Who? Week Three – Who we must become.
Posted by Chris G | Filed under listen.
In our walk with Christ I believe that it is essential to see ourselves as He sees us; to know His intent for our lives and what He desires for us and of us. Over the last couple of weeks we have covered some amazing ground. We have talked about Who we were created to BE, Who we ARE and Who we must BECOME.
Listen to or download the message.
Who are You becoming? Big question right? It is one we all wonder to ourselves. But whether our lives are planned or lived in the day to day, there is a part of us all that longs to Know and see what we will become.
We know that God created us in His image (character) to have relationship (intimacy) with Him, but Do we understand just what that means?
Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm,then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Alright God, but Freedom from what ? I mean I live in the US right? Is that not freedom?
I believe that Jesus did not come with the intent to free our flesh as the Jews had thought for so long, but to Free our soul, the very essence of Who We Are. What’s happening here is we as believers often profess that Jesus is the Son of the Most High but we live our lives guided by the Law. We spend so much of our lives trying to get it right, yet by trying to “get it right,” we are pursuing righteousness with God through Our own accord, the very mentality that Jesus came against. In Ephesians 2:8-10 It says that it is by Grace through Faith that we are saved, not by works. See, Jesus knows that if we could earn Salvation by our actions, we would see it as something deserved, yet the very idea of Grace is that it is an undeserved favor – Forgiveness that is given without merit.
In Psalms 37:3-6 talks about Trusting in God and Delighting our ways in the Lord, then it says that we should dwell in the pastures(Pastures are a good place to be) and He will give us the Desires of our heart. In a way, David is letting us know that life is about Loving God and Then pursuing life. God does not bind us to anything but Himself, because He knows that if we are pursuing a relationship with Him then the rest is all gravy. He is the Fullness of life, so in Him we have the Freedom to pursue life Fully.
SO GET OUT THERE!! LIVE! Seek God and go get Life! It says that He is in us and we are in Him, so His Love is our Love and our Loves are His Loves.
Freedom is intense; scary at times, but it’s for Freedom’s sake that He set us Free 
Tuesday Setlist – June 23, 2009
Posted by Jay | Filed under sing.
Sometimes you have to punt.
Our team this week consisted of myself on acoustic singing lead, David Dantzler on acoustic, Kellen Lariscy singing lead and Michele May singing background vocals. We had prepared to rehearse the following set Monday:
- Bless His Name – A – Jeremy Riddle
- Beautiful One – D – Tim Hughes
- I Have Found – D – Kim Walker
- Breathe – G – Vineyard
After running through the first song, we realized that a.) David and I do not blend well together with two acoustics like Dave and Tim Live at Luther College and b.) so many vocals with just acoustic do not blend well together like Shane and Shane. Something had to give, and I’m not a fan of pushing through rehearsal with something that sounds like a potential train wreck to begin with.
My plan b was the most difficult decision that I could have made but the easiest to execute: I simply walked off the stage. David’s intuition with lone rhythm guitar in a worship setting is improving, and I thought that the stage time would do him good. I’m always hopeful for opportunities to reproduce myself and we have just the team to do that, especially since every one of the guys that we sent off to Bethel in Cali has already served as a worship leader in some capacity.
So, after shocking the team by taking a seat, we agreed on the following set:
- Beautiful One – D – Tim Hughes
- Amazed – D – Jared Anderson
- Healer – G – Hillsong
- Breathe – G – Vineyard
Things went well. There were a couple of speed bumps. For instance, I’m encouraging whoever is leading the song to arrange it on the fly based on how the community is responding. We ended up singing the bridge in Healer too long, I felt, though that was a response to my observation during rehearsal that we only sang through it once the last time we played it and that wasn’t enough. The group responded better to the oldie-but-goodie Breathe, and that could have used more time.
We also decided to add the second verse for Amazed, which we haven’t sang in the year that we’ve been doing the song, and I suppose that went okay. I did notice more people staring up at the screens at that point.
Speaking of Amazed, I’m amazed at my continued dependence upon music stands and how distracting it is when the team stares at the sheets through the whole service. From a performance standpoint, nothing that we play is ever as complicated as Beethoven or Bach, so we can’t compare ourselves to an orchestra in order to justify using sheet music. Isn’t it easier to engage in worship when the team is engaged in worship, not reading a sheet of paper? I don’t mean to make this sound legalistic, but I believe that we’ll do a better job of leading a song that we actually know. Let’s compare it to a pastor who reads his sermon instead of reciting a message from memory, one that he has actually lived and experienced.
Fred McKinnon has graciously let me get away with using a stand on Sunday morning because, otherwise, I had to memorize chords and lyrics, which I claim to be not so good at. To be honest, this allowed me to continue my horrible habit of failing to thoroughly practice at home before rehearsal. I know from experience that I can remember the chords and lyrics to countless songs from Led Zeppelin, Weezer, REM, U2, etc, so it isn’t really a memory problem. The music stand is an odd security blanket.
I am participating in Fred McKinnon’s Sunday Setlists but, since we meet on Tuesday night, this post is really about Tuesday, see?
To fully experience this set, I suggest you obtain a copy of said songs, turn the stereo up loud, close your eyes, and lift up your hands…unless, of course, you are behind the wheel of a moving car. That could be dangerous.
Who? Week Two – Who Are We?
Posted by Chris G | Filed under listen.
Come join us June 30 and join the discussion of ‘Who?’. Who are we created to be? Who are we now? Who must we become?
Listen to or download the message.
