Links and Misc.
Miscellaneous and Links
OK, so I needed a page to talk about random worship related items and show you a few links that I use as resources. Maybe something on this page will help you, inspire you or just make you laugh. I know that all of the "stuff" on this page has done just that for me.
Jeff
Links
Sovereign Grace Music is a great place to find sound theological teaching and music. They describe their doctrine as "being essentially Reformed, yet including a commitment to charismatic practice as biblically defined." They continue to do an unparalelled job at marrying sound doctrine and devotion in their music. We at FBC use a lot of their tunes
Highway Video is, in my opinion the best source for worship videos. They offer a wide variety of products that enhance worshp or reinforce teaching. Check them out!
Desiring God - what can I say? If you have not listened to John Piper preach or have not read any of his books, then you.....well, you need to! Piper is a gifted teacher and his ministry exists to "spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ." John Piper also says that "God is most pleased when we are most satisfied in HIm." I highly recommend this website. Also, check out my book recommendations as there is one of my favorite Piper books there.
Trinity Seminary - This is where I am working on my graduate degree. It is in Indiana but they offer distance learning. It's difficult trying to work full time and go to school and raise a family! (can't you just hear the violins playing?)
There are people way smarter than me that have influenced my philosophy of worship. Here's what some of them have to say about the subject.
"God wants to cultivate within us the adoration and admiration of which He is worthy. He wants us to be astonished at the inconceivable elevation and magnitude and splendor of Almighty God." - A.W. Tozer
"We need to remember that when we make worship too much the subject, we risk destroying the very thing for which it is intended. The subject can never be worship until the subject is first of all the Lord. To the extent that attention is overly drawn to worship, to the extent that it becomes the primary object of our work, the overriding protocol, within which the Lord and His work are subjects, we can only assume that we have begun to worship worship, or at least, to worship about worship, therefore to worship about God." - Dr. Harold Best
"In order to render heartfelt worship to God, we must be gripped in the depth of our being by His majesty, holiness, and love; otherwise our praise and adoration may be no more than empty words. Isn't this one reason why much of our worship today is no anemic and heartless?" - Jerry Bridges
"The true, the genuine worship is when man, through his spirit, attains to friendship and intimacy with God. True and genuine worship is not to come to a certain place; it is not to go through a certain ritual or liturgy; it is not even to bring certain gifts. True worship is when the spirit, the immortal and invisible part of man, speaks to and meets with God, who is immortal and invisible." - William Barclay
We are to recognize that the true God is the eternal, self-existent and self-sufficient One, the One immeasurably beyond our highest thoughts. We are to humble ourselves and learn from Him, allowing Him to teach us what He is like and what He has done for our salvation. Do we do what He commands? Are we sure that in our worship we are actually worshiping the true God who has revealed Himself in the Bible? There is only one way to answer that question truthfully. It is to ask: Do I really know the Bible, and do I worship on the basis of the truth I find there? That truth is centered in the Lord Jesus Christ, as seen in the Bible. There the invisible God is made visible, the inscrutable knowable, the eternal God disclosed in space and time. Do I look to Jesus in order to know God? Do I think of God's attributes by what Jesus shows me of them? If not, I am worshiping an image of God, albeit an image of my own devising. If I look to Jesus, then I can know that I am worshiping the true God, as He has revealed Himself." - James Montgomery Boice (want more of Mr. Boice? Check out this book by him that I recommend and where this quote comes from)
"True worship is saturated with reminders of God's covenant lordship. We worship to honor his mighty acts, to hear his authoritative word, and to fellowship with him personally as the one who has made us his people. When we are distracted from our covenant Lord and preoccupied with our own comforts and pleasures, something has gone seriously wrong with our worship." - John Frame (Mr. Frame does an outstanding job in discussing biblical principles of worship. I also recommend this book and highly encourage you to read it.)
One of my biggest nightmares as a worship pastor (actually there are many - there's the "waking up late and missing church" nightmare, the "no one shows up for church" nightmare, the "everything goes wrong musically" nightmare, you get the picture) is the person who comes to you and says, "I would like to sing special music. Can you work me in?" This video is my nightmare.
This has to be one of the funniest messages that I have ever heard that has been left on a church (not ours) voicemail systems. If you listen, stay tuned for the "remix" that someone put together. Click here for a laugh.
This is the continuation of my nightmare, i.e. part deux. I know it's not nice to laugh, but you gotta admit, this is funny. I love that he corrects himself on the title - not Amazing Grace, but Omazing Grace.
OK, so my intern showed me this stupid website today (5/27/07) where you make a monkey kick a coconut as far as possible. It's good for wasting half an hour. Try to beat my new score of 5683 monkey meters.... Good luck. Click here.
| Recomended by Jeff Chariker - Worship Pastor |
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The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions |