Worship is the Fuel and Goal of Missions

I’m reading John Piper’s Let the Nations Be Glad at the moment and have really been challenged by the depth of his thinking, particularly around the topic of God’s glory. If you ever need a clearer statement about the intersection of worship and missions, go no further than the first paragraph of Piper’s treatise, where […]

In Christ Alone

Darkness. Doubt. Fear. Broken promises? Death. Silence…. Stillness. And then the stone moved. Light came bursting forth from darkness! Silence was broken with angelic shouts of victory! Promises fulfilled. Hope replaces despair. Doubt to faith. Fear to freedom. Death to life. Jesus is not here. He is risen! See the place where they laid Him. Those […]

Facelift

When I started this blog, I just had to “jump into it” and see how it would develop. It’s been about four months now and it’s going well, so I thought I might do a facelift towards a look that I’m more happy with. Let me know what you think about this new look!

God Works Great Miracles When Things Seem the Most Hopeless

I don’t think God’s ever had a day when He thought “well, I never saw that one coming”. Even though we may have. Even though things seem messy. And uncertain. And hopeless. Andy Stanley writes: If we asked Jesus’ disciples months after he was crucified what their darkest moment had been following Jesus and when […]

Worship/Idolatory

St Augustine: Idolatry is worshipping anything that ought to be used, or using anything that ought to be worshipped. As worship ministers, this is something which we are especially prone to – worshipping the music and the musicianship rather than using the music to worship God. It’s a fine line which is easily crossed if […]

Christ’s Sacrifice, God’s Masterpieces

I read this recently which really spoke to me about how we, as a Christian community, ought to treat our fellow believers. It’s by John Burke (pastor of Gateway Church) in an essay entitled “God is For You” in Craig Groeschel (ed) What is God Really Like (pp 68ff): Jesus gave his life so that […]

Above All/Lord I Lift Your Name on High

As we prepare for Good Friday, I thought I’d share one of my favourite songs “Above All” written by Paul Baloche and Lenny LeBlanc. I remember being so moved when I watched Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. There was the scene when Jesus walked the Via Dolorosa with the heavy cross on His back, […]

Heavenly Commission

David Livingstone said: If a commission by an earthly king is considered an honour, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered a sacrifice? That’s a profound thought, isn’t it? Sometimes, we serve God as if our sacrifice can somehow be held to the same light as His. Juanita Bynum once said something […]

Blessings Reel – March 2012

Psalm 23:5-6 says: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. The Message versions says His “beauty and love chase after me every day of my life!” What […]

Defining Worship

I expect that this will not be the only post I write on this subject because “worship” is one of those words which we all understand in some way or another, but find extremely difficult to pin down. Depending on the context, its meaning expands and contracts. Also, a lot our understanding will also be […]