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Snowboarding

Took the students snowboarding yesterday up at Skibowl. The way I see it, anytime you can take 30 people up the mountain to go snowboarding and it is incident free, it is a successful trip! We had a great time!

It was lightly snowing when we arrived and then cleared up and turned out to be a beautiful day and night. Aaron and I even caught ourselves doing a little worship on the mountain! Singing praises to God as you are flying down the slopes is pretty cool! God's creation is truly wonderous and beautiful!

Rez Band

Sarah Budd asked the other day on her blog if anyone knew of any heavy metal songs that dealt with social justice. Apparently a prof of her's said that they do not exist. That of course got me thinking, and thinking about one of my all time favorite bands...Resurrection Band, also called Rez Band.

They are a hard rock/metal/blues band and were in their prime in the 80s and early 90s. Much of their material dealt with homelessness, racism, AIDS, and the plight of the needy in general. Their discography includes 20 albums!

What I like so much about them is they are a band that lives out their message. They are part of a community in the inner city of Chicago called Jesus People USA (JPUSA), a community committed to the needs of the poor, abused, and needy. They are a people that are committed to living out the mandate of Jesus in Matthew 25 in which Jesus instructs us to minister to the needy. Prior to college I even considered being a part of the minitry of JPUSA.

Rez Band and JPUSA are also the force behind the Conrnerstone Festival, one of the largest music/ministry festivals in the country. It is held each summer in both Illinois and Florida. If there was ever a festival I wanted to go to, this is the one!

Are their any other Rez Band fans out there? What were some of your favorite bands/artists during the 80's and 90s?

Pray

Last night our High School Ministry had our monthly Second Wednesday Worship. It was a powerful night of worship as we sought the Lord together in prayer.

I love the times of high energy and activity with our students, but I love just as much the times of quiet reflection and seeking of God. Last night was just one of those nights. One thing I know....we really ticked off our enemy, the devil, last night!

I enjoy very much corporately worshipping the Lord through song like we do so much of the time in church, but it is times like last night when we together as a community are seeking and worshipping God in many different forms at one time that I really get excited!

At any given time last night, at different prayer stations, students were praying for the needs of others in our group, were praying for our Compassion Children, were praying for our Mexico Ministries, were praying for the leadership of our church, were writing out prayers to the Lord, were confessing sin to God, were praying for upcoming events within our ministry, and praying for needs around the world in different countries.

I am convinced that we accomplished much last night. I want to be a better prayer. I want to seek the Lord in earnest prayer at all times, not just in times like last night. May we all remember that The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16).

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14

WWJH

What Would Jesus Have?

I just received an email from Beliefnet.Com. Why I received it I have no idea, but then again how is it that our inboxes get so clogged up with unsolicitated email anyway? Anyway the email shares the results of a recent poll they conducted.

Here it is...

WHAT WOULD JESUS HAVE ON HIS IPOD?

In a New Beliefnet.Com Online Poll, 55% Vote That Jesus Wouldn’t Even Own an iPod

New York, NY – January 9, 2006 — Beliefnet, Inc., the leading multi-faith spirituality media company and online community, today announced the results of their online survey on “What Would Jesus Have on his iPod?” More than 55% of those polled voted that Jesus wouldn’t even own an iPod-- proving that even the “Digital Messiah,” Steve Jobs still has room for further converts.

The following is the complete poll results:

What would Jesus have on his iPod?

• Classic Rock - 11%

• Traditional Gospel - 7%

• Christian Rock - 13%

• Hip-Hop/ Rap - 3%

• Soul/ Funk - 4%

• Songs of King David - 11%

• Jesus would never have an iPod! - 55%

So you want to weigh in? What do you think Jesus would have on His iPod, if of course He had one.

I wonder what kind of iPod Jesus would even have?

Maybe He would have the iBelieve, the new iPod Shuffle cross cap. I kind of doubt it!

He Walks!

At 12 months and 8 days, Benny took his first steps last night! What a momentous occasion! The world will never again be the same....not to mention our house!

Three More Weeks!

Only three more weeks until the helmet comes off!

I have been charting Benny's helmet therapy progress on my blog since it began in September (Helmet report # 1, #2, #3, #4, #5).

Today we had an appointment and were told the good news....we're almost done! The doctor was very pleased with how things looked and said he should only have to wear it full time for only three more weeks. We are so excited!

After three weeks, he will only need to wear it for a month at night when he sleeps, and then we are done!!!

He will be one happy boy, not that he isn't happy all the time anyway!

Blessed iPod

Have you had your iPod blessed yet? Now you can!

Read all about it here. Pretty funny! Of course it's from Lark News, so please don't take it seriously. Just enjoy the laugh!

Think On This

"Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship."
- John Piper

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

What I Desire For 2006

As I consider the new year there are two things that I desire for my life.

1. I want to be a better worshipper of God. I want to fully understand what it means to worship in spirit and in truth; to worship with my heart's full affection and my minds complete attention. I want to understand better what it means to offer my body as a living sacrifice. I want my worship to be holy and pleasing to God.

2. I want to remember and never forget all the ways God has blessed my life. I never want to forget that God has blessed me in order to be a blessing to others. To that end I repost a post I made in August after returning from Mexico. I repost it as a reminder to myself. I repost it as a challenge to others.

MAY I NEVER FORGET

We are back from Mexico now. I along with 19 others spent a week in Mexico the first part of August. It truly was a powerful time for me as I know it was for the others on the team. It never ceases to amaze me how we go to give, and come away having received so much. I received much this year, from God.

It seems that going to Mexico every year, like I do, always works to re-calibrate my life. Let me explain. It is so easy to fall into the trap of living for the "American Dream." Our society engrains into us that "More is better." "Bigger is better." "He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins." No where in Scripture do I read messages like this.

True confession time....I am guilty of living for the American Dream. Living in our culture, it is all too easy to slip into living "the dream" and not even know it. Spending time in Mexico, surrounded by such poverty, and yet such strong love, joy, and hospitality, I find my life re-calibrated to where it should be. This year I came home saying, "May I Never Forget."

May I never forget how most of the world lives. May I never forget how God has blessed me and my family. May I never forget how "easy" life is for me in the U.S.. May I never forget why God has blessed me with what He has blessed me with. May I never forget that the American Dream is a lie.

So feel free to ask me sometime what dream I am living for....the American dream or God's dream (desires) for my life. I want to live a life that honors God. I want to live a life committed to honoring God with the resources that He has given me. I want to live a life committed to ministering to the needs of people around me, both in my community and abroad.

Join me in living the REAL dream life!

Oh...want to see the pictures? Check 'em out here.

Life As Worship

(Link Now fixed. For those that tried unsuccessfully to listen to my message on Tuesday, it is now fixed. Sorry for the inconvience.)

Here is the audio of the message I preached on Sunday, January 1. It is entitled, "Life As Worship."

This message may also be found at my new Audio Messages page, along with other messages that I have preached.

You will also notice a link to this page on the side bar of this blog under Sites Worth Your Time.