It's never too early to start listening to Christmas music and we are drawing near to the season.
Phil Wickham has released a new Christmas album and I'm loving it. I am using it to get me in the mood for song selection for the upcoming season. If you're looking for some new songs to worship to this season or to have playing whilst dressing your tree... look no further. There are some classics, some oldies with a new twist, and even a couple originals.
http://philwickham.com/
Thankful for the birth of our King!
-Jason
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sunday - 11.14.10
This Sunday at Visio Dei we continued our journey through the story of the Bible. We began in the book of Exodus with the story of Moses. You could spend months in the book of Exodus looking at Moses' calling from God; the time spent with Pharaoh in Egypt; crossing the Red Sea; etc.... Jeff did a great job touching on all of these things and teaching us what they tell us about God and what they tell us about us. Great teaching.
Song for the morning were:
- Spring of Life - Kristian Stanfill
- Desert Song - Hillsong
- Rescue
- How Great is Our God
- Mighty to Save - Hillsong
Musicians for the morning were:
- Brent Francese - drums
- John Enzor - bass
- Jon Pritchett - guitar
- Aaron Chapell - guitar + vox
- Rebecca Shliemann - vox
- Patrick Downing - guitar + vox
I wanted to mention that we took communion this week. This is always one of my favorite times as a gathered people. I love it.
So thanks to everyone who came this week. Look forward to worshiping with you next time.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Corporate Worship: Vertical and Horizontal
So what or who is our time of 'corporate' worship for when we are gathered together? It may sound like a simple question and the obvious answer is - "it's for God." If you go a little deeper though, how does this happen? Asked more specifically - what are the components or elements that we should aim for to ensure God is rightly glorified in our time together?
As a worship team/ministry here at Visio Dei we work to maintain two elements in the front of our mind:
-The Vertical
-The Horizontal
The Vertical:
A vertical mindset helps to keep us looking up to our creator. Our songs, our words, and our hearts should be directed to the God who made us and sent His son to this earth to bring us back into life. He alone is worthy of our affection and our worship and so our focus has to be towards Him. Our songs should be more about Him and the gospel than ourselves. Again, this could seem obvious but how many other things do we find ourselves thinking about when we're here on a Sunday morning?
-our coffee
-whether the music is too loud or not loud enough
-where we're going for lunch
-the obvious and overwhelming problems we may be facing at any particular moment
It's all too easy, given the world we live in, to continually - over and over again (this means the same thing as continually), - think about nothing other than ourselves. The truth is we were made to think of life in light of who God is (as opposed to who we are) and that's when our life makes sense and that is where we find peace. It's what we were created for.
When we gather our worship leaders are focused on leading us in songs that point us away from ourselves and towards the greatness of our God... that point us towards the gospel.
If we truly remember how big our God is... That's when our problems, our strife, our burdens are going to seem much smaller.
Of course to worship God just for ourselves defeats the point... we do it because He is worthy. But only in that moment are we truly living as we were created... giving God our worship. Only then are we correctly worshipping God vertically.
The Horizontal:
Sometimes in a quest to 'rightly' worship God and God alone you end up with a gathered church of individuals not recognizing the rest of their brothers and sisters. You could possibly even end up neglecting some real emotions or experiences that acknowledge where we really are in our lives. This has never been the intent of the gathered church. Paul says in Ephesians we're to "address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs... singing and making melodies to the Lord." He also says in Corinthians (1 Corin 14:26) that "when you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for the building up"
When we sing there is a 'horizontal' element that is to build up other brothers and sisters gathered with you. As you sing you are reminding, affirming, and encouraging the entire church of what is true about our God (this is called edification of the church by smart people.) We are in a sense discipling one another. God is glorified through our ministering to one another.
Summation:
As you gather with your church to worship I challenge you to think through both of these elements. Your God is worthy of your affection and your worship. If what we believe is true... we should worship our God with our whole hearts (without thinking solely of ourselves.) Also - your brothers and sisters are gathered with you and in some way, by God's design of the church, are going to be built-up by your declaration, celebration, and response to the truths of God and the gospel. You have a responsibility when we worship to your church family.
