Sunday Setlist 07.29.12

-Holy
-Our God Saves
-At Your Name
-Uncreated One

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

Word Wednesday.::205

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:

I Samuel 3:17-18 NKJV

¹⁷ And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” ¹⁸ Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

After Samuel gets God's message of Eli's demise & gives it to Eli, the response shows true faith on the part of Eli. Eli recognizes that this is God (LORD in all caps represents major reverence on Eli's part) & then he surrender's to God's will. Great faith.

What's your Word?

Radiance

Just recently introduced "Radiance" to The Orchard Church. This is from this past Sunday...

 


Download "Radiance" on iTunes

Chord Chart available at garydurbin.com

Word Wednesday.::204

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:

Judges 16:15-17 NKJV

¹⁵ Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, ¹⁷ that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”

We are pestered by what we allow to pester us. With Samson, his destruction came down to his own choices, which he didn't do to well with. May we keep with God and not give to our own destruction.

What's your Word?

Sunday Setlist 07.15.12

-Today is the Day
-Like a Lion
-'Til I See You
-Radiance

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.

I wish I would've thought of this...

Warning: there's some cursing...

Tattoo #2

So, I got the itch for another tattoo. The first one I got was for my brother's wedding...just a small one on my upper arm. At the beginning of this year, I decided I would get another one on vacation, but.....what to get and where?

I decided on the inside of my left forearm was the "where". As far as the "what"....I definitely knew I wanted something that meant something and was a bit unique. I finally decided on the letter "J". I absolutely love my family, which is....Jennifer, Joshua and Jade. My wife is the greatest woman on earth and my kids are amazing.

Not to mention the deepest and obvious meaning....Jesus.

I also decided to pick a font that fit me and had a design feel. I think the font is legible, yet will cause some discussion as I talk to people.

All those elements put together and you have my tattoo #2.

Jesus, Jennifer, Joshua, Jade.......the loves of my life.

As an added bonus, I thought I could finally be on the "J Team" in my house, but after I asked my daughter, she said that I wasn't in still, because I didn't "J" in my name....I guess enduring a tattoo wasn't good enough for her. :)

I got my tattoo on vacation at Black Orchid Tattoo in Savannah, GA. Great place, great artist.

Here's a quick video of the experience...

Word Wednesday.::203

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:

Judges 10:13-14 NKJV

¹³ Yet you have forsaken Me and served other gods. Therefore I will deliver you no more. ¹⁴ “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress.”

Any time you see the wrath of God, you know idolatry is the reason. Idolatry is the dumbest thing anyone could do, especially in the presence of the living, God Almighty Creator. This is a scary response from God that I never want to hear.

What's your Word?

Man Candles

Word Wednesday.::202

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:

Joshua 23:6 NKJV

"Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left"

Balance is great...extremes are horrible. When we're off-balanced, we'll eventually fall. God's Word keeps us balanced.

What's your Word?

Album Review - 25 Songs that Changed the Way We Worship

25 Songs that Changed the Way We Worship - Compilation

Think back to the first time you were impacted by worship music. Think about the song or songs that rocked your world and heart for God. Chances are, you probably heard a song from the Integrity Music label. I know I did. The first time I connected with God in worship, the song was "Shout to the Lord". Thanks to Integrity Music publishing that amazing song from Hillsong, many people were introduced to power of corporate worship.

Now, Integrity is celebrating 25 years by putting out this project called, 25 Songs that Changed the Way We Worship. A lot of times labels put out compilations like this and its usually safe to just keep on walking, but not this project. I can say its truly legit as I go through this amazing list of songs. Just check out the track listing below. The list speaks for itself. Thank you Integrity Music for being such a consistent resource for the local church. Congratulations on 25 years and on this latest compilation!



Track Listing:

CD One:
1. Open The Eyes Of My Heart – Paul Baloche
2. Give Thanks – Don Moen
3. Above All – Lenny LeBlanc
4. I Exalt Thee – Pete Sanchez, Jr.
5. Be Magnified – Randy Rothwell
6. Shout To The Lord – Darlene Zschech
7. God Will Make A Way – Don Moen
8. There Is None Like You – Lenny Le Blanc
9. I Worship You Almighty God – Leann Albrecht
10. Awesome In The Place – Kent Henry
11. Ancient Of Days – Ron Kenoly
12. Days Of Elijah – Robin Mark

CD Two:
1. Hosanna – Paul Baloche
2. Friend Of God – Lakewood Church
3. Love The Lord – Lincoln Brewster
4. Your Name – Paul Baloche
5. Lord Have Mercy – Eoghan Heaslip
6. Healer – Kari Jobe
7. Today Is The Day – Lincoln Brewster
8. I Am Free – New Life Worship
9. Trading My Sorrows – Darrell Evans
10. You Are Good – Lakewood Church
11. Revelation Song – Gateway Worship
12. My Savior Lives – New Life Worship
13. How He Loves – John Mark McMillan


Bonus DVD:
1. Today Is The Day – Lincoln Brewster
2. Ancient Of Days – Ron Kenoly

