Peace on Earth: A Bluegrass Christmas

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This collection of bluegrass Christmas songs was released December 9, 2012. Hark the Herald Angels Sing Angels from the Realms of Glory O Little Town of Bethlehem Away in a Manger In the Bleak Midwinter O Come O Come Emmanuel God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Peace on Earth Wonderful Peace Gesu Bambino Go Tell It on the Mountain Download Chord …

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The Most Important Date Night of All

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I’ve had so much encouraging feedback recently about having date nights with the kids.  I’ve arrived in the Pinterest world with Date Night with Mom #1 and Date Night with Mom #2 posts.  Not sure what that means really, but it seems like it has struck a chord with many people concerning the need to spend some one-on-one time with children.  It has inspired some parents to begin to teach their children how to raise boys into men and girls into women.  That’s great.

But to make those dates work, you got to make sure that this date come first and maintains priority:

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Bad Church Sign: Get Off Your Donkey

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Received this church sign from a friend recently.  Too thought-provoking not too share.  This week’s bad church sign of the week says:

SERMON OCT. 14

GET OFF YOUR DONKEY

LUKE 10:25-37

And if you are like me, you automatically see the insinuation with the replacement word for donkey leaping into your mind.  The passage is of the Good Samaritan.  Don’t avoid needs when you see them, get off of your literally donkey or your figurative donkey and get up to help somebody.  That’s the point of the message.

It’s funny.  It’s clever.  But is it right?  Where is the line between being engaging and being crude?

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“Prologue” & “Come Lord Jesus” – Storytellers

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To begin the “Knowing Jesus” album and event, we needed something dramatic.

We needed something to display the numerous prophetic scriptures referring to the Messiah.

We needed something to sound dark with light bursting forth.

We needed something that sounded like 400 years of divine silence from God to Israel.

We needed something to create the space between Malachi and Matthew.

We needed something to sound like a supernatural battle going on where a baby was going to be born and the great dragon was trying to stop it.

And we needed it all in about 4 minutes.

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Peace on Earth: A Bluegrass Christmas

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We shared some music yesterday morning of our upcoming Christmas recording project entitled “Peace on Earth: A Bluegrass Christmas.”  Knees were a jerking for sure.

Available on iTunes!

We shared some bluegrass arrangements of some Christmas music we have worked on and we also shared an original song we wrote for the current series, “Peace on Earth.”  Since it was the first country/bluegrass song I had ever written, I was glad to know that those experts in this genre approved kindly.  Tracey did a fantastic job of singing it.  I have had many church members say they were going to sell it to a country artist.  Jeff thinks Brad and Dolly needs to cover it.  We’ll see ;).

The CD will be available this Sunday!  We are so excited to share this 11-track disc with you.  Here is the track listing:

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Perfect Peace

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We kicked off the Christmas season in a very special way today at North Side!  Celebrating baptisms, diving into some bluegrass goodness, and soaking in Isaiah 26:3: “The steadfast mind You will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in You.”

Just 1 week away from our Bluegrass Christmas release, we got to share some hoedown Christmas goodness.  I was impressed with all the clapping on the chuck instead of the boom.  And I loved the singing out and the expressions of joy as we worshiped to a very lively church body.  Love, love, love what God is doing among our church these days.  I love how church spills out after our service.  We had some special students hang with the Agnews and our time together was as rich as our time worshiping together.  It was such a reminder that church is much more than a service (and that’s coming from a guy who loves good services).

Today, we worshiped to:

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“Woe to You” – Storytellers

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It happened again last night.  I was moments away from pulling the song “Woe to You.”  We were leading the “Knowing Jesus” worship event at FBC Moncks Corner, and as I looked out at the congregation, I felt the same way 1st time we sang it at North Side – people aren’t going to like this one.

In fact, it may be too much.  It’s too edgy.  Very confrontational.  I kinda have to scream some.  Maybe we shouldn’t do it.

