Worship Artists again...

So I am continuing my previous post regarding Worship Artists/Songs. This is in response to the following conversation...

Pastor Jack: So I was disappointed in your blog post Jeremy.
Me: Really why?
Pastor Jack: You didn't get outside the box at all. I was looking forward to hearing about some new obscure band or song I've never heard of.
Me: I guess that's true...that's simply the music I've been listening to lately...

So I started thinking about what worship music I enjoyed that was a bit more outside the box (I still maintain that Charlie Hall is a bit outside of the everyday box of many people.) What I realized is that there are several options I could share in this thought stream. So as a way of getting outside the box, I will be sharing some video links to songs that I love which are worshipful and either sound a bit different from what you expect, or are from artists that are less well known. I will probably only share one per post. I hope you enjoy.

The first offering is from EverybodyDuck. These guys had some radio hits in the 90's and released a CD in 2009. However, My favorite offering from them is a little known CD recorded between their early success and their most recent release. The production value is very low when compared to guys like Chris Tomlin and David Crowder Band, but I highly recommend the CD "Seized by the Power of a Great Affection." It has some awesome worship songs.

Worship Artists

So I promised (back when I wrote about some rap artists I like) I would write a post about my favorite worship artists. So, here it is...what this church music guy listen to when he listens to worship music...

David Crowder Band...these guys have such a diverse range of musical styles and still so many of their songs have such a spirit of worship. My favorite album that they have put out is "A Collision." Many of the songs from this album have been adopted by the christian church. Some of David's stuff is a bit hard to pull off in your average church (with his synthesizers, violins, etc...), but lyrically they are worth the effort to bring to local congregations. I'm sorry to hear that they are calling it quits after their next album.


Matt Redman...British singer/songwriter who has brought us such songs as "The Heart of Worship" and "Blessed Be Your Name." Totally different style here than Crowder, but very passionate songs of praise.  I love his album "Facedown." Almost every track on that CD has found it's way into my head at one time or another, and I have used many of them when leading worship. Redman's newest CD "10,000 Reasons" has some great songs that I look forward to using in the future.




Charlie Hall...I absolutely love his album "Flying Into Daybreak." Possibly my favorite worship album ever. This album has some of my favorite songs "All We Need", "Marvelous Light", "Micah 6:8", "Song of the Redeemed", etc. I'm not always a huge fan of his recordings, but I love his lyrics and having seen him live, his presence on stage is very worshipful. Plus he has a longer beard than I do. (maybe I'll catch up someday...)



Shane and Shane...I love these guys. From their acoustic guitar playing, to their great harmonies, to the great relaxed atmosphere of their music. Their music doesn't feel forced, they aren't trying fit a certain mold, their aren't trying to impress me with their talent, it's just a couple of guys and their friends playing and singing for their Lord.


Chris Tomlin...What can I say, this guy writes music that the church can sing and wants to sing. He writes very singable and connectable songs.

So...these are some of my favorites. Check them out. On a side note, as an addition to my rap post, I have recently been introduced to a CD by a group called the 116 Clique. The name of the CD is "13 Letters." These rap artists took the 13 books of the Bible that Paul wrote as letters to the churches, studied them, and wrote songs breaking down the message of each. They are great songs that expound Biblical truth. If you like rap music, you need to check it out.

An Evenings Musings

   Do you ever read another person's blog and then feel like you ought write one of your own? I often find myself in this situation after reading a blog by Ann Voscamp. It's not because she is such a great writer (though she is), it's not the stories she uses to make a point (though her anecdotes are typically spot on), no it's because she writes about living Christianity the way I wish I lived Christianity. She asks the hard questions that we are so often afraid to voice out loud, and voices her own struggles with putting God's word into practice. Because of this. I often come away from reading her words feeling as though I need to simply get with the program and stop wishfully thinking about being a better Christian, and start doing it. With that thought check out a blog called "A Holy Experience" written by Ann Voscamp. I think most people who read my blog would appreciate many of the things she has to say.
   How often do you waste time? Goofing off, playing facebook games, reading mindless dribble, playing video games, watching tv, watching movies, etc... I am an expert at wasting time. In fact I usually stay up late so that I can waste more time after my children are asleep. I also waste time while they are awake. Do you ever find yourself telling your child (or a friend/neighbor/family member) that you are busy and please give me a few minutes only to realize that you are "busy" checking your e-mail for the 8th time today. Have you ever realized that one of the reasons you are bored is because you keep checking your e-mail even though you aren't expecting anything? Why do we put to the side those things that are most important for our own selfish indulgences? Why don't we play with our children more, visit with our neighbors more, work less, spend less, and read our Bibles and pray more? I don't know, but I do know that I am guilty of this. I also know that I want to change. I would rather come to the end of my life with little in my bank account and having given up some of my "me time" and knowing that I have many strong relationships with family, friends, and God. What do you think? Are you a time waster? Do you see areas of your life that you'd like to improve but just feel like you don't have the time to improve them? Maybe there's a simply answer to both of your problems...