I look forward to gathering and worshipping with you this Sunday. I pray we rightly worship our God and build up one another in the gospel.
-Jason
Thoughts for this post have been inspired by, among other things, a book entitled 'Worship Matters' by Bob Kauflin. Many thanks to Bob for the years of labor he has put into leading churches and worship leaders into right worship of God.
As a worship team/ministry here at Visio Dei we work to maintain two elements in the front of our mind:
-The Vertical
-The Horizontal
The Vertical:
A vertical mindset helps to keep us looking up to our creator. Our songs, our words, and our hearts should be directed to the God who made us and sent His son to this earth to bring us back into life. He alone is worthy of our affection and our worship and so our focus has to be towards Him. Our songs should be more about Him and the gospel than ourselves. Again, this could seem obvious but how many other things do we find ourselves thinking about when we're here on a Sunday morning?
-our coffee
-whether the music is too loud or not loud enough
-where we're going for lunch
-the obvious and overwhelming problems we may be facing at any particular moment
It's all too easy, given the world we live in, to continually - over and over again (this means the same thing as continually), - think about nothing other than ourselves. The truth is we were made to think of life in light of who God is (as opposed to who we are) and that's when our life makes sense and that is where we find peace. It's what we were created for.
When we gather our worship leaders are focused on leading us in songs that point us away from ourselves and towards the greatness of our God... that point us towards the gospel. If we truly remember how big our God is... That's when our problems, our strife, our burdens are going to seem much smaller.
Of course to worship God just for ourselves defeats the point... we do it because He is worthy. But only in that moment are we truly living as we were created... giving God our worship. Only then are we correctly worshipping God vertically.
The Horizontal:
Sometimes in a quest to 'rightly' worship God and God alone you end up with a gathered church of individuals not recognizing the rest of their brothers and sisters. You could possibly even end up neglecting some real emotions or experiences that acknowledge where we really are in our lives. This has never been the intent of the gathered church. Paul says in Ephesians we're to "address one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs... singing and making melodies to the Lord." He also says in Corinthians (1 Corin 14:26) that "when you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for the building up"
When we sing there is a 'horizontal' element that is to build up other brothers and sisters gathered with you. As you sing you are reminding, affirming, and encouraging the entire church of what is true about our God (this is called edification of the church by smart people.) We are in a sense discipling one another. God is glorified through our ministering to one another.Summation:
As you gather with your church to worship I challenge you to think through both of these elements. Your God is worthy of your affection and your worship. If what we believe is true... we should worship our God with our whole hearts (without thinking solely of ourselves.) Also - your brothers and sisters are gathered with you and in some way, by God's design of the church, are going to be built-up by your declaration, celebration, and response to the truths of God and the gospel. You have a responsibility when we worship to your church family.
I look forward to gathering and worshipping with you this Sunday. I pray we rightly worship our God and build up one another in the gospel.
-Jason
Thoughts for this post have been inspired by, among other things, a book entitled 'Worship Matters' by Bob Kauflin. Many thanks to Bob for the years of labor he has put into leading churches and worship leaders into right worship of God.
Sunday - 11.07.10
This past Sunday was a strong morning of worship together. One of our elders, Shannon Smith, taught on the life of Joseph. Shannon's words were comforting and challenging in remembering how God is always with us in the midst of all things going on in our lives. For me as an individual I was drawn deeply into the idea that which "man intends for evil, God can use for good." I have found myself this week seeking the good from God even in the midst of challenges.
