Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes…..

Posting my set list early has it’s upside and it’s downside. One of the ups is that I don’t have to spend time posting it on the “Sabbath” or, my usual M.O., forgetting to post at all until way late.

One of the downs is that set lists rarely go the way you expect and having already posted means bringing things up to speed as to how the set really went. That can be a good thing since more posts on a blog usually mean more hits to the blog, but I’m not a blogger for the hits.

Anyways, my point is that after posting a pre-service set list I need to fill you in on how God had another plan.

First of all I had inadvertently listed a song in the power point that wasn’t on the set list and left another song off the power point. UGH! A few last minute changes to the power point and we were on our way.

Secondly, God had another plan for the last song. I had chosen, King of Glory, but all through the message this old gospel spiritual kept going through my head. The lyrics were right from Psalm 47. Sung a cappella and upbeat it’s great fun with a call and response that gets everyone out of their seats. I hadn’t done the song in over 10 years so I was a little shaky but as a closing song it was the perfect topper to the message that had been delivered by Pastor.

I so wish I could find the music to the piece but don’t know the author and after considerable time looking online I gave up trying. So, for now I’ll must call it, Clap Your Hands, and be thankful for the moving of the Spirit on His people to lift up a mighty shout of triumph to the King of all the earth!!!

Pre-Service Set List 7.20.08

Thought I’d get my set list up while I was thinking about it.  Quite a few “usual suspects” this time but some we’ve not done in a long time.

Our team has been working on O Praise Him [G] and The Coloring Song [D] for the last few weeks.  They’re coming along but we’re not ready to serve ‘em up just yet.  

Question:  how long do you guys work on a song before you present it to the congregation?  Do you have certain criteria before you consider it ready?  Tell me about it.

Set List 7.20.08

CALL TO WORSHIP

• Holy Is The Lord  [E]
• I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever  [D]
• The Heart Of Worship  [D]
• Humble King  [D]

MESSAGE

OFFERING AND RESPONSE

• I Surrender All  [A]
• King of Glory  [G]

BENEDICTION

 

 

 

Worship Leaders Speak: Brushing-up on Devotion

There are several pictures I get in my mind when I think of someone who has a devotional life.  Someone who rises early (before the sun and the kids) to pray and read from a little book that has each day prepared with a scripture reading and a commentary on the reading. (A devotional)

Someone who reads through his or her Bible every year.  Someone with stacks of Devotionals on their nightstand.  Someone who always has an open bible on his or her coffee or dining table.

The question I ask myself is, “do these descriptions define what it means to have a devotional life?”  And,  “Can we have a wrong perception of what it means to have a devotional life?”

Devotion defined: de·vo·tion   noun

1.  deep love and commitment
2.  great dedication and loyalty
3.  strong enthusiasm and admiration for somebody or something
4.  fervent religious or spiritual feeling (formal)
5.  the act of devoting something or being devoted to a particular purpose
6.  prayers or other religious observances, especially somebody’s private prayers or observances

 

I would like to answer a few questions in the next few paragraphs.  Questions like: What does it mean to have a devotional life?  Do all Christians have a devotional life?  Who in Scripture exemplified someone with a devotional life?  How can you/I have a successful devotional life?

1.)  What does it mean to have a devotional life?  

 Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus recounts the greatest commandment:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, 

• All your emotions given to God
• All your affections given to God

with all your soul, 

• All your being
• All your life; breath; physical being.

and with all your mind

• All your way of thinking
• All your understanding
• All your intellect
• All your imagination

2.) Do all Christians have a devotional life?

2Co 11:3*  But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

It is possible to believe that doing acts of devotion are in and of themselves the devotional life.  Many have gotten caught up in thinking that reading their bibles or devotionals and praying at a certain time in the day makes devoted Christians.  On the contrary, it is because we are devoted to Christ that we read our Bibles and pray.

3.) Who in Scripture exemplified someone with a devotional life?

2Ki 20:3*  “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth   (mind)  and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight (soul or being).” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

1Ch 29:3  King David   “Moreover, because I have set my affection  (heart)  on the house of my God, I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, my own special treasure of gold and silver: (being)

If we examine the lives of persons in scripture we will find either those who followed the Greatest Commandment or didn’t follow it.

Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs, Joshua, Rahab, Ruth, Joseph and his brothers, Jonah and The prophets, Job, Samson, The disciples, Judas Iscariot, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary and Martha and Lazarus, Paul and the Apostles, Titus and Timothy, James the brother of Jesus, And the list goes on and on……

In each case these were either successful in their walk with God or not.  Those that were devoted experienced a close walk with God and the peace that comes with it.  Those that struggled in their devotion were markedly either failures or just squeezed by.

4.) How can you / I have a successful devotional life?

1Ch 28:9  “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.

1Ti 4:13* Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.

Here’s a few things that will help strengthen devotion to God.

• Devote yourself to Know God
• Know God’s character and attributes
• Know God’s voice
• By prayer and reading 
• Devote yourself to Serve God
• Give yourself to God
• Keep God’s Words
• Devote yourself to Seek God
• Study God’s Words

Lest We Forget Our Liberty

Today is the 4th of July.  Just a day like any other.  It’s hot, about 102 outside and slightly muggy. Nothing is significant in the goings on in my home except that today is a day to remember and to never forget.

Let us remember that our religious liberty is a divine gift.  And, let us never forget that in order to have that liberty many gave great sacrifice.

Worship Confessional: 6.15.08

I’ve missed so many worship confessionals I lost count. So I decided in order to get them posted I needed to change my stratagey and post the set list when I make it. We’ll see if I can get back and link the titles up with mp3s and chords so you can have a listen and get chord charts. So here you have it….

Set List 6/15/08

Let Us Sing [E]
Love The Lord [E] Lincoln Brewster
Yes I Will [C] Bebo Norman
By His Wounds [C] Mac Powell
How Great Is Our God [D] Tomlin, Chris \ Cash, Ed \ Reeves, Jesse
Yahweh [A] Shawn McDonald
Resurrection Day [C] Matt Maher

El Roi

Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. …….Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, Have I also here seen Him who sees me? see Gen16:7-14

The Hebrew word for found refers to finding someone or something that is lost or misplaced. Certainly Hagar must have felt both lost or misplaced. Alone in a barren desert wilderness, pregnant with a child because of another person’s willful desire…but she was not alone and the Angel of the Lord found her. This is where He often finds many of us - alone and in the wilderness. But rest assured He will find you. And He knows all about our past as well as our future. Even though He asked Hagar where she had come from and where she was going, He already knew the answers and yet He still cared to comfort her in her affliction.

Shur means wall so in a sense Hagar had her back against the wall as we commonly say when we find ourselves in difficult, stressful circumstances.

There is no wilderness we can flee to and be out of the sight of God. For the sinner this truth brings terror. For the saint walking in the light this truth brings great peace from knowing He is there and that he has seen the wrong others have committed against us and that He will avenge the wrong. Our call is to forgive those who have wronged us. We don’t know from the text if Hagar forgave Sarai, but we do know that this is God’s will for the righteous.

Hagar ran away from Sarai but ran into God. How many of us running away from some oppressive situation, some bad memory, some unfair treatment, etc, have run into God? The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble and He knows those who take refuge in Him. Nahum1:7

Do you need to run to Him and take refuge in the Strong Tower of His name El Roi right now? Then run for you won’t be disappointed. The adversity you are experiencing may not necessarily be assuaged (even as Hagar had to return to the setting of prior harsh treatment) but in your adversity you can take confidence that El Roi sees and He will send comfort in the affliction.

O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
Ps 139:1- 2

special thanks to Kay Arthur and precept minstries

Has practice become our worship?

When our worship team comes together to prepare songs for a service is our heart far from God? Do the words of the songs have meaning or are they just sounds and notes that must be perfected for the hearers? Is the song list prepared with prayer? Are the musicians playing to God or just trying to get it right?

Worship practice can be a very stressful time for the worship team and often the worst of us is exposed as we work at the timing, progressions, vocals etc. of new and old songs alike. We often find ourselves frustrated with ourselves and with one another wondering if we really belong on the team and if God’s calling is really upon us.

I truly believe the problem is that our worship is out of focus. That we are no longer worshiping but are caught up in practicing which results in performance. Being concerned with the art above the heart.

