Winner of The Chris Tomlin Game

With only three participants, the winner is.................................................................................................................

I need a longer drumroll.........................................................................................................................

The winner is a tie between Liberty and Dakota.  8 to 8.

These were the answers:
1) Our God
2) Unfailing Love
3) How Great is Our God
4) How Can I Keep From Singing
5) All To Us
6) Exalted
7) Unchanging
8) Forever
9) Amazing Grace (my Chains are Gone)
10) All My Fountains
11) I Will Rise
12) With Me
13) Uncreated One
14) I Will Follow
15) Jesus Messiah


Now, I have figured out a way on how to break the tie, because you both cannot win the same I-tunes gift card.  And, by the way, the gift card is worth $15 not $10.  I ran over to Albertson's to buy the gift card and the cheapest amount was $15.  So, woolah........ the amount changed from 10 to 15 dollars.  Anyways, on with the tie-breaker..........


How many studio albums has Chris Tomlin produced?  (off the top of your head)


If you both get that one right or wrong, name me any five songs off of Chris Tomlin's latest album, And If Our God Is For Us.....?

And, if that still is not enough, I will think of something else. :)

Sola Deo Gloria!!!!! 

Concert Recap/Game

Where do I start?  First, the concert was a blast.  The Gibson Amphitheater was rockin' last night.  I don't think I have ever been to a concert before where the audience was greatly impacted by the songs and the events that took place.  It was truly a remarkable experience.  The presence of God's Spirit was heavily felt within the audience and the Spirit was passionately exuding out of many people in the Gibson.  I am telling you..... THE WORSHIP WAS AWESOME!!!!  I was even trying to start a "Jesus" chant in the theater.  But, it never fully continued through the rest of the audience.  If any of you know me personally, you know I am a very passionate person.  When it comes to baseball or basketball or some other sport, I am usually screaming at the top of my lungs during the game.  I scream, I yell, I cheer, I am literally in the game even though I am not playing.  The same is with concerts and any other loud special event.  And, to put the cherry on top, I was screaming, yelling, and being overly passionate about worshiping our God last night, which made the night even more special.  So, I was cheering and screaming for the first couple of songs, but as I was singing midway through the second song..... I lost my voice.  This has happened before at other inopportune times at ballgames and what not.  However, once it happened, I was like "oh no".

Then, I prayed when lifting my hands for God to give my voice back to me.  And, how He promptly answered my prayer!  I was able to yell, scream, and cheer the whole night worshiping this amazing God, Who gave me my voice back so I could worship Him.  It was miraculous in some sense because I was not expecting it.  But, God gave me my voice back, so I could worship Him even louder with more passion.  And, that is what I did.  Thank you Jesus!!!!!  You alone are worthy of our praise and worship.  May You continue to be worshiped and adored throughout all the ages. 

Now, since I borrowed a game from some other person, we are going to play a game.  I saw this game on another person's blog and thought it would work in this particular situation.  This game will be called:  How Well Do You Know Chris Tomlin's Songs?  I will give you a few lyrics of about 15 Chris Tomlin songs and you tell me the title of the song of each set of lyrics.  The person with the most correct wins.  And, the person who wins will win a $10 I-tunes gift card.  If you don't have an I-tunes account, we will work out a different prize.  Otherwise, are you all ready?  Here we go:

1) Into the darkness you shine/ Out of the ashes we rise/ There's no one like you.... (starting out easy :)

2) You are my rock/ The one I hold onto/ You are my song/ And I sing for You....

3) The splendor of the King/ Clothed in majesty/ Let all the earth rejoice....  

4) There is an endless song/ Echoes in my soul/ I hear the music ring....

5) Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the Church/ Let the righteousness of God be a Holy flame that burns...

6) Holy is His name/ His name/ Exalted/ He is exalted....

7) Great is Your faithfulness/ You never change/ You never fail o God.

8) Give thanks to the Lord/ Our God and King/ His love endures forever....

9) My chains are gone/ I've been set free/ My God my Savior has ransomed me....

10) This dry and desert land/ I tell myself keep walking on....

11)  And I hear the voice of many angels sing/ Worthy is the Lamb/ And I hear the cry of every longing heart/ Worthy is the Lamb. 

