Javalujah!

Word Wednesday .::34

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Mark 13:31 ESV

"Heaven and earth will passaway, but my words will not pass away."

Yes, we are prone to worry and fret, but in the light of God's promise, we don't have to. This is the kind of stuff that sustains joy in our life.


What's your Word?

Worship Confessional 02.22.09

Set List w/Itunes:
Father of Lights - Brian Doerksen
Blessed Be Your Name - Matt Redman
You Gave Your Life Away - Paul Baloche
I Surrender All - HYMN



Also a contribution to Sunday Setlist.

Word Wednesday .::33

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Sorry this is a day late...I had a crazy two days.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Mark 7:6-8 ESV

6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

“‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

I heard John Piper speak on this one time. He pointed out that doctrine without passion is short of true worship, and vice-versa. It's great to study God's Word and to have a solid doctrine, but it's equally as important to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul. It makes me wonder if you really can have a sound doctrine and not understand that principle.

What's your Word?

25 things I hate about facebook

Did he miss anything?

Movie Monday XV

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. I'm a big fan of the cinema, so I decided to break up the Monday blues by talking about movies.

It's Presidents Day, so...

What's your favorite Presidential movie?

I loved the movie Thirteen Days. Great flick about Kennedy and the Cuban missile crisis.


your turn...

Worship Confessional 02.15.09

A day late, but here we go:



Set List w/Itunes links:
Today is the Day - Lincoln Brewster
Today - Brian Doerksen
Whole World in His Hands - Tim Hughes
You Never Let Go - Matt Redman

Also a part of Sunday Setlist.

NBA All-Star Weekend!

If you're watching the All-Star game this weekend...
...are you picking the East or the West?

Words to live by

Here's a few I've learned and recite:

"Pick your battles."
"Think before you speak."
"A soft answer turns away wrath." - Proverbs 15
"Always do the right thing."
"Out of sight, out of mind."

Just a few. So, now it's everyone else's turn. Share the wisdom. Let's hear it.

What are some words to live by?

Word Wednesday .::32

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Matthew 27 ESV

Click here to read the whole chapter.

The story of Jesus' trial and crucifixion. All I can say is, may this story never, ever become just a Bible story to me. May I not only know and understand what happened, but may I also be fueled on to a life of worship because of it. What a love. I like the lyric from Tim Hughes that says "May I never lose the wonder of the blood You shed for me..."


What's your Word?

How rich are you?

Click here to find out how rich you are.

Movie Monday XIV

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. I'm a big fan of the cinema, so I decided to break up the Monday blues by talking about movies.

My wife took my son to go see "Hotel for Dogs" this weekend. Riveting, I'm sure. Not a big fan of these kind of movies.

What's your favorite live action animal movie?

This is tough. I'm not a huge fan of the live action animal genre. I guess mine would be "Cats & Dogs". It made me laugh.


your turn...

Worship Confessional 02.08.09

Set List w/Itunes links:
Everything Glorious - DCB
Amazing Grace (Chains) - Tomlin
You Gave Your Life Away - Baloche
Enough - Tomlin

Also a contribution to Sunday Setlists.

Compassion Art

Just wanted to help broadcast about a great new project called Compassion Art. Some of the greatest songwriter/worship artists out there came together to do something about social justice and world poverty. They decided to do what they do best: write great worship songs. The beauty of it is that they are getting $0 from this project. All of the revenue raised from this project goes to Compassion Art. The songwriters have completely waived the royalties and copyright and donated it all to Compassion Art. Click here to find out more. It's on Itunes...I'm gonna go download it now.

Word Wednesday .::31

Word Wednesday is posted every Wednesday. Each week I post a scripture that I've read that week that has spoken to me in a fresh way. I believe that if we read God's Word every day, He will give us at least one scripture every week that will impact us. Sharing Scripture with each other is like iron sharpening iron. Leave a comment and share a scripture that has impacted you this week.

