My notes from Seminars4Worship
2003 Integrity Music
Songwriters Retreat
(Sept 2 – 5,2003)
Summarized here,
are some of what I felt were important quotes from the speakers and teachers during the event. . .
Main Point with many of the speakers
and worship leaders – Psalm 40:3, He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
Be engaged and working, using
our songwriting gift in a local church, not for our own purposes and enrichment but for the purposes of forwarding the Kingdom.
It is important for songwriters
to be connected and working in the local church.
Write songs so people discover
the Lord
Lord, let me feel again………
We are stewards of what He has
given us. We do not own our talents !!!
Major sense and push for collaborative
song writing and all that it brings – unity, humility, accountability, preferring others, etc.
Success in songwriting is not
that our songs get published and we get famous. Success is when our songs minister
to the Lord and allow us to respond back to the Lord with our affections, personally and/or congregationally.
It’s not about us…
it is about advancing the Kingdom of the Lord and about reproducing successors… the next generation….our legacy.
You and I are part of bigger agenda
than just “our” songwriting. God’s agenda is to make His Name
known all through the earth.
Not about the songs – it
is about God and ministering to God’s people.
Make sure the message is right. The song styles may change but the message is the same – TRUTH.
Measure your success by you successors.
Our purpose as songwriters (and
a huge honor and responsibility) is to put word and song to the expression and response of God’s people to Him for His
character and deeds.
Awesome honor for songwriters
to put the words and melodies in the mouths of God’s children as they respond to the Lord’s character and deeds.
Good worship song declares the
character and deeds of the Lord and allows the response to rise up from God’s children.
Teach, instruct, remind folks
about the Lord and His Truths.
Write songs containing the Word.
Let the Word dwell in us.
Read and study the Word and theology.
Be un-offendable.
Pray and ask the Lord for songs
and lyrics.
Have a passion for the younger
generation finding the Lord in passionate worship.
Psalm 71 “next generation”
our legacy is more important than us!
Study theology and church doctrine.
The Kingdom
of Light and the kingdom of darkness both use secrets. Satan tells you that you can hide a secret and then uses it to bind you.
** what is your secret
life with God? Everything flows out from there.
Private devotion means
more to God than public demonstrations.
Sing your prayers – nothing
spectacular, just sing instead of talking – start with a simple music frame
Write something TRUE
** Jesus is concerned with the
“secret” area of your life. It is the part of your life that Jesus
wants.
The Process:
Starts with God and ends with
God. The middle is usJ
*** God is constantly scattering
seeds in the soil of our life. Spend time preparing the soil (your soil) for
when the seed comes.
Have a heart for God
Have a heart for God’s people
Have a heart for music
Opening message
before Tue eve worship time, Craig Dunnagan
Have a heart for God
Have a heart for God’s people
Have a heart for music
Priestly 1.
Songs that are overflow of a heart for God and close intimate relationship with the Lord
Pastoral 2.
Songs that minister to God’s people and meets them where they are – a pastor’s heart.
Practical 3. Skillful stewardship, the cost of the offering of songs. God
honors our efforts, our service, and offerings of worship.
As psalmists, we have the priviledge of
putting words in the mouths of God’s children, the words they get to sing to the Lord.
Session 1, Wednesday
morning – Mark Altrogge, What Makes a Great Song
Mark asked, what attributes make up a great
worship song. These attributes from the class were written down on the
board and expanded upon.
1.
Annointed and inspired by the Holy Spirit
2.
Lyrics are grounded in the Word and are vertical (sung to God) – note difference between praise and worship songs.
3.
Singable (range and melody)
4.
Relatable
5.
Melody (hook)
6.
Memorable
7.
Good groove or rhythm – fits lyrics
8.
Contains or describes God’s character or deeds
9.
Enjoyable
10.
Repetition vs. contrasts (chords, lyrics, melody, rhythm, dynamics)
11.
Playable
12.
Engages and stirs up emotions and affection towards the Lord
13.
