In Christ Alone

The Art of Invisible Leadership

2011-03-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

This year, Paducah's youth ministry network hosted Dave Hunt as worship leader for the area-wide DiscipleNow weekend. Dave has been leading worship for over a decade. Based in Nashville, Dave has enjoyed the support of exceptional musicians to back him up over the years. His band for Paducah's DiscipleNow weekend was no exception. The four-piece band led effectively Friday and Saturday night, encouraging powerful moments of worship from the 400+ students and adults in attendance. Several popular modern and traditional hymns were chosen for the services. One of the most poignant song selections was "Search Me, O God", a confessional reflection of Psalm 139 written by Dave and Julie Hunt.

What has always struck me about Dave is his humility and the way he gets out of the way in corporate worship. In an age where much of the Christan music scene is indulgent and self-promoting, one should appreciate Dave's demeanor and approach to worship leadership. He doesn't over-sing, opting to stay true to the melody for the sake of the congregation who follows him. You won't typically hear Dave show off on his acoustic, although he's an exceptional guitarist. Dave consistently strikes an unusual balance of invisible, but effective leadership while on stage. It's a clear gift, and one of his greatest assets as a worship leader.

Dave's newest cd release, LOVE ABOUNDS includes several original songs that were written with corporate worship as the goal. Check out Dave's music on itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/love-abounds/id322554737.

Stale Bread

2010-10-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

The people of First Baptist Paducah celebrate the Lord's Supper regularly... every six weeks, to be exact. The last couple of times we've joined in Communion, I've been distracted by a small detail: stale bread. I've been told it's not actually stale, but made to feel chewy between your teeth. Well, I'll just admit I don't like it. I've already begun establishing assumptions about how the Lord's Supper "should be". And I say, the little unleavened crackers should be crunchy...

The bread and the wine/welch's grape juice are only symbols, and should be appreciated as such. I'm grateful to lead a people who cherish opportunity to worship our Savior, who is the Table of Mercy. I often lead a chorus written by Chad and Jess Cates as the elements are passed among the congregation. I'm sharing the lyrics here. Taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34:8)

Table of Mercy by Chad and Jess Cates
Recorded on "The Worship Room" album by Chad Cates and also "Crying Out" by Dave Hunt

(VERSE 1)
You were broken. You bled from Your hands and feet.
Gracious Savior, You died for me.
I’m forgiven, sweet salvation,
Thank you Jesus, my invitation!

(CHORUS)
You are the Table of Mercy
You are the feast of forgiveness
Let us sit down, and taste that You are good
You are good, You are good.

(VERSE 2)
I am broken. I don’t deserve You.
I am nothing. You are King of kings.
Lord, please help me. Lord, please help me hear You.
You are faithful, I hear You calling!

Heart of Worship

2010-08-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last night, FBC Paducah gathered for our midweek worship service. Our pastor started a new sermon series titled "Heart of the Matter". One of the more pointed moments in the service was our singing of Matt Redman's "Heart of Worship". I was thinking on how that song was birthed, and thought I'd share it here, in case you haven't heard the story.

The song dates back to the late 1990s, born from a period of apathy within Matt’s home church, Soul Survivor, in Watford, England. Despite the country’s overall contribution to the current worship revival, Redman’s congregation was struggling to find meaning in its musical outpouring at the time.

“There was a dynamic missing, so the pastor did a pretty brave thing,” he recalls. “He decided to get rid of the sound system and band for a season, and we gathered together with just our voices. His point was that we’d lost our way in worship, and the way to get back to the heart would be to strip everything away.”

Reminding his church family to be producers in worship, not just consumers, the pastor, Mike Pilavachi, asked, “When you come through the doors on a Sunday, what are you bringing as your offering to God?”

Matt says the question initially led to some embarrassing silence, but eventually people broke into a cappella songs and heartfelt prayers, encountering God in a fresh way.

