Why Do You Think?

“The main reason God has given us minds is that we might seek out and find all the reasons that exist for treasuring him in all things and above all things. He created the world so that through it and above it we might treasure him.”

- John Piper, Think: The life of the Mind and the Love of God (Wheaton, Ill.; Crossway, 2010), 15.

(HT: Of First Importance)

Our God - Unplugged!

Watch Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman explain how the song 'Our God' came about. A sweet testimony of God's faithfulness in writing music for His glory through His people.

Worship!

I had an incredible time in worship tonight. Stephanie and I and our two oldest boys, Seth & Micah, had the opportunity to go to Hope Presbyterian tonight and worship with Chris Tomlin. It was truly an amazing time of worship with over 5,000 brothers & sisters.

God really blessed us with His presence and I didn't want it to end. Truly a remarkable time together with the body of Christ aimed at the glory of Jesus Christ in all the earth!

Introducing Tom Owen To The Blog World

I would like to introduce you to my brother in Christ Tom Owen.

He is a sweet brother in the Lord and one of my favorite ministry champions for Jesus. Tom, his wife Stephanie, and their two children have been a part of our church for almost a year. They have been a means of God's grace to my life as well as my wife's life.

I have been blessed to minister with Tom each Sunday as he leads us in song at New Life Church. God has gifted Tom with a mind for sound doctrine and a heart that has been captivated by the love of Christ. He is a talented musician and definitely displays that talent for the glory of Jesus Christ...unashamedly. After spending a year in the pastoral ministry there is no one whom God has used more to encourage me than Tom.

Along with leading music at NLC, Tom's desire is to create a ministry to help disciple and train other music leaders to lead worship in a holistic way. For Tom it's not just about a song or an instrument it's about the whole person living for the Supremacy of Christ and serving the body of Christ from a life that is in pursuit of holiness and sanctification. Doctrine is also a staple in Tom's approach in choosing songs that help to facilitate the soul to meet with God in corporate worship. So in this effort he has started a blog that he hopes will be used to encourage other music leaders as they lead in corporate worship from an overflow from their personal worship.

If you know someone that would be blessed to be taught, trained, and discipled in leading music in the local church please contact Tom he will be glad to discuss his ministry with them.

I know you will be blessed to read his posts on his blog. You can visit his blog, The Church And Its Music, by clicking here.

I love you brother!

God bless your ministry!

You Cannot Gather Together...

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Vietnam. This video was taken while one little church was gathering together to worship Christ. They are being raided by the authorities of the town while meeting.

What would you do NLC? How would you respond?




(HT: John Piper)

The Very Highest Worship Of God

"There is no other honor equal to the estimate of truthfulness and righteousness with which we honor him whom we trust. Could we ascribe to a man anything greater than truthfulness and righteousness and perfect goodness? On the other hand, there is no way we can show greater contempt for a man than to regard him as false and wicked and to be suspicious of him, as we do when we do not trust him. So when the soul firmly trusts God’s promises, it regards him as truthful and righteous. Nothing more excellent than this can be ascribed to God. The very highest worship of God is this that we ascribe to him truthfulness, righteousness, and whatever else should be ascribed to one who is trusted.”

~ Martin Luther, On Christian Liberty

(HT: Of First Importance)

Trinitarian Worship

“There are good reasons . . . for worshiping in one act of adoration the three in their distinct persons and relations with one another. A living relationship with God requires that each of the persons be honored and adored in the context of their revealed relations with each other. The nature of our response in worship is to be shaped by the reality of the one we worship.

We worship the Father, who chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, who planned our salvation from eternity, who sent his Son into the world and gave him up for us.

We worship the Son, in filial relation to the Father, who willingly ‘for us and our salvation’ was made flesh, who submitted himself to life in a fallen world, who trod a path of lowliness, temptation, and suffering, leading to the cruel death of the cross. We worship him for his glorious resurrection, for his ascension to the right hand of the Father, for his continual intercession for us, and for his future return to judge the living and the dead and to complete our salvation. . . .

We worship the Holy Spirit, who gives life and breath to all, who grants us the gift of faith, who sustains us through the difficulties of life as Christians in a world set in hostility to God, and who testifies to the Son.”

~ Robert Letham, The Holy Trinity

(HT: Of First Importance)

Tom Owen And New Life Church

Well today God brought us a worship leader for New Life Church. His name is Tom Owen and he brings with him a great mind for worship, filled with a heart for ministry to the body of Christ.

We are praising God for Tom and his wife Stephanie and their children. God knew what kind of leader we needed in the area of music and He sent us just the man to help us lay a foundation for worship that will serve us by starting off right from the very beginning.

Thank you Lord for Tom and his ministry to New Life Church and Eads, TN.

But it also goes without saying that we are thankful to God for Shawn & Julie Troxel as well. They have been leading our worship on Sunday mornings for over 2 months and they have blessed us tremendously by pointing our thoughts and hearts toward Christ each week.

We are praying for you both as the Lord will soon bless you with your third child!

God is so kind to the New Life Family!

7 Ideas For Teaching Toddlers God's Word

I thought some of you parents, with little ones, would enjoy some good strategy tools for your family worship time.

This is taken from the Desiring God Blog, which was adapted from a handout at the Children Desiring God seminar "Nursery and Toddler Ministry: Preparing the Littlest Ones to Stand on Truth."

1. Have an open Bible on your lap during story time. This reinforces where the story comes from—God's word.

2. Use short sentences and few words. Too many words overwhelm young minds.

3. Be animated in your facial expressions and tone of voice. This will help keep children engaged.

4. Incorporate movement into the story and singing. Children this age need to move their bodies. Movement helps them learn and remember what you're teaching them.

5. Create routines during the story/circle times by using songs, finger plays, etc.

6. Use repetition to cement biblical concepts in children's hearts and minds.

7. Keep it short and sweet. A story time of 5-10 minutes is the maximum children this age can attend to and sit for.

Take Heed How You Hear!

Years ago I read this list of 'practical preparations' for hearing God's Word on Sunday mornings by John Piper. Each individual who enters a sanctuary, in order to receive God's Word, should seriously consider this list below.

Just the other day Denny Burk posted this list on his site and it reminded me that NLC needs to consider this list as you prepare to listen to God's Word on Sunday mornings. You can read the brief commentary for each point here.

1. Pray that God would give you a good and honest heart.

2. Meditate on the Word of God.

3. Purify your mind by turning away from worldly entertainment.

4. Trust in the truth that you already have.

5. Rest long enough Saturday night to be alert and hopeful Sunday morning.

6. Forebear one another Sunday morning without grumbling and criticism.

7. Be meek and teachable when you come.

8. Be still as you enter the room and focus your mind’s attention and heart’s affection on God.

9. Think earnestly about what is sung and prayed and preached.

10. Desire the Truth of God’s Word more than you desire riches or food.

As you read through these I am hoping that you take them seriously enough to apply them. At least start with 2-3 of them this Sunday. Make it known to your family, if need be, that you are attempting to implement something 'new' in your Sunday morning worship preparation. Challenge one another to remain steadfast in your pursuit of God by making yourself ready for the reading of the scriptures, the singing of the scriptures, the preaching of the scriptures and most importantly the application of the scriptures.

Let us earnestly seek Christ together on Sunday mornings in this way. You may even have a couple of your own practices that you would like to share with us, please do so by leaving us a comment.

For this is the Lord's Day, let us rejoice and be glad in it!

(HT: Denny Burk)