Makes you want to linger with the Lord
14.
Creative
Worship is our whole hearted response
to Gods self revelation, in ways which please Him, in which He alone makes possible.
Books : Bible Doctrine by Wayne Grudem,
John Piper books, Charles Spurgeon books, Steve Cook’s books.
Songs containing the Word of God
bring revelation to which we respond by worshipping.
- God’s character and deeds, Psalm 145:3-7, Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no
one can fathom. One generation will commend your works to another; they will
tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They will tell of the power of your
awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. They will celebrate your
abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
Self note: on the way to the conference, in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains or Virginia
(Wytheville, Pulaski area), there were huge clouds looming above the mountain passes where the road went through. The sun was shining out from behind them in huge beams that crossed over the whole sky. It reminded me of a crown and so I started singing and shouting about the glory of the Lord and His incredible
beauty. I was stirred to do that because that it seemed that all of creation
was praising Him and His creation was so beautiful.
Engage the mind.
Affection comes from and increases
from knowing the Lord. Dwell in His Word and study / read theology and dotrine. Colossians 3:16 & 17, Let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly as your teach and admonish one another will all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Huge point…
Let the Word dwell in us…
Teach, instruct, remind folks
about the Lord and His Truths.
*** We can never hear enough about
Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross and His grace and acceptance of us. …no
works of our own…
Truth stirs affection.
Affection stirs us to learn about
God’s truths.
Mark’s definition of a great
worship song
A great worship song is a combination
of lyrics, melody, chords, and rhythm that in a creative, enjoyable, memorable way expresses truth about God and evokes a
fitting, emotional, congregational response to God.
Lyrics
First line of song – does it
engage you and compel you to come in?
Spend time on the title – very
important
Maybe working on chorus first is
easier
Point to truth about God –
song will invoke response and be timeless
Vertical – more vertical =
more emotional response
Creative / fresh – contains
a pleasing combination of the familiar and unexpected
Create and stir up affection towards
God – creative way to express emotions.
Lyrical hooks
Rhyme
Paint by the rules first, then you
can break the rules
Congregational – help to create
and open the door for common expression
Singable
Understandable
Note: Mark talked about that his
voice was not a great voice but that makes it easier to write for his congregation.
Melody
Interesting intervals
Can you surprise someone with change
and direction
Strip away chords
Play with intervals
Musical hooks
Evoke emotions
Chorus usually higher in notes and
intensity
Dynamics
Range
Chords
Learn lots of chords – be creative
While common chord progressions are
ok, try to alter – surprises
Go somewhere different
Rhythm
Repetition and contrast
Annointing and inspiration
What may be for you, may not be for
congregation
Book: Songs from Heaven by Tommy
Walker
Intros
We listen to Here I Am to Worship
– Tim Hughes
Noted:
Pause and release at beginning of
chorus
Cool perc and rhythm
Rich chords and chordal direction
/ surprised (B/D# and E/G#)
Session 2, Wednesday
afternoon – Ross Parsley, Encouraging and Pastoring a Creative Community
The challenge is to harness the creative
energies of creative people.
Two books to read:
The Heart of the Artist
To Know You More – Andy Park
How to blend people
Who is in charge? – work to align
creative people in the authority structure
Psalm 78:70, He chose David his
servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of
Israel his inheritance. And Daved shepherded
them with integrity of heart and with skillful hands he led them.
When leading creative people do it
with integrity of heart and with skill.
Skill folks usually have heart problems,
heart folks usually have skill problems. You have to work on getting them both
to the center – high skill and heart after the Lord.
Abilities
Matt 25:14, parable of the talents….
The Parable of the Talents
14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property
to them. 15To one he gave five talents[1] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey.
16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So
also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug
a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19"After a long time the master of those servants returned
and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he
said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
21"His master replied, 'Well done,
good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share
your master's happiness!'
