Before The Throne

New Blog Address

2015-07-15T13:48:00.002-04:00

Greetings all, I'd like to invite you to visit my new wordpress blog at b4thethroneworship.wordpress.com I will no longer be posting to this blogger site. Thanks.

Giving God Our Best Part 2

2014-12-03T21:53:00.002-05:00

In Part 1 we looked at the book of Malachi and saw quite clearly that God desires the best of what His people have to offer to Him, not the leftovers. We also noted that the unacceptable offerings the priests made were directly related to their low view of God. But when it comes to practical application in our own lives, it might be difficult for us to relate to the Levitical

Giving God Our Best - Part 1

2014-01-09T14:42:00.000-05:00

During World War II the expression "good enough for government work" meant something could hold up to the most rigorous standards. Over the years that saying has been used in a more ironic sense, meaning something is minimally acceptable but far from the best quality. I have to admit that I use that expression fairly often, always with the latter meaning in mind. What's sad is

IDOP for the Persecuted Church

2012-11-12T10:46:00.004-05:00

This post is a follow up to the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church that took place across the globe yesterday. The number one request persecuted Christians have is that we would pray for them, and there are ways we can do that on a regular basis (not just once a year or even once a month). There are also other ways that we can support them in their need and also

Engage Worship "Praise the Lord"

2012-09-17T13:47:00.000-04:00

Engage Worship is a group in the UK with a heart for really engaging people in worship (hence their name) with some really creative ideas. Some of these leaders are also part of Resound Worship which is more focused on songwriting. I have to admit that sometimes I find ideas on Engage worship to be a little out there, or at least not something that I would try with our

I Refuse

2012-07-29T13:52:00.000-04:00

We sang this song as special music at Christ's Church this morning to connect with the guest speaker's message. I think this video is really cool and challenging for us to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people we encounter on a daily basis. Of course we can't go back in time and redo those moments where we neglected to minister to someone, but we sure can change our perspective

I Will Follow - Lead Me to the Cross

2012-06-11T12:01:00.005-04:00

I was recently listening to a podcast entitled "The Power of the Resurrection." In it Rabbi Jason Sobel (a messianic rabbi based in California) highlights the fact that the resurrection and what it means for us is all about being changed, from death to life. But that change came at a great price, it cost the very life of the Son of God. Now of course we all want to see that

I Will Follow - "The Lord went ahead of them..."

2012-05-17T20:52:00.002-04:00

I Will Follow by Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram and Reuben Morgan "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front

I Will Follow - "Whoever wants to be my disciple..."

2012-04-27T00:50:00.001-04:00

“Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” Luke 9:23-24 Over the last several months I've really come to appreciate how candid Jesus was about the cost of following him. In a world

Worship Workshops 2011 - Jam Night

2011-06-03T14:41:00.000-04:00

Next Friday June 10th we'll be having an informal worship gathering at Christ's Church for all the area churches. Basically the plan is to jam some worship songs and pray together. You can find all the details by clicking here. If you are planning on coming I'd encourage you to check out the following song list and get familiar with any you don't already know. Please try to

Worship Workshops 2011 - The Heart of a Worship Leader

2011-05-23T13:57:00.004-04:00

Back in March Christ's Church hosted "The Heart of a Worship Leader," the first of our Worship Workshops 2011 series. It was very encouraging to have pastors, worship leaders, and musicians from several local congregations participating in this gathering. The format of this particular workshop was more of a forum than a lecture, so we had some great thoughts and ideas exchanged.&

Worship Workshops 2011

2011-03-28T10:04:00.000-04:00

After a few years of having an "idea" for some small-scale worship seminars, I'm excited to share that the idea is finally becoming a reality with the launch of Worship Workshops 2011. We have a broad range of sessions that we hope to host here at Christ's Church in the coming year; some focused on worship leadership and theological discussions, others offering musical instruction.

The Effect of Advent - Overwhelmed by Jesus' Humility

2010-11-05T21:28:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting here transcribing a great contemporary version of "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" by Red Mountain Church and as I'm getting ready to enter the words into the sheet music I'm in awe of what God did. I just needed to stop and say "thank you God." "Leaving riches without number,""Born within a cattle stall," "from our fears and sins release us," @font-face {

Great Video From LifeWay Worship Featuring Keith Getty.

