New Song: "All I Have is Christ"

Hey guys, we're learning a new song this week from Sovereign Grace ministries called "All I Have is Christ." The lyrics are honest and God-glorifying, and the melody is beautiful and soul stirring.

Here are the lyrics, and a video is below:

I once was lost in darkest night

Yet thought I new the way

The sin that brought this joy in life

Had led me to the grave

I had no hope that You would own

A rebel to Your will

And if You had not loved me first

I would refuse You still!

But as I ran my hell-bound race

Indifferent to the cost

You looked upon my helpless state

And led me to the cross

And I beheld God's love displayed

You suffered in my place

You bore the wrath reserved for me

Now all I know is grace!

Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!

Hallelujah! Jesus is my life!

Now Lord I would be Yours alone

And live so all might see

The strength to follow Your commands

Could never come from me

O Father use my ransomed life

In any way You choose

And let my song forever be

"My only boast is You!"

Preparing For Worship: December 20th, 2009

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

I can't believe 2009 is almost in the history books, and once again, we are poised to celebrate the birth of Christ. How time flies!

This is a year of firsts yet again at Crossroads, and we're excited to celebrate! It's the first Sunday that we will have THREE services! Yes, count them, THREE! This is just a special change for this Sunday, seeing that it's "Christmas Sunday." The times for our three services are 8:00am, 9:30am, and 11:00am, so you have three chances to join us for worship and celebration!

The second "first" is that it's the first time that we will have a CHOIR! The Crossroads Christmas Choir has been hard at work for the past seven weeks preparing to help lead worship with the worship band, and also preparing a special piece of their own for your enjoyment!

Our 8:00am service is for the "most godly" of you (as Pastor Todd would say), since it's the earliest, and most selfless service to attend (selfless because it opens up more seats in the 2nd and 3rd services). We'll be doing it a little bit "candle light" style as we sing carols, and celebrate the birth of the Savior.

The 9:30 and 11:00am services will be identical, and will also feature a short musical presentation from our Kids ministry featuring all of our Crossroads kids called "Come To The Manger!"

Here's what's in store:

All three services will start with a pair of carols: "Angels We Have Heard on High" and "Joy To The World." High energy, joy-filled carols that call us to celebrate the reality of God made man to live among us!

Then we'll celebrate the outreach that is taking place as I type this down at the Union Rescue Mission, with a short slide show presentation.

Pastor Todd will come up and welcome everyone and pray for the morning, and then during the second and third services, we'll enjoy "Come To The Manger" presented by our 1st-6th grade kids.

Todd will come back up and dismiss us to a short welcome and greeting time. There are sure to be visitors and visiting family, so use this time to minister to someone who may be there for the first time!

We'll pick up our carol-singing again after that with the first and last verses of "O Holy Night" as we let the majesty and wonder of the night affect us, and hopefully cause us to see the manger with fresh eyes and soft hearts.

The choir will then share their song with us entitled "Hope Has Come" which is a great tune from Sovereign Grace Ministries, which by-the-way has a good Christmas album called "Savior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man" (Click the title to check it out at the Sovereign Grace store).

Then Pastor Todd will come and preach the final message in our Christmas 2009 series called "Looking For Something More?" from Luke 2.

We'll sing one more song together after the sermon "Go Tell It On The Mountain" which is a great way to close our meeting, and take the joy of Christ's birth out into the world.

Lots of really cool stuff happening, so prepare your hearts and minds, and come rejoice in the hope of the Savior with us!

See you there!

Preparing For Worship: December 13th, 2009

Once again, I fell off the blogging wagon, and failed to help you prepare for the last two weeks! My apologies!

This Sunday we go full force towards the celebration of the Savior's birth; I've been thinking of the phrase "savoring the Savior" as I plan and remind myself of the wondrous gift we were given in the babe in the manger.

Pastor Todd will continue his sermon series called "Looking For Something More" leading up to next Sunday, the 20th. This week he's talking about Joy, and unpacking the text of 1 John 1:1-4. CLICK HERE to read through the text as you prepare to come worship together with the saints.

