Why is the Christmas season such a roller coaster ride? You know what I mean? It’s true in more ways than one. There’s the roller coaster of your schedule. All of the sudden, you’re doing 3 times as much as you normally do. There’s the roller coaster of your finances. All of the sudden, you’re spending 3 times as much as you normally spend. There’s the roller coaster of emotions. You’re feelings are 3 times as sensitive as they normally are. If you’re worried, you’re freaking out. If you’re angry, you’re blowing up. If you’re sad, it’s the bottom of a dark hole. If you’re excited, you’re peeing your pants. If you’re happy, you’re bursting with Christmas joy. Or maybe, you’re moving in and out of all of those emotions. It’s a roller coaster isn’t it?
Have you ever really stopped and wondered… why is that? Why is the holiday season like that? Is it because of Jesus’ birthday that we get all weird? We don’t act like this on the celebration of His resurrection… do we? So what is it? Is it something about the moon at this time of year? Is it all of the red everywhere that send people to extremes? Do the scents of pine, cinnamon, and mint mix to create some kind of super crazy gas in the air that drives people bonkers? What is it? Why do we go to extremes this time of year. Why do we hear a clash of “I love Christmas” and “I hate Christmas”?
Is it just the status quo to drive yourself silly during Christmas? I wonder… have we learned so many bad behaviors and wrong motives from the world around us that we’ve gotten sucked in, numbed, and brainwashed? Is Satan working harder than ever right now? Distractions abound this season. Gift buying, party going, food making, food eating, schedule cramming, color saturating, noise deafening, and on and on and on. At church we talk about the true meaning of Christmas. We all know that it’s Jesus and His birth, His incarnation into mankind to ultimately be our substitute on the cross. We know it… even people who don’t believe could tell you that Christmas is about Jesus’ birthday. My question is… IS THAT TRUE?
Do we really take the time to consider it? God became man… fully God and fully man… He left the glory of heaven and entered the world of imperfect man. He came in the most humble form… a helpless baby born in the worst place to be born… a barn full of animals and their poop. He was laid in a feeding trough… wrapped in some scraps of cloth. The Savior King came into this world surrounded by filthiness. His first visitors were lowly shepherds…
He did this willingly with the full knowledge of what was to come 33 years later. When Christ came to earth, He had a death sentence on him. In fact, He carried with him the countless death sentences of all mankind. This is why He came… to die for us. It wasn’t like God originally intended for Him to show up in glorious splendor with a sword in hand, bringing with him the rule of His earthly kingdom and then suddenly His plan got bumped. This was the plan. Jesus knew about it… He was behind it all. He is, after all, part of the trinity that is God. He is eternal, all knowing, infinite, and so on…
Jesus knew before the creation of man that we would wake up in that manger and hang his head on that cross. Talk about a roller coaster ride…
So maybe, just for a minute… allow your heart and mind to be swept away on that spiritual roller coaster ride. Don’t miss the twists and turns… it’s not what man expected, but it’s what God planned. It’s not just some story, it’s truth… life and death hardcore truth. Allow yourself to feel the emotion of it… the excitement, the joy, the sorrow, the pain, the hope, the peace… all of it. When your heart has allowed the truth to wrap around it, then revel in it. Praise God… worship Him. You have now stepped into Christmas. What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it sound like? Is it the same thing that surrounds our senses today or is it vastly different.
I hope and pray that it’s different.
John 1:14
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
I ate lunch at Pizza Hut today. I don’t usually eat there. I do like the buffet even though your chances at a HOT piece of pizza that you really want are slim. Anyways, ever since I got back from lunch, I’ve had this thirst. It’s like a really annoying thirst too. I almost want to just get a gulp of water and let it sit in my mouth for an hour before I actually swallow.
I know I’m not the only one who has experienced this. It’s probably something to do with all the sodium. I’ve experienced similar thirsts after….
(hold on, this is so annoying I’m going to get a drink right now… ahhh.)
…tacos, burgers, nachos, chocolate, etc. Anyways, you know what I mean.
So, I’m sitting at my desk with this annoying thirst. I could almost feel myself getting a headache from it. Every time I moved my tongue, my brain was flashing “Go get a drink you idiot, I’m thirsty!” Finally, I couldn’t ignore it any longer and I had to head over to the drinking fountain to gulp up some liquid refreshment.
I started thinking… do I thirst for God like this? Do I long for the quenching power of His word like this? Do I experience a nagging, frustrating sensation to the point of headache when I haven’t drank from his well? Honestly, I’m feeling convicted that the answer is NO way more often than it should be.