The songs that we sang together that morning were:
Song of Hope - Robbie Seay
Hosanna - Paul Baloche
You Never Let Go - Matt Redman
Safe - Phil Wickham
Hungry/Falling on my Knees - Joy Williams
Our God - Chris Tomlin/Matt Redman
The musicians / vocalists were:
Ben Davis - Lead Guitar / Vox
John Enzor - Bass
Zack Van Hoy - Drums
Wendy Penfield - Vox
Aaron Chappell - Rhythm Elec Guitar / Vox
Jason Gore - Acoustic / Vox
Thanks for all who shared the morning with us. Please let us know if we can serve you in any way.
-Jason
The songs that we sang together that morning were:
Song of Hope - Robbie Seay
Hosanna - Paul Baloche
You Never Let Go - Matt Redman
Safe - Phil Wickham
Hungry/Falling on my Knees - Joy Williams
Our God - Chris Tomlin/Matt Redman
The musicians / vocalists were:
Ben Davis - Lead Guitar / Vox
John Enzor - Bass
Zack Van Hoy - Drums
Wendy Penfield - Vox
Aaron Chappell - Rhythm Elec Guitar / Vox
Jason Gore - Acoustic / Vox
Thanks for all who shared the morning with us. Please let us know if we can serve you in any way.
-Jason
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Sunday - 10.31.10
Another great Sunday at Visio. Jeff delivered a pointed message about Jacob and Esau. Thank God that His purposes are not dependent on us being perfect! We wrestle with God almost constantly on different things. His grace is what allows us to see that He is God and we are not. Thank God for that.
Just about everyone involved in the story of Jacob and Esau is pretty messed up, but we see God moving the story forward in spite of that fact. Our God is greater.
Setlist for the morning was as follows:
- We Crown You - Fee
- Hosanna in the Highest - Hillsong
- Nothing but the Blood - Redman
- Doxology - Crowder Version
- Day After Day - Kristian Stanfill (this is off his new record and its a great song:))
The band for the morning was:
- Jason Gore - lead guitar + vox
- Jeff Haswell - Drums
- Scottie Wenger - Bass
- Julie Watkins - vox
- Marty Linn - Keys
- Patrick Downing - Rhythm guitar + vox
Again, thanks to everyone who came to Visio this week. You guys are part of the body of Christ and I consider a privilege to gather with you guys every week.
- Patrick
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday - 10.24.10
What a great morning at Visio Dei this Sunday!
First off, you need to know that the Lord has blessed Visio Dei with more babies than we know what to do with (literally). We had 4 baby dedications yesterday. We at Visio recognize the responsibility to "raise up children in the way they should go" and take it very seriously. The staff and volunteers in the children's ministry to do a great job. Thanks guys.
Jeff delivered a great message from the Lord from the story of Abraham and Isaac. This can be a tough passage, but ultimately we are overwhelmed by God's grace and His provision. Jeff did an amazing job showing the parallels between the story of Abraham and Isaac and the story of Jesus. The gospel was huge.
In keeping with tradition here are the songs we sang this past Sunday:
- Holding Nothing Back - Tim Hughes
- Enough - Chris Tomlin
- Desert Song - Hillsong
- Take My Life - Chris Tomlin
- Glory to God Forever - Steve Fee
Also, people ask quite often who the guys are in the band so we are going to start posting the names of the crew who played on Sunday.
- Jason Gore - Lead Guitar
- John Enzor - Bass
- Brent Francese - Drums
- Wendy Penfield - BGV's (and really long scripture reading)
- Patrick Downing - Vox and Rhythm Guitar
Thanks to everyone who came on Sunday. Hope everyone has a great week and we are looking forward to seeing everyone next Sunday. You guys are a huge blessing.
- Patrick
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Worship: Creator_Created_or Ourselves
Here is the thing, everyone worships something.
It’s not a Christian thing. It’s not even a religious thing. Worship is a human thing. We are all worshipers. We hold things in places of glory in our lives. And we do that to the exclusion of everything else. We sacrifice for those things. In Old Testament times that meant going to the temple and sacrificing animals. Today, it means we give our time. We give them our talents. We give them our money. We love them. Some of us worship our jobs. Some of us worship our cars; our money; sex; sports. Some of us worship ourselves.