22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with
two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You
have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
24"Then
the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have
not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in
the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew
that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put
my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28"
'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given
more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw
that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
- God gives according to the abilities – what do you do with what you have?
- there is no shame to be at different levels. It is ok to be who and where
you are.
- Comparisons 2 Cor 10:12, We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves,
they are not wise. We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will
confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.
We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as
you with the gospel of Christ. Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting
of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our
area of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man’s territory. But, “Let him who boast5s boast in the Lord. For
it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
------ comparing others or yourself is devisive and does not accomplish
Kingdom purposes.
- We are stewards of what He has given us. We do not own our
talents !!!
- Watch out for people who are defined by their talents – we are defined by our relationship with the Lord alone. Gifts are just what we do, not who we are.
Fear of failure is huge in the art / creative
community
Do what you can do to break down fear
Trust and relationship make others feel
safe
Creative people often misunderstand the
chain of command (authority)
Creative people often misunderstand who
God wants for them to be.
There is protection in being under authority
Significance, not in a personal sense,
although self-esteem issues are part of this, but in the sense that – what I can bring to the table of ministry is a
good thing and contributes to the common cause (advancing the Kingdom)
In a creative community – goal is
reproducing fruit in others
In charge of little can be trusted in charge
of more
3 things to do:
- Create a culture of empowerment where there is safety and security. Also,
where fear of failure is not a driving force. Make it about people not art /
creativity.
- You set the standard. You don’t have to be the best. Have accountability and boundaries. Have integrity of heart
and skillful hands.
- Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:13, until we all reach unity in
the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Prov 27:6, Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
3 Values at New Life
Church (CO Springs, CO)
- Freedom – important in the artistic community. Folks can choose
but this also opens them to failure.
- Co-operation / co-writing. Unity is the by-product.
- Communication. Go way beyond the normal amount of communication, all for
the sake of relationship.
Pursue Love above ALL things –
love in action.
Session 3, Wednesday
afternoon – Israel Houghton and Michael Gungor, Co-writing.
Find people who are stylistically different.
Psalm 119:165
Be un-offendable.
Labor over lyrics… Can you say it
better?
Separate thoughts and creativity from yourself
Keep co-writing sessions private to minimize
distractions.
Have something simple to record session
and ideas.
Set or schedule time for session. Throw music, lyric ideas, song visions, etc out onto table. Synergy is when it is better than the sum of the parts. After
10 minutes being stuck, lay it aside and go on. Maybe revisit later, but try
coming from a different perspective (musically or lyrically, etc)
Most important, ask the Lord for
music and lyrics!
Session 4, Wednesday
afternoon – Paul Baloche & Lynn DeShazzo, Building a Song #1
Pray and ask the Lord for songs
Be aware of uncommon phrases and revelations. Also, note musical snippets and ideas. Keep
a book of these for later use.
Search
and find inspired ideas for songs.
Sing your prayers – nothing spectacular,
just sing instead of talking – start with a simple music frame.
Find the song that is already there………
Session 5, Wednesday
night – Pete Sanchez,
This
was an awesome message. There was so much content that many folks couldn’t keep up and so requested notes and a copy
of the recording. I asked Pete to pray for me and impart all the things that
I couldn’t keep up with, which he graciously did. Just a note on Pete: I did not know who he was, but he was running around during worship and taking pictures
of the musicians, leaders, speakers, and songwriters. He also was running errands
and such. I thought he was just more of one of the guys Integrity had to take
care of the little stuff…. Then he was the one to get up and speak the
most eloquent, touching, life changing message of the event… wow, such humility and humbleness from someone who has
such wisdom and stature in the Kingdom.
Be Christ-like. Get that way by spending time being near Him.
It is not about us… but about advancing
the Kingdom of the Lord and about reproducing successors… the next generation….our legacy.
Have a passion for the younger generation
finding the Lord in passionate worship.
Psalm 40:1-3, I waited patiently
for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy
pit, out of the mud and mire; be set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will
see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 66:1, Shout with joy to
God, all the earth! Sing the glory of his name; make his praise glorious!