Has worship become our practice?

Our daily lives are an expression of our faith toward God. The closer we are to Him the more our faith is expressed in our service causing our faith to be strengthened, developing a life of worship. This life of worship is extended into everything we do including our ministry. If we are walking a life of worship then our art is an extension of our heart and we find that the music has meaning whether it is new and we haven’t perfected it in our minds or we’ve played it a hundred times. Our practice time has become more meaningful as we focus on our Lord and off the perfecting of the music.

This does not mean that we do not try our best, on the contrary, we find that we apply all our skill and try even harder but the striving has been removed as self is laid aside and God is in full view of the worshiper. Worship has become a practice, our lifestyle, our conversation, our mind set, our heart.

When we find ourselves stressed during rehearsal it’s time to check our hearts and take a moment to focus on the object of our worship, God the Father, setting our hearts on Him and off the art. In so doing our worship will be in Spirit and in truth making a place for God’s Holy Spirit to inhabit our praises whereby He will be glorified beyond our expectations. Jn. 4:19-24 Ps. 22:3

Good diction and higher learning…

As a small child I remember saying the pledge, right hand over my heart and words all run together. I had no concept of what I was saying even though I knew it somehow had to do with how important it was to be an American. Still, those great words eluded me as I formed the sounds without understanding.

Leading songs in a worship service can be a similar experience. We sing songs that speak a language that eludes many with words like righteousness, atonement and sacrifice. This is a common language to those who have understanding but to those who lack understanding it can be a little daunting, especially among children as the following video reveals.

This sweet girl is singing her little heart out but lacks understanding and has probably missed the proper pronunciation of the words in the song because her source might not be singing the words clearly. I know that I have often heard worship leaders singing styles that cause the listener to cringe because they can’t understand what the singer is saying.

We have a responsibility before the Lord to sing with clarity.
Open our mouths and pronounciate, not sacrificing *diction for style.
Lead with understanding and take the time to teach the song.

An after thought…

There is another lesson here that I won’t expound on at this time except to point out that we as children of God are not very unlike this little girl trying to “speak” the language of heaven but often miss it for lack of knowledge.

Your turn to talk back…

*vocal expression : pronunciation and enunciation of words in singing

Four Jehovah Names of God Devotions

This May CCPV had our annual Women’s Retreat and it was awesome! Our text this year was Isaiah 55 and I had the privilege of teaching verses ten and eleven, as well as writing the personal devotions we did before and after bedtime. Preparing these devotions was especially encouraging to me as I searched the scriptures on the four topics; Jehovah Rohi, Jehovah Kabodhi, Jehovah ‘Immeku, and Jehovah Mephalti.

If you would like to have a look at the devotions please feel free to download the PDFs. Enjoy! and may the Lord bless your day.

manna-break-i-the-lord-is-my-shepherd.pdf
manna-break-ii_the-lord-your-glory.pdf
manna-break-iii-near.pdf
manna-break-iv-deliverer.pdf

Seeking to be remarkable or Seeking The Remarkable.

A while back a discussion on Billy’s blog introduced the words of Seth Godin into the worship leader scenario. The topic was on being remarkable.

I’ve considered the conversation on more than one occasion and decided to post my comment on the subject (edited for this post) for all my friends out there who have ever pondered similar thoughts. To read what started it all visit Billychia.com

Remarkable… That’s a worthy aspiration, isn’t it? Godin’s got great advice for the business world, but should we worship leaders take his secular views and apply them to how we should lead a ministry? Here’s my two cents, for what it’s worth …

Obviously, leading a worship ministry is different from leading a business. Worship is not a human experience in and of itself. It’s spiritual, an exchange between man and creator. That’s what makes it so remarkable!

Our part is to do our best as worship leaders to prepare acceptable offerings(Gen.4:3-7 and Lev. 10:1), without blemish(Eph.5:27), and to choose the better thing(Luke 10:41-42). The remarkable enters in when God meets his people in the process and they “see Him” and are touched, changed, moved by His very presence to respond and to fulfill their calling to worship Him and offer themselves a living sacrifice(Is.6:1-9; Romans 12:1).

So, should we seek to be remarkable?.. yes and no.
No: Because, if we if look to do things in a way that they are worth remarking on by seeking to be remarkable, then we are in danger of just being entertainers.

