Thursday, May 31, 2007
Stories Behind the songs June 3, 2007
Click here to worship along with this choir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXA1qX1QcfE&mode=related&search=
“That’s Why We Praise Him”
This is a great song by Tommy Walker, interestingly enough Tommy Walker was a shy boy who didn't speak until he was four years-old. Over time God began to pour into Tommy a spirit of worship, he now leads worship on a regular basis and has led worship for the Promise Keepers movement for crowds of over 100,000.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmAPQqzYQ-g&mode=related&search=
“Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”
click here for the story behind the song
http://www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-197-DidYouFeeltheMountainsTremble-Smith.mp3
Click here to listen to the song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Q5vVa0q8Q
“Brethren We Have Met to Worship”
Click here to hear the melody and read the words
www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/b/r/brethren.htm
“Holy is the Lord”
click here to listen to the song
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3X4CwGGJQMI
“Your Grace is Enough”
Click here to listen to how the song was written
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIgGHA27nG4
Sermon for Sunday
Dangers in the Desert
Jeremiah 2:6 (Exodus 14:3; Numbers 20:1-5; Deuteronomy 8:15; Isaiah 13:21; Lamentations 4:19)
Offertory Sunday will be Georgia Phinney playing the song "How Majestic is Your name/ Holy, Holy, Holy"
Trivia question: in the fourth verse of "Brethren We have met to worship" it refers to someone who trembles, what passage is this verse alluding to and who is it that trembled? email your answer to mark@firsthurst.com - first correct answer wins a $10.00 gift card.
BONUS material - you've got to go to this website and listen to Dennis Jernigans' song "PASSIONATE OBSESSION" go to the standalone player and click on the song - you'll not be disappointed
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=71462447
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Sunday Church Visits - May 27, 2007
They began the service with the hymn "O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing". (I thought it was a baptist hymn!). Then an invocation
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Stories Behind the Songs - May 27, 2007
“Lord, Reign in Me”
Click here to listen to the song by Brenton Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcXnugDRy-U&mode=related&search= Here is Brentons' myspace site
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=74875704
Here is the Brentons' website
http://www.brentonbrownmusic.com/
“Draw Me Close”
Click here to read a story about Kelly Carpenter and how he wrote the song http://www.integritymusic.com/worship/story/0203.html
Click here to read an interesting dialogue between Bob Kauflin & Chuck Colson on the merits of this song and how some people have rejected this song. It is an interesting read, and should lead all of us to examine the intent of the songs we sing. Are we really engaged with the message and lyrics or are we just going through the motions?
http://worshipmatters.blogs.com/bobkauflin/2006/04/qa_friday_enter.html
"Give Me Jesus" worship choir
This song is one of our choirs' favorites. We first sang it at the one year anniversary of 911. The song is an arrangement of an old spiritual. There are several arrangements.
Our arrangement is patterned after Fernando Ortega Click here to sing along with Fernado
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKy_NxB398&mode=related&search=
Click here for an arrangement of the song by Jeremy Camp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dca0P7w9ZQ
Click here for even another recording and an excellent guitar solo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE-10IKfMxQ&mode=related&search=
“Victory in Jesus”
This is one of those standard hymns for baptist churches. The song was written by southern baptist Eugene Bartlett. Eugene's son Gene Bartlett was the Director of Church music for the state of Oklahoma for 25 years. I had the opportunity to attend "Uncle Gene's" funeral in Oklahoma City. At the funeral the grandson of the composer led the congregation in singing this great hymn. I'll never forget that moment, watching Eugene's grandson lead the congregation in this great song.
Eugene Monroe Bartlett Senior was born on Christmas Eve of 1885. He wrote the words to this hymn -- his last song -- in 1939. Mr. Bartlett was well known as a gospel singer, writer, teacher, editor, and publisher. He was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1979.The words from this well-known and cherished hymn remind us that we can experience victory in Jesus every day of our lives.
I heard an old, old story,
How He gave His life on Calvary
I heard about His groaning,
Then I repented of my sins;
O victory in Jesus,My Savior, forever.