Col 3:12, Therefore, as God’s
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with one another and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And
over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Excellence endures long after the cost
has been forgotten.
Songwriters help people connect and respond
to the Lord.
The Lord is the master craftsman. Creation is a display of His design.
You and I are part of bigger agenda than
just “our” songwriting. God’s agenda is to make His Name known
all through the earth.
Our creativeness comes from that we are
created in the image of a creative God. We respond to the Lord by our creativity. It is always about the plan not the builders.
We need to be in alignment with this plan. God intends to transform the
nations – step up to His purpose.
Father, Son, Holy Spirit – note collaborative
effort.
Songwriters help people see with their
ears.
Spirit of Excellence inspires, elevates,
impact of God’s Spirit on our heart where a spirit of perfection – constrains us.
Measure your success by you successors.
Build excellence of character and competency
Power in our words = power in our songs
Component of the redemptive character of
God, Spirit of God, heart of God, power of God, love of God, church of God.
We need the healing and presence of God
here and now… not on the other side.
Luke 16 – Parable of the Shrewd Manager
Faithfulness in small things
Faithfulness in that which belongs to another
Faithfulness in money and resources
-
true spiritual rewards, sow in local church
Learn to create in community
Stay amazed at the Lord and especially
passionately align our hearts to God’s purposes.
Write as contemporary Psalmists
Allow gifts to transform nations and people
The earth is filled with His glory!
Session 1, Thursday morning, Pete
Sanchez, How do you, as a songwriter, define success?
Psalm 78:1, O my people, hear
my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
1 Peter 2:9
Rediscover who we are in Jesus Christ.
We each could’ve been born anytime
in history but God chose it to be now…why?
Songwriters have a legacy through and in
the folks who sing our songs.
It is all about giving all to move the
Gospel forward.
We are:
Witnesses: to the work of the Holy Spirit
and the current visitation of the Holy Spirit.
Participants: we are participants in the
dialog between the Lord and His church.
Stewards: : ”Jesus Christ is Lord”
– the ancient cry of the church, proclaiming it to the generations.
The overflow of music is one of the fruits
– visible manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s work in us and in the church.
Worship is the common language of the redeemed
heart.
Wonder and amazement over what the Lord
is doing today.
Revival is to capture the heart of the
Bride.
Lord of Creation, Lord of new Creation
+
See the earth changed by proclaiming, “Jesus
Christ is Lord”
Worship helps us rediscover this
“Songwriters….free the song
of the Redeemed”
From Isaiah – Lord changes mourning
into dancing
The favor of the Lord – we are in
a time of the Lord’s favor
Remember what we see and have received
We who have received much have much responsibility
Success =
(2 Tim 2:2) successors
- we are debtors to God’s grace – our debt is to give the future generations.
Chris -
Psalm 71:18 – proclaim it to the “next generation”. Our
legacy is more important than us!
Session 2, Thurday morning, Building
a Song #2 – Lynn DeShazzo and Paul Baloche - time to share our assignment
Cheryl, Dave, Gene, & I co-wrote
a song, stayed up until almost 2am. The
song was based from Psalm 121. We all got up to share the song. Paul Baloche and Lynn DeShazzo were our mentors. Wow, that
was amazing to have a chance to do that. Incredible honor….
Giving Feedback:
What feels good about the song
Yellow Flags – what feels / sounds
funny
Red Flags – how the song could be
stronger
Watch for hidden rymes throughout your
day – write them down in a songwriting notebook when you can. (like able
/ Savior).
When we shared our song… interesting,
for some reason, I didn’t take a strap up. Paul moved a chair over for
me so that I could put my foot up on it to support the guitar. He is so gracious
and encouraging…incredible humility. He goes so, so far in helping folks
feel comfortable and unencumbered. Cheryl really played her violin well. All of us presenting our co-written song at the same time was a cool moment.