We have a great group of Christmas carols to sing together this week, and we're going to start it off with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." (the video's a really fun cover by Weezer!) Now, this may be something akin to when you first found out that Santa wasn't entirely real, but I can't, in good conscience, lead us in carols that talk about the angels without mentioning that the Bible never tells us that angels sing. It's true; when Christ was born, angels didn't span the night sky with songs and carols. They did spread the news that he'd been born, but Scripture tells us they "told" it, and didn't necessarily "sing" it.

That being said, Scripture doesn't tell us that angels DON'T sing, so we just need to be aware that our beloved carols are taking a bit of artistic license when we talk about angels singing.

We'll see one more video about the Union Rescue Mission as we gear up for our big outreach project there next month, and Pastor Todd will welcome everyone and lead us in prayer for the morning.

Then we'll sing "Angels From the Realms of Glory" which recounts the journey of the angels to the shepherds to tell them of Christ's birth, and to bid them to come and worship him. There are a number of YouTube videos that show this song, but I recorded my own that's closer to what we'll actually sing on Sunday, so enjoy! We'll finish off that set with "What Child is This?" as an intro to Pastor Todd's sermon.

I like the way those two songs fit together, because when the Jewish people were waiting and anticipating the birth of the Messiah, they would have been expecting something very different than a barn and a manger filled with hay. I think sometimes in our own lives, we expect God to look very different than what he really is, and when we come to worship him and respond to his own revelation of himself, we are forced to evaluate our own views and expectations. Coming to worship and really thinking through who we believe God is, is an important process as we come to know him and understand him better.

After Pastor Todd's message, we will sing "The First Noel." This is yet another carol about the proclamation of Christ's birth by the angels to the shepherds. As we respond to God's Word, and the joy that is to be found in proclaiming the gospel, we will more closely relate to the joy of that first Christmas when the angels shouted the good news.

We'll close with the song that Candace and I sang during communion last week: "Jesus Thank You" as we put in perspective that Jesus was born to go to the cross for our sins. His life is an example and a model for us, but more importantly, it was a life that perfectly satisfied the righteous standards of God, and was subsequently sacrificed for us. This is the true joy of Christmas, not just that Christ CAME, but WHY he came; to set us free from the curse of sin, and reconcile us to a restored relationship with the Father!

So that's what's going on; happy prep!

Preparing For Worship November 22nd, 2009

I'm looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving Sunday together with all of you this week!

I'm in the middle of a very busy Friday, so I'll make this quick:

We're starting with two tunes: "God of Wonders" into the new song we learned last week: "The Father's Love"

I really love contrasting the idea of God as almighty, sovereign, Creator God; and loving, compassionate, Father God. I think these two songs will help us to appreciate the idea that "every good and perfect gift comes from the Father," when we understand that he is the master over everything, but he still looks with care and concern at our needs, and is so faithful to provide.

Then we'll sing "Good to Me" and then remember that even though God is good in so many ways to each of us, he was good to all of us in the most powerful way possible: by sending Jesus to die our death on the cross by singing "Once Again."

Pastor Todd will come and preach after that, and he's taking a break from Ephesians and giving a special Thanksgiving message. Next week he'll start a short series that will take us through Christmas called "Looking for Something More?"

We'll respond in song with "Forever" which reminds us that in all things, though everything else may pass away, God's love endures forever. Then we'll close with "We Will Remember" and commit to trusting in God's past faithfulness as a guarantee that he will continue to be faithful in all of our lives; that we might always have reason to be thankful.

Really Cool Devotional Guide

Check out this link to a digital version of "Breathe," a cool devotional tool from Mosaic church.

Time For Honesty! :)

I came across this interesting article entitled "Top 10 Pet Peeves About Worship Leaders." It's one of those articles that is helpful for a couple of reasons:

1) It helps me to remember that there are little things that I do that may be counterproductive to leading worship, and it helps when these things are pointed out as not-helpful.

2) It helps me to remember that you definitely can't please everyone

So, which of these do I do? Which of them really annoy you? Which of them are actually helpful to you? Any others you'd care to add to the list?? Click on the "comments" link at the bottom of the post to leave your thoughts.

