Filed under: Sunday Night Music | Tags: charlie hall, hillson, john mark mcmillian, phil wickham, shane and shane
Cannons – Phil Wickham
Hosanna - Hillsong
How He Loves - John Mark McMillian
Mystery - Charlie Hall
Before The Throne - Shane and Shane
Filed under: Ramblings
Just because I’m up late with some mad coughing attacks, I’ve been looking at old music videos from the 90’s on YouTube. I think I could do this forever…Here were some of my favorites I came across…Let me know what you find!!
don’t forget about good old michael
Other ones I left out because they were just scandolous (Wicked Games – Chris Issak) or just plain wierd (Lightning Crashes – Live).
I will now stop with this meaningless post…
If you have seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire, then this article might interest you. It tells about the uphill battle that the child actors face. The actors used actually live in the slums, and their lives have been greatly affected by the success of the movie. However, they still live in the slums in shacks with not much more than blankets and a little food.
Instead of trying to rewrite the article here or doing a horrible job of explaining it, just go read it. I found it very interesting.
If you haven’t seen the movie, go see it!
Filed under: Ramblings
I’m addicted to a show about addiction. Intervention is a fascinating show. I know some people who refuse to watch because it is depressing, and I would agree that at times it is. But I also find that it has a redemptive quality to it. Most of the times, people take advantage of the second chance offered to them, and make the most of their life ahead of them.
It’s amazing to watch the process of someone becoming broken. Some addicts break as soon as they walk in the door and see their whole family and numerous friends sitting together. You can sense the relief that they feel when they accept the offer to go to treatment, and from the time they walk in the door, you don’t doubt for a minute that they will accept that offer. They have just been looking for a way out of their misery, and they’ve finally found it.
Some walk in the door, immediately get ticked off, and after hours of resisting, they finally break. Sometimes, they’ll agree to go to treatment just to pacify their family, but you know deep down inside, they want to get better. The power of addiction is one the hardest things in the world to conquer. I was addicted to caffeine at one point in my life, and getting off of that was ridiculously hard, so I can’t imagine the struggles of some of these people.
The story of each addict is never the same. However, there seem to be a lot of consistencies within each episode. There is almost always an “enabler” of some sort. They may give the person money, give them a place to stay, ignore their problem, pick them up from the bar when they are passed out, or even go partying with them. Some “enablers” just give the person more of their drugs, alcohol, or whatever, just because it’s easier than trying to get them to quit.
The other constant theme in most stories is the lack of a father figure. However if there is a father around, they are never a good father. Sexual abuse, verbal abuse, or cheating is almost always present. It is also not uncommon to find that one or both parents were/are addicts. Some parents even go to the extent of doing drugs/drinking/partying with their child. Seriously??
So then how is this show rewarding to watch? I love to see people freed from their addictions. Addictions have consumed their life for far too long, and it’s awesome to see the relief on people’s face when they become sober. They have a purpose for living again.
It also has just further reinforced the belief that I already had about how important my relationships will be with my future children. They way they live their life is strongly influenced by the way that I live mine, and the way that I love them.
If you haven’t watched the show before, check it out. It’s rough in places, and you’ll have to turn your head and cover your ears at times, but 9 times out of 10, it’s a show worth watching.
Filed under: Sunday Night Music | Tags: chris tomlin, hillsong united, john mark mcmillian, midtown fellowship, phil wickham, Sunday Night Music
Here’s the list of songs we used on Sunday.
Your Grace Is Enough – Chris Tomlin
The Stand – Hillsong
How He Loves – John Mark McMillian
Always Forever – Phil Wickham
Till I See You – Hillsong
Thanks to Melissa Fennell for helping us out last night.
So, I guess around a year ago I heard this song for the first time. From the first time I listened to it I thought it was a powerful song. I originally heard the version done by Kim Walker and I really liked it a lot ( I can however do without her 5 minute monolouge in the middle of the song.)
I just listened to John Mark McMillian’s version for the first time, and I think it’s just as amazing. The story behind the song is very inspiring. Check out the video.
Here’s my only problem with the song – the 2nd verse.
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way [He loves us]
I just have trouble singing that one line. I think I understand the image he’s trying to paint, but I just can’t comfortably lead that in a worship setting.
