Beyond Sunday Worship

Worship Podcast & Blog

Archives for September 2010

5 Worship Albums You Need to Hear (if you want to)

1. Elevation Worship “Kingdom Come” – A sick worship album from the boys down in North Carolina. Inspired by how this team works with their senior pastor Steven Furtick to reach their city and inspire faith. Great production, great songs.

2. All the Bright Lights – Though not a worship album per se, I recommend this album for your personal worship. Instrumental, gentle, epic, cool. Enjoy.

3. Casey Darnell “EP” – Absolutely love this. Of the 5 songs here I wish I could lead all of them. Truly heartfelt songs and a great voice.

4. One Sonic Society “EP” – Love the tunes on this record. A couple are also found on the new Hillsong record. Really strong lyrics and a cool vibe.

5. Always been a fan of Charlie Hall. While his songs are not easily singable, nor the most corporate, they are super challenging, cool, and prophetic. His lyrics are not typical and are always refreshing.

Why Does God Want Us To Sing?

Whenever I run into you at the grocery store, I don’t burst into song.

Whenever I come to your house, I don’t cross the threshold singing “You Are Great”.

It’s not that I don’t like you; actually, you’re pretty swell. But why is it that when it comes to God, we sing?

Why does Scripture even place such a huge emphasis on “singing unto the Lord?”

Why don’t we just recite the facts and get it done?

Bob Kauflin has some helpful thoughts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBJ348bebnY

I also love how John Piper says it:

“God is so great that thinking will not suffice, there must be deep feeling; and talking will not suffice, there must be singing.”

The Gospel is not merely meant to be thought about. Or analyzed. Or debated. It should cause you to worship.

When we begin to understand the glories of God, we respond with love and adoration.

We can’t just know the facts about God. We need to worship.

Question: What are your thoughts? Why does God want us to sing? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

How do you keep it fresh?

Your ministry, that is.

Do you just show up and do it?

Do you fast and pray?

Do you spend a lot of time preparing music?

I’d love to share a few things I do, but I want to hear from you worship leaders or even preachers out there. How do you prepare your heart to do what God has called you to do? Much of what we do is based on routine. How do you keep it fresh and ensure you’re depending on the Holy Spirit each time?

DS

Niagara Falls, Chipotle Burritos, and Loving God

No matter how many times I look at pictures of the Grand Canyon, or Niagara Falls, or the ten second “moment of silence” before a Chipotle burrito consumption, it never gets old. In my book, there is something amazing about those things. While deep down I know they’re not, there still seems to be a transcendence about them. There’s a “wow” factor.

I know, you think it’s ridiculous that I mentioned Chipotle burritos. I need to get a life, right? No, my friend, you need to get a life if you even thought such a thing. Chipotle burritos need no explanation.

Why is it that we tend to get “bored” with God? Why is it that most of the time we simply buckle down and bust through our Christian routines? What happens to our passion over time? When does this thing go from transcendent privilege to a to-do list?

One of the greatest challenges in our day is staying in tune with what really matters. We are bombarded by our culture, by the media, by our friends, to keep our eyes on the temporal. Clothes, TV shows, new gadgets, social media, sports, any number of things. While we may not outright worship these things, they are great band aids. They cover up the barrenness of our hearts. And they feel good. They keep me from having to face my sin.

If we took all that stuff away, it would be us and God. And that seems a little freaky. But in order to grow a deeper love for God we need to be looking for Him. If you need to find your missing car keys, you’re not going to find them unless you look for them. Profound, isn’t it?

Here are some ways I think we can “look” for God more consistently…and enjoy, worship, and love Him more frequently:

  • Read – To start, take one or two nights a week and turn off the TV. Develop in yourself a voracious appetite to learn more about Jesus. This will fuel your love for Him. Read great biographies of men & women of God. Read the Bible. Read good books that turn your attention to God. Not a reader, you say? You can become one. It may just take time to develop a passion for it. Once the Holy Spirit starts revealing truth to your heart, you won’t be able to get enough.
  • Talk about God – This is becoming increasingly rare and awkward in our culture to do this. We spend so much time with friends but usually just keep our conversations confined to the “random” and “goofy” camp. I’m all about that. But let’s not forget the power of our words and the effect they have on others. Get together with a good friend and talk about Jesus in everyday life.
  • Obey God. Feel like your passion for God is weak? It may be because you haven’t obeyed Him in a while. Go and do the will of God. Go serve in a local soup kitchen. Serve in your local church. Share Jesus with an unbeliever. Go pray for someone. It’s amazing what obeying God will do to your spirit. When you experience the moving of the Holy Spirit through your life, you’ll never be the same.
  • Worship God – get alone and simply worship. It’s amazing what the presence of God will do to a weary soul. The difficulty here is that we’re not usually alone enough to make this happen. And we have too many distracting noises. Turn off the TV again, put on some good worship music, and have at it.

These are by no means the only way to grow a deeper love for God. Just some practical things I try to do throughout my week. When I do these consistently, I’m consistently “amazed” by God. The “wow” factor is there.

What would you add?

The Heart of Worship: Loving God

Imagine if you had the audacity to approach a guy/girl you were interested in and say, “You will love me. You will marry me. That’s just the way it is.”

After a slap in the face you both would be on your way, probably never to speak again. You and I just don’t do that. If you do, you may need a crash course in people skills.

But what about a Scripture verse like this: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). Is this the same sort of thing?

This verse is the great commandment. We’ve all heard it. We all know it. But do we realize this is a commandment? This is not a “if you feel like it, love me”. This is a “do or die” sort of thing. It’s in the syllabus. Not only is loving God supposed to be our joy, but it’s also our duty. Does this trouble you in the same way the “you will marry me” scenario does? Probably not. But why?

I believe it comes to down to the fact that there is no-one or no-thing like God. He is completely “other than” anything we’ve ever known. We relate to Him in human terms because that’s all we know. But he is set apart, different, holy, worthy, and a gazillion other attributes that even eternity will struggle to unravel. Because He created us, we love Him.

But that’s not the whole picture.

David said in Psalm 116, “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.” It all starts with loving Him for WHO He is, but it get’s personal too. We love Him for WHAT He has done for us. The goodness and kindness of God to me, a wretched sinner, is absolutely mind blowing.

Good worship leaders lead worship because they love God. Not because they are gifted or popular or musical. They love God so much that they enjoy directing attention to His glory, His grace, and His goodness.