In Luke 10:38, we find an interesting story that demonstrates clearly how God feels about worship. Jesus is going to His good friends’ house for dinner. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, their brother, were all close friends of the Lord. Most likely Martha was the oldest and probably the leader of the house. She is busy preparing to have the Son of God at her home. He has to have something to eat, so she cooks. The dishes have to be cleaned, so she washes them. Imagine, suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of her sister sitting at the feet of Jesus. Can you imagine? Martha has been slaving over a hot stove. Martha has been rushing around taking care of the household and Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus!
The outrage!
Martha rushes to Jesus to ask Him to tell her sister to help her. Here is Jesus’ reply, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Here is my question: Who was worshipping the Lord, Mary or Martha? The answer maybe surprising, but it was actually both.
Both were striving to serve the Lord.
Both, clearly, love the Lord.
Both cared deeply for Him…
So why did Jesus not tell Mary to help Martha?
Why did Jesus not tell Martha to settle down and sit down?
Well, put simply, both jobs were needed. They each had a purpose to fulfill.
Here is the chore of the modern worshipper. We have to learn to merge our lives in such a way that we are constantly worshipping and constantly serving. There should be no difference in any area of our life. We are just born again believers, learning to become more like Christ, striving to live for Him everyday.
It’s a merger.
Here’s my challenge: Find a way to remain total open to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to His power while living and serving and giving yourself to the Lord through ministry to others. When we are giving ourselves to other people we are actually giving ourselves to the Lord.
Worship Music
Monday, June 22, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
He Teaches My Hands to War
There is no doubt that we face trials in our life especially when we are experiencing revival. The enemy is working desperately to stop us from reaching our destiny as the people of God. But with the Lord’s help we overcome and continue to serve the Lord. Surprisingly enough, the very things that we killed in the past come back to haunt us bringing more trouble with them.
In 2 Samuel 21, we find that David is again battling the Philistines and again he faces a giant. Only this time instead of there being just one giant with a death order for David there were four fighting for vengeance. They all wanted David dead. They all promised to kill him. They all would fight to the death to complete their task. I am sure when David was a young man standing on the battle field in front of Goliath the picture of fighting four more giants in his life was not even imaginable. Yet here he was facing his giants again.
At this point this picture of the past could have done several things to David. He could have complained to God, “Why are You bringing this against me again. Is only one giant not enough in a man’s life?” He could have questioned himself. “Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt You? Why am I fighting this fight again?” But instead, David rose to the challenge. He recognized that these giants were nothing more than another struggle for God to make him the victor. They were an opportunity to show God’s power and might to unbelieving neighbors. They were a promise of God’s sustaining mercy. They were an opportunity to demonstrate to a discouraged people the love of God. Certainly, David and his men defeated these giants. They were no match to the power of God.
In Psalms 18, David responds to this story. He sings, “For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer and sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
Even when God is moving in miraculous and powerful ways we will face giants and it is our responsibility to wage war against those giants. We’ll face the giants of doubt whether that is our own intellect or the discouraging voices of doubting friends. We’ll face our own fear…fear of the uncertain. We’ll face opposition to the move of God sometimes from people who we originally thought would be ready for a fresh touch from God. But here’s the thing, God teaches our hands to war. He led us to the battle and He’ll lead us through it. Our job here is incredibly simple. We just have to follow.
I hear someone saying, “Ok. What does that have to do with music?” Give me a second and I’ll get to it.
There is something very unique behind the power of music. Music should be more than a pleasing melody and enchanting harmonies or even a foot tapping rhythm. There is a power in music that connects the soul of man to the heart of God. It steps out of the natural and takes us to the supernatural. In this supernatural world our war is waged. Music becomes prophetic. When we really worship spiritual mountains are moved and giants are killed. The giants of discouragement, doubt, unbelief, and fear cannot stand when faced with this powerful, confronting truth. Further, your ability to sing or play an instrument has nothing to do with your ability to use this prophetic quality of music to your advantage. Worship and music are not the mechanics behind play this note now and watch me for the cut off. Worship and even music is what comes from our heart. Worship the Lord in what you do, in what you think, in who you are. Let your life be poured out before the Lord. I am convinced that there is no greater weapon against the tactics of our enemy than worship.
We will face problems. There is no way around that, but with the Lord’s help and with our perseverance we will overcome the battle and we will bring glory to God. Our giants are only opportunities for us to wage war and win against the enemy. Let’s get ready to rumble!
In 2 Samuel 21, we find that David is again battling the Philistines and again he faces a giant. Only this time instead of there being just one giant with a death order for David there were four fighting for vengeance. They all wanted David dead. They all promised to kill him. They all would fight to the death to complete their task. I am sure when David was a young man standing on the battle field in front of Goliath the picture of fighting four more giants in his life was not even imaginable. Yet here he was facing his giants again.