“Before long, we reintroduced the musicians and sound system, as we’d gained a new perspective that worship is all about Jesus, and He commands a response in the depths of our souls no matter what the circumstance and setting. ‘The Heart of Worship’ simply describes what occurred.”

May our worship be God-honoring and Christ-centered in every way. Soli Deo Gloria.

Melodies of the New Jerusalem

2010-06-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

We should do well if we added to our godly service more singing. The world sings: the million have their song...

Now why should we, with the grand psalms of David, with the noble hymns of Cowper, of Milton, of Watts- why should not we sing as well as they? Let us sing the songs of Zion: they are cheerful as the songs of Sodom any day. Let us drown the howling nonsense of Gomorrah with the melodies of the New Jerusalem!

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

A Basic Definition of Worship

2010-05-13T08:13:00.000-07:00

Worship is an honest response to what we treasure most. With both our words and actions, we honor what we most delight in by turning our focus and adoration towards that source of joy. Christian worship is a believer's response to who God is and what He has done.

A Christian response to the person and work of Jesus begins with adoration. If one believes Jesus of Nazareth truly is the second Adam, sent by the Father to reconcile humanity (cursed in nature by the Fall of Adam), the most appropriate response is grateful adoration of Jesus, the Christ. The second response of Christian worship is confession. Recognizing the holiness of God, we confess our sinful nature, and adore God for giving us unwaivering hope in the finished work of the Cross. We come boldy to the throne of God, for we have a great High Priest in Jesus who presents His righteousness as our own (Hebrews 9:11-28). For a Christian, worship then ought to be a broad response of both sorrow and unhindered joy as the salvation of man is remembered and celebrated.

Theology Thursday

2010-04-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

Below is a helpful quote from Richard Foster's book, The Celebration of Discipline:

"Just as worship begins in holy expectancy, it ends in holy obedience. If worship does not propel us into greater obedience, it has not beeen worship. To stand before the Holy One of eternity is to change."

To Be Known By God

2010-02-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

This is a GREAT section from Packer's classic, "Knowing God". I hope it's an encouragement to you, as you think on God's faithful watch over us.

What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it--the fact that HE KNOWS ME. I am graven on the palms of his hands. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.

This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort--the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates--in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.

There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see (and am I glad!), and that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose. We cannot work these thoughts out here, but merely to mention them is enough to show how much it means to know not merely that we know God, but that he knows us.

— J. I. Packer, KNOWING GOD. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Haiti Relief

2010-01-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

First Baptist Paducah is joining the North American Mission Board in gathering funds to aid the survivors of the Haiti earthquake. If you would like to contribute, you can give to NAMB directly at www.namb.net.

Consider giving through your local church, and if you are in Paducah, call our church office at (270) 442-2728.

Christmas Spirit

2009-12-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

Last week, our pastor warned us against the dangers of celebrating Christmas without remembering the greatest commandment: to love God, and love our neighbors (listen here: http://www.fbcpaducah.org/images/audio/11.29.09.mp3). Christians ought to be a peculiar people in how they celebrate Christ's birth. We find joy in remembering the miracle of Christ's birth, and hope for His return to claim His Church.

The scriptures are clear that all we have should be submitted to God. Sometimes we feel prompted by God to be generous in a specific way. To my shame, I live most of my days fairly self-absorbed. If you're like me, those promptings don't come often enough. We need to be disciplined about reflecting Christ's love with our generosity. In the name of "Christmas Spirit" here are a few suggestions to make this Christmas less materialistic. These are a few ways you can support others while celebrating Christmas.

1) Give to your local church. This has been a tough year for most churches. The Southern Baptist International Mission Board has called back hundreds of missionaries around the world because giving is so critically low. Give a specific offering for the Lottie Moon Offering.

2) Consider sponsoring a child. You can even initiate a sponsorship on behalf of someone else as a gift, and let them correspond with the child. Visit: http://www.compassion.com/

3) Visit Samaritan's Purse, and consider buying a few things from their gift catalog in honor of friends and relatives. Visit: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog/

There are lots of great ways to spread the Christmas Spirit. Be intentional, and remember to SPEAK of Christ when you have the opportunity.