3. Praise Adonai – Paul Wilbur
4. Jesus At The Center Of It All – Israel Houghton
5. My Savior Lives – New Life Worship
6. How He Loves – John Mark McMillan
7. There Is None Like You – Lenny LeBlanc
8. God Will Make A Way – Don Moen
9. Revelation Song – Gateway Worship with Kari Jobe
10. Today – Brian Doerksen

Latin Worship:
11. El Nos Ama – Christine D’Clario
12. Si Acaso se Me Olvida – Jacobo Ramos
13. Salmo 84 – Danilo Montero
14. 25 Years Of Worship (Artist Interviews)

Bonus Songs:
15. The Same Love – Paul Baloche
16. O the Blood – Gateway Worship with Kari Jobe
17. Great I Am – New Life Worship with Jared Anderson

Get it today on iTunes

DJ or Worship Leader?

I've been in church my entire life. I've had many different perspectives and experiences in all kinds of churches and settings. At an early age I knew that God was calling me to be a church leader, and more specifically, a worship leader. An important part of being a worship leader is heading up the song selection for weekly worship services. Click here to read a previous post on my song selection philosophy.

In this post, I want to compare song selection from two different perspectives: a DJ and a Worship Leader.

DJ
A DJ, or "disc jockey, is a person who selects and plays songs for an audience. Their job is to pick songs that the majority of their audience will want and approve of. A DJ is a very influential position. They can control the mood of a car, household, restaurant, wedding reception, school dance, etc.

Worship Leader
A worship leader is a person who selects and plays songs for worshipers. Their job is to pick songs that their crowd needs to sing and that God approves of. A worship leader is also a very influential position. The songs that they pick can ready hearts, inspire lives and teach specific doctrines.

Here's the conflict....as worship leaders, do we give people what they want or what they need?

In other words, are you a DJ or a worship leader?

If you're a worship leader in a church, you have probably received your fair share of song requests. Thanks to email and social media, it's even easier to submit requests. I personally don't have any problem listening to requests. I've truly learned the value of listening to people. I've even picked up a few songs along the way. The problem comes with the pressure to play requested songs. As a worship leader, its so vital that we don't become DJ's when it comes to taking requests and selecting songs.

A good DJ is going to pick songs that their audience wants, not what he or she thinks they need to hear. Why? Because it's all about numbers and ratings. If they don't, they'll hurt their station or business.

A good Worship Leader is going to pick songs that their church needs, not what the church wants. Again, this doesn't mean that the worship leader should stop listening to requests, but they have to be responsible and Spirit-led as they select songs for the church.

Why?

Because, if we as worship leaders pick songs based on what people want, we will eventually find ourselves leading people trained in self-centeredness instead of righteousness.

" All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"
               II Timothy 3:16 nkjv

As worship leaders, we need to feel that responsibility. Song selection is vital because it plays into discipleship of the church. Yikes!

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
           John 4:24 nkjv

To break it down and simplify it, we need to be mindful of two areas as we lead worship and pick songs.

1. Doctrinal
Like it or not, most church people walk away from church remembering songs as much or more than sermons. It's easier to remember songs, because of the power of music. That's how we all know our ABC's. That's where the responsibility of song selection becomes heavy. As a worship leader, I have to remember that the lyrics of the songs that we sing regularly in church, plays a part in teaching doctrine. There's been a lot of people with unbiblical beliefs because of some unbiblical songs they grew up singing in church. That's why it's so important for worship leaders to be in God's Word consistently. Check out Joshua 1:8. The first book I read on worship leading started by telling me that worship leaders need to strive to be theologians. The more worship leaders study God's Word, the more Biblically and doctrinally sound worship sets will be, which will only help in the discipleship of our churches and will also lead to us saying no to some popular songs on Christian radio.

2. Spiritual
"no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit." I Corinthians 12:3 nkjv
Without the Spirit, we can't worship. Being that the Holy Spirit is the true worship leader, we as worship leaders need to be in tune with Him, needless to say. If we're not careful, our worship services can become very unspiritual. We can pick songs that are new, popular or that we like, and the church will be happy and might even like us more. But what's the cost? The cost is that people are in control instead of the Holy Spirit. When that happens, say good-bye to the spiritual part of church. We need to sing songs that we need to sing in church...not what we want to sing. The church needs to be Spirit-led and Spirit-filled. It needs to be Spiritual. We, as people, get in trouble when we live life by our wants and not our needs. Worship leaders need to be Spirit-led, not only during the service, but also before the service as we prepare our heart and pick the songs.


So worship leaders.......Are you a DJ or a worship leader? Do you give people what they want or what they need in church? More than ever, our churches need to sing songs that are doctrinally sound and Spirit-led. We need God. We need to grow in our faith. What we want is second at best.

Sunday Setlist 07.01.12

-Open the Eyes of My Heart
-Beautiful Scene
-Our God
-Everlasting God

Flow Sheet from Planning Center

Also part of Sunday Setlist.