At this point this picture of the past could have done several things to David. He could have complained to God, “Why are You bringing this against me again. Is only one giant not enough in a man’s life?” He could have questioned himself. “Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt You? Why am I fighting this fight again?” But instead, David rose to the challenge. He recognized that these giants were nothing more than another struggle for God to make him the victor. They were an opportunity to show God’s power and might to unbelieving neighbors. They were a promise of God’s sustaining mercy. They were an opportunity to demonstrate to a discouraged people the love of God. Certainly, David and his men defeated these giants. They were no match to the power of God.
In Psalms 18, David responds to this story. He sings, “For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer and sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.”
Even when God is moving in miraculous and powerful ways we will face giants and it is our responsibility to wage war against those giants. We’ll face the giants of doubt whether that is our own intellect or the discouraging voices of doubting friends. We’ll face our own fear…fear of the uncertain. We’ll face opposition to the move of God sometimes from people who we originally thought would be ready for a fresh touch from God. But here’s the thing, God teaches our hands to war. He led us to the battle and He’ll lead us through it. Our job here is incredibly simple. We just have to follow.
I hear someone saying, “Ok. What does that have to do with music?” Give me a second and I’ll get to it.
There is something very unique behind the power of music. Music should be more than a pleasing melody and enchanting harmonies or even a foot tapping rhythm. There is a power in music that connects the soul of man to the heart of God. It steps out of the natural and takes us to the supernatural. In this supernatural world our war is waged. Music becomes prophetic. When we really worship spiritual mountains are moved and giants are killed. The giants of discouragement, doubt, unbelief, and fear cannot stand when faced with this powerful, confronting truth. Further, your ability to sing or play an instrument has nothing to do with your ability to use this prophetic quality of music to your advantage. Worship and music are not the mechanics behind play this note now and watch me for the cut off. Worship and even music is what comes from our heart. Worship the Lord in what you do, in what you think, in who you are. Let your life be poured out before the Lord. I am convinced that there is no greater weapon against the tactics of our enemy than worship.
We will face problems. There is no way around that, but with the Lord’s help and with our perseverance we will overcome the battle and we will bring glory to God. Our giants are only opportunities for us to wage war and win against the enemy. Let’s get ready to rumble!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Going Up Higher
The Lord has been taking us to new levels of His presence and power. I am so excited to see how the Lord will continue to move as we stay mailable to Him. I know that the Lord will move, but we have to continually stay on our guard, ready to fight, against complacency and mediocrity.
When I was younger I was a part of the move of God that started in Pensacola, Florida. Truly, my life was radically changed through the experiences that I has with the Lord during that move of God. Very clearly, I remember spending hours sitting in the floor just basking in the presence of God the whole time saying to myself, "I will never be the same. I'm never going back to the way I was before." However, over time I found that in some ways I did go back to the way I was before. I had become accustomed to living continually in the glory of God, but as special services ended, as I got older, as I became distracted by world around me I did not peruse the Lord with the same fervor of before. Still, I always knew that there was something more. I knew that God desired a deeper relationship with me and I knew that if I went after God again He would show up and meet me were I needed Him.
I never really "got away" from the Lord. I was still a Christian. I went to church. I read my Bible and prayed. It's not like I started cussing or drinking or going to questionable places, but I did start watching television more. I started watching movies that contained questionable material...let's just be honest, the material was not questionable, it was flat out sin. And while I know that I can view some material and not be adversely affected, I was still putting it into my mind. And there were other things...small things that I changed. Although not one of these small changes would send me to hell, they did start to desensitize me to the Lord's voice and His touch.
As we step into this new move of God, the Lord has given us a choice. Will we live in the power and the glory that He has for us? Will we claim this new promise? Will we step in to the land, but not utilize the land? Here's the thing, when I stopped living in the promise land that God had given to me and I returned to the ways of my past, I always knew that there was something more. I knew that the Lord had a different plan for me. I knew that He had a land of victory. I knew that there was more.
And this time will be different.
When I was younger I was a part of the move of God that started in Pensacola, Florida. Truly, my life was radically changed through the experiences that I has with the Lord during that move of God. Very clearly, I remember spending hours sitting in the floor just basking in the presence of God the whole time saying to myself, "I will never be the same. I'm never going back to the way I was before." However, over time I found that in some ways I did go back to the way I was before. I had become accustomed to living continually in the glory of God, but as special services ended, as I got older, as I became distracted by world around me I did not peruse the Lord with the same fervor of before. Still, I always knew that there was something more. I knew that God desired a deeper relationship with me and I knew that if I went after God again He would show up and meet me were I needed Him.