Advent Poetry

2009-11-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Today, I wanted to share a little advent poetry here, and I pray these words are an encouragement to you. Remember all that our great God has done.

"Let every heart prepare Him room!"

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love's sake becamest poor;
Thrones for a manger didst surrender,
Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.
Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,
All for love's sake becomes poor.

Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love's sake becamest man;
Stooping so low, but sinners raising
Heavenwards by thine eternal plan.
Thou who art God beyond all praising,
All for love's sake becamest man.

Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.
Emmanuel, within us dwelling,
Make us what thou wouldst have us be.
Thou who art love beyond all telling,
Saviour and King, we worship thee.

-- Frank Houghton (1894-1972) in PRAYING WITH THE ENGLISH HYMN WRITERS, Triangle, 1989. Also found in HYMNS II, InterVarsity Press, 1976.

Words and Music

2009-11-19T12:07:00.000-08:00

Authentic Christian faith is not merely believed. Nor is it merely acted upon. It is sung—with utter joy sometimes, in uncontrollable tears sometimes, but it is sung. “Words and music did for me what solid, even rigorous, religious argument could never do, they introduced me to God, not belief in God, more an experiential sense of GOD”—that’s the way Bono, lead singer of the band U2, puts it.

What is it about singing that takes us beyond mere belief or behavior?

Think of singing as a language that allows us to embody our love for our Creator. Song is a means he has given us to communicate our deepest affections, to have our thoughts exquisitely shaped, and to have our spirits braced for the boldest of obediences. Through music, our God draws us deeper into a love affair with himself.

— Reggie Kidd, from WITH ONE VOICE: DISCOVERING CHRIST’S SONG IN OUR WORSHIP, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, ISBN: 0801065917.

Saved to Worship

2009-11-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

The foundation upon which true worship is based is redemption. The Father and Son have sought to redeem us that we may become worshipers. Jesus said that the Son of Man came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). In John 4 He reveals the purpose for His seeking: "For such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers" (v. 23). The Father sent Christ to seek and save for the specific purpose of producing worshiping people.

Thus, the objective of redemption is making worshipers. The primary reason we are redeemed is not so that we may escape hell—that is a blessed benefit, but not the major purpose. The central objective for which we are redeemed is not even so that we might enjoy the manifold eternal blessings of God. In fact, the supreme motive in our redemptive is not for US to receive anything. Rather, we have been redeemed so that God may receive worship—so that our lives might glorify Him. Any personal blessing for us is a divine response to the fulfillment of that supreme purpose.

— John MacArthur, Jr., from THE ULTIMATE PRIORITY, Chicago: Moody Press, 1983, p. 23.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2009-10-29T14:43:00.000-07:00

Today, I started reading "Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community". In the introduction I learned that Bonhoeffner was martyred at 39 years old. THIRTY-NINE. I'm reminded of how precious life is, and I'm challenged not to use my age as an excuse in ministry. God intends to do great things through his people. Even me.

This week, I re-worked an old hymn titled "For All the Saints". I'm including the lyrics below. Original text is by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The italicized text is my own. This Sunday I will lead it for the first time with a new arrangement and melody. I pray it is an encouragement for our people.

FOR ALL THE SAINTS
1. For all the saints who from their labors rest
Who first confessed, “By faith alone” in Thee
Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blessed, Allelulia! Alleluia!

2. You were their Rock, their Fortress and their Might
You were their Captain in the well fought fight
You were the One, in darkness bringing Light. Allelulia! Alleluia!

(Chorus)
For all the saints, Who were and are to come
You are the same, Eternal, gracious God
It is by grace, through faith, we have believed
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

3. Our war is long, as soldiers who believe
May we be true, emboldened by your strength
We trust Your Word, our double-edged sword, Alleluia! Alleluia!

4. Just when the fight_ is fierce and waning on
Steal on our ears the distant triumph song
Make our hearts brave, the vict’ry has been won, Alleluia! Alleluia!

