I love the title of our current series at Bell Creek! I am also being heartily challenged by it's content.
I have been feeling the effects of doing things under my own strength recently, I need to change. I need to reset my priorities. I know that our ministry needs to flow from the overflow of our relationship with the Lord but sometimes, perhaps in the face of a hectic schedule or some outside circumstance, especially when there is a certain structure to follow or a grove to fall in to, it is possible to just go through the motions. I don't want to be found going through the motions we can't afford it!
The Lord wants our whole hearts!
I have started and stopped and started again reading through the Bible this year. I know that I am not faithful to follow through with so many of my stated intentions.
I know that I must, rather, focus on drawing nearer to the Lord. It isn't about the rules that I follow but rather the evidences of my conduct which are revealing my desire!
Lord, be my desire this week!
Take Care,
Grant
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Reading the Bible in One Year
I know it is already January 6th. I am a little slow getting the new year resolutions moving forward. I always have slightly mixed feelings about embracing New Years resolutions as they tend to just provide another example of my own inability to follow through with anything. And really if we are looking for fresh starts then we don't have to wait for the coming of a new year.
As the song/psalm goes...
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning
New every morning
Great is Thy faithfulness O Lord
Great is Thy faithfulness
There is no escaping, however, the feeling that things can start again with the new year and what is wrong with embracing the circumstances that can give us a little more motivation to make the changes we would wish to see?
Phil 2:12b-13 says we should "..continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose"
So embracing the fresh start of a new year and a christmas gift from Jason of a really great new Bible I am endeavering to read through the whole bble in a year. I have no intention of being a show off in blogging about it, but I do hope that writing about the process might give me some acountability as I attempt to draw nearer to the Lord this year through time in the word.
My secondary hopes are that it may be a springboard to my worship thoughts and filter its way into a fresh experience of worshiping together as a worship team serving the church and as a congregation worshiping and witnessing in our community.
Hopefully more to come soon!
Grant
As the song/psalm goes...
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases
His mercies never come to an end
They are new every morning
New every morning
Great is Thy faithfulness O Lord
Great is Thy faithfulness
There is no escaping, however, the feeling that things can start again with the new year and what is wrong with embracing the circumstances that can give us a little more motivation to make the changes we would wish to see?
Phil 2:12b-13 says we should "..continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose"
So embracing the fresh start of a new year and a christmas gift from Jason of a really great new Bible I am endeavering to read through the whole bble in a year. I have no intention of being a show off in blogging about it, but I do hope that writing about the process might give me some acountability as I attempt to draw nearer to the Lord this year through time in the word.
My secondary hopes are that it may be a springboard to my worship thoughts and filter its way into a fresh experience of worshiping together as a worship team serving the church and as a congregation worshiping and witnessing in our community.
Hopefully more to come soon!
Grant
Friday, September 05, 2008
Worship is more meaningful in community
Well, its been 2 1/2 years since my last post. What a complete false start that was. So here we go again... some thoughts to ponder pertaining to my/our experience of Worship...
Tonight, Kristin and I went to see two legends in Christian music. The second half of the bill was particularly presented as worship. It was presented pretty well, actually, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was paying top dollar for something that I could get for free at Bell Creek. For many in attendance, it was obviously a powerful experience- being in a large group and having such an accomplished musician to facilitate. But for me I was thinking about my community and what happens when we worship our Creator and magnify Him in our rented high school auditorium in Livonia.
Those moments and songs when we have experienced the awe of worship together, when we assemble to encourage one another and be taught and share fellowship with one another. I think they are more meaningful because we know each other. We are involved in each others lives. As our pastor Joel would put it, we carry the stink of hanging out with all the other sheep in the flock.
I thank God that He has given me community. I thank God that he has designed us to function as one body and equipped us to minister to one another uniquely.
I look forward to worshiping together this sunday!
Tonight, Kristin and I went to see two legends in Christian music. The second half of the bill was particularly presented as worship. It was presented pretty well, actually, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was paying top dollar for something that I could get for free at Bell Creek. For many in attendance, it was obviously a powerful experience- being in a large group and having such an accomplished musician to facilitate. But for me I was thinking about my community and what happens when we worship our Creator and magnify Him in our rented high school auditorium in Livonia.
Those moments and songs when we have experienced the awe of worship together, when we assemble to encourage one another and be taught and share fellowship with one another. I think they are more meaningful because we know each other. We are involved in each others lives. As our pastor Joel would put it, we carry the stink of hanging out with all the other sheep in the flock.
I thank God that He has given me community. I thank God that he has designed us to function as one body and equipped us to minister to one another uniquely.
I look forward to worshiping together this sunday!
Monday, January 09, 2006
Nice Job on worship today band
It was really fun to worship with you all today!
Nice to have Christy back also.
Quote from Joel for the week:
"there is nothing worse than rotten fruit"
There may infact be some things worse than rotten fruit, but our worship team is not one of those things!!!
Take care
Grant
Nice to have Christy back also.
Quote from Joel for the week:
"there is nothing worse than rotten fruit"
There may infact be some things worse than rotten fruit, but our worship team is not one of those things!!!
Take care
Grant
Examine, explore, sing, shout, work hard, be righteouss and let it all hang out!
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy. (NIV)
Psalm 33:1-3 has been my motivation for creatively responding to the goodness and grace of God for the last 7 or so years of my life. My good freind Rodney and I wrote a very average song in response to the first half of the psalm.
Rejoice in God, O you righteous
Sanctified, make melody to Him
Play the harp, sing new songs
Worship Him with shouts of joy
For the word of the Lord is good
And all His works are done in truth
The Lord loves righteousness and justice
The earth is filled with the goodness of God
... and so on...
The song was rubbish but it expressed our connection and response to truth and commandments in His word. And if our hearts were in the right place then I know that it was an offering that He delighted in. Not because we knew anything about writing a song but because i've always believed that God inhabits the praises of his people (psalm 22:3) and we were really praising.
Since then, I have thought alot, prayed about and, more recently, read some really good articles about this passage in scripture. It has become a bedrock for my worship/music/art philosphy and practice.
Psalm 33:1- 3 tells me that I am to:
1) Rejoice in God and respond to Him - If I am in Christs love then I have been made righteous
2) Shake everything I've got [Maceo Parker - "Life on Planet Groove" reference] - Use any and all mediums and resources that I can to enhance my worship and increase the glory of God
3) Be Creative - Sing a new song! write something down! engage myself in responding
4) Be Excellent - Most skills are developed from a commitment to practice and refinement.
5) Be exhuberent!
more to come... maybe
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Welcome to the back wash!
Hey!
Welcome to the home of Bell Creek Community Church Worship Team online. Basically this is where we want to create a forum for everything to do with the worship of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Maker of all things and Lover of our souls!
It might also turn into a hub for the dissemination of weekly information about worship team stuff like what songs we are doing, what to bring to practice etc,
but we'll see about that. This is my first attempt at creating a blogg!
If you are a guest then check out our church home at www.bellcreek.org
take care (lest you fall)
grant
Welcome to the home of Bell Creek Community Church Worship Team online. Basically this is where we want to create a forum for everything to do with the worship of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Maker of all things and Lover of our souls!
It might also turn into a hub for the dissemination of weekly information about worship team stuff like what songs we are doing, what to bring to practice etc,
but we'll see about that. This is my first attempt at creating a blogg!
If you are a guest then check out our church home at www.bellcreek.org
take care (lest you fall)
grant
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