But each time, I went ahead with it, I sang the truth of Jesus’ words and let him handle the results.  I have been overwhelmed at the response of the song “Woe to You.”

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Thankful – Week 3

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What a great day of worship as we concluded our Thankful series.  We were honored to have our students lead us in worship this Sunday.  These guys lead at the Peak each week, and they do a fantastic job when they lead for the old people too!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Thankful – Week 2

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Today’s worship was all about flexibility today.  I sprung 1 unplanned song on the band at 9:30, 3 at 11:00.  I just told them they should be thankful we didn’t have a 3rd service ;)!

As we continued in our “Thankful” series, we also had Ben Davis, President of Connie Maxwell Children’s Home, come and update us on our partnership with this wonderful ministry.  It was so great to hear him speak, and you can tell his passion for taking care of these children.

We also reminded everyone about our Adoption Workshop coming up.  You can get details here.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: Tomlin

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Bad Church Sign of the Week:

“OUR WORSHIP LEADER WAS CONTEMPORARY WHEN CHRIS TOMLIN WAS IN JR HIGH”

Red Sea Church, you win.  I don’t know what you win, but you definitely have it wrapped up.

So what is it that your church boasts about?  

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“I Will Follow” – Storytellers

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This week’s storyteller song is “I Will Follow” from “Knowing Jesus.”  This song was written to describe Jesus’ calling of the disciples and their willingness to follow him.  As our church has been engaging in the Great Commission more than ever, this song has been a very special song for us.

The song was written a few days before I left for West Africa this summer.  I huddled up some of our worship leaders on a Tuesday and we got a lot of writing done.  The 1st song we focused on was this one.  Strutton, Kennerly, Nivens, and myself got into the Word, hopped on some instruments and began writing this song out.  The first line that came out: “The very thought is overwhelming, almost too good to be true, that someone so undeserving would be chosen by someone like you.”  It turned into a ballad that starts very low key but then erupts towards the middle with some fun minor 4ths and large crescendos.

The first time I led it I was with some pretty special people and there was a pretty special response:

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I Just Want My Daddy

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It’s hard to imagine that my lil’ baby girl, Gloria, is over 7 months old now.  Time truly is flying by.  She’s sitting up, eating all types of new food, and doing this crazy type of crawl that always makes her face plant.

Recently, when I’ve picked her up from the nursery after church services, she has attempted to win me over every so successfully.  We have wonderful nursery workers.  They love her, she is cool with them.

But something happens when Daddy walks into the room.

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Why Your Family Benefits When They Are Second Place

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It’s a contemplative time of year.

Fall has that effect on people.

Oftentimes at a time like this, Christians may say something like, “I’m ready to get my life back,” or, “I’m trying to put my life back together.”

If that is your desire today, you have missed the point. I don’t want you to put your life back together. Honestly, I want you to lose your life.

Read the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:32-39:

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Thankful – Week 1

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We started a 3-week series today at North Side entitled “Thankful.”  We will be studying Colossians 1 and it is such a great passage and I thought today was full of powerful services.  Starting each service out with baptism is always a great way to begin.  Always so humbled to be a part of these moments as Christ changes lives among us!

I came into the 2nd service still dripping to help lead in worship, but it was worth every bit of it!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: 50 Shades

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This week’s bad church sign of the week reads…uhmm…well…here we go:

“Fifty Shades of Old Testament Sex”

Wow.  In the last year, the book, Fifty Shades of Grey, took America by storm.  This story on sexuality had many giving it rave reviews and others claiming it was down right evil.  And so what does this church do?  Use this controversial title to lure passerbys into their church to hear how Old Testament sex is like the book?  Better than the book?  Not sure exactly.

What’s the problem?

The problem is that so many churches today borrow so much material from culture and then try to spiritualize it.