Last week we talked about who we were created to be “in the beginning”. Tonight we ventured into who we are in the eyes of God.
Who are we now? God sees us as we’re going to become. We’re loaded with potential.
When God created humanity, He created us to be in perfect relationship with Him. As we know, sin entered the picture pretty quickly, but we were not created for sinful things.
Matthew 5:13 says that we were created as the “Salt of the Earth” and the “Light of the World”.
We are not defined by our jobs, our habits, or our actions. We are defined by our character. If we are living in pursuit of the character of God, then we are living as we were created to live. Man may look out the outside, but God looks at the heart.
You were created as the son or daughter of the most high God. This is who you are. You choose whether you’re going to live in this identity. If you are prodigal, the Father is waiting, is inviting you back.
In our brokenness he still sees us the way He made us, saying “it is very good.” We are co-heirs with Christ, created in the image of God. Do we really believe that?
How have we walked out of relationship with God?
What steps can we take to align our character with the character of God?
Tuesday Setlist – June 16, 2009
Posted by Jay | Filed under sing.
Our drummer Mark Anthony Linton, keyboardists Alex Fernando and Ben Harrell, and bassist Sam Brooks are in California for the Bethel School of Worship, so things are going to be rather laid back through the middle of July. Please pray for them as they learn how to better serve our community through our corporate worship experience.
They had a songwriting workshop with Jeremy Riddle this past week. I can’t say I’m not envious. Perhaps one of our team can be encouraged to work their notes into a post for next week?
Our focus for song selection is threefold this year:
- Vertical – lyrics that are not only God and Christ focused but directed to Him.
- Biblical – should be obvious, but we’ve encountered some whack stuff in contemporary worship songs. More on that later.
- Flexible – songs that are not restrained to a fixed arrangement. Again, more on that later.
We presently have about 32 songs in our rotation. Though it seems like Jesus Culture songs make up the majority, that is the case with this week’s set but not typical.
Your Love Never Fails – G – Jesus Culture
Amazed – D – Jared Anderson
Where You Go I’ll Go – Dm – Jesus Culture
You Won’t Relent – E – Jesus Culture
I co-led this week with my friend Kellen Lariscy, who did an outstanding job singing, especially since I had some friends in town from ATL and called off rehearsal Monday.
I am participating in Fred McKinnon’s Sunday Setlists but, since we meet on Tuesday night, this post is really about Tuesday, see?
To fully experience this set, I suggest you obtain a copy of said songs, turn the stereo up loud, close your eyes, and lift up your hands…unless, of course, you are behind the wheel of a moving car. That could be dangerous.
No Excuses
Posted by Brooke | Filed under think.
I sat down prepared to write a commentary about “being who you are” in any situation, but I’ve found out that it’s not that easy. Last Tuesday, Chris G. started our “Who?” series discussion talking about who we were created to be. The truth is, you really can’t live in this world right now and “be who you are” without first knowing who you were created to be. In all the time I’ve spent this morning searching for scripture references about being yourself, I haven’t found a single one that says “be yourself as you are right now”. They sound more like this:
Phillipians 2:15…that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and
crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.Ephesians 2:10…For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.Acts 2:42…They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer2 Corinthians 1:12…Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace.
Every verse I found dealing with this topic spoke of who we are created to be in Christ, or who we are becoming with Christ’s help. This is a hard pill to swallow. This means that in every situation we are to speak and act “as children of God”, “created in Christ Jesus”, and “relying on God’s grace”. This leaves us no excuses to lean on when we act out in anger, fear, apathy, etc. We can’t honestly say, “It’s just who I am” because if you are following Jesus Christ, those actions are not who we are created to be.
Tough stuff.
I know more times than not in my own life I’ve done things in this wrong mindset. I don’t think ‘I’m created to do so much more than this’. I usually think something more closely resembling ‘It’s just who I am – get over it’. I have to really work to think before I speak/act. It’s hard to remember to say to myself, “Is this who God has created me to be” or “Is this what I am created to do”. If I really stopped and asked myself that question each time, I can guarantee that half the things I’ve said before would never leave my lips again. A lot of the things I’ve done would have never happened.
When Jesus came, he didn’t come to make things easier on us. This Christian life was not created to be a smooth journey. When the Old Testament said “Do not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14), Jesus comes along and says “if you even lust after someone in your heart, you’ve committed adultery” (Matt. 5:28). The stakes have just been raised. An abundant life (John 10:10) is going to cost us something.
We were not created to be lazy, apathetic, indifferent, boring, or hateful. We were created to be full of life, passion, zeal, creativity, and love. It’s a journey to get there. Everyday we wake up we have a choice to make. Do we choose to take up the cross of Christ and make steps toward becoming the men and women God created us to be, or do we choose to get stuck in the rut of our humdrum everyday lives and stay who we are right now? God loves us either way, but because I love Him my heart longs to do what pleases Him the most.
As for me? I think I’ll make the effort to be more intentional about my actions more often. I want to grow in who Christ is, and in who I am in Christ.
Current Series: Who?
Posted by Chris G | Filed under listen.
Come join us June 23, and 30 and join the discussion of ‘Who?’. Who are we created to be? Who are we now? Who must we become?
I opened us up last Tuesday with ‘Who Are We Created To Be?’ The audio recording didn’t survive due to a technical glitch, but expect an audio file to be posted with future messages. June 23rd we’ll discuss ‘Who Are We Now’, then on the 30th we’ll dive into ‘Who must we become?’.
Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts about the current series below: