Ministry

The Most Segregated Hour in America

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“We must face the sad fact that at 11 o’clock on Sunday morning, when we stand to sing…we stand in the most segregated hour in America.”  -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., spoken in 1963 Almost 50 years ago this line was delivered, and have we gotten any better?  Are more churches open to multiethnic congregations than before?  I think more …

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Revival Through the Valley

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What an incredible night of our 3rd Revival service for the summer.  We focused on Psalm 23 and God reviving our hope even when walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

The service was built around that passage and included Stacy Wideman’s story (pictured here with her daughter, Savannah, and son, Stephen).  After being born with Down’s Syndrome and a heart defect, Stephen fought gallantly during his time, but eventually, God brought about his healing in heaven and not on earth.

Stacy’s honest testimony was more than powerful.  Her desire to let God “heal the wound but leave the scar” was seen in her desire to share God’s faithfulness with others during this difficult time.  After her testimony, Stacy led us in singing “It is Well.”  I have never been a part of a time when that song was sung more passionately and honestly than it was tonight.  The commitment in the room to those words was breathtaking.

In addition to that song, we worshiped to:

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Major in the Minors: Amos

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Great time today of focusing on our 3rd prophet Amos in our series “Major in the Minors.”  With a full day ahead for our church body, I can’t think of a better focus than what God pointed us to this morning.

Today, we worshiped to:

I decided a while back to do an acoustic service this Sunday (the picture above is of the boys playing the cajon which was played today, well, they didn’t play it during the service, just after ;)).  I honestly didn’t have a reason to, I just felt like doing it.  I didn’t know at the time that God was going to lead Jeff to preach out of Amos concerning worship that God hates.

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Revive Our Integrity

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What a powerful week 2 of “Revival.”  Studying Psalm 15, we talked about what it means to have integrity.  We also had a Memorial Day special prayer time for one of our own currently serving in the military led by one of our own who is also in the military.  Powerful time.

Tonight, we worshiped to:

I was kind of blown away by what happened in worship tonight.

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Major in the Minors: Joel

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We had another great morning at North Side as we continued in the “Major in the Minors” series.

We got the privilege to commission a bunch of graduates this morning.  That’s always exciting seeing how committed these students are to Jesus!

We focused on the prophet Joel today.  As Jeff discussed this message with the staff this week, it couldn’t come at a more appropriate time.  In light of all the natural disasters happening across America this week, many people are asking the question “how could God let this happen?”

As Jeff pointed out, when natural disasters happen, 3 main positions arise:

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Worship Academy This Summer

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I first mentioned hosting a Worship Academy back at our Lift Worship Workshop, but today I am happy to give you the details of this summer leadership group.

During the summer, I am inviting any worship leader, musician, vocalist, etc. to be a part of a small group with the intention to develop one’s biblical, musical, and logistical understanding of leading worship.  We will cover theological concepts of worship, songwriting tips, arrangement procedures, band dynamics, vocal techniques, music theory, and so much more!

Here are the details:

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The Rapture Did Not Take Place on May 21, 2011

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Above is a video of Harold Camping, the man behind the prophecy that the church would be raptured on May 21, 2011.

It’s now May 23rd.

While so many of made jokes concerning his prophecy, I honestly feel pity for him.

Harold_Camping

It appears in all that I have seen and read that he honestly believed it.  He also believed it the first time he made the prophecy but then figured out he had made a mathematical error in his equation.  And with numerous followers supporting and funding his cause, he is left to deal with the people on the earth he was so sure he was leaving behind.

So did you believe the hype?  Did you secretly wonder?  Did you wonder if the cicadas were more than a mere nuisance and they were actually a sign of the times?

I was asked a lot of questions over the last week, and this was my response:

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Revive Our Relationships

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“O God, unite us together, Your church living as one, giving ourselves to one another, and this world will know us by our love.”

Last night, we had our first united worship service.  So much prayer and preparation went into this service.  I was so humbled at what God did last night.

We worshiped to:

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Major in the Minors: Hosea

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So excited to start our new series this morning entitled “Major in the Minors.”  Walking through the 12 prophets over the summer months is going to be a great study and I pray we hear and do!

