37"When Jesus came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38"Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"[b]
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"
39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."Luke 19:37-40
Jesus is worthy to be praised. In fact, it is impossible for Him not to be praised and worshiped. His desire is to be praised by His people, whom he sacrificed His life for on the cross, but we fall short. It's hard to worship God sometimes. We get so caught up in our stress, our doubts, confusion. Our joy and freedom leave us at times and we have nothing to give. But, when we fail to praise Him, He remains the same. His very own creation never ceases to praise Him. God is always there. He never tires. He never gets sick of hearing our praises, He desperately longs for them. Let us never cease to give God the praise He so much deserves!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Worship Style Craze!
When it comes to the topic of worship style in the church, Joe Horness has some great things to say in the book "Exploring the Worship Spectrum." Here is what he says:
"...if I'm really honest, I do not think that God is overly concerned about whether we are singing a chorus or a hymn. And I do not think he really cares whether you are playing the organ or the drums..." "What I think He cares about is the disengaged heart. I do not think that he is particularly interested in our theories or techniques of worship except as they are effective in genuinely drawing hearts to him. Worship that is not heartfelt and authentic simply does not interest him." (pg.102)
He goes on the explain the heart behind the contemporary worship style:
"This passion to see hearts fully engaged, to radically eliminate dutiful, going-through-the-motions song times, and to bring people into a powerful time of relationship with our living God is what is at the heart of contemporary worship renewal. At its best, contemporary worship was born not simply out a of a desire to swap the organ for a guitar, but out of an intense longing to somehow move from the casual, disinterested reciting of creeds and singing hymns into an authentic time of loving and grateful interaction with the One who shed his blood for us."
To me this reminds me that worship is ultimately about the heart. God is pleased when our heart and mind are engaged with Him and loving on Him. So, what if that means that God gives us the ability to worship Him through any kind of worship music style we find ourselves in?
Food for thought...more to come...
"...if I'm really honest, I do not think that God is overly concerned about whether we are singing a chorus or a hymn. And I do not think he really cares whether you are playing the organ or the drums..." "What I think He cares about is the disengaged heart. I do not think that he is particularly interested in our theories or techniques of worship except as they are effective in genuinely drawing hearts to him. Worship that is not heartfelt and authentic simply does not interest him." (pg.102)
He goes on the explain the heart behind the contemporary worship style:
"This passion to see hearts fully engaged, to radically eliminate dutiful, going-through-the-motions song times, and to bring people into a powerful time of relationship with our living God is what is at the heart of contemporary worship renewal. At its best, contemporary worship was born not simply out a of a desire to swap the organ for a guitar, but out of an intense longing to somehow move from the casual, disinterested reciting of creeds and singing hymns into an authentic time of loving and grateful interaction with the One who shed his blood for us."
To me this reminds me that worship is ultimately about the heart. God is pleased when our heart and mind are engaged with Him and loving on Him. So, what if that means that God gives us the ability to worship Him through any kind of worship music style we find ourselves in?
Food for thought...more to come...
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Sarah Reeves
Sarah Reeves is a young musician/songwriter/worship leader whom I admire and relate with. Check out her music and her story on her MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sarahreevesmusic
She has such an anointing and testimony! One of my favorite songs is "Sweet Sweet Sound"
Worshiper of Influence,
Esther Joy
She has such an anointing and testimony! One of my favorite songs is "Sweet Sweet Sound"
Worshiper of Influence,
Esther Joy
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