He sought me and bought me
He loved me ere I knew Him,
He plunged me to victory,
I heard about His healing,
How He made the lame to walk again
And caused the blind to see;
Come and heal my broken spirit,
I heard about a mansion
And I heard about the streets of gold
About the angels singing,
And some sweet day I'll sing up there
Click here for a clip from one of the homecoming concerts, Cynthia Clawson, Mike Allen & Joy Gardner singing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPv_S3RpIF4&mode=related&search=
Click here to sing along
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA_GPPSgRuQ&mode=related&search=
Click here to hear a great organ solo on "Victory in Jesus"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae_b3sYB8Uo&mode=related&search=
Click here for a great country version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaFo3ZW_MTQ&mode=related&search=
"RESCUE"
Click here to listen to the story behind the song: http://www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-232-Rescue-Anderson.mp3
Click here to listen to the song on Jared's myspace. http://myspace.com/jaredandersonmusic
“There is a Fountain”
This is one of the first hymns William Cowper wrote after his first attack of temporary madness. Cowper had been promised a post as Clerk of the Journal to the House of Lords, but was dismayed upon learning he would have to undergo a public examination in the House before beginning his duties. The following article from the North American Review, January, 1834, describes his dilemma, and how God prevented him from destroying himself:
As the time drew nigh, his agony became more and more intense; he hoped and believed that madness would come to relieve him; he attempted also to make up his mind to commit suicide, though his conscience bore stern testimony against it; he could not by any argument persuade himself that it was right, but this desperation prevailed, and he procured from an apothecary the means of self-destruction. On the day before his public appearance was to be made, he happened to notice a letter in the newspaper, which to his disordered mind seemed like a malignant libel on himself. He immediately threw down the paper and rushed into the fields, determined to die in a ditch, but the thought struck him that he might escape from the country. With the same violence he proceeded to make hasty preparations for his flight; but while he was engaged in packing his portmanteau his mind changed, and he threw himself into a coach, ordering the man to drive to the Tower wharf, intending to throw himself into the river, and not reflecting that it would be impossible to accomplish his purpose in that public spot. On approaching the water, he found a porter seated upon some goods: he then returned to the coach and was conveyed to his lodgings at the Temple. On the way he attempted to drink the laudanum, but as often as he raised it, a convulsive agitation of his frame prevented it from reaching his lips; and thus, regretting the loss of the opportunity, but unable to avail himself of it, he arrived, half dead with anguish, at his apartment. He then shut the doors and threw himself upon the bed with the laudanum near him, trying to lash himself up to the deed; but a voice within seemed constantly to forbid it, and as often as he extended his hand to the poison, his fingers were contracted and held back by spasms.
At this time one of the inmates of the place came in, but he concealed his agitation, and as soon as he was left alone, a change came over him, and so detestable did the deed appear, that he threw away the laudanum and dashed the vial to pieces. The rest of the day was spent in heavy insensibility, and at night he slept as usual; but on waking at three in the morning, he took his penknife and lay with his weight upon it, the point toward his heart. It was broken and would not penetrate. At day break he arose, and passing a strong garter around his neck, fastened it to the frame of his bed: this gave way with his weight, but on securing it to the door, he was more successful, and remained suspended till he had lost all consciousness of existence. After a time the garter broke and he fell to the floor, so that his life was saved.; but the conflict had been greater than his reason could endure. He felt for himself a contempt not to be expressed or imagined; whenever he went into the street, it seemed as if every eye flashed upon him with indignation and scorn; he felt as if he had offended God so deeply that his guilt could never be forgiven, and his whole heart was filled with tumultuous pangs of despair. Madness was not far off, or rather madness was already come. After recovering, Cowper came to realize how God can erase the stain of any sin.
There is a fountain filled with blood
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
The dying thief rejoiced to see
And there have I, though vile as he,
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Till all the ransomed church of God
E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
and shall be till I die.