I never really "got away" from the Lord. I was still a Christian. I went to church. I read my Bible and prayed. It's not like I started cussing or drinking or going to questionable places, but I did start watching television more. I started watching movies that contained questionable material...let's just be honest, the material was not questionable, it was flat out sin. And while I know that I can view some material and not be adversely affected, I was still putting it into my mind. And there were other things...small things that I changed. Although not one of these small changes would send me to hell, they did start to desensitize me to the Lord's voice and His touch.
As we step into this new move of God, the Lord has given us a choice. Will we live in the power and the glory that He has for us? Will we claim this new promise? Will we step in to the land, but not utilize the land? Here's the thing, when I stopped living in the promise land that God had given to me and I returned to the ways of my past, I always knew that there was something more. I knew that the Lord had a different plan for me. I knew that He had a land of victory. I knew that there was more.
And this time will be different.
On May 31st we are going to be pressing in to God's presence. Join us on Sunday evening at 6:30pm for a night of praise and worship. Let's going up higher with the Lord...that's where we belong.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Upcoming Events
Upcoming Events
This Sunday, November 23rd, we have an opportunity to be blessed by another musical group. Ransomed from Southwestern Assemblies of God University will be in both service. They are a group of students who travel the country recruiting and ministering to churches. I know you will enjoy them. Please make plans to be here this Sunday, November 23rd. I know you will be blessed.
You will notice that I have started putting new music on the blog. We will start introducing these, and other, new songs to the congregation shortly. We have already started practicing them. Just be ready!
December 14th at 7:00PM is our Christmas musical, Through the Silence. You will really want to be here for this special musical presentation.
This Sunday, November 23rd, we have an opportunity to be blessed by another musical group. Ransomed from Southwestern Assemblies of God University will be in both service. They are a group of students who travel the country recruiting and ministering to churches. I know you will enjoy them. Please make plans to be here this Sunday, November 23rd. I know you will be blessed.
You will notice that I have started putting new music on the blog. We will start introducing these, and other, new songs to the congregation shortly. We have already started practicing them. Just be ready!
December 14th at 7:00PM is our Christmas musical, Through the Silence. You will really want to be here for this special musical presentation.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Oct. 19th, 2008
I sure that many of you have notice strange little emails popping up in your inbox. I would like to take a few moments (and by moments, I mean sentences) to introduce you to our latest attempt at keeping everyone inform and the lines of communication wide open. Are you ready? Drum roll, please. This is going to be the most exciting program that you have ever seen...You are no longer going to be bond to the phone...You are no longer going to be controlled by your overwhelming guilt if you have to go out of time...This is going to change the way you inform us about being gone...
Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the planningcenteronline.com.
This is an online, web-based application. When you see that email in your inbox it is actually a request for you to join us on the worship team for any given Sunday. All we need you to do is accept or deny that invitation. If you accept, a page will open to the service plan.
Now, I can hear some ask, why do we need this? Well, right now we have been doing well without this, but as the church continues to grow and as more and more people are involved in the worship ministry we will need to communicate better and more direct. Right now we have two complete rotating teams, but it won't always be that way. Eventually, and I hope soon, we will have rotating people on each instrument and each spot. That means that more people are involved in ministry. That also means that you won't have to be at practice ever week. You may even get a week or two or even three off every month. That sounds like a good thing to me. Just make sure that you accept or deny the invitation. If you deny, I can easily request someone to fill your position. All the bases get covered!
We will still have the blog up and running to introduce new songs, keep us motivated, and so I can give you the rambling that go on in my head. (I know all of you appreciate that!)
Anyway, thank you for your hard work, your support, and your faithfulness.
Ancient of Days
Better than Life
Made Me Glad
Amazing Love
Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the planningcenteronline.com.
This is an online, web-based application. When you see that email in your inbox it is actually a request for you to join us on the worship team for any given Sunday. All we need you to do is accept or deny that invitation. If you accept, a page will open to the service plan.
Now, I can hear some ask, why do we need this? Well, right now we have been doing well without this, but as the church continues to grow and as more and more people are involved in the worship ministry we will need to communicate better and more direct. Right now we have two complete rotating teams, but it won't always be that way. Eventually, and I hope soon, we will have rotating people on each instrument and each spot. That means that more people are involved in ministry. That also means that you won't have to be at practice ever week. You may even get a week or two or even three off every month. That sounds like a good thing to me. Just make sure that you accept or deny the invitation. If you deny, I can easily request someone to fill your position. All the bases get covered!
We will still have the blog up and running to introduce new songs, keep us motivated, and so I can give you the rambling that go on in my head. (I know all of you appreciate that!)
Anyway, thank you for your hard work, your support, and your faithfulness.
Ancient of Days
Better than Life
Made Me Glad
Amazing Love
Monday, October 6, 2008
Stepping Up!
For Next Sunday...
Say So A
Overtaken D
My Jesus, I Love Thee D
Evermore A (followed by several key changes)
See you Tuesday night at 7pm!
