Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast & Blog

Archives for February 2009

Where Are Your Eyes?

Consider this:

“Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated” (Psalm 36:1-2).

Why is there no fear of God?

Because his eyes are on himself.

What is the result?

The voice of transgression speaks loud and clear. Sin is not seen for what it is. Instead of hating sin, it is delighted in.

When the fear of God is set before our eyes we begin to see sin for what it is…and we hate it.

“God, may we fear and reverence your name. May our lives be lived out of a glorious vision of Christ.”


Current Listenings

The Boxer Rebellion “Union” – This is a fantastic album. There is a consistent sonic quality throughout this entire album that is contagious. While they don’t reinvent the wheel, they play their influences extremely well. Sigur Ros meets Arcade Fire meets Coldplay. You will love this.

Bon Iver “Blood Bank EP” – A rather weird EP. Not much here to return to. I loved his first album but this wanders a bit too much and does not engage.

Kristian Stanfill “Attention EP” – Definitely not the best worship music out there, but Kristian has some great energy. Production is a bit excessive here but I love the rendition of “Faithful”, which we’ve been recently singing at our church.

Kari Jobe “Kari Jobe” – A beautiful voice, great album. Surprised to hear her cover the recent scandal song, “Healer”. Still a great song.

Compassion Art – All the top Christian songwriters together in one room writing songs to raise money for the poorest of the poor. Check it out!

The National “Boxer” – This album is a recent inspiration to me. A sound that I’m not used to hearing. I love the baritone vocal and the crazy drums. A rock sound that does not overly rely on electric guitars.

The Listening “Transmission 1” – Can’t wait for the full length album. Outstanding. Enough said.

Young Adult Study Week 2 – "Setting the Scene"

I’m looking forward to our Young Adult study tonight – Setting the Scene – How can I prepare to answer God’s call? Here are some points:

  • Invest Your Heart (Nehemiah 2:1-3) – “Nehemiah’s heart broke because God’s heart broke. We should strive for the same response.”
  • Set Clear Goals (Nehemiah 2:4-8) – “Submission to the Spirit is a must, but it’s faulty thinking to believe the Spirit of God can’t give you a plan to achieve the things of God.”
  • Enlist Support (Nehemiah 2:11-18) – “When you ask people to join you, do it boldly. Everyone who Nehemiah asked to help already had a very full life. He know that they were busy people, but he also know that he couldn’t accomplish what God had called him to accomplish without them.”

"Living the Cross Centered Life" – C.J. Mahaney

Just finished reading this remarkable book. What I loved about it was how practical it was, yet it wasn’t simply ‘self-help’. It was the Gospel. C.J. tells us to view every area of our lives through the lens of the Gospel. Easy to read and extremely challenging.

I wanted to leave you with his 5 points for living a Cross-centered day. As he writes, “A cross-centered life is made up of cross-centered days.”

  1. Memorize the Gospel
  2. Pray the Gospel
  3. Sing the Gospel
  4. Review How the Gospel Has Changed You
  5. Study the Gospel

Every day we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves. In all reality, this may be the most important thing we do.