Maybe the life of a believer in this world is like eating at Pizza Hut. You really can enjoy it when you do it right. But, pizza without beverage is unacceptable. Life without God’s refreshment is unacceptable. Have I ignored the annoying, dry feeling in my mouth so much that I’ve come accustomed to it? Am I numb to my desperate need for a quenching drink from God’s word?
I think I’ve eaten a little too much sodium packed pizza… it’s time for a drink.
“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.” Psalm 42:1
“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not whither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:2-3
I love this Psalm… I’d never read it in the Message before. I always thought of it as the “U2″ psalm because they wrote a song out of it and recorded it as “40″ on their album, “War”. Anyways, I found it tonight and I felt like it was saying everything that my heart has been feeling this week. I feel like this is the worship that I long for in my life and for the people I’m hopefully leading. Read it and respond to Him.
Psalm 40
A David Psalm
1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God. At last he looked; finally he listened.
He lifted me out of the ditch,
pulled me from deep mud.
He stood me up on a solid rock
to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
a praise-song to our God.
More and more people are seeing this:
they enter the mystery,
abandoning themselves to God.
4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
ignore what the world worships;
The world’s a huge stockpile
of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
Nothing and no one
comes close to you!
I start talking about you, telling what I know,
and quickly run out of words.
Neither numbers nor words
account for you.
6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
that’s not what you’re after.
Being religious, acting pious—
that’s not what you’re asking for.
You’ve opened my ears
so I can listen.
7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.
I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
And I’m coming to the party
you’re throwing for me.”
That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
became part of my very being.
9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
I didn’t keep the news of your ways
a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
For myself alone. I told it all,
let the congregation know the whole story.
11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me,
don’t hold back your passion.
Your love and truth
are all that keeps me together.
When troubles ganged up on me,
a mob of sins past counting,
I was so swamped by guilt
I couldn’t see my way clear.
More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.
13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
hurry and get me some help,
So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
will be embarrassed and lose face,
So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
will be heckled and disgraced,
So those who pray for my ruin
will be booed and jeered without mercy.
16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
oh, let them sing and be happy.
Let those who know what you’re all about
tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
make something of me.
You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
but God, don’t put it off.
ps- I am absolutely stoked to worship with the family at Wooster Grace tomorrow!
I just got back from an amazing conference with Paul Baloche, Brian Doerkson, and Kathryn Scott.
It’s hard to even begin to explain what happened in my heart the last 2 days…
First of all, let me preface everything by saying that God has been doing amazing things in our worship ministry. People are engaging and really worshiping together. I feel that God is using our team to reach people and usher them into the throne room of God.
With that said, I feel like God has been extremely gracious in allowing these things to happen in spite of me. What do I mean by this? Well, it’s not often that I’m on the other side of the stage when it comes to corporate worship and even when I have been, there’s been a disconnect… and that’s scary.
I mean, here I am, the worship LEADER of a church and I’m not connecting in worship off of the stage. I hadn’t been meeting my Lord in praise, reverence, and even lament off the stage. Sure, I read my Bible and I pray, but this is different.
Anyways, we were in morning worship yesterday and Brian Doerkson was leading us in “Holy God”. All of the sudden, it was like this key unlocked something inside of my chest and I got it. I couldn’t contain myself… my arms were in the air and tears were falling rapidly out of my eyes. It was amazing, but it scared me because I realized I hadn’t been in this place for a while and it was all my fault. Here I was, a worship leader, coming in “cold” on Sunday mornings trying desperately to just whip up a great worship service… and again, I believe that God has done great things in spite of my slack.
These ideas were only reinforced in the breakout sessions. Paul talked about getting by himself in the sanctuary for a time of prayer, singing through the Psalms, spontaneous worship, and heart shaping. Brian talked about songwriting and never leading people in a song that you haven’t owned or taking people on journey that you haven’t walked.
Needless to say, I was floored. Why had I put my personal worship on the self? How did it happen? I think the event aspect of my worship just came in with it’s elbows out and knocked that little piece inside of me out of the room. I didn’t even like listening to worship music outside of work because it felt “like work”…
Well, God is doing a work in my heart and I think I’m really starting to “get it”. I also wanted to say something about a few unnamed people in my church. I don’t know if they realize it, but they are my worship leaders. No, they’re not up there in front of me singing songs, but in a way they are… with their lives, attitudes, and actions. I have been convicted and led into a deeper life of worship by talking to the very people I’m supposed to be leading. Talk about a real worship “360″ full circle kind of thing!
Anyways, let us not forsake the art, the discipline, the practice, and the WORK of coming before the Lord and ministering to His heart… letting our insides just spill out before Him. When we do that, things start to click… He reaches in and gives peace, confidence, and encouragement among other things. Wow!