Say So A
Overtaken D
My Jesus, I Love Thee D
Evermore A (followed by several key changes)
See you Tuesday night at 7pm!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
I'm Back!!!!
Hello folks!
Texas was great. We saw one person filled with the Holy Spirit and others encouraged in their walk with the Lord. Let's get ready to see the Lord move in us.
Danette
Texas was great. We saw one person filled with the Holy Spirit and others encouraged in their walk with the Lord. Let's get ready to see the Lord move in us.
Danette
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Wow
Wow is all I have to say about today's services. We are having practice this Tuesday at 7 PM! I am going to be singing at a camp meeting in Texas so I will not be at practice. Robin will be leading the instrumental rehearsal and Janet will be leading vocally. If you need to get ahold of me this week you can try my cell phone. I don't know how the reception will be, so Sunday also has a number that I can be reached at. Thank you for your help, support, and love.
God Is Great C
The Lord Reigns G
How Great Is Our God G
Worship the King D
See you Wednesday night!
Danette
God Is Great C
The Lord Reigns G
How Great Is Our God G
Worship the King D
See you Wednesday night!
Danette
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Let's Go Up the Mountain
In staff prayer today, Sis. Calabrese really challenged us with something I've never heard quite this way. When God told Moses to go up the mountain for the purpose of giving him the Ten Commandments, God also told Aaron. Aaron heard the voice, but the Bible says that he was afraid. I can't imagine what he was afraid of. He was there when God parted the waters of the Red Sea. He was there when God showed his power and might to Pharaoh with the ten plagues. He was there when God demonstrated time and time again that He was going to take care of His children. So even though Aaron had seen God's power there was something about the voice of God that scared Aaron keeping him on the ground while Moses went up the mountain and received the Law of God.
While Moses was up on the mountain top, Aaron was in the valley listening to the people. He listened to them complain. He listened to them talk about the gods of Egypt. And he listened when they said they wanted their own graven image to worship. It was Aaron who told the children of Israel to bring their gold...to take off their earrings. It was Aaron who fashioned the golden calf. When Moses came down from the mountain, Aaron accuses the people of pressuring him to make the calf. Rob Bell writes in his book Velvet Elvis, "The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God. We are dealing with somebody we made up. And if we made him up, then we are in control. And so in passage after passage, we find God reminding people that he is beyond and bigger and more." I suppose that's what we do so often...we try to make God be who we want him to be. We want Him to take away our problems when He wants to lead us through them. We want God to come to us so we control Him rather than He controlling us.
Was Aaron scared of the people? Or did he just want to put a face to God? Is it possible that Aaron was so puffed up because God had used him to help set His people free that he forgot who he was? Either which way, he was called to go up the mountain, but he choose to stay in the valley.
The Lord is calling each of us into a deeper relationship with Him. Sometimes God is in the valley, but when He has called us up to a higher calling we must accept that calling. If we don't, we, like Aaron, are tempted to listen to the people and lose what God intended for us on the mountain. I'm ready to go up the mountain. I'm ready to see God move in marvelous ways. I'm ready! How about we all accept our calling and go up the mountain together?
For Sunday, September 28th, 2008
Sweeter E
Forever F
Still C
It Is Well C
While Moses was up on the mountain top, Aaron was in the valley listening to the people. He listened to them complain. He listened to them talk about the gods of Egypt. And he listened when they said they wanted their own graven image to worship. It was Aaron who told the children of Israel to bring their gold...to take off their earrings. It was Aaron who fashioned the golden calf. When Moses came down from the mountain, Aaron accuses the people of pressuring him to make the calf. Rob Bell writes in his book Velvet Elvis, "The moment God is figured out with nice neat lines and definitions, we are no longer dealing with God. We are dealing with somebody we made up. And if we made him up, then we are in control. And so in passage after passage, we find God reminding people that he is beyond and bigger and more." I suppose that's what we do so often...we try to make God be who we want him to be. We want Him to take away our problems when He wants to lead us through them. We want God to come to us so we control Him rather than He controlling us.
Was Aaron scared of the people? Or did he just want to put a face to God? Is it possible that Aaron was so puffed up because God had used him to help set His people free that he forgot who he was? Either which way, he was called to go up the mountain, but he choose to stay in the valley.
The Lord is calling each of us into a deeper relationship with Him. Sometimes God is in the valley, but when He has called us up to a higher calling we must accept that calling. If we don't, we, like Aaron, are tempted to listen to the people and lose what God intended for us on the mountain. I'm ready to go up the mountain. I'm ready to see God move in marvelous ways. I'm ready! How about we all accept our calling and go up the mountain together?
For Sunday, September 28th, 2008
Sweeter E
Forever F
Still C
It Is Well C
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