Hosea was a prophet called to demonstrate God’s love in a powerful yet hurtful way.  Hosea was called to buy his wife back from her life as a prostitute and love her again as his bride because that is the depth from which God has loved us.  Considering God’s great love, will we stop running around on him?

Jeff and I have been wanting to do this sermon on Hosea for over a year now.  We saw another preacher role play Hosea during his message and it was probably the most powerful thing either of us had ever seen in our lives.  So when God seemed to be leading us to preach through these books, we couldn’t miss the opportunity.  Jeff did a fantastic job of playing “Hosea” as he looked desperately for his bride.  It was so powerful to experience the dedication that God has to buying us back as his own.  You can check out the message here.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Revival FAQ’s

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We are so excited that our first Revival service starts this Sunday at 5:30.

Since this is an addition to our schedule, we want to make sure you have all your questions answered:

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The Heart of Worship (Nashville and Back)

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I’m heading back from Nashville today from a busy few days at LifeWay.  I left Sunday in the middle of the last service to get to GSP to make a flight.  Monday and Tuesday were full of ideation for LifeWay’s 2012 curriculum.  I was humbled to write for this great team again when they asked me to write a unit on selected Psalms entitled “The Heart of Worship.”

It was great catching up with old friends and meeting new ones.  While I was there, I also got to spend some time with the editorial team for Courageous.

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Wise Counsel: Marriage Counseling

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What a great day at North Side!  We finished up week 3 of “Wise Counsel” as Jeff tackled some marriage counseling.  I felt like I was drinking from a fire hydrant!  Such good stuff.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Thirsting for God

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1 As a deer longs for streams of water, so I long for You, God. 2 I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, “Where is your God?” 4 I remember this as I pour …

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Revival

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This summer, we are praying for a revival!

During the summer, we will be having Sunday evening services from 5:30-7.  We will be teaching through the Psalms in a series called, “Revival.” All ages will be studying the Psalms in order to revive our hearts towards God. The schedule will only have two breaks during the summer (June 19th for Father’s Day and June 26th for the Homeland Choir Concert at North Side).

Here’s the summary of the time together that will begin on May 22nd:

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Reclaiming What You Lost

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What a great Sunday at North Side!  Continuing on in our “Wise Counsel” series, we did a little more group therapy.

We all have lost something.  Some of those things were our fault and some the fault of others.  But God has a plan for all of us to heal and to reclaim what has been lost.

Today, we worshiped to:

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It’s All About God

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This children’s book reminds young minds that all good things come from God and all of our lives are for God. Every page of every story has one main character: it’s all about God. Get Copy on Amazon

Should Christians Rejoice That Osama Bin Laden’s Dead?

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After reading and hearing so many interesting takes on feelings concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden, I had decided to write what I believe would be a proper biblical take on the subject.  In my own hometown, people have been very supportive or very offended by our local newspaper’s headline.  Can we actually rejoice that he is dead?  Some people say as an American we can, as a Christian, we cannot.

As I started to write a post, I found a link to where John Piper wrote on the subject so wonderfully.  He is smarter and more godly than me, so I am sharing his post in lieu of mine for your reading pleasure.  This post is from his Desiring God website:

God’s emotions are complex—like yours, only a million times more. Right now, your emotions about bin Laden are not simple, i.e. not single. There are several, and they intermingle. That is a good thing. You are God-like.

In response to Osama bin Laden’s death, quite a few tweets and blogs have cited the biblical truth that “God does not delight in the death of the wicked.” That is true.

It is also true that God does delight in the death of the wicked. There are things about every death that God approves in themselves and things about every death that God disapproves in themselves.

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Wise Counsel: Should We Get Engaged?

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Today, we started a new series at North Side called “Wise Counsel.”  Jeff’s description of this series: “As a pastoral counselor for the last 25 plus years, I have noticed that there are some things that just keep causing people problems.  Therefore, I am going to address some of these issues from a biblical perspective and provide some biblical counsel to some very common problems.  Call it group therapy if you want to, but it will also be biblical therapy.  While this series will only be for three weeks, I think it will prove helpful to a lot of folks and give some very specific counsel to some very common problems.”