"Jesus Paid it All"
I received this email from Alex Nefong in England who wrote the song:
The words were written by Elvina M. Hall and the music by John T. Grape on New Year’s night, 1886, some missionaries were holding open-air services in order to attract passers-by to a near-by mission, where meetings were to be held later. "All to Christ I owe" was sung, and after a gentleman had given a short address he hastened away to the mission. He soon heard footsteps close behind him and a young woman caught up with him and said: "I heard you addressing the open-air meeting just now; do you think, sir, that Jesus could save a sinner like me?"The gentleman replied that there was no doubt about that, if she was anxious to be saved. She told him that she was a servant girl, and had left her place that morning after a disagreement with her mistress. As she had been wandering about the streets in the dark, wondering where she was to spend the night, the sweet melodies of this hymn had attracted her, and she drew near and listened attentively. As the different verses were being sung, she felt that the words surely had something to do with her. Through the whole service she seemed to hear what met her oppressed soul’s need at that moment. God’s Spirit had showed her what a poor, sinful and wretched creature she was, and had led her to ask what she must do. On hearing her experience, the gentleman took her back to the mission and left her with the ladies in charge. The young, wayward woman was brought to Christ that night. A situation was secured for her in a minister’s family. There she became ill and had to be taken to a hospital. She rapidly failed and it became evident that she would not be long on earth. One day the gentleman whom she had met on New Year’s night was visiting her in the ward. After quoting a few suitable verses of Scripture, he repeated her favorite hymn, "All to Christ I owe"…and she seemed overwhelmed with the thought of coming to glory…Two hours afterward she passed away.
You can listen to "Jesus Paid it All" by clicking here www.firsthurst.com/HURST_worship_resources.php
Click here to worship along
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onxhvivQYfI
Click here to worship along with a younger generation led by Kristian Stanfill:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-OOjfaBGnA&mode=related&search=
You can go here to Kristians' myspace and click on the song just to listen
http://www.myspace.com/kristianstanfill
WOW - here it is in Spanish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRRBtWP_buA
SERMON
Escape From Judgement (Hebrews 2:3; 9:27-28; 1 Thess. 5:2-3)
Offertory "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by the Handbell ministry.
Words by Julia W. Howe 1861. This hymn was born during the American civil war, when Howe visited a Union Army camp on the Potomac River near Washington, D. C. She heard the soldiers singing the song “John Brown’s Body,” and was taken with the strong marching beat. She wrote the words the next day:
"I awoke in the grey of the morning, and as I lay waiting for dawn, the long lines of the desired poem began to entwine themselves in my mind, and I said to myself, “I must get up and write these verses, lest I fall asleep and forget them!” So I sprang out of bed and in the dimness found an old stump of a pen, which I remembered using the day before. I scrawled the verses almost without looking at the paper."
The hymn appeared in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862. It was sung at the funerals of British statesman Winston Churchill, American senator Robert Kennedy, and American presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.
Music: John Brown’s Body, possibly by John William Steffe
John Brown was an American abolitionist who led a short lived insurrection to free the slaves.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Abba's Child
Abba’s Child
Once I related the story of an old man dying of cancer. The old man’s daughter had asked the local priest to come and pray with her father. When the priest arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The priest assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. “I guess you were expecting me,” he said. “No, who are you?” “I’m the new associate at your parish,” the priest replied. “When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up.” “Oh yeah, the chair,” said the bedridden man. “Would you mind closing the door?” Puzzled, the priest shut the door. “I’ve never told anyone this, not even my daughter,” said the man, “but all my life I have never known how to pray. At the Sunday Mass I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head. Finally I said to him one day in sheer frustration, ‘I get nothing out of your homilies on prayer’. “ ‘Here,’ says my pastor reaching into the bottom drawer of his desk. ‘Read this book by Hans Urs von Balthasar. He’s a Swiss theologian. It’s the best book on contemplative prayer in the twentieth century.’
“Well, Father,” says the man, “I took the book home and tried to read it. But in the first three pages I had to look up twelve words in the dictionary. I gave the book back to my pastor, thanked him and under my breath whispered ‘for nothin’.’ “I abandoned any attempt at prayer,” he continued, “until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, ‘Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here’s what I suggest. Sit down on a chair, place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because He promised, ‘I’ll be with you all days.’ Then just speak to Him and listen in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’ “So, Padre, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.”