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“Go” – Storytellers

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We sang “Go” this Sunday at North Side and it is the final song on our “Knowing Jesus” album.  On the album, it goes right into the 21st track, “Epilogue” which continues the song and also reprises two musical themes from “I Will Follow” and “Come Lord Jesus.” The song is written in an African-type of call and response.  It …

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Date Night #2 with Mom

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After Obadiah’s date night with Mom a couple of weeks ago, we have been clearing the calendar to make sure little brother Eli got the same opportunity.  He was so giddy about taking his mom out on a date, he talked about a whole lot.  Even if we didn’t plan on them having a date (which we did), his persistence …

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Let It Go

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When we’ve been wronged, it’s easy for us to turn into judge, jury, and executioner. We’ve been unfairly hurt, and we think it would be fitting to make things right. The problem is this: we are not the ones who make it right—that’s God’s job.

It’s time for us to let it go.

“Forgive the same way Jesus forgives: freely and willingly. Acknowledge God as the rightful Judge over that persons’ life” (The Resolution, page 176).

If someone has hurt you, it’s simply difficult to let it go. Read Romans 12:17-21 and discover how God desires us to handle our hurts:

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Feed My Sheep

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Over a year in the study of the Book of John, we finally came to the conclusion in chapter 21.  This study has been amazing in my life and for our church.  Time spent on Jesus is never wasted!

I was amazed yet again at how the Holy Spirit united so many elements of the service.  From the worship songs, to the testimonies, to the message, to the invitation, I love it when He brings everything together.

We had Edgar give us a report from his seminary and missionary work in Mexico.  I was overwhelmed with joy as I thought how so many people at North Side had invested in Edgar and how many people had been impacted by him.  To see him using all that God has done in his life over the year was incredible!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Agnew Halloween 2012

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Can you guess who the Agnew kids are this Halloween?  Eli and Obadiah are pretty obvious.  Dressing up as Mario and Luigi, these 2 plumbers are ready to take on the likes of Bowser and his minions.

But to do so, they are gonna need some extra fire power, so that’s where this little flower in the middle pops up and helps them out.  If you’ve played Super Mario Bros., you get it, if not, you will have to see some more pictures to help you out.

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“Friend of Sinners” – Storytellers

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On Sunday, we sang a song entitled “Friend of Sinners” that, based upon our worshipers, is becoming one of North Side’s favorites.  The song is included on the “Knowing Jesus” project and was written to summarize the relationship between Jesus and sinners (it originally was next to “Woe to You” to show the vast gap between Jesus’ relationship with sinners and the most religious of the day).

If you can tell by the picture above, this song was written differently than most songs I write.  If you ever see my handwriting, you must know that there wasn’t an electronic medium to use – I can barely read my handwriting!  If you can read the top right, you have a clue to where I wrote this.

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God Is More Concerned with Your Future Than Your Past

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In church, we want any change in you that happens to be change that lasts for a lifetime. If we can’t apply the message, we are wasting our time in learning the truths (James 1:22-25).

We don’t want to make shallow commitments. We want to start walking in this truth, and we want to be faithful for the long haul. Oftentimes, we get bogged down in our past mistakes or our shallow commitments.  But God is more concerned with your future than your past.

Let’s learn from Peter’s example. His words and actions changed from time to time and reveal some of our own tendencies.  Look at how quickly his words and actions change:

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Come to Jesus

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Today was the next to last Sunday of “Knowing Jesus” series, and it was one of my favorite Sundays ever.  We concluded our “Ni Zan Je” testimonies from this summer in a pretty special way.  As we took up the offering, we watched an International Mission Board video talking about the connection between financial support and our foreign missionaries.  And who was feature in the video?  Our very own partner, Greg, in West Africa!

Kara gave her testimony after that.  It was powerful to hear all that she learned and all that she did over the summer.  When she concluded, another one of our missionaries, Heather led worship with the choir to the song “He’s Always Been Faithful.”  As they sang, we played a video of our mission teams in West Africa.  There could not be a more appropriate song!  It honestly was one of the most powerful moments for me as a worship leader as I stood in the back of the auditorium worshiping along.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Van Sign of the Week: Whoremongers

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This week’s bad church sign is actually a bad church van sign.