Top 10 Pet Peeves About Worship Leaders (with examples)

1. Asking the Congregation to do Something (21 responses)
   >> Makes us shake hands with the people around us.
   >> When a worship leader tells you to lift up your hands, it takes a meaningful personal action and turns it into a obligatory command.
   >> Talks like they’re at a high school pep rally, “Let me hear ya!”
   >> Asks how everyone is doing. We’re not at a concert, so we’re not going to scream.
   >> Tells you what to do and how to worship… to the point where it makes you feel guilty if you don’t conform yourself to her/his understanding of what worship is.
   >> I hate it when worship leaders script the worship too much by telling people what to do. I’ve had worship leaders completely distract me from God when they start telling me what to do.
2. Mini-Sermons & Talking (20 responses)
   >> Talks between every song.
   >> I am distracted when worship leaders start talking about anything that is not directions on what we are about to do.
   >> When they repeat the same catch-phrases every week.
   >> Breathy speaking between songs.
   >> Sermonettes are annoying if too long or common
   >> You can tell a mile away when a worship leader is “sharing” because he feels obligated to. It’s always a cheesy or over emotional blurb. When God’s really laid something on a worship leader’s heart, it’s cool. But even then, say it in less than 45 seconds! Don’t meander on for 3 minutes.
3. Not Focusing on God (17 responses)
   >> Forget that the audience of worship is God and start making it a performance for those sitting in front of them.
   >> When they perform rather than worship themselves.
   >> Showing zero emotion, standing still, focusing too much on perfection.
   >> Worship leaders who seem really wrapped up in being “cool.”
   >> Sometimes you can tell they’re being fake and/or showy.
   >> I hate it when the music guy/gal asks the crowd to praise God but soaks it up like they are Bono and the crowd is really praising them.
   >> I hate it when worship leaders don’t lead people.
4. Unprofessional (14 responses)
   >> Starts service late.
   >> Typos on the screen.
   >> Talks to the praise band while leading worship instead of using hand signals to tell them what to do.
   >> When the leader changes the key of the song and does not tell the rest of the team.
   >> Goes out of order or adds another song in the middle of the set
   >> When the leader and/or band member turns away from the people to mess with their gear.
   >> When the production team on stage are laughing, joking, and gesturing behind the worship leader to the soundboard guys in the transition between worship and the message.
5. Singing (11 responses)
   >> Can’t sing very well.
   >> Doesn’t know the lyrics.
   >> When worship leaders run words together.
   >> When they put their own little spin on simple, common words.
   >> Repeating the same line in a song 3.6 million times. There’s the Spirit’s leading and then there’s just plain losing people.
   >> Our old church’s leader would sing so high that no one could sing along. She provided no harmony for us to pick up. It was to showcase her own voice.
6. Appearance (9 responses)
   >> Sing with their eyes closed.
   >> When singers act like they are really bored up there.
   >> Wears crotch hugging jeans.
   >> Looks or sounds seductive.
   >> One of our young worship leaders had a really big hicky on his neck a couple of weeks ago.
7. Prayer (8 responses)
   >> Inauthentic prayer – too scripted or so random that it doesn’t make sense, or rushed/dragged out to make the prayer fit the interlude.
   >> Prays the words of the songs.
   >> When they can’t talk or pray appropriately between songs.
8. Bad Transitions (5 responses)
   >> Transitions between songs take long time.
   >> Allows uncomfortable dead time between songs.
   >> When they pray essentially the same prayer at a transition moment.
   >> Using the song name as an introduction/transition - “You know I was thinking about how much God has done for me…it really is ‘Amazing Grace’ isn’t it?”
9. Lifestyle (4 responses)
   >> When he’s obviously ungodly during practice and throughout life, but turns into a saint on Sunday morning.
   >> I hate to see a person who is suppose to be leading worship acting like a jerk before service and then getting up on stage acting like nothing ever happened.
   >> As a Pastor, I hate it when the music guy/gal is lazy apart from their 30 minute set on Sundays.
10. Catering to the Congregation (4 responses)
    >> When they hold back because they are obviously conscious of what the congregation and/or pastor will think.
    >> I hate it when worship leaders/pastors play to people who think the worship somehow revolves around what they like and what makes them feel good when it has absolutely nothing to do with our preferences or likes.
    >> Has to risk being a cheerleader because the people that claim to love God exhibit no sense of joy when singing about Him.