12) I open my mouth and you speak for me/ You move the mountains and roll back the sea/ And I will not be afraid/ I will never be ashamed.....

13) O Great God, be glorified/ Our lives laid down, yours magnified/ O Great God, be lifted high/ there is none like you.....

14) Where you go, I'll go/ Where you stay, I'll stay/ When you move, I'll move.....

15) He became sin/ Who knew no sin/ That we might become His righteousness/ He humbled Himself and carried the cross.... 

Have fun and play away.....         

Sola Deo Gloria!!!! 

Chris Tomlin Concert

My family and I with a couple friends are going to be headed off to a Chris Tomlin concert tonight.  It should be mightily amazing, because God's presence will definitely be exuding throughout the amphitheater.  I cannot wait.  And, stay on the edge of your seat for a recap of the concert sometime tomorrow.  Why?  We will play a game with a prize, so tune in tomorrow.  :)   

Tenth Avenue North's: Light Meets The Dark Motto

I read Tenth Avenue North's motto for their latest album, and was very encouraged by it.  I thought I would share it with you.  And, I will begin Titus 1 tomorrow, so stay tuned.....  

"Martin Luther once said that we must beat the Gospel into people's heads incessantly, for it's the one thing that we are most prone to forget.  Funny, because that's a huge reason why we wrote most of the songs on our last record, 'Over and Underneath.'  Not that we wanted to beat people up, necessarily, but our hope was definitely what Luther spoke of, in that, we wanted those who heard our songs to hear the Gospel, that is, that we don't earn grace, grace was earned for us.  And we wanted to beat it into the heads of those listening, starting with our own.  That's what the title was all about: Over and Underneath.  At the heights of our purity, Christ has gone higher; at the depths of our depravity, Christ has gone lower, bearing our sins on the cross.  No matter how pure we are, we need Him still, and not matter how far we've fallen, we're not too far gone.

This is what we feel the Gospel is, and it's what we hope to continue to communicate with our sophomore release, 'The Light Meets The Dark.'  Our desire for this record is simply to be the next step.  It's a call not only to believe the Gospel but to let it so saturate our minds and hearts that we actually begin to live like we believe it.  But of course, that might be a little different than you think.  This record isn't a call for better living and high achieving, more commitments and greater successes.  It's a cry for confession, exposure, and the laying down of our pride.  It's a cry for honesty, for truth, and for an encounter with the One who is truth, and having that encounter change the way we see the world.  You see, when we believe this thing we call the Gospel, it allows us to be honest about who we really are.  Or should I say, it forces us to come to terms with who we are.  It frees us to not only be exposed but to be ok about being exposed; to speak our pain and fears out into the open.  It frees us to be poor in Spirit.  Which, isn't that the goal after all?

I heard it said once that the best thing that could ever happen to any of us is if all our sins were broadcast on the five o'clock news.  And yeah, that can be a fairly disturbing thought, I suppose, but think about it for a moment.  Think of how scary that is, and yet somehow, so incredibly freeing, too.  If everyone knew all your junk, all your fears, all your questions, you wouldn't have to hide anymore.  No more masks.  No more pretending.  Just you, and hopefully, the grace that comes when we step into the light.  Sure, it can be the most terrifying step you'll ever have to take, but when we do, when we lay our souls out naked and bare for all to see, it forces us out of the shadows and into a place where life begins.  It's where the light meets the dark, and it's where we want to be.  Hope to meet you there."

- Tenth Avenue North (on their latest album) 

Practice, Practice, and More Practice....... :)

This post has randomly come up, because I am endeavoring on a path I have never trodden before. Well, I have part way. This path is learning how to play the guitar. I have a guitar. I have played for about a couple weeks. Then, I quit. I took up the task of persevering through it a couple other times after that first moment and quit both times after the task proved to be rather difficult from my perspective. I think I know what the problem is. I have this preconceived idea that overnight I will magically transform into this wonderful worship guitar leader, where I could play every worship song known to man. However as everyone knows, the reality of that happening is practically impossible from every angle in the universe. You will not magically transform into it. You must practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice..... Do you guys get the point? Yeah, I thought you all might. But, there is a difference. The difference now is that I am committed to practicing, because God is worthy of our worship and praise. I will persevere through this major step, because our God is mightily awesome. I will worship Him with all that I have. (Psalm 103:1). All that is within me, I will praise Him and bless Him.