Missed Session 3, Matt and I stayed to
help Karen with her song, as she had no one to play and had no chords or arrangement.
Ended up eating lunch with Matt and sharing a lot of things between to two of us.
The Lord provided the lunch we missed as one of the cafeteria girls saw us and asked us if we needed lunch…she
made up two plates for us… we were so grateful (and hungry).
Session 4, Thursday afternoon, Finding Context for your songs – Brian Doerksen
Goal of worship is main objective (not
sure now what that means…maybe I’ll remember later…)
Work hard at the craft of songwriting
but remember that it is all about the Lord.
Songwriting and worship songwriting are
very different.
Find what your church needs to say to the
Lord. Look around to see if there is a song already written. If not then write it!
Goal is not to be successful but faithful. Be a servant, do your best, serve it up, and walk away.
Where do song ideas come from?
The Process:
Starts with God and ends with God. The middle is usJ
*** God is constantly scattering seeds
in the soil of our life. Spend time preparing the soil (your soil) for when the
seed comes.
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that
he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying:
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was
scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came
and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns,
which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty
times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."
Needs songs that are TRUE lived out truths
– take extra time – True Truths – ask others for confirmation.
Write something TRUE
Pastors get sent to school for years to study theology. Songwriters, on
the other hand, just write. We need more theological truth base. Study theology and church doctrine. (this is second of that
statement).
Write something Fresh – provide a
fresh reason to sing the familiar.
Is your idea a true truth and is it unique?
Intuitive questions to ask yourself –
What types of lyrics
What types of chords
What types of tempo
What types of key phrase
What does it trigger in you ( that is the key phrase)
- like Change Me On the Inside
Content dictates form – don’t
just thing VC types of songs.
Study music and songwriting history.
Read Theology
Forms give our creative ideas structure
so that others can take the song and use them as their own. This makes songs
accessible to others.
4 forms:
AAA – 1 set of lyrics, all about
lyrical progression building.
-
Hardest to write
-
Lyrics keep taking you deeper, modern hymns and Amazing Grace.
AABA – Brian’s favorite form. – right out of the gate, the sonjg says shat if will say, direct point. The B part only happens once. Summary
is on the first line of the song or ? and answer. Think about asking a question
at the songs start.
AC – hybrid of AABA and VC. “Come, Now is the Time to Worship”.
Comes out of the gate saying what it needs to said. 2nd part
is there but it is not a chorus…part is not repeated.
** Worship is meant to reflect all human
emotion. These different forms affect us differently.
Session 5, Thurday, afternoon, Song Sharing
– Lee Black.
I didn’t write notes for this
one. We listened to each others songs and tried our best to rate them. It is hard not to compare but to let each song stand on it’s own merits. I did save a blank rating sheet. It is
the same as Lee uses to rate songs for Integrity.
It looks something like this…note
the different scales for different attributes.
Song Sharing – Evaluation Sheet
Name:
Song Title:
Please score each category below on a scale
of 1 (low) up to 10, 15, or 30 (high) according to the category. You may add
comments at the bottom of the page. Highest possible score is 80 points.
Originality: new musical direction; new
idea; fresh treatment of an old idea.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Lyric: Strong lyric hook; universally appealing
and accessible; structure
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Music: Fresh; singable; memorable; comfortable;
congregational range
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Overall Concept: Marriage of lyric to music; quality; strength of combined song elements
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Worship Impact: ability to connect with
worshipers; intangibles; did it move you to worship?
1 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
Total Score:
Comments:
We talked a little before sharing about
rating each others songs. Lee said that he is overly merciful and it is really
hard and nervewracking for him when he rates songs. I added a comment, when I
see bad reviews in WL magazine or some other publication, it makes me sad because for the writers, their expression is their
sacrifice back to the Lord for what He is doing in their lives. We have to know
our response is so precious to the Lord…it is what we have been created for…it is our worship. Lee talked about how one of his boys drew him a picture of a castle to take to work. The picture doesn’t really look much like a castle but more like a big blue blob. But because his son drew it, specifically for him, it is a treasure.