Can you imagine riding by this vehicle on your way to work?  I have been trying to imagine the driver’s face as he pulls by people.  He is definitely not embarrassed.  Maybe he turns a glance at every passing car in a judgmental, arrogant stare.  Maybe he thrives on getting people upset.  Who knows?

The sign says:

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Date Night with Mom

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This is a picture of my oldest, Obadiah, when he was prepping to take his mom out on a date the other night.  My duty as a father is to turn this boy into a man and teach him how to treat a lady.  These moments also provide time for parents to have one-on-one time with a child in an …

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“Words of Life” – Storytellers

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The song “Words of Life” focuses on the teaching ministry of Jesus.  As we developed the “Knowing Jesus” project, we knew that we needed to designate one sone specifically to display the power of Jesus’ preaching.  He was known as teaching with authority, and His lessons are still discussed 2000 years later after their origination.  That is something unique!

We wrote this song in a different way than the others.

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If I Was in the Presidential Debate

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I am not debating in the presidential debate tonight.  I am not running for office.  But you have to give credit to two men who desire the job of POTUS given the status of our country.  Whether you believe one or both of these men to be egotistical maniacs, gluttons for punishment, or eager ambassadors, they both want this job badly.

So badly that the 2nd debate was unnerving for many Americans.  The constant interruptions.  The disregard for boundaries.  The snide comments.

And now, we arrive at the 3rd debate tonight.  I already have my mind made up concerning how I am voting.  And so have you.  And so has the rest of America.  Tonight’s debate is likely not to change many minds as much as it will fire up both camps to blitz Facebook and Twitter with everyone’s biased review of the men’s performances.

I tried to imagine how I would respond if I was being portrayed by my opponent as a liar to millions of people.  Sure, I would want to interrupt and set the record straight.  I wouldn’t want to be characterized by something I am not.

And so, it made me wonder: “If I was in the presidential debate tonight, how would I close out my argument?”  Here’s a shot:

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Jesus & Thomas

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Wonderful time of worship at North Side today!  We are nearing the end of our “Knowing Jesus” CD as we studied the Gospel of John for over a year.  The message on Thomas was great.  I loved how Jeff said that the church needs to stop defining people by their past.  So true!

McFadden did a great monologue from Thomas’ perspective.  As he spoke of that moment when Jesus appeared in the disciples’ midst, he led in worship with “I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean.”  The song worked out so well between the monologue and the message, it was almost as if Thomas himself wrote it!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Bad Church Sign: No, Luke, I Am Your Father

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Thankful to Karen Erskine for sending this sign to me.  This week’s bad church sign of the week has the Jesus character telling Luke Skywalker that, in fact, Darth Vader is not his father.  Instead, he is. This one isn’t that bad per se, but is quite hilarious on one side.  On the other side, I really wish I knew …

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Hurrying After Wealth

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Making money is not an evil thing and can be a thing that God uses to meets the needs of others. But an overly-ambitious heart can lead to greed and the downfall of a man’s wealth and integrity.

Take a moment and read Proverbs 28:21-22:

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“Risen” – Storytellers

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The song “Risen” off of our “Knowing Jesus” project was 1 of the 2 original group writing sessions we did.  John, Jamie, Laura, and Phillip camped out in my playroom and studied the 4 gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection.  After a while, they had a pre-chorus section and a few different chorus ideas.  The “come and see, the tomb is empty, He is risen” was the first section written.

We knew we wanted minor verses, major choruses.  We also decided that we wanted the mood to carry over from “It Is Finished” before it.  We wanted to convey at the beginning a sense of hopelessness and confusion.  So the song starts out with just pad and vocal.  Was the cross the end?  Now what?  We wanted people to experience what the disciples must have felt.

The rest of the song is a rowdy celebration of the power over death found in Jesus’ resurrection.