We are all called to worship God. And to have no other Gods before Him. You are called to worship the king of the universe. Our Creator. The Creator of all things. But our temptation is to worship CREATED things in place of the Creator.
Romans 1:24-25 “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!”
The thing is, we subconsciously believe that created things will save us. We think they will make us happy. If you are a guy who believes that only success and money will make you happy, its possible that you will sacrifice everything for it. You will sacrifice your health. You will sacrifice your family. Because you think it will make you happy. If you are a girl who is terrified of being alone your whole life you might sacrifice things to be with someone you shouldn’t be with. You might sacrifice your dignity. You might sacrifice your body. Because being alone is bad and a boy will make you happy. These things are idols. We worship them. We sacrifice for them. We love them.
We become like what we worship. If you worship food you will become a glutton. If you worship alcohol you will become a drunk. If you worship sex you will become a pervert. It’s because we become dedicated to those things. They promise to make you happy but it’s a lie. Remember Romans. They “…exchanged the truth of God for a lie..”. But only God will make you happy (editors note: probably more accurate to say 'only God has the ability to bring you true joy' in that we only truly find ourselves in light of who God is.')
I'm reminded of our current series in Genesis when Adam and Eve believed they needed something more than what they already had in their relationship with God. They trusted in something else bringing them their true 'identity or happiness' and so they took the bite. It's not even that they bit something terrible... they just put their trust in themselves to decide as opposed to their creator. Thy were worshipping in a sense themselves... we do the same things in what we give ourselves to.
We have to repent of worshiping things other than God. He is jealous. And to worship anything else is to exchange God’s truth for lies. It's not what we were made for and it's not what God deserves. Lets make sure we worship Creator.
-Jason and Patrick
It’s not a Christian thing. It’s not even a religious thing. Worship is a human thing. We are all worshipers. We hold things in places of glory in our lives. And we do that to the exclusion of everything else. We sacrifice for those things. In Old Testament times that meant going to the temple and sacrificing animals. Today, it means we give our time. We give them our talents. We give them our money. We love them. Some of us worship our jobs. Some of us worship our cars; our money; sex; sports. Some of us worship ourselves.
We are all called to worship God. And to have no other Gods before Him. You are called to worship the king of the universe. Our Creator. The Creator of all things. But our temptation is to worship CREATED things in place of the Creator.
Romans 1:24-25 “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!”
The thing is, we subconsciously believe that created things will save us. We think they will make us happy. If you are a guy who believes that only success and money will make you happy, its possible that you will sacrifice everything for it. You will sacrifice your health. You will sacrifice your family. Because you think it will make you happy. If you are a girl who is terrified of being alone your whole life you might sacrifice things to be with someone you shouldn’t be with. You might sacrifice your dignity. You might sacrifice your body. Because being alone is bad and a boy will make you happy. These things are idols. We worship them. We sacrifice for them. We love them.
We become like what we worship. If you worship food you will become a glutton. If you worship alcohol you will become a drunk. If you worship sex you will become a pervert. It’s because we become dedicated to those things. They promise to make you happy but it’s a lie. Remember Romans. They “…exchanged the truth of God for a lie..”. But only God will make you happy (editors note: probably more accurate to say 'only God has the ability to bring you true joy' in that we only truly find ourselves in light of who God is.')
I'm reminded of our current series in Genesis when Adam and Eve believed they needed something more than what they already had in their relationship with God. They trusted in something else bringing them their true 'identity or happiness' and so they took the bite. It's not even that they bit something terrible... they just put their trust in themselves to decide as opposed to their creator. Thy were worshipping in a sense themselves... we do the same things in what we give ourselves to.
We have to repent of worshiping things other than God. He is jealous. And to worship anything else is to exchange God’s truth for lies. It's not what we were made for and it's not what God deserves. Lets make sure we worship Creator.
-Jason and Patrick
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