Worshipping Through Music

This past Saturday I had the privilege of seeing the European rock band Delirious?. I have seen many concerts in my lifetime, including Delirious? four times now, and they are tied with U2 as one of the best concerts I have ever attended. If you ever have the chance to see this band, do it, you won't regret it. Their show is an immense collection of incredible musicianship, wonderful songwriting, and a genuineness unparalleled by any other band. Every single song they sing, even songs written without audience participation in mind, become an anthem to God. It's an experience like no other.



After attending the Delirious? concert on Saturday my heart was overwhelmed with excitement about leading our church in worship during the past weekend experiences and especially this coming weekend for our Facedown worship experience. Some great friends and musicians are coming to Northview for this weekend of worship and prayer. I truly believe that when someone encounters the living God they cannot walk away unchanged. My prayer is that this weekend will genuinely be an encounter with God like Ezekiel had in Ezekiel 44:4 "I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown."

American Idol Finalists Visit White House

I'm glad that President Bush had time to meet with the American Idol finalists in between the War on Terror and the war currently going on in the Middle East.

It's imperative to make time for fun in the midst of chaos.

By DEB RIECHMANN
Associated Press Writer


It's not clear if President Bush has ever actually watched "American Idol," but the TV show's finalists got to hang out with him Friday at the White House.

They got a group photo and a tour from the president. He got a harmonica engraved with "American Idol 2006."


The 10 finalists dropped into the Oval Office to see Bush in between his meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and another photo session with top high school students.

The president gave the performers a quick tour of the Oval Office and talked about his job. Bush posed for a group photo in front of his desk, and then individual photos with each finalist. He urged them to stick to their beliefs, even if their celebrity status grows.

Taylor Hicks of Birmingham, Ala., the most recent winner on the show, also gave Bush a black T-shirt emblazoned with "Soul Patrol" _ the name of Hicks' fan club. Hicks has a personal connection inside the White House: Susan Whitson, Laura Bush's press secretary, taught him ninth grade English at Hoover High School in Birmingham.

Besides Hicks, the finalists from last season who met with Bush were: Katharine McPhee of Los Angeles, Calif.; Chris Daughtry of McLeansville, N.C.; Paris Bennett of Fayetteville, Ga.; Kellie Pickler of Albemarle, N.C.; Ace Young of Denver, Colo.; Bucky Covington of Rockingham, N.C.; Mandisa Hundley of Antioch, Tenn.; Lisa Tucker of Anaheim, Calif.; and Elliott Yamin of Richmond, Va., who arrived a bit late for the meeting.

Their tour and photo opportunity with Bush _ with still cameras only, no reporters allowed _ came during their one-day visit to Washington for their "American Idols Live" tour.

It's unclear how familiar Bush is with their talents. Asked whether he had ever seen the show, the White House responded that he was "aware" of it.

The Love of God

14When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,^[a] 15the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. 18And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. 21May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.

Ephesians 3:14-21

When you read these beautiful words from the Apostle Paul it brings to mind the essence of a follower of Christ. We are to be people who are digging deeper and deeper into the love of Christ knowing that we will never reach the end of it. There is a song by U2 titled I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, one of the best songs in their catalog. This song exemplifies what I believe as a follower of Christ, that I will continue searching until my life on Earth ends for more of His unexplainable love knowing that I will never reach the end. I truly believe that I still haven't found what I'm looking for, even more of Christ. This will be the task of my days on this earth, to seek out, to grow deeper into, and to grasp more of God's love, everyday.

Love One Another- A Liberal Cliche?

Those who follow Christ, or even those who believe Christ was a good man need to read these statements from the New Testament. One of the most overlooked, but most difficult parts of being a follower of Christ is what our response to an enemy is. Pray for your enemies. Pray for peace.

• A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34).

• But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:27-28).

• Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14).

• We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it (1 Corinthians 4:12).

• Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:17-21).

• Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9).

• Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble (1 John 2:9-10).

One Month Hiatus Is Over

It has been one month since my last post, and my summer vacation from blogging is over. This particular post may be equivalent to me talking to a wall, due to the fact that statistically after one month of no activity on a website the website's audience disappears, but if you are still out there, let's get some comments rolling. My voice alone gets very boring.

I have decided to retool this blog just a bit, and try to focus more on spiritual issues, rather than just a random tid-bit here and there. In doing this, I am hoping that this blog will be more discussion than just bloviating on my part.

With all that said, I would like to take a second to share with you some exciting things happening in the life of my church at Northview Community in Oklahoma City. On August 5th and 6th we are having a weekend completely devoted to worship through music and prayer. I'm excited about this weekend, I have been wanting to do this since the beginning of our church 2 years ago. The theme of the weekend is grounded in an Old Testament idea of falling facedown in reverence and awe when you meet with the Creator of the Universe. Our culture is seeped in a go-go type attitude that permeates every area of our lives. The idea of stopping just to enjoy the beauty of something has been pushed to the side in favor of getting more things done for efficiency sake. It's very easy for those of us who live in this culture to miss the beauty, reverence, and awe for God, even during authentic worship. One of the most common responses to an encounter with God throughout the Old Testament (and perhaps the New Testament as well) is to fall facedown in a Holy reverence and awe. It's a beautiful symbol of worship. It's going to be a beautiful weekend. Here's a little video piece put together for Facedown.