Last night, about a half dozen toddlers began dancing in the front of the church when the band started playing Phil Wickham’s song “Divine Romance.” It was great. One of them can’t even walk yet. But she is able to stand on her own. So she stood in one place and moved her torso and arms [...]
Archive for the 'Worship' Category
Grace without measure, Mercy ever-flowing, Love beyond pleasure, Rising up and growing, Neither ceasing nor slowing. Peace deep in my soul, Beyond comprehension, Rest when I lose control, When I sense life’s tension Breeding apprehension. When caught in this strife, I have a thread of hope, The promise of eternal life, That goes [...]
Man of sorrows, enduring Savior, Object of God’s wrath and favor, Anguish and joy, distinctive savor, The paradox of the cross. What a range of emotion you feel, In the garden, a final appeal As the moment itself becomes real, Faced with the depth of loss. When your closest friends forsake you, [...]
“And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward” (Isaiah 37.21 ESV) . …take root downward…bear fruit upward. This is the secret of a healthy spiritual life. The fruit of the Spirit is not a checklist of things I should be doing, or how I should be [...]
Many people give something up for lent. Here is the discipline that I will be engaged in for the next forty days. Scot McKnight, author, teacher and prolific blogger, has given us this challenge from his blog, Jesus Creed: I am asking my blog’s readers to consider a challenge for Lent. No, it is not [...]
Who am I? That you would extend such love? Redemption I’m not worthy of? Who am I? I repay your mercy With needing more. I repay with cursing Blessings outpoured. Who am I? That you would extend such love? Redemption I’m not worthy of? Who am I? I repay your grace With [...]
you came to save
Posted in Faith, Missional, Poetry, Worship on Dec 25th, 2007
“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10) You came as a babe To seek and to save, The leper, the lame, the lost. You [...]
Your love poured out From hate-inflicted wounds New life burst forth From that borrowed tomb Your heart of love Birthed love as from a womb, Your songs of hope Drown out all other tunes. Your peace overtakes My turmoil like a flood, Your grace-opened gates Release sin-cleansing blood, Your joy opens hearts Like spring-time [...]
there is no pit
Posted in Missional, Poetry, Quotes, Worship on Dec 3rd, 2007
In “The Hiding Place,” just before Betsy ten Boom died in the concentration camp, she looked her sister Corrie in the eye and feebly said, “…must tell people what we have learned here. We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. They will listen to us, [...]
On Sunday, our pastor’s key passage of scripture for his sermon was I Corinthians 6:19-20 which reads, “…do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your [...]