For the full article, CLICK HERE.

Preparing For Worship November 15th, 2009

Happy 2nd Friday everyone! If you didn't have Wednesday off for Veterans' Day, then I suppose this is just your 1st Friday of the week; poor you!

I hope you are all looking forward to coming together to worship our great God this Sunday. I hope that it is a culmination of the relationship and communion that you've shared with God this entire week. That's certainly the goal...

But how much of our life is spent aiming for the goal...and consistently falling short? Do you ever come to the end of a week and look back and wonder where it all went? You ask yourself how there is so much you weren't able to get done, and why you spent so little time with the Lord. I have been there many times, disappointed that the only time I could really get away to be with the Lord was when I was stuck in traffic on a long drive, remembering how my mornings got swept up in chores and errands, and my evenings went who-knows-where.

These types of weeks are a part of life, and we won't always be able to spend lots of time in God's Word, and in really focused prayer. The good news is that we can still worship, and bring glory to God's name by living our lives in the power of His Spirit. The fact that God-very-God resides no longer in a tabernacle, nor does He sit around in the worship center at Crossroads. The Spirit of the all-powerful, living God dwells in the new temple...each of us! This should drastically affect the way we live. However, too often we dismiss it, and forget about it! I am in the midst of rethinking the presence of the Spirit in my life, and how I can better acknowledge Him and live by His strength. To help me, I've just started Francis Chan's new book "Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit." (Click the title to check out the book on Amazon.com). Check it out, I think this is a tragic reality in the church (the church as a whole, not just Crossroads), and we need to do something about it!

Anyway, I suppose I'll end my sermon there, and let Todd do the real preaching on Sunday. He'll be preaching from Ephesians 2:17-22 and finish up chapter two. Be sure you've read the passage, and are ready to study it together with us!

As always, we'll sing together and express our responses to God through lyrics and music. We'll start by acknowledging our dependence on the Spirit to be among us, and to direct us and empower our worship: "Come Thou Fount." Then we turn to the Psalms where David declares the beauty and perfection of being in the courts of the Lord, and proclaims that "Better Is One Day" in his courts than thousands at any other great place.

We have a short video to encourage us to be a part of Crossroads' ministry to the Union Rescue Mission this Christmas. Let's worship God by responding with love to the needs of those at the URM, and being involved in whatever ways we can. Tim Campbell will fill us in on the opportunities. Mark off the days on your calendar: Friday and Saturday, December 18th and 19th.

We'll continue singing as we learn the new song I posted earlier this week: "The Father's Love." Dwelling on how God brought us back to a right relationship with him, and has made us part of his household, will point our brains in the right direction to fully soak up the truth of the sermon text! We'll sing "Draw Me Close" right before Pastor Todd comes up, but hopefully we will sing it a little differently, understanding that we don't have to continually ask God to "draw us close" because HE ALREADY HAS! I think the Spirit will remind us of this truth very powerfully.

Then Todd will come and preach God's Word to us. I want to remind us all to not just be consumers, but to interact with the preaching. Prepare your heart and mind (remember, you have the same Spirit of God as Pastor Todd does in you to teach you and help you understand His Word)! Then as Todd preaches, seek the Spirit's conviction and encouragement in your life. If you disagree with something Todd says, tell him! We as leadership would love to talk about anything you hear (whether in a sermon, song, video, etc.) that raises a red flag in your mind or seems to be different than what God's Word says! So CLICK HERE to read Ephesians 2:17-22.

We'll respond to the message with "Marvelous Light" that focuses on the new life we have, having formerly been strangers with no hope!

That's what's going on this Sunday; see you then!