Newspaper Article

Sorry for the long absence. So...recently I was asked to write a series of articles for our local newspaper. The basic theme is Worship in relation to Thanksgiving. So I thought I'd post them here since I don't think many who might read this get the Liberal paper.

Hello. My name is Jeremy Harris, and I am relatively new here in Liberal. I am the Worship and Community Pastor at First Southern Baptist Church, and have been here for almost 7 months. I’m married and have two children (ages 3 and 1) who keep me on my toes.

When my Pastor asked me if I would be interested in writing a series of articles for the newspaper I said yes immediately. Not because I think I am an amazing writer (I’m not), but because I want to take any opportunity to share with others the love of Jesus, and what He means to me. So starting today I will be writing a four part series on “Thanksgiving and Worship.”

Week 1: More than Family and Turkey

            Why do we have a national holiday set aside for thankfulness? Why do we close our banks, businesses, and government offices for the day (or a couple of days?) Is it truly for the purpose of being thankful? Obviously we are glad for the paid time off and the chance to see family, but is there anything more to the day?

 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
   his love endures forever. 1 Chron. 16:34

He is good. He is right in all He does. We can trust that. His love endures forever. This love that caused God to send His Son to die is directed towards you and me. We have been offered a way to freedom rather than condemnation. Should this not cause us to thank Him each and every day?

 I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart;
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1

            Whether we remember God’s deeds as recorded in the Bible, or simply remember the way He has acted for our own good in our lives, it should lead us to give thanks.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:16-17

            Do you have anything good in your life? Do you have a place to live, food to eat, family around you? Do you have a job, a car, some money in the bank? Did you wake up this morning? Is the sun still giving light and warmth to the world? How could we not be thankful?

            This Thanksgiving, let us not forget that God had provided us with all we need and more. He has blessed us in so many ways. Not only that, but He has blessed my life in more ways than I have room to enumerate within this article. When I choose to thank Him for all he has blessed me with, I worship Him. It might sound simply, but look in the Psalms and see how many times Israel’s worship leaders used the words “Give thanks.” I pray that as we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday that each of us will examine our lives and look for the blessings we have been given. Then let’s worship together by thanking the Father of heavenly lights who has given us every good and perfect gift. God Bless.

Another look at a Worship Artist

I told you I'd be posting more of these. This one is a bit different. The artist I want to highlight today is named Lecrae. He is a christian rapper. I listen to so many of his songs and I can't help but believe that he is being used of God to lead others to worship. I know most that read this are not big rap fans, so here is something that should be enjoyable for all.

A Great Day!

Have you ever noticed that some days are just good? Today was one of those days.
   I got to do lots of cooking today (which doesn't sound like fun to some people, but I enjoy it.) Tried a new recipe for biscuits this morning that did not turn out well. The sausage eggs made up for them though. Homemade pizza for lunch that was excellent. Now if only I knew how to "make" pepperoni it could be completely homemade. Crust and sauce both turned out nicely. Someone should tell pizza hut that plain jane breakfast sausage is a way better pizza topping than Italian sausage. Thanks tasteofhome.com for some great recipes.
   After lunch I got to take a nice long nap! I don't remember the last time I wanted to nap so badly. After my nap Addie (who skipped her nap) and I made chocolate chip cookies from scratch to put in welcome boxes for the students living in the dorms at SCCC here in town. Tried a new recipe that was quite tasty. Still not quite what I am looking for in the perfect chocolate chip cookie, but good none-the-less. Anyone have a good recipe for cookies that aren't so thin once they bake? Not fluffy like cake but thicker. I also whipped up a batch of homemade strawberry ice cream that has convinced my wife that I should stop making chocolate ice cream. Finally, we finished the food extravaganza with a chicken stir-fry. Zucchini, carrots, sweet onions, chicken, and kikkoman's stir-fry sauce served with white rice. Awesome!
   So there you have it, what does it take for Jeremy to have a great day? Let him take a nap and cook for you. A little bit of computer time is fun as well. What makes a day great for you? Have you stopped to thank God for the great days? How about the mediocre ones? I working on doing that more in my life. Thank You Lord for giving us today. Stay tuned for more worship posts, and thankful thoughts. God bless and good night.

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.