Song-writing and Lessons from Brainerd

"Oh, that all my late distresses and awful apprehensions might prove but Christ's school to make me fit for greater service, by teaching me the great lesson of humility." The Life and Diary of David Brainerd, April 10, 1742

Without getting into too much detail, this quote struck a chord with me in my present circumstances. It also seems that during these times the creative juices are flowing. The following is a song I wrote regarding the struggles of believing that God will provide.


Provider

I feel weak
from trying to figure out these things
on my own
I am lost on this long road

It seems that weak
is right where You want me to be
for there I see
the Sovereign God above all things

There I know
that the birds who never sow are satisfied
There I know
that my God on high is the One who will provide

So take my faithless heart
and teach me of Your ways
Your people never move or breathe
apart from Sovereign Grace
Take away my pride
You alone are the God who will provide

How foolish of me
to see the God who parts the seas
and not believe
that He is above these petty things

Who am I
to tell the Potter how to design
I praise You God
that Your grace is not fair at all

How do we Really View Worship?

In church, I have always been the guy with the guitar. Worship Leading came about when Student Pastor forced me to lead at summer camp. Now that I am an 'official' Worship Leader (whatever that means!) I have been studying what it means to truly worship God. The following is from a little document for the Worship Ministry at our church. This is what the Bible says. Does it sound like this is how most churches and Christians view worship?


Worship Is…
Definition: “Worship is the extravagant, open enjoyment of God as the fountain of life. And therefore it is a public declaration that God is more to be desired than all the pleasures of this world.”


1.Life

In 1 Corinthians 10:31 the Apostles Paul gives the goal of the Christian life: So, “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We are not to merely glorify God when we sing songs to Him on Sunday mornings. We are not merely to glorify God when we pray or read His word. We are to glorify God in ALL things. When we are driving to work, when we are jogging in the morning, when we are eating dinner, when we are putting the kids to bed, when we are doing homework, when we are giving our tithes and offerings, when we are hearing the word expounded… we are to glorify God.
Isaiah 43:6-7 says, “I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, Whom I formed and made.” When the believer is living a lifestyle of worship to the living God he/she is fulfilling the purpose of life.


2.Corporate

While the New Testament rarely discuss corporate worship in the way we imagine it, the scriptures very clearly point out the importance of gathering regularly to fellowship and lift high the name of Jesus:

1 Corinthians 14:23 speaks of “the whole church gathering together.”

Acts 2:46 speaks of the early church “attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes.”

Hebrews 10:25 speaks of “not neglecting to meet together.”

While corporate worship is important, the believer must never forget that the deciding factor of true worship is one’s inward condition.

Ephesians 5:18-20: And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 4:23-24 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.


3.Fuel For Evangelism and Missions

One of the greatest pictures of worship in the Bible is found in Revelation:

Revelation 7:9-12 “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Since God’s goal is His glory, He longs for the people of all nations to praise His name. With this in mind, worship should not simply be a personal thing. It should stand as the goal of our evangelism and missionary efforts. We should stand before God as Isaiah did in Isaiah 6. After peeking into a heavenly worship session, he responds as every believer should:

Isaiah 6:8 “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me.’”

Fortunately, we don’t have to sit around and wonder what God wants is to do. Jesus made it very clear:

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

In his book Let the Nations be Glad, John Piper points out:

“Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man… Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God… But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching… Missions begins and ends in worship.”

Also, see Bob Kauflin's blog for some great resources and thoughts on worship.

Remember

None is righteous. None close
I am no exception. I am no rose
A spiritual man. Some say I am
If they only knew the blood on my hands
If they only knew of the words of my tongue
That role off in an instant and fire like a gun
The one’s that I love have scars that speak words
The novel of blackness. The prose of the dirt
If they only knew the thoughts of my mind
The stings of the flesh. The endeavors of the blind
All the little secrets that I wish to leave behind
The darkness of the heart may I never again find.
This muck and this mire I must never forget
For it’s truth and it’s darkness and the depth of the pit
Show the great distance from which God has reached down
To save a wicked sinner. To lift dirt from the ground
At the cross of Christ the chief of sinners redeemed
New heart. New eyes. Now glory is seen.
I am worthy only of death. Now receiver of life
He made Him who knew none to endure pain and strife
O how many times I have forgotten
The great sacrifice of His only begotten
Who conquered the grave and was resurrected
Defeater of sin. I am no longer infected
To Him alone. Glory, honor, and praise
I once was blind but now I see. I once was dead. I have been raised.

A Break in the Writer's Block

Lately I've had writers block (not on the blog... I've just been slacking here. Sorry). I haven't been able to write creatively... songs, poems, etc. I've been trying really hard to be creative and that never seems to work. It wasn't until God broke me in two that I felt the honest impulse of creativity... Here is the result. I hope and pray that it encourages my two readers to stop and praise the Glorious God we serve.