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Knowing Jesus Recap (And What’s Next)

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I know I am two weeks behind to give you a “Knowing Jesus” recap, but things have been a tad busy as of late.  In short, the event exceeded my expectations which were very large.  After all the prayer, study, work, and preparation into this event and resource, I set the bar high in my mind.  I never imagined what would happen that night.

I thought the entire roof was about to blow off the building.  When God’s people responded to the revelation of Jesus Christ, it was beyond intense.  As the storyline unfolded as we told the life and ministry of Christ through song, genuine, passionate worship erupted among us.

I had many comments (some of them were very sup rising), and here are the most repeated ones:

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Risen

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Focusing on missions and the power of the resurrection – what a Sunday!

Samantha Vickers did a fantastic job sharing her “Ni Zan Je” testimony and showing what faithfulness to the call looks like.  It was great for her to commission our mission team leaving out this Saturday in Hausa.  “I will follow Jesus anywhere no matter the roughness of the road.”

Today, we worshiped to:

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Never Seen the Righteous Forsaken

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“Men work. Men provide. And when those men are children of God who call on Him as their Father, they can be sure that God will always meet their needs” (From The Resolution, page 160).

Sometimes, even the hardest working man comes upon financial challenges. Families grow, bills increase, unexpected expenses occur, salaries shift, and yet in the middle of all of these circumstances, God provides.

Take a moment to read Psalm 37:25-29:

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Man Up

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Scripture is full of servants who took a stand to confront evil. Look up these passages and learn from these examples. When the prophet Nathan heard about King David’s adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, what did he do about it (2 Samuel 12:7-9)?  He confronted and rebuked the King. When Nehemiah heard that God’s people were taking financial advantage of others, …

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It Is Finished

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What a wonderful day to be a part of North Side!  I got the privilege to lead worship and preach today.  It is always a humbling thing to be in the room when God saves people.  We got to be in His presence when He did just that for a good crew of people at the 9:30 and 11:00 services.  I got to speak with some wonderful people and received some great emails today of people who Jesus saved today.  Absolutely amazing to see how God is transforming lives!

I preached from John 19 on the crucifixion of Jesus and the 3 greatest words I ever heard: it is finished.  We do not need to keep fighting a battle that has already been won by Christ.  He has offered the final sacrifice and has sat down at the right hand of God – it is finished!

Hebrews 10:11Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD

Today, we worshiped to:

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When God Got His Hands Dirty

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While Genesis 1 summarizes Creation, Genesis 2 takes a behind-the-scenes look at a very pivotal part of the work created on day six.  The author presses rewind and looks at the significance of how God created the unceasingly, stubborn race known as Mankind.  While Genesis 1 describes Elohim the Creator, when his work with mankind is revisited, a subtle English shift takes place with major Hebrew implications.

Instead of God creating Adam, the LORD God creates Adam.  In many translations, you might read the word “Lord” with every letter capitalized.  This word is not the simple Adonai meaining “Lord,” this word is Yahweh.  This is the name that God designates to himself when Moses later asks him how he should describe him to Pharaoh.  “I am who I am.”  Only when the shift happens from universal creation to the creation of mankind is Yahweh mentioned.  This shows that there is a God over all, but there is a LORD in relationship with some. 

While God spoke everything else into existence, he “made” man (Gen. 1:26).  God formed man out of the dust from the ground like a potter skillfully shaping and molding a vessel to his liking.

His hands, matted with dusty earth, shapes this man to be a specific image-bearer.

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Pilate’s Judgment

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Powerful time of worship this morning at North Side.  The above picture was a pretty special moment as Jeff served as both pastor and father to some missionaries we commissioned.  Jeff’s daughter, Emily, Scott, and Baby Lucy are leaving this week to serve as missionaries in Africa.  It has been amazing to watch this father be so proud of his family for a decision that will keep them far from the comforts that we take for granted and yet so much closer to Jesus through their obedience.  It was an honor to pray for them – will continue to do so!  We have some prayer cards at the church for you!

Today, we worshiped to:

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