The priest was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, anointed him with oil, and returned to the rectory. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the priest that her daddy had died that afternoon. “Did he seem to die in peace?” he asked. “Yes, when I left the house around two o’clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corney jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store and hour later I found him dead. But there was something strange, Father. In fact beyond strange, kinda weird. Apparently just before Daddy died, he leaned over and rested his head on the chair beside his bed.”
Copied from "Abba's Child" pg 124 & 125
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Stories behind the songs - Sunday May 20, 2007
We'll begin with the song "Your Name" led by soloist John Brewer and the worship choir. The song is by composer Travis Cottrell. Travis is the worship leader for the "Living Proof" conferences with teacher Beth Moore. Click here for an in depth article on Travis' ministry.
www.integritymusic.com/worship/artist/0105.html
When asked what kind of a musical legacy he would like to leave the church, Travis Cottrell expressed “I would hope that I would be remembered as someone who has a passion for Jesus, passion that supersedes any kind of musical style,” he says, ardently. “I would hope to make a mark – small as it may be – that shows that we can’t define our expressions of worship generationally. Part of what’s going on in the church and in our disagreements about worship, is that we all want to worship like we grew up worshipping. We want it to sound pleasing to us. To me that’s not what worship is about. Worship is not a sound, it’s a lifestyle, it’s our heart. If I could change someone’s perspective on what worship is, that’s exactly what I set out to do.
www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-257-BlessedBeYourName-Redman.mp3
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6xo5KogzaI
www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mZH9T9XNVU&mode=related&search=
www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-177-TradingMySorrows-Evans.mp3
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=36203670
This is a great song by Israel Houghton click here to hear the story behind the song.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=99989541
Click here to listen to the story behind the song:
http://www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-232-Rescue-Anderson.mp3
www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-196-HereIAmtoWorship-Hughes.mp3
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2d10n1Cpcc&mode=related&search=
www.crosswalk.com/spirituallife/worship/1227531/
www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-302-HowGreatisOurGod-Tomlin.mp3
Click here to listen to Chris share about how the song came about.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpfKli_4LQ0&mode=related&search=
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
CANDIS ROCKS! She would be the one with her mouth open the widest!
View of the Cathedral
Candis' comments:
I went to Assisi while in Italy over January! Thanks to Rick James, I did a walking tour of Assisi which ended at the cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. That cathedral was one of the biggest we went to in all of Italy. One of the many cathedrals in Assisi, had the prayer of St. Francis posted at an alter...the very spot, supposedly, where he prayed the prayer and gave his life to Christ. Assisi was a beautiful place, just as St. Francis was a beautiful servant of Christ. Candis Garner
THE CATHEDRAL
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Thoughts on St. Francis of Assisi
I was reading recently about St. Francis of Assisi and found this information and paragraph from Brennan Manning inspiring. He sounds like a guy I would have loved spending some time with. St. Francis was born at Assisi in 1182. After a care free youth, he turned his back on inherited wealth and committed himself to God. Like many early saints, he lived a very simple life of poverty, and in so doing, gained a reputation of being the friend of animals. He established the rule of St Francis, which exists today as the Order of St. Francis, or the Franciscans. He died in 1226, aged 44. Contemporaries of Francis of Assisi called him le jon gleur de Dieu - the clown of God. At the first mass meeting of Franciscans, with three thousand brothers in attendance, Francis gently instructed the birds to stop chirping so that the friars might hear his sermon. They obeyed instantly. He tamed a wolf who was eating people in the village of Gubbio and extracted a promise from the locals to provide food each night for the carnivore. He picked up two stray pieces of wood, pretending that one was a bow and the other a fiddle, and sang love songs to God in French. He composed a canticle praising God for Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brother Fire, Sister Water, and even Sister Death. He often stood on his head to see the world upside down, reminding his neighbors and himself that life on planet earth hangs precariously on the strings of God's loving kindness.
Ruthless Trust Pg 70 Brennan Manning
THE PRAYER OF St. FRANCIS of ASSISI
O Divine Master,
For it is in giving that we receive;
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Stories behind the songs - Sunday May 13, 2007
Am I being sincere?
Is my heart fixed on Him and undivided?
Am I fully assured that only faith in Christ can bring me to God’s throne?
Am I coming humbly, realizing I can draw near only because of what Christ has done for me?