Yes: Because, if we look to do things in a way that they are worth remarking on by seeking to please God in our offerings of worship then, “remarkable” is inevitable because God shows up. So in reality, our goal is not “the remarkable,” our goal is meeting with God.

After all is said and done I would rather that people are compelled to talk about how God met with them during the course of a service than hear them talk about how exceptional the worship teams “execution” was that morning. He must increase while I must decrease(John 3:30).

Quote of the Week

“The modern composer builds his work on the basis of truth.”

Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643)

Quote of the Week: What some writers of Sacred Music from Chant to Christian Rock have to say about the gift of music and glorifying God.

More Capo Info

I recently got a call from Ric Flauding, one of the musicians without whom my CD would not have been possible. Ric composes, orchestrates, arranges and plays guitar beautifully. His knowledge and experience far exceed my own. And in the few hours that I’ve spent with him and his wife Denise I’ve grown as a musician and person, and come to truly appreciate them as friends and fellow worshippers.

Anyways, Ric calls me the other day about an article he was writting on the capo. We had a great conversation about using capo’s and about one of my pet peeves- offering our best to God as musicians. I’ve said it on my blog before, “If we are created in the image of God and He is the creator of the universe, then why does the christian music scene seem to be following behind the secular?” And, “I wonder what the great writers of the music of the church like, Handel, Vivaldi, Mendellsonn, Bach and others would have to say about the quality of some of the music we call great.” (ok, so that’s another post)

So, as I said we had a great conversation. Ultimately, we talked about capos and the article. To read what Ric has to say visit Soniccontrol.com. It’s informative and covers some very good, very practical instruction.

Are You a Tone Deaf Worshipper?

So do you think you could never sing well? Are you a tone deaf worshipper? Never fear, Singing Success is here! While visiting the Singing Success Online site I decided to go and check out Eddie Gilbert’s success story. It still never ceases to amaze me when I hear the unbelievable difference in the before and after voices of people like Eddie.

Quite a few years ago I had the opportunity to work with a tone deaf worshipper who wanted to record a CD. I’ve also worked with two eager worshippers who were legally deaf. I’ve never had so much fun watching them gain control over their voices and instruments and all I did was tell them about Speech Level Singing!

Don’t take my word for it that Singing Success Really Works. Go on, hop over to Eddies page and listen for yourself.

If you know me you know how much I believe in Speech Level Singing. Here’s just another reason I tell all our vocalists they need Singing Success.

Sunday Reflection Worship Confessional 4.06.08

Our guest this service was Jeff Johnson from Calvary Hills Christian Church in Menifee, CA. I had so wanted to meet Jeff after anticipating this service for about 2 months but as I shared in my last post I was home sick… no not home-sick, home sick with shingles.. not fun.. but I’m getting well and the Lord has blessed me.

Anyways, here’s Jeff’s set list. I’ve heard some great praise reports about the evening and everyone was blessed by Jeff’s ministry.

Call To Worship

Unchanging
There is None Like You

Devotions and Prayer
Response

All Who Are Thirsty
Beautiful Jesus
Here I am To Worship
Sweetly Broken

Worship Confessional 4.6.08

Well folks, today, Sunday, I was home sick so I’ve got a list for ya from our guest worship leader. Reggie Gradias has come on several occasions to lead us and thank the Lord, he was available to step in.

Reggie has a long history as the worship pastor at Calvary Chapel Moreno Valley CA, a missionary in England, and a instructor at Calvary Chapel Bible College here in Murrieta CA. Reggie and his wife, Laurie, are planting a church in the Temecula area with a desire to reach the local native American Indian tribe. His wife, Laurie, will be joining our Women’s retreat next month to share the Word with our ladies. That means I’ll be gone so, you guessed it, Reggie will lead our Sunday morning service that day too.

Anyways, here’s the list he offered the Lord this morning. I understand that it was wonderful how the Lord tied the songs with the morning’s message.

Call to worship …

Meet With You
O Sacred King
Pour Out My Heart
Shine

Message
Communion …

I know that You Love Me
What I have Vowed

Offering and Response …

Breathing the Breath
Heart of Worship