>repeat chorus

5. But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glo-ry passes on His way. Alleluia, Alleluia!

6. From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host
Singing to Fa-ther, Son and Holy Ghost, Allelulia! Alleluia!

Unity

2009-10-22T12:46:00.001-07:00

I'm leading a hymn I've never led this Sunday titled "God, the Father of Your People" (1991 Baptist Hymnal #382). I figured I'd share it here, as well. It's a great text, calling for unity in the Church. The third verse is written by John Newton (author of Amazing Grace).

1. God, the Father of Your people,

You have called us to be one;
Grant us grace to walk together

In the joy of Christ, your Son
Challenged by Your word and Spirit,

Blest with gifts from heavn’ above
As one body we will serve You,

And bear witness to Your love

2. In the garden hear Christ praying,

“Father, make my foll’wers one.”
Yet, His prayer we are betraying

With each person that we shun
Let our pride and selfish motives

Bow to pray “Your will be done”
Till the world shall shout together

“Amen, Amen, Love has won!”

3. May the grace of Christ, our Savior,

And the Father’s boundless love,
With the Holy Spirit’s favor,

Rest upon us from above
May we now remain in union

With each other and the Lord,
And possess, in sweet communion,

Joys that earth cannot afford.

Theology Thursday

2009-10-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

In April of 2005, Dr. David Peterson spoke at my alma mater, Southern Seminary in Louisville. He is the author of ENGAGING WITH GOD, an excellent resource for understanding biblical worship. Today’s quote was transcribed (by Chip Stam) from the opening comments of his fascinating talk on musical styles in the service of the Christian community.

If you have time, listen to the lecture at:

http://www.sbts.edu/resources/lectures/gheens/psalms-hymns-and-spiritual-songs-does-the-bible-direct-us-in-the-choice-of-musical-styles/

MUSIC AND CHRISTIAN SNOBBERY
We all know that music is a great encouragement to snobbery. You can either be a classical snob, or a rock snob, or a folky snob. Basically, what we do with our music is we say, "I love this kind of music; this is what really excites me, and I can't bear that other stuff. I am not going to listen to your stuff."

The sad thing is that Christians fall into this same worldly trap. We become so familiar with and comfortable with our particular styles of music that we end up saying, maybe overtly sometimes, "I am not willing to listen to your kind of music. I am not willing to sing one of your silly songs." We get even more intense than that. We say, "Your music is not true worship. Your music is not honoring to God."

This is one of those areas where Christians feel at liberty to be quite unrestrained and quite ungodly in the way in which we position ourselves and talk to one another when it comes to music. So if music is going to be a meaningful and effective part of our church life, we need to submit it to the Scriptures. We need to apply the Scriptures in a very rigorous fashion from the pulpit about this subject. It is not just something for musicians to consider. I believe that as pastors of churches and as theological teachers, we have a responsibility to bring this, as with everything else, under the Word of God.

-- David Peterson, "Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs: Does the Bible Direct Us in the Choice of Musical Styles?" a lecture delivered at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on April 14, 2005, as part of the Institute for Christian Worship.

A New Favorite

2009-10-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

In the last four years of my ministry, there are a few songs that have become "new favorites". More than an indulgent song that's just fun to lead, the one song that seems to resonate well with the people of First Baptist Paducah (and Clarksville) is "In Christ Alone" by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend. That's one of the reasons for the name of this web log. Through the fiercest droughts or storms of life, Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless, son of God is our true source of hope. We live in a world that cries out for it's Maker and is affected by the Fall of man and the resulting consequences of sin. Christ's righteousness is what the very Maker of the universe sees in us who believe and confess His name. May the Gospel encourage you today, as you read the lyrics to this popular modern hymn:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

Welcome

2009-10-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

The intention of this blog is primarily to resource the people of Paducah Kentucky's First Baptist Church, but also to share favorite quotes regarding worship as an encouragement to anyone who would stop in and read. Soli Deo Gloria.