Today’s topic: Sharing wise counsel from counseling experiences, our pastor shared the answer to a question he has never received: “Should we get engaged?” Marriage is a very serious step, and there are 5 questions each person should think about before going forward.  It was a wonderful message.  The married guys in my C-Group told me they still learned a ton even though they are already married.  You can watch or listen to the message here.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Protecting Your Home

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What are you willing to do to protect the people in your home? If you lived in a dangerous neighborhood, more than likely you would make sure you made every effort to lock up the home before you went to sleep that evening.  Having children in the home makes most parents even more likely to take precautionary measures.  Whether it …

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The Purpose of Worship: The Glory of God

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The following is an excerpt from a document North Side’s elders gave out to our church body on April 17th.  As we have prayed concerning the direction of the church and studied Scripture together, we are under conviction that we must be a church according to scriptural mandates.  Our church currently uses different styles of worship to relate to different groups of people.  Our time in the Word has changed our heads and our hearts.  The following is a brief excerpt, you can get the rest of the document here.

A passion for the glory of God is the hallmark of the redeemed. Because it is God’s passion, it must be our passion. To live passionately for the glory of God means that our greatest delight is found in delighting Him and our greatest fear is found in displeasing Him. When we fall short of living for His glory, (Romans 3:23) we fall into a life lived for the glory of self. Living life for our glory is sin. When we lose the great, high, noble calling of living life for His glory, the results are disastrous for the church. Worship is reduced to a consumer-driven personal experience, discipleship is reduced to a self-help program, and evangelism is reduced to a goal-driven sales pitch. Living as a church for the glory of God will redefine our purpose and redefine the methods we use in pursuing that purpose. Corporate worship, or worship as a church family, becomes a priority.

Psalm 133:1 reads, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”

Most of us have been conditioned to think of salvation in terms of the individual. The truth is, however, that God has saved a people unto Himself.

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Derailed by Disbelief

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What an incredible Easter Sunday!  3 services full of the truth, the Holy Spirit, and serious worshipers!  Today was such a special day as we were among many who gave their life to Christ for the first time.  Jeff’s gospel presentation was so spot on.  It is always so humbling to be in the room when people pass from death to life.  Unforgettable!

We concluded our 1 Corinthians study, “Derailed,” today as we focused on 1 Corinthians 15.  Paul told the Corinthian church that the resurrection was the greatest hope for believers.  On Easter, we remember that Jesus lived, died, and was raised back to life.  This truth changes everything.

We also got to Skype with our buddy Rachel, a college student who is spending her semester as a missionary in an undisclosed location.  Being able to hear how God was using her, how she spent Easter, being able to pray for her, and have her pray for us was a true gift!  It reminded us all of how the Church (big “C”) is celebrating our Risen Savior all around the world.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Good Friday Service Recap

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I really don’t have too many words to describe North Side’s Good Friday service.  I have never heard our people sing out so much, and I have never seen such expressive worshipers.  We remembered the cross, and we could barely contain ourselves!

We celebrated communion, baptism, read Scripture, and worshiped.  I loved that one of our elders, Jerry Rentz, led the communion.  Most visitors would have imagined he was a staff member by how great of a job he did!  After the service, John Kennerly did a coffeeshop performance for us that was pure delightful.  Great day.

I kinda imagine that may be the 1st Good Friday service in a line of many more.  Just a hunch.

We worshiped to:

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College Students – Dates to Remember

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We had our last college Bible study of the semester last night.  What a great year we have had.  It’s been amazing to see these students grow in their love for the Word and the world.  I shared some dates last night that I wanted to make sure everyone knew about (actually, all of these apply to you whether you …

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Derailed by Idolatry

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What a pivotal day for North Side.  It was one of those days where God was so clear to me in so many different areas, that it was hard to shake.  Continuing on through Derailed, here is where we landed today:

Derailed by Idolatry (1 Corinthians 10-11).  The Corinthian church had gotten into the habit of gathering together in the name of the Lord but making it all about themselves.  They had become their own idols.  In this message, we hear how this warning still applies to us today and what it means for the future of North Side.

