GOD’S SONGBOOK: Shout for Joy!

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Screen Shot 2020-08-31 at 1.38.27 PMOver the past few months at CrossPointe Church we’ve been working through Wednesday night Bible study series on the Psalms, & I chose Psalm 66 because, as a Worship Pastor, this is ONE OF MY FAVORITES!

“Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
Sing the glory of His name;
Give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!’” (Psalm 66:1-3a)

Don’t read it – SHOUT IT! Think on this: the book of Psalms is an ancient liturgical book – a collection of hymns & poetry for the purpose of aiding God’s people in worshiping Him as He ought be worshipped.

Do we do such a text any justice to read it dully, without emotion… “shout for joy to god all the earth” (said in monotone)? When your favorite sports team scores the winning goal, or your favorite band closes the show with that awesome sing-along, is your response, “oh…yay”?

Check this list of Scriptures out, & you should grasp what I’m meaning…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: CrossPointe Worship, Kingdom of God, Saint Lewis, SEASONING, Shannon, Theology

KINGDOM: You are Blessed!

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PuzzlePieceKingdomJesus, God with skin on had one sermon in particular we call the “Sermon on the Mount.” It’s not a very profound name because basically He taught a bunch of stuff while standing on a Hill… pretty anticlimactic name, huh?  Anyway, in the Kingdom of God is served like Jesus’ acceptance speech for being nominated “King”… Jesus lays out ALL of the “important” stuff. This is what the Kingdom was like.  [Read more…]

Filed Under: Kingdom of God, Saint Lewis Tagged With: , , ,

Hope in Troubling Times

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AdventChapter 24 of Luke’s Gospel shares a compelling story. Beginning in verse 13 we learn of two men walking to the village of Emmaus, a seven mile journey, & they were discussing the current buzz on the street, during which the resurrected Jesus joined them, & entered into the conversation. Read Luke 24:13-27 yourself for the full story, but the tale is a peculiar one. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Encouragement, Kingdom of God, Saint Lewis, Shannon, Theology Tagged With: ,

“Joy in the Morning” / “Morning will Come”

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Screen Shot 2020-03-16 at 1.08.57 PMI remember the first time Psalm 30:5 spoke to me so deeply; “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” It was 2008 & were walking through a very deep valley & needed encouragement – those words became something firm for us to stand on, so we wrote them into a song that we demoed with the band for the SONGS FROM THE HOPE FARM release, but it just didn’t feel finished, & the message was so dear to my heart that I wanted to make sure it was truly finished before I recorded & released it.

So, I rewrote it. I rewrote “Joy in the Morning” so many times that it became a joke among my band members. I’d say, “Guys, should we play ‘Joy’?“, & they’d respond – “I don’t know – which one?“, & we’d all have a good laugh. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Creativity, New Music, Saint Lewis, Shannon Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Resolutions for the “Dark Night”: Worship in the Valley

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Everyone faces times of trouble – their own “Dark Night of the Soul”, while walking through the valley. It seems the whole world is there presently. How do we continue to serve others & walk with God when walking through the valley of the shadow of death?

One of my spiritual heroes, Jonathan Edwards, was keen on making ‘resolutions.’ Much like Edwards, I have made a list of resolutions to strengthen my walk during the hard times: [Read more…]

Filed Under: CrossPointe Worship, Encouragement, Saint Lewis, SEASONING, Shannon, Theology, UNSEASONED Tagged With: , , , , , ,