I think that’s all I have to say for now…
muhauhahhuahhahhahhhahuuahahhah!
Ok, that was a sorry attempt at typing out a mad scientist laugh… but the point remains! The album is here and it is alive. All the parts, pieces, bones, and sinew have come together… electricity has been applied and it is a full fledged album in the case complete with plastic wrap! So, if you can’t wait to get your hands on one, then you need to show up at Night of Worship next Friday night at 7:30pm
Also, our church just launched a new website. It is not flashy, but that’s the point. When you get the homepage, you should be able to find everything that is important… intuitively.
Check it out: www.woostergrace.org
or jump straight to our worship page
You’ll find a link back to this blog, videos, mp3’s, and more… Enjoy!
Psalm 103:1-5
A psalm of David.
1 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord;
may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins
and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death
and crowns me with love and tender mercies.
5 He fills my life with good things.
My youth is renewed like the eagle’s
We’re getting closer…
Night of Worship and CD Release
October 16 @ 7:30pm
in the Family Life Center (gym)
Wooster Grace Brethren Church
check out this video for more details:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1143212140932&oid=136843561684&saved
The CD is now “in the oven”. I sent it out to disc makers and it’s going through a series of “proofs” before it is all printed. Maybe I should point out that I’m talking about the actually “artwork” side of it. The packaging, insert, printing, etc. Anyways, being on a budget, I did the design myself to save money. I knew we’d probably run into some errors, but I was hoping for none. So far, none of the things have been major, but frustrating nonetheless.
Anyways, please pray that this thing will stay on schedule. I’d like to have boxes of CD’s in my office by the beginning of October. Pray for good, finalized proofs by next week. Pray that there are no delays on their end. Pray that we will meet our deadline.
I’m really looking forward to releasing this! We’re so close!
I’ve dreamed…
I’ve prayed…
I’ve waited…
God provided…
I’ve praised…
I’ve planned…
We’ve recorded…
And recorded…
And recorded some more…
I’ve designed…
We’ve mixed…
And mixed…
We’ve mastered…
We’ve mixed again…
We’ve mastered again….
God has been working…
And I’m pretty sure we’re done.
All that is left to do is check over everything, bundle it up, and send it off to Disc Makers. I can’t wait to have those boxes of fresh CD’s in my office! For as much as I want them sitting here, I’ll want them to disappear just as fast! I can’t wait until this is in the hands of our congregation and beyond. That Night of Worship in October is going to be awesome. I know I’ll be competing with local football games, but I know the right people will be there. It will be so sweet to play these songs and then have people take that CD home and listen to them on their own stereos. I think everyone will be pumped that these are “our” songs… that they were homegrown at Grace.
My first step in the “marketing” process is a music myspace. Go check it out and listen to an exclusive track from the new CD!
www.myspace.com/woostergrace
Goodness! It’s been over a month since the last post! I hope none of you have decided that we just quit. That is far from reality! A lot has been going on in the way of life and ministry, but the cd goes on. I have just been lazy about actually getting another post up. For that, I am sorry.
Anyways, on July 18, we crammed the remainder of the vocals into one long Saturday. Leads, harmonies, and “choirs”. It was a long day, but a very rewarding day. The highlight for me was getting all of the singers, including the few that been there even from the beginning of the day, into the live room around one microphone. We became a choir f0r a few hours. We sang and sang. We had a blast and we laughed a lot. None of us had any idea how these tracks would be mixed in or add to the overall mix. Finally, we all gathered in the control room to listen to the maddness we had just recorded. It blew our minds! Well, I guess I can only speak for myself on that. But anyways, those tracks added a “congregational” quality to a few of these songs. It added a sound of united passion for the truth in the songs. I was deeply moved and I believe we were being led in worship as we sat in that room and just listened. We spent a few minutes in prayer thanking God for this opportunity. We prayed that He would use this CD to bring more people closer to Him and ultimately bring more glory to Himself.
Continue to be excited for this project. The release date is set for Friday, October 16. We’ll be hosting a Night of Worship and the cds will be made available that night for the first time.
Please pray that this project will have lasting kingdom impact!
In Christ,
Matt
Last week saw the completion of my vocals and a special appearance by Grace Falla’s violin on one song. I’ve never sang for 5 hours before… it was a hard, but interesting experience. I was definitely stretched that night. It was cool to record the violin. I think it’s going to add a really nice touch to “Our Prayer”. I’m excited about the final product, but there’s still a ton of work to do. Mixing is a pretty serious thing when you’re a perfectionist. I hoping to be able to just relax and let things happen to a certain extent. Pray for all of the remaining work and decisions regarding this album over the next few months. We’re still hoping to have it out in the fall!
-Matt