What are your thoughts about that one line?
I read something very interesting today on a blog from a pastor of a 3 year old church plant. They seemed like your normal church plant. It seems that they are growing, reaching the community, having a positive impact, and seeing people come to know Jesus.
However, I read something that raised some red flags in my mind. The church is currently in the middle of a capital campaign to raise money to renovate a building. They have a “big give” Sunday coming up and were challenging people on different ways they could sacrifice to give and help the church reach their goal.
Here is one of the suggestions: some mortgage companies will allow you to defer 1 month’s payment with the recent economic hard times. Why don’t you call your mortgage company, get them to defer your mortgage payment for a month, and then donate that months mortgage payment to the church.
This was obviously just one suggestion, but if I was a pastor, this is a suggestion I would never make. First of all, just because a payment is deferred, it doesn’t always mean you won’t be reported late on your credit report. Some mortgage companies will not report it, but some will. A late mortgage payment, even once, can do a lot of damage to a credit report.
I think it’s very reasonable to challenge your congregation to give up certain things, but I don’t think a mortgage payment is a good idea?
I’d love to know if you agree or disagree.
Filed under: Sunday Night Music, music | Tags: charlie hall, fee, hillsong, midtown fellowhsip, Sunday Night Music, tim hughes
Here’s our list for yesterday’s service:
Glorious One – Fee
God Of Justice – Tim Hughes
Everything – Tim Hughes
A Reprise(Came To My Rescue) – Hillsong
Song Of The Redeemed – Charlie Hall
Thanks to your prayers, a ton of hot tea with honey, and tons of cough drops, I didn’t lose my voice at all yesterday. The wedding on Saturday was awesome, and things went great on Sunday.
I was able to be a part of one of the coolest worship services ever on Sunday morning. Dan, Grubbs, Jeff, and I led worship for about 300-400 soldiers in basic training at Fort Jackson. They were incredibly excited to have us there and you could tell that they were all excited to worship through music. Many of them said that they felt like they were back home for an hour, and that was really neat. They were some of the nicest and most appreciative people ever, and I can’t wait to go back and do it again next month!
Filed under: music
I was very glad to see that Robert Plant and Alison Krauss took home 5 grammy awards last night for their album Raising Sand. If you haven’t listened to it, take a listen. It’s one of the most unique albums ever. I am a huge Led Zepplin fan, and there are few artists I love more than Alison Krauss, so when I saw the two of them with an album out, I couldn’t begin to imagine what the music would sound like. I’d give just about anything to go see the 2 of them in concert together.
Check out the songs Polly Come Home – Gone, Gone, Gone – Please Read The Letter – Through The Morning Through The Night – and Your Long Journey.
Without a doubt, the best song is Killing the Blues. It’s an older song that’s been done by numerous artists, but it’s amazing. The pedal steel guitar is the most amazing musical instrument ever. Check it out.
I sure never thought this would win the Grammy for Album of the year. Glad to see the Grammys have recognized some music that is actually decent for once!
Filed under: Ramblings
Somehow I always seem to get sick at a “good time”. I have been sick numerous times on Thanksgiving, New Years Eve, and other holidays. On our big trip last year to Colorado I came down with a sinus infection.
We didn’t have a service at Midtown last Sunday, so that seemed like a good time to get another sinus infection. I do believe this is the nastiest sinus infection I think I’ve ever had. I had a fever over 100* for almost 3 days, and I’m still coughing my head off. Thankfully, I got my first good night of sleep last night courtesy of some prescription cough syrup with codeine in it. Maybe I should just be thankful I don’t have mono!
I just think it’s so weird that I always get sick at these times.
I could use your prayers this weekend, and that’s the purpose of this blog. I’m going to a wedding in Greenwood for two fine folks, Nick and Lindsey, and will be singing one song. Then Sunday morning I am leading worship for a large group of soldiers at Fort Jackson who are in basic training. Finally, we’ve got our normal 3 services at Midtown Sunday night. If I am unable to sing there, hopefully we can get this girl to help with the vocals!
If you’ve got time and think about it, pray that God will give me a strong voice to make it through this weekend. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated!