We all were teary eyed and for me it made more clear, how much the Lord desires our hearts and attentions be turned
to Him. We are so precious to Him.
After that, there were 11 people
who shared a song. We all anonymously rated the songs on sheets and the sheets
were given to the songwriter. Three of the songs, Matt’s, Karen’s
(who we spent the extra time with earlier in the day), and mine were merited a second hearing and then public comments by
Lee, Jim (from Ross Parsley’s church, and the other 12 folks in the session.
One thing that I think is very hard
is to rate a song when the presenter is not a good musician. The better player’s
presentation would seem to often sway the rater. I asked Lee about how he deals
with that. He just said it was very hard.
I would believe sometimes good songs don’t get the exposure they should if the player can present it well. On the other hand, better players, on a whole will write a more solid songs –
just from experience. A good song has a cost…. Years of experience. Note though that it would be a combination of musical capabilities and a heart surrendered
and fully turned to the Lord. (from Ross Parsley’s earlier session – see “skill & heart” in Pastoring
and Encouraging a Creative Community)
Session 6, Thursday evening, Ross
Parsley, The Secret part of your life, Jesus wants it!
Book to read “Divine Conspiracy”
Note: this was an intense evening
with repentance and freedom themes. There
was personal and public confession among the folks gathered. There was a corporate
feeling that a special blessing of mercy was available from the Lord when we confessed and repented. It was a life-changing couple hours…
Not about the songs – it is about
God and ministering to God’s people.
Make sure the message is right. The song styles may change but the message is the same – TRUTH.
** Jesus is concerned with the “secret”
area of your life. It is the part of your life that Jesus wants.
The secret life of the songwriter
More than living holy – more than
that
Matt 5:17
– Pharisees had only the appearance of worship.
Matt 23 – wash the inside and the
outside will be clean. You can’t touch the inside when washing something
without touching the outside or manifesting the cleanness on the outside. Pharisees
sought honor from men instead of the Lord.
** on Sunday morning, as a WL, do you worship
because people are there to worship and are watching you? That is worship that has the appearance of worship. Just like the
Pharisees.
Jesus wants people who do things (character
above actions) not because of extraneous pressure but because that is “who they are”.
Why are we so consumed by what others think?
Jesus is saying, “There is a better
way”.
Giving in secret:
God is fascinated by our secrets. He rewards what is done in the secret
place, in the public place.
Pharisees thought that God would
hear them because of their many words.
- The value of our actions are determined by our motives
- The power of secrecy is freedom from control by the opinion of others
** what is your secret life with
God? Everything flows out from there.
Private devotion means more to God
than public demonstrations.
- All secrets will be revealed – Luke 12:1 – Meanwhile, when a crown of many thousands had gathered,
so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on guard against
the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that
will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known.
Secrets both bad and good –
confess the bad ones to God or to someone trustworthy.
If you don’t confess it to
the Lord, the Lord will bring it out and make it public.
The Kingdom
of Light and the kingdom of darkness both use secrets. Satan tells you that you can hide a secret and then uses it to bind you.
Kingdom of darkness
Sin – internal conflict
|
shame – hampers personal life and
ministry
|
becomes a stronghold for the enemy –
what would people say
Kingdom
of Light
Communion – (revelations) –
some secrets are meant for just you and the Lord
|
Consistancy – builds consistancy
|
Confidence -
|
Character – shapes your life
|
Become – Christ-like
With the Kingdom
of Light, secrets and the secret place become the thing that shapes your life.
Don’t store up treasures on earth,
but in heaven. Treasure is where the heart is.
He who dwells in the secret place –
Psalm 91
Last comments at Thursday night’s
closing - Chris
It is important for songwriters to be connected
and working in the local church.
Write songs so people discover the Lord
Lord, let me feel again………