The picture above shows holding a document entitled “The Glory of God.”  As North Side has sought God’s leading on our future, we believe he has spoken to us concerning the future of worship styles at the church.

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Most of My Creative Ideas are Stolen

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I’ve heard so many encouraging words concerning Sunday’s bilingual worship service.  When my worship leading buddy came out and started leading in Spanish after our prayer for the Spanish speaking people in this city, it was an incredibly powerful moment.

I have a confession: I stole the idea.

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Derailed by Rights

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What a fantabulous day to be the church!  Still buzzing from all God did in our midst this morning.

Week 6 in our “Derailed” series as we study through 1 Corinthians.  Today, “Derailed by Rights” in 1 Corinthians 8.  In Christ, we are made free, but what are we actually free to do?  Many areas confuse Christians concerning what is permissible and what is not.  In this message, we learn from the Apostle Paul concerning a life not derailed by personal rights.  Wonderful message.  Check it out!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Derailed by Sex

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What a great day to be a part of North Side!  I got the privilege of preaching for Jeff on the topic of “Derailed by Sex.”

Questions concerning sex and marriage were plaguing the Corinthians church and still plague believers today.  The church raised questions through their lifestyle and in their letter to Paul in which he felt the need to respond on the issues of sex outside of marriage, sex within marriage, divorce, and singleness.  His instructions to them still hold true for us today.

It was a difficult topic to address and a whole lot to cover, but I pray that it was a benefit to those listening today.  If you want to check it out online, you can listen here.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Good Friday Service

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On Good Friday (April 22nd), spend your evening at North Side with a special service spent remembering the cross. Baptism & Lord’s Supper. We will include baptism and an observance of the Lord’s Supper this evening.  If you would like to be baptized on this date, please comment here.  Your RSVP is helpful too as we prepare for the Lord’s …

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Lift Recap

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Words can’t even express how humbled I was to be a part of Lift.

Having North Side’s own volunteers give up their Saturday to work on things they already do so well is a reminder of the quality of people we have.  Having groups from the Carolinas travel from up to 5 hours away to spend their Saturday to learn with us is a reminder of stewardship in the Body of Christ.

At Lift, we worshiped to:

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Derailed by Lawsuits

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I love loud worshipers, and North Side got after it this morning!

Wow, what an incredible time together.  4th week in our Derailed series through 1 Corinthians, and today we landed on lawsuits within the church.  You gotta love the Word of God that makes it so clear for us to follow!

In addition to a great message, we also got to hear wonderful testimonies and promo for our Priscilla Shirer simulcast next week, commissioned some more college missionaries, and sang our faces off!  For the entire flowsheet, go here.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Definition of “Church”

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Honestly, it is one of the most confusing terms in American culture.  Most people have an answer.  Most people are convinced of their answer.  And most answers are very different from each other. So I want to hear from you. What is the definition of “church?”

LIFT is This Saturday!

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I was so encouraged yesterday hearing about the building excitement for Lift this Saturday!  We are only days away.  Our team is putting last minute touches on the event, and we could not be more excited!

On March 26th we will have a free worship workshop held at North Side Baptist in Greenwood, SC.  Bring your whole team and get equipped on how you can lift your worship, your team expectations, and your team’s abilities.  Tracks in musicians, vocalists, technicians, host teams, etc.  Good for choirs, bands, and anything in between!

The day has a funnel type schedule focusing on music, tech, and host teams that work in worship settings.  We start large, go to medium size, smaller groups, and then back all together.

This workshop is for seasoned worship team members and also for those who are just curious if they have the skills needed to join.  It’s free lessons, so nothing to lose!  Not only will we have a lot of information, we are going to have a lot of fun!

Here is our promise: we are teaching principles, not models.  We don’t want you to copy what we are doing, we are going to teach principles that we have been learning that can be applied into any context.  If you want to reserve your spot, you can do so here.

See below for the information on all the classes:

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Derailed by Negligence

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Within the church, a sin that can wield more damage than immorality is that of negligence.  When Christians don’t confront sin within the church, unholy living can become widespread.  The Apostle Paul handles this situation in a surprising way in this ignored passage (1 Corinthians 5).

Today’s service was all about being “Derailed by Negligence.”  We put the whole service together dealing with how do the people of God handle sin committed by the people of God.