Is there any sin in my life I haven’t dealt with?
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY
We'll begin Sunday with a short video tribute to Moms, following that we'll move into worship with the song
"Sing to the King"
The song was written by Billy James Foote. Billy is a member of the Alamo City Christian Fellowship. Billy started leading worship in 1990, right out of college. Back then Christiandom didn't demand bands. They were satisfied with simplicity. Billy played his guitar and led worship by himself until several years later. He added a drummer (Joe McArthur) first and then a bass player (Shawn Skeen) and then Cindy joined in with vocals in 2001. Sometime around the year 2000 Billy began having vocal trouble which turned out to be a neurological condition called hyper-disphonia. There's really no cure for this condition. So Cindy began singing more of the lead vocals over time. Though Cindy sings most of the songs, Billy is still the person giving direction to the worship time and, of course, he writes most of the songs the band plays. Billy began song writing in the late 1990's. He's written several well known songs including:
"Break Our Hearts", "Goodness and Mercy", "You Are My King (Amazing Love)", "Sing to the King", "I Have a River", "Die the Death", "You Are God Alone (not a god)", "You Are Welcome Here" and "Welcome to the Cross".
Learn more about Billy's ministry on his myspace website & ministry website:
http://www.myspace.com/billyfooteband
http://www.billyfoote.com/
"Gentle Shepherd"
The worship choir will share a new arrangement of this classic by Bill Gaither. The song is based on the scripture, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."John 10:11
Jesus used many metaphors to explain his identity. One of the most beautiful is that of the sheep and the shepherd.
http://www.dennisjernigan.com/
http://mickey.tv/r/Video.aspx?v=B_O6TUAMWIw&key=Dennis+Jernigan
"Whiter than Snow"
This hymn text was written by a Christian layman. James Nicholson emigrated to America around the age of 25. He spent the early part of his life as a clerk in the post office of Philadelphia, yet he was active in the work of the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The hymn was first published in a pamphlet titled "Joyful Songs" in 1872. The hymn's popularity greatly increased with its inclusion in the well-know GOSPEL HYMNS series published by Sankey and Bliss. Around 1871, he moved to Washington DC and worked as a clerk in the Post Office Department.
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/h/i/whiterts.htm
Listen to the song and follow along with the words -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x7LpTizSOc&mode=related&search=
"Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)"
New Song Cafe - story behind the song "Amazing Grace" * must see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU_4lIik9D8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXV6HJxUebg&mode=related&search=
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Great song writers, part one - Lenny Leblanc
Here is a picture I had made at one of the Integrity Worship conferences in Ft. Worth with Lenny Leblanc. Lenny is a great song writer who lives in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. My brother Eddy served as the Campus minister at the University of North Alabama and would have Lenny over to lead worship periodically. Eddy said Lenny "the person" is the same guy as Lenny "the artist". I think that says a lot. I was re-reading Brennan Manning's book "Abba's Child". His second chapter is simply called "The Impostor", this section convicted me concerning how I treat others.
One lonely night in the Colorado Rockies, I heard this message: "Brennan, you bring your full presence and attention to certain members of the community but offer a diminished presence to others. Those who have stature, wealth, and charisma, those you find interesting or charming or pretty or famous command your undivided attention, but people you consider plain or dowdy, those of less rank performing menial tasks, the unsung and uncelebrated are not treated with the same regard. This is not a minor matter to me, Brennan. The way you are with others every day, regardless of their status, is the real test of faith." Brennan Manning "Abba's Child" pg 38
Two of my favorite songs he wrote are
1) "Above All"
In 1991, years after Paul and Lenny had become well-known Christian songwriters and worship leaders, Lenny invited Paul to his Alabama home to collaborate on a project. Paul sang Lenny an unfinished song that he had started. The lyric began, Above all powers, above all kings/Above all nations and all created things, and went on to extol more of God's greatness. It was powerful, but Paul wasn't happy with any of the choruses he had written for it. Early the next morning, Lenny slipped into his studio to play around with the tune. Instead of expanding on Paul's verses with more majestic phrases, God gave him a chorus that touched on the paradoxical nature of Christ's life: Crucified, and laid behind a stone/You lived to die, rejected and alone.