2010-10-18T16:10:00.001-04:00

I know my last post had a video in it, but this one isn't a music video, it's more of a mini teaching. I stumbled upon it earlier today and was very blessed by the discussion these guys had. I always appreciate Keith Getty's emphasis on teaching the faith through quality lyrical content and a congregational "we" focus rather than the often shallow and individualistic lyrics that are

Before the Throne of God Above

2010-09-29T10:49:00.000-04:00

After listening to this song for several years I'm finally going to introduce it to Christ's Church this weekend. So for you CCA folks here's a preview (don't worry we won't be singing it this high), and for the rest I hope you enjoy it too and consider adding it to your repertoire if aren't using it already. It almost brought me to tears just to sing along with this video yesterday,

On Leading Worship - What Not To Do

2010-09-09T15:00:00.000-04:00

Typically my intent with this "On Leading Worship" series is to get away from the links to articles and movies I often post and keep my sharing limited to my own words and personal experience. But honestly, if someone says something that I would say, but better, I might as well just quote them directly. That being said, I was amused by this article and the way it

One on One With God

2010-08-19T10:45:00.025-04:00

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6:6 (NIV) "You satisfy me more than the richest of foods. I will praise you with songs of joy. I lie awake thinking of You, meditating on you through the night." Psalm 63:5-6 (NLT)

Unfinished Worship Song

2010-07-12T13:43:00.010-04:00

Hi all, I came across this idea from Resound Worship and wanted to share it with you as well as get some participation going on. For some background on this concept, see the article from Worship Leader Magazine. I think I'm going to try doing this on Sunday and I thought it would be really cool if I not only used their words, but also wrote some of my own and also used ones that you the

On Leading Worship - Serving Through Prayer

2010-07-06T17:30:00.014-04:00

Someone recently suggested that I should start posting about my approach to planning and leading worship. I love the concept, but I’m not sure I’ve got a whole lot of wisdom to impart. In Star Wars terms, I’m still a young padawan learner when it comes to worship leading. So all the glory to God for anything good that I share here, and for everything else, just remember, I

Massacres in Nigeria

2010-06-21T09:22:00.003-04:00

This video really broke my heart this morning. At Christ's Church we pray for the persecuted church every first Sunday of the month and I have shared about what's been happening in Nigeria. But this video made it so much more real for me, especially seeing the children. I admire these people for gathering to worship after situations like this, talk about a sacrifice of praise. Please consider

Apologies for Blogosphere Absence

2010-06-07T12:07:00.002-04:00

If I still have any readers out there, I wanted to offer an apology for being so inconsistent with posting lately. I've been starting a lot of posts as I have a thought or idea, but then just saving them to complete at another time, which of course I never actually complete. Hopefully I can get more consistent again and I pray that whatever I post will be worth your time and will be glorifying

Our Competence or God's?

2010-04-29T23:20:00.005-04:00

I get newsletters from a lot of different missionaries around the world. Recently I was reading one from missionaries in Turkey. I was very touched and challenged by a very honest and humble comment they made. They said that they often feel inadequate for the work they have to do. Now in the corporate world, this kind of comment might cause your boss to start looking for a replacement for you.

Pray for Turkey this Weekend

2010-04-15T15:11:00.002-04:00

On My Mind- Bono, Social Justice and the Church Part 2

2010-03-09T10:00:00.002-05:00

"He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed." Proverbs 19:17Start with Part 1 of this post if you haven't read it already.Many teachers and apologists that I've read lately are sounding the alarm against the "social gospel." This is certainly understandable since influential emergent church leaders like Brian McLaren and Rob Bell are trying to

On My Mind - Social Justice, Bono, and the Church

2010-03-03T21:30:00.001-05:00

"The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such concern." - Proverbs 29:7This concern that Proverbs speaks of is often on my mind, but I find myself questioning whether my concern is resulting in enough action. The message I keep getting from the Holy Spirit is that I can't treat it like a checklist item- just because I'm doing something doesn't