In addition to a video on temptation, we had a prayer time for people who we knew that were getting far away from God.  Using James 5:19-20 as our prayer focus, we prayed and planned how we would lovingly confront that person.

We also used some help to start out the message today.  Using a mom, coach, and sheriff, we got everyone to imagine what those environments would look like if there was no discipline.  Jeff came up then and asked would a church would look like without any discipline.  Powerful message.  The 1st time I have ever heard a pastor preach on 1 Corinthians 5.

Today, we worshiped to:

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Sometimes the Best Notes Are the Ones Not Played

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Sometimes the best notes are the ones not played.

It is very easy for a band to get too busy while leading songs. Every musician has something to offer or else they wouldn’t be in the band.

What tends to happen is that at a turn-around in a song, every instrumentalist thinks it is their turn to contribute. Leading from the verse to the chorus, oftentimes, a band will have a drummer going on a monster roll, the guitarist bending strings like never before, the bassist sliding up to a fret that’s not even on the neck, and the keyboardist ripping and roaring down the ivories.

Vocalists can get up in the trap too when they silently compete to hear who can hold at the note the longest and the loudest.

While your group members may not be intentionally trying to steal the show, inability to understand and create powerful dynamics can ruin a song. The end product can sound more like a group of independent musicians than an actual unified band.

Here are some questions to ask:

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AVL Field Trip for Our Worship Team

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This week our worship team training time involved a field trip.  We didn’t leave the building, but I took all of our techies, musicians, and vocalists all around the building so they could experience how all the audio, video, and lighting for our services worked.

As we are teaching our worship value excellence this month, I thought it was important that the people on the stage realized that the work of the people off the stage was just as vital to our worship services.  Singers can lead a song, but without someone putting the lyrics up at the proper time, no one can worship along.

So we took a trip.

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Hymnology: Brethren We Have Met to Worship

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Some hymns have many stories attached to them.  I am coming up with very few leads on one of my favorites as of late, “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship.”

This is what I do have:

It was penned by George Atkins in 1819 who was a Methodist pastor.

And…that’s it.  So if you do have more, I would love you to share any info you find in a comment below.

We arranged it with a touch of bluegrass.  Since most of the chordal arrangement focuses on a 1-5 progression, I wanted to exchange some chords to open it up a bit.  At the second half of the verse, we go in a different direction with the chords, and I think it breathes some new life into the song as it opens up and builds.

I also wrote a chorus to go along with it.  The song is great in itself, but I thought it needed some type of break in the middle and an additional part to it.  The chorus is simple and carries the message of the song: “We have come together in the name we adore, we have come to worship Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Yesterday, I explained what “manna” meant to the congregation so that no one would be singing what they didn’t understand (“manna” is the food that God provided while the Israelites wandered in the desert – he provides, he is enough).

The only problem I had with the song was the theological implications of the end of verse 4.  Here are the lyrics:

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Derailed by Immaturity

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2nd week of Derailed, and what an incredible walk through 1 Corinthians so far!  Getting to 1 Corinthians 3-4, we learned that Paul taught that immature believers are still selfish at their core.  A believer, or a church, can get derailed when they make all the decisions based upon selfish desires.

It was great seeing the church in action today.  We got to watch a great Disciple Now video recap highlighting our youth serving the community this weekend.

We also got the privilege to pray for Lander BCM students who have said yes to God’s call to go this summer!  This crew is going to South Carolina to India and everywhere in between.  It was so humbling watch “strangers” come up to these students and pray over them commissioning them out.  Wonderful time!

Today, we worshiped to:

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Book of the Week: Radical

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I had already shared my problems with David Platt’s book, Radical, a few months ago.  Still having a few chapters left at that time, I finished this book this week and still have the same soul-stirring problems when I started it.  Platt is so dedicated to God’s Word and his commission.  I just pray it is contagious in my heart …

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Help for Japan

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My heart has truly burdened by the images across my TV screen concerning the Japanese.  Serving on 2 different trips to this spiritually dark place makes the magnitude of this disaster even harder for me.  But we serve a God who can bring salvation from such disaster! Here’s how you can help!

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