Here's the scripture that stuck this week:

Matthew 12:33-37 ESV

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Ouch...this one hurt so good. One of the biggest lies we learn growing up is, "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me!" Words hurt, sometimes more than anything else. James says the tongue is a very powerful member of the body. As Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, I feel him talking to me sometimes. Words are powerful, yes, but they're also very revealing. If we just stop and listen to ourselves, we can evaluate ourselves. Are we truthful or deceiving? Are we kind or malicious? Are we encouraging or discouraging? It's definitely good to watch what we say, but let's look at our words so deeply, that we can see our hearts.


What's your Word?

Songwriting::::INSPIRATION

These posts on songwriting are not written from a professional point of view. These are just my thoughts as I experience new aspects of the craft. The best part of these posts will be your input.

Whenever I hear a new song that just blows me away, my first thought is always the same. "What was going on inside of them when the author wrote that?" It's so cool to study the origins of the old hymns of our faith, and learn what inspired them as they wrote those timeless lyrics. I also love hearing the stories behind the modern hymn writer's songs. Think about it. Is there anything better in worship music than a truly inspired song? It can be so deep.
As songwriters, inspiration can pop up from everywhere. Sometimes it pops up in everyday stuff or watching TV. I wrote a song one time after watching Oprah. I remember Lisa Marie Presley was on talking about how she never really denying her identity as "Elvis' daughter". She said, "Denying him is denying a part of myself." I immediately thought of our Heavenly Father, and how He is the biggest part of us and our existence.
One of my recent songs, that is a favorite at our church, is called "Beautiful Scene". That came out of a staff meeting where someone was sharing a highlight from a book he was reading that had the phrase "beautiful scene" in it. It was truly a moment from God, and I immediately heard the melody line and the lyrics sitting there. I think I literally ran to my office after the meeting to start working on it.
I've written songs in the midst of a prayer. I would be praying and something would come out and I would stop praying and begin to write this prayer in the form of a song.
I still think my favorite songs are scripture songs. Those songs that God gives us as we obediently study His Word. When I first started writing, I was immediately inspired by Matt Redman and his numerous worship songs that are traced to a scripture.
Sometimes, I'm inspired while listening to other songs. Recently, I wrote a song called "Jesus Christ" after listening to "Creed" by Rich Mullins. I suddenly felt the urge to write a doctrinal-centered song about our Savior.
Then, we have the songs from the Spirit. The Apostle Paul calls them "spiritual songs". These are songs that you just can't explain. They just come out. The song "Breathe", by Marie Barnett, is one of those songs. It was birthed in the middle of a worship service and they just went with it. Now, it's sung in churches all over the world. These songs are truly gifts from God.
Like I said, inspiration can come from anywhere. We just have to be aware, and be willing to respond to the inspiration we receive. In contrast, there are times where we may force songs out. This is when we try write something that we don't have yet. For me, I'm becoming more and more aware of these moments, and I do what I can to resist them. Lately, I've been learning to write about something that's been stirring inside of me currently. Usually, it's something that I've been thinking about a lot, so there's a lot of ideas.
Inspiration brings flavor to a song. It takes it from commonplace to original and organic.

What inspires you?

Bethany Praise Team

I wanted to give a shout out to the praise team that God has given me to work with at our church. All of them are volunteer, they love God, and they minister to our church every week faithfully. We have great chemistry. I couldn't tell you of time where I've had to handle any ego problems or pride. They give God and our church their best week after week. They do it for the right reasons and that means so much. Here is a video of us playing at church:



This is also a part of Positive Post Tuesday.

Movie Monday XIII

This is a post that you can participate in on every Monday. I'm a big fan of the cinema, so I decided to break up the Monday blues by talking about movies.

Yesterday, I watched an extensive interview with Eddie Murphy. Very interesting stuff. Funny guy. He's also had a couple really good remakes of the Nutty Professor and Dr. Doolittle. So...

What's your favorite remake of a movie?

I'm gonna go with the remake of "Cape Fear" with DeNiro. Very scary flick. Much more intense than the original.


your turn...

Worship Confessional 02.01.09

Set List w/Itunes links:
He Reigns - Newsboys
Alleluia (Our Praise is) - mine
How Great is our God - Chris Tomlin
I Give You My Heart - Reuben Morgan

This is also a contribution to Sunday Setlist.