on my own personal renewal, and working towards seeing that implemented for everyone in the church.  I’m also hoping to expand the worship team at the church and looking for some new/different ways to press in to God during worship and help my church really experience God’s manifest presence.  I’ll try to start sharing my thoughts on all of those things.  In the meantime, if you didn’t see what I did on Easter Sunday afternoon, enjoy.

If you are wondering the picture above was from my hike up the tallest mountain in Arizona with my brothers.

This is the same guy that wrote How He Loves and one of the things I love about his songs are that they use non-churchy words to explain theological concepts. He does a great job of explaining his creative process and inspiration here, so check that out first.

On Sunday, we’re going to be singing Death in His Grave. As a worship team, we don’t want anything we do to get in the way of people worshiping. When learning a new song, it’s sometimes tough to sing along if it’s the first time seeing the words. With Death in His Grave, the words are so poetic we don’t want to miss the truth that those lyrics hold. The song is called Death in His Grave, but if we miss the fact that it’s Jesus putting death to death, we miss the whole song.

I’m going to post the lyrics with links to Bible passages that relate to what McMillan is talking about (some are different than his explanation, but we think they’re still relevant).  Hopefully we can get the lyrics out to enough people so we can look at some/all of the references and get a really cool picture of who Jesus is.

These references are a result of the Body in action. Jeremy, my mother-in-law, and I sat in the conference room at church and worked together on this.

Death in His Grave by John Mark McMillan

Though the Earth cried out for blood
satisfied her hunger was
Her billows calmed on raging seas
for the souls of men she craved
Sun and moon from balcony
turned their head in disbelief
Their precious Love would taste the sting
disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief
on Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
but awoke with the keys
To hell on that day
the first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

So three days in darkness slept
the Morning Sun of righteousness
But rose to shame the throes of death
and overturn his rule
Now daughters and the sons of men
would pay not their dues again
The debt of blood they owed was rent
when the day rolled anew

He has cheated
Hell and seated
us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

Hopefully that helps. Here’s him singing it, if you want to listen while reading:

This is from our 2011 Easter Services