2) "There is none like You" - I couldn't find a story behind this song, I guess the lyrics speak for themselves.
There is none like You No one else can touch my heart like You do I could search for all eternity long And find there is none like You Your mercy flows like a river wide And healing comes from Your hands Suffering children are safe in Your arms There is none like You
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Stories behind the songs - Sunday May 6, 2007
We'll begin our worship with the great hymn "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross". The original song was written by Isaac Watts, the new chorus was written by Chris Tomlin. Isaac was born in 1674 and Chris was born in 1972. Even though they are separated by three hundred years, there is no separation between their passion and commitment to leading God's people in worship. WOW! The past meets the present.
Click here to hear Chris Tomlin talk about how this new arrangement came about. http://www.theheartofworship.org/stories/Story-306-TheWonderfulCross-Tomlin.mp3
You can listen to more of Chris Tomlins' music on his myspace website.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=94631118
Isaac Watts (July 17, 1674 – November 25, 1748) is recognized as the "Father of English Hymnody", as he was the first prolific and popular English hymnwriter, credited with some 750 hymns. Many of his hymns remain in active use today and have been translated into many languages.
Isaac is best known for his emphasizing the role of music in worship, where the congregation actually began to sing with the choir. Watts became the congregation's pastor in 1702. Just five feet tall, he was an unprepossessing figure in the pulpit. Health problems continued to plague him, and an assistant had to be appointed to fill in for him after a severe bout with illness in 1703. Despite these problems, Watts was a powerful preacher. The Mark Lane congregation outgrew its quarters and twice had to move to larger facilities, and Watts' sermons began to be collected and printed. Part of his success was due to his emphasis on the role of music in worship. A minister, he felt, should not only write sermons but should seek to involve his congregation in worship through music.
"In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
http://www.crosswalk.com/1275127/
http://www.firsthurst.com/HURST_worship_resources.php
"I’m Amazed" - Worship choir anthem - we'll have a special guest soloist Cederick Johnson, former roommate of John Brewer.
Carol Cymbala says she wrote the song after speaking to a group of choir directors and sharing with them the story of a homeless man who came to hear the choir sing on Easter Sunday and ended up turning his life around. From that came the fitting lyrics, "I’m amazed that you love me, I’m amazed how you care."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIgGHA27nG4&mode=related&search=
"Grace Greater than our Sins"
Sometimes the argument is advanced that since God's grace covers all our sings, then we are free to live as we please. God's grace does provide for our freedom, but it is meant to free us from a slavery to our selfish, sinful nature in order that we might pursue "every good work" - to become all that God intends us to be.
Julia Johnston was for many years involved in the work of Sunday schools at the First Presbyterian Church of Peoria, Illinois, and as a writer of lesson materials for primary age children for the David C. Cook Publishing Company. She also wrote approximately 500 hymn texts. The composer of this hymn, Daniel B. Towner, was for many years the director of the music department at Mood Bible Institute. "Grace Greater than Our Sin" first appeared in Towner's compilation, Hymns Tried and True, 1911.
After the ministry of prayer
John Brewer and Cederick Johnson will sing the song "Everything" by Lifehouse.
Click here to learn more about how this group was formed.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/cl/2001/006/22.28.html
"Revelation Song"
I was at an Integrity music conference listening to Paul Baloche take some Q&A after a large group session. There were about 15 people standing around when I noticed the name tag on the lady beside me. Her name was Jennie Riddle, I turned and asked her "Your name sounds familiar, how do I know your name?" She said, "Well I did write the song "Revelation Song". Since then I've run into her at the Lamar Boschman worship pastor luncheons. She is housewife in from McKinney, Texas who simply heard what I would call a song from the "other side". You can listen to "Revelation song" on Jennie's myspace, the recording is by Karen Wheaton. Today's' trivia question is two fold "How tall was Isaac Watts and where is his tomb?" Email the correct answer to mark@firsthurst.com - first correct answer receives a $10.00 Blockbuster Video card.
2 Peter 1:3-4 (Genesis 7:7; 1 Corinthians 10:12-13) 2 Timothy 2:26