If you guys have any tips, I would be glad for any help that I could receive. Thanks and many blessings.

Sola Deo Gloria!!!!

Song #2 - Lead Me To The Cross

This week's song is a song that I first heard at my Thursday night Bible study. The first time that I heard this song, I was not sure about it, because the lyrics are a bit simple, but even with simple lyrics, this song is simply excellent in leading us to worship our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up His life to save us. Here are the lyrics:

Lead Me To The Cross
Lyrics written by Hillsong
Playlist music by Chris and Conrad

Savior I come
Quiet my soul
Remember

Redemption's hill
Where your blood was spilled
For my ransom

Chorus:
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost...
Lead me to the cross
Where your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord, I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to you
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and tried
Human

The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen

Chorus again with:
Lead me to your heart
Lead me to your heart


I did not dissect the lyrics from the song I chose last week, but I will dissect the lyrics of "Lead Me To The Cross." The main theme of this song is clearly the Cross of Christ. The blood of Calvary's precious Lamb that was slain to redeem the lost and hopeless foreigners of this world. This is the climax, the maximum, the majestic theme of this song. The verses of the song follow the lead of the theme of Calvary, but as we get into the chorus, what happens? The writer sees the preciousness of the Awesome, Amazing, Awe-Inspiring sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. HE GAVE UP EVERYTHING. He left the comfortable recesses of Heaven to bear our shame and punishment on a cruel cross that He had no business enduring. That was supposed to be OUR just, deserved punishment, but He willingly and obediently bore the wrath of God Almighty; because HE LOVES US SO MUCH. (John 3:16) What Amazing Love that cannot be comprehended? Praise you, Lord Jesus! Now, back to what I was saying. So, this song is simply teaching us a crucial, but valuable point of 'everything that I once held dear, I count it all as lost,' because I can fully see the preciousness and the radiant beauty of the Awesome, Amazing, Astounding, Awe-Inspiring sacrifice of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Who is worthy above all else and Who reigns forever and ever, our Great God and King. Jesus, our precious Jesus.

Lord,
I pray that you would drive us to our knees. That we will repent of anything that might be of a hindrance in our walks with you. That we would love you more than anything, value you more than anything, treasure you more than anything else. We love you and want to serve you faithfully the rest of our days. Help us to do so. Thank you for the cross and the payment that you bore to save us from eternal judgment in hell forever. You are worthy and we praise you and thank you. It's in your son's name we pray. AMEN

Song #1 - From the Inside Out

Like posting a fact once every Saturday, I am deciding to post a song every Wednesday that has greatly blessed or touched me over the past few years. Each song posted on this blog will be used to glorify and magnify the name of Christ, because He alone is Worthy to be praised and He alone is to be Glorified above every other thing. That is my first and foremost goal. My second goal is to encourage you, my followers and friends, to draw into a more deeper and personal relationship with the God of the Universe. My prayer is that we would all literally fall in love with Him. Put off the things of the flesh and follow wholeheartedly after Christ. He deserves our praise, adoration, and worship; but He wants us to have a personal relationship with Him. That is the climax of the Christian faith. O.K., I have been rambling a bit here, but I will give you the lyrics of the song, dissect those lyrics by writing a little bit about the song, and add only that song to my first playlist. I will change the song on the playlist each and every week to match with the song that I just posted about. Hopefully, you all understand what I am trying to say here.

The first song, From the Inside Out, is my favorite Hillsong song. If you have never heard of Hillsong before, their music is wrapped with theological content that inspires and motivates the soul to worship the one true, living God of all. I hope that you are blessed by this song as much as I have been blessed by it. Also, this time, I will not dissect the lyrics because time is limited, but the lyrics crucially display that our consuming love for God inside of our souls should result in the magnificent display of His glory to those around us. It is a beautiful thought of what God could do if we surrender our all to Him.



From the Inside Out
By: Hillsong

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Chorus 2x
Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out