There's a First Time for Everything

   It's been awhile since I posted on here. I know that I don't have an avid fan base, but for those who do read, here's something new.
   Today I officiated my first wedding! It was a small ceremony and I did not talk for very long. Our pastor was going to be in Haiti with our mission team when the couple wanted to get married, so as Associate Pastor, I got to step in. It was honestly a lot of fun. Everyone said it was a nice ceremony so I am going to take them at their word and not try to over-analyze what I did or didn't say.
   I am also getting to preach my first sermon, for this church, tomorrow morning. Like I said our pastor was going to be out of town so I volunteered to fill the pulpit. Unfortunately for pastor we had a congregant who had a heart attack this past week and he felt like he should come home so he could minister to the man and his family. However, since I was already prepared I am still preaching. Look out FSBC Liberal the new guy is going to step on toes (his own included) while trying not to offend. I'm going to preach on worship as seen in Romans 12 where we are called to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. This means that our worship has to be more than simple Sunday morning/Wednesday night attendance. We have been called to more than that. Hopefully I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. There's a lot in the passage and I am going to do my best to have the congregation out of there at noon.
   So please pray for me as I preach tomorrow, and if you don't have a church home, check out our churches live streaming of the service at fsbcliberal.com.  Once your on the page scroll down partway and link to go to the stream is on the right hand side of the page. God bless and remember that tomorrow is Sunday and you should go to church. Good Night.

Book Review for “Time with God for Fathers” by Jack Countryman

I joined BookSneeze several months ago and I am just now getting around to finishing my first book and posting a review. So here it is. 

   When I first picked this book up to start reading, I was expecting a good daily devotional. I’m not sure it delivers very well on that count for me. There are 95 days worth of readings, and each has a scripture and a short inspirational/devotional/challenging thought relating to the scripture. At the end of the book there are several great reference lists to help you find passages of scripture dealing with various topics.

   I found some of the daily writings to be challenging, or at least thought provoking. However when it comes down to it, more often than not I found them to be a bit dry or overly simplistic. Occasionally I felt that the inspirational thought didn’t really connect with the scripture used. Because of this, I often had no desire to pick it up and read the next day’s writing. More often than not I would read two or three pages in a row in an attempt to hurry the book along so I could read something else.

   In the end I don’t think that I would recommend this book if you are looking for something to truly grow your walk with God. On the positive side, it is beautifully bound and would be a great book to have on an end table or coffee table where guests might pick it up and read a couple of pages out of curiosity. It could also be a great gift for a young Christian who is a Dad and could use something simply to start looking at God’s truths in scripture for Fathers.

   I am reviewing this book for BookSneeze who provided me with a complimentary copy. My opinions are my own and in no way reflect the opinions of Booksneeze. 

Sticking it to the man...sort of...

   Kathy and I are officially Kansans now. We have moved in, gotten both cars tagged, applied for drivers licenses, and finally tonight we got our cell numbers changed to the local area code. It took me 5 tries today to get the phones changed. I called the local store to see what they would need...I went to the store thinking it should be a quick process...20 minutes later and the AT & T rep is talking to her service tech on the phone trying to figure out the process, and I had to leave. I went back after lunch and after another 20 minutes found out that the only plan available was going to cost more, so I left to discuss it with Kathy. We decided that we wanted to have local numbers so we would just bite the bullet and go for it, so I called customer service to do it over the phone. This lady started the conversation stating that it would take about 20 minutes...sounds familiar...it didn't and once again I had to cancel because of a meeting. The forth try still didn't take the supposed amount of time and I had to stop for a meeting. (this one was my fault...I should have known by now that they couldn't do this procedure in under 30 minutes.) However, when I called again tonight after getting home, the process went slick as a whistle and actually took about 20 minutes. Plus, the plan that supposedly didn't exist in this area (the one that doesn't add to my bill)... apparently does exist because this representative gave it to me without a question. So, take that AT & T! You're not getting my extra $10 a month. Of course you got an hour and 40 minutes of my day...I'm not sure who stuck it to who but I feel like I won in the end.

God Bess and Good Night

Easter, Children's Music, and Afterglow

So...I am very slow about updating this thing...oh well. Since my last post, we have experienced Easter, our Children's Choir Musical, and an event called Easter Afterglow. It's been a busy couple of weeks.

Our Easter service went extremely well. We split the sermon into three parts and the music service into four. Music, preaching, music, Lord's Supper, music, preaching, music. It was different and had a lot of transitions on the platform. All the changes however made the service fresh and exciting. Rather than being distracting, I feel like it kept everyone's attention. It was great!

This past Sunday, our children's choir presented their musical. The kids did an amazing job! After singing for our church, they went and presented their musical for two local nursing homes. After that they came back and sang again for the Easter Afterglow service here at our church. They still had energy and passion. I was already exhausted. Maybe I'm getting old.

Finally, last night we had a community event sponsored by the Liberal Ministerial Alliance. Several churches from the community came together and sang songs from their easter services. It was fun to experience an event that brought together so many different congregations all for the purpose worshiping together and praising our Risen Savior. I look forward to participating in more events like this here in Liberal.

Now it's time for a nap...oh wait I'm at work...maybe later...God bless and have a great day!