Untitled

Holy God
You are King
Sovereign Lord of Everything

Foundations shake
The earth is filled
Woe to me
My sin revealed

The darkness looms
The depths of me
Of pain and death
I am deserving

A burning coal
Against my lips
My sins atoned
A glorious glimpse

…of the one who gave it all
that I may see His glory fall

Holy, holy, holy
By thy glorious grace I worship thee
Adonai who sits enthroned
You are my Lord

Glory, glory, glory
Be to God alone
Adonai who sits enthroned
You are my Lord

Stop Singing to God like He's Your Girlfriend!

I was listening to a popular band that I like and I was bothered by the ambiguous lyrics to a number of their songs. Then I started to think about this trend that's going on in a lot of seeker-friendly churches today. The thought process goes something like this: "This song was most likely written about a girl but we can sing it to God because it talks about love and stuff." I sort of understand that... but not really. There are two major reasons why.

1. If you really love Jesus your going to find a way to sing to Him without having to borrow lyrics from pop-songs. In all seriousness, Christian artists should have the best lyrics (not the cheesiest). After all we are children of God! (1 John 3:1)

2. (This fits better with the particular artist I was listening to.) If you call yourself a Christian artist your listeners shouldn't have to wonder whether or not your talking about God or a girl. If it's about a girl, fine. But if it's about God remember that He is your Lord and Savior, Creator of all the Universe, the Alpha and the Omega, The King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, NOT a girlfriend.

Some may come back and say that the Bible gives the picture of God and the Church as husband and wife. This is plainly true and I am in no way disregarding the intimacy that is required in a relationship with Christ. But the biblical image is of God as the bridegroom, the pursuer and redeemer of his bride (Hosea 3), once again, NOT a girlfriend.

Open the Gates...

7Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
8Who is this King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle!
9Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.
10Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of hosts,
he is the King of glory!
Selah
Psalm 24:7-10


This Psalm was used in corporate worship. Some believe that they actually re-enacted this Psalm at the temple. A group of people would stand outside shouting, "Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in." Those inside would ask, "Who is this King of glory?" Those outside would reply, "The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!" The gates would then open up, representing the people's desire for the presence of God.


THAT'S a worship service.

Glorious One

"You hold the universe and still You run to the broken."

This awesome truth has been pounded into my head over the past week or so. Lately, I have just been awe of the fact that God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, would save a broken sinner like me. I guess I've just been convicted of forgetting such an important truth in the first place. So, children of God (AKA the four of you who read this), don't ever forget that our awesome God runs after unworthy human beings like us.

Kevin

The Lesson

We finished up our last project in Port St. Lucie, FL this morning. I spent this past week reminiscing about the amazing works that God has done throughout the summer. I have seen God transform the lives of countless people... One of them being me. I was thinking today about what God has taught me through all of this. What is the most valuable lesson I have learned? The answer is worship. It sounds funny even to me. I'm a "Worship Leader". I'm supposed to know all of that stuff already right? Over the past two or three years God has really shown me what it is like to be what I like to call a Romans 12:1 worshiper... One who offers himself to God as a living sacrifice. This summer God has reinforced and even revealed more about that important truth.

This past week I met a group leader from upstate New York. He is the Director of Religious Activities at Ft. Drum army base. His youth group is a little different than most in that the students come from several different denominations grounded in basic biblical doctrine. The churches meet at the worship center at different times and different days of the week. James' heart for the students of these congregations is to unite them as Christ followers while keeping them grounded in biblical truth. His heart is also that of a true worshiper. So when he gave me advice before we left today I listened carefully. "You need to stretch yourself, Kevin." I was sort of taken off guard. "You have a great heart for Christ and great talent but you need to stretch yourself. This is something that God has put on my heart to tell you. And when God puts something on my heart to tell someone, I tell them." I thought about his suggestion for a minute and suddenly it clicked. He wasn't giving me this advice to help me become a great musician or anything like that. He was telling me to stretch myself musically because he has a heart, not only to worship God, but to see other people from all different cultures and walks of life worship God also. It made me ask myself the question, "Do you want that, Kevin. Do you long for others to offer themselves as living sacrifices to God." Sometimes... But not enough. In Romans 9 we read of Paul's sorrow for those who don't experience God the way he does. (v3) "For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers and sisters, my kinsmen according to the flesh." Here, Paul is speaking specifically of the chosen nation of Israel. But the biblical truth that we should long for others to know Him the way we know Him is still apparent.

As Christ Followers are we devoted to seeing others serve, know and worship our great God so that His name may be glorified?