Update: Orders of Worship
February 26, 2010 | Comments Off
After a bit of investigation, I have discovered that if song lyrics are under copyright, I cannot legally post them to the website without express permission from the copyright owner. So you’ll notice that only older hymn lyrics, those that are now in public domain, will be included in the orders of worship. For newer songs, I will provide a link in the order of worship to an online source for that song’s lyrics.
Please let me know if you have any issues accessing these!
Protected: Risen Savior
February 19, 2010 | Comments Off
Haiti
January 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment
The following is a report from Baptist Haiti Mission. The situation sounds unimaginably terrible.
The following is from Ron Pierre, board President for Baptist Haiti Mission:
So many of you are inquiring regarding the situation in Haiti and particularly at the mission. I’ve just now been able to make telephone contact with one of our missionaries, Chris Lieb at Baptist Haiti Mission. Thankfully, the connection was clear and intact long enough for me to inquire as to the current situation. I honestly do not know where to start, the conditions in Haiti are desperate and deteriorating by the moment in spite of all that we hear relative to the aid that is “pouring in” from the US and other countries. I am simply going to list some of the things he was able to relate to me without regard to sequence. Those of you who have been there and/or are familiar with the compound in Fermathe will better understand the conditions, however, all of you will gain a sense of the severity of what our people face.
* Our hospital is filled with people 250-300 people lying in the halls, many, many with serious injuries that need immediate attention, more people outside and surrounding areas with a constant flow coming in.
* Our doctors are exhausted, most all of our staff are assigned to the hospital.
* Thousands of people sleeping in the park just below in Petion-Ville, afraid to return to their homes.
* At least 10 to 15 thousand people are sleeping in the park near the airport with roving gangs of hoodlums attempting to steal whatever “aid” arrives before it gets to the helpless people.
* People all along the roads with serious injuries, multiple fractures and puncture wounds; bleeding and unattended.
* Chris passed women grasping their dying children in their arms, after a while it becomes overwhelming because there is not a thing that you can do about it..
* Countless small children wandering about without any parents or adult oversight.
* The initial stunned calm that was over the population is rapidly turning to despair and in many cases anger. There is a real danger of things turning very ugly, potentially for those who are beginning to arrive to help.
* For most of the “search and rescue” people that have arrived or will arrive, it will be far, far too late to save lives. The stench of death everywhere and is overwhelming. Many places have seen no help whatsoever.
* There are piles of bodies in many roads and some have become “roadblocks” in and of themselves. [Haiti]
* Many people are simply in shock, most have lost at least one or more family members.
* Vehicles are abandon, roads are blocked or down to one tight lane as large chucks of the mountain have fallen.
* Chris gave out about 100 very large heavy duty tarps today to be used as temporary shelters and it got very ugly as the last ones were dispersed. The actual process of giving out aid is going to be quite dangerous the longer it takes to reach the people.
* There appears to be no oversight of the “teams” arriving. They are equipped but do not know where to go or how to get there. It may improve but it is going to continue to be a big problem.
* Medical supplies are running low at our hospital; I asked for a list of the supplies that they need we can be a bit more specific in our requests when aid does arrive.
* We have a need for anesthesiologists and orthopedic surgeons. Any medical personnel would be a blessing.
* Chris commented that he has seen things over the past several days that he hoped he would never see and would chose never to see again.
* Many people are simply walking around in what is really clinical shock.
* Everything is closed down; no stores, no markets, water is in tight supply and is running out fast.
* People walk up and down the mountain just looking for their families; there is no transportation.
* The Samaritans Purse people were supposed to arrive today with Greta Van Susteren of FOXNews.com. The plane circled for about an hour but could not land. They returned to Miami.
* The same was true for several other planes caring supplies and aid for the mission. We desperately need a pump and water filters that are coming in.
* All in all, there are no words to describe what is taking place, the TV news gives inadequate for those of you who know Haiti, the conditions, the culture, the people.
* Two of our churches in PAP have been completely destroyed, we do not have reports on the many churches in outlying rural areas yet.
* Most every school in PAP is destroyed, personnel killed. It will be a long, long time before there will be any schools in PAP.
* Our chaplains have been ministering to every single person who comes to the hospital; scripture is read and they pray with each and every one. We do have some very dedicated people.
* Our mission families are all accounted for and remain uninjured; we need to uphold them in prayer during these times. God certainly gives the strength and grace when needed. They recognize that the tasks before them are humanly impossible; They also recognize that prayer is the greatest asset they have in this trial.
* We are trying to keep the website current with pictures, video, and various other feeds . . . . go to www.bhm.org. It may be a bit slow due to traffic but it does function. [Haiti] Our thanks to all of you who have inquired, emailed, called, and written and otherwise displayed your love and concern, this has been equally overwhelming! It is now almost 2:00 am Friday morning EST and time ready ourselves for a new day. Again, I close with Psalm 20, verses 1 and 2: “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!” –R.A.Pierre
(source)
Missional or missions-minded?
November 9, 2009 | Comments Off
Yesterday in his sermon, Tim referenced the trend toward “missional” churches–tending to focus on “being” missionaries to their own locales rather than “doing” missions globally. He cited Ed Stetzer, who works as a researcher and writer for LifeWay (of the Southern Baptist Convention), as one who is on the front lines of the missional movement. Last night, I stumbled across an article written by Ed Stetzer actually pointing out the very same problem Tim pointed out–that missional churches often neglect global missions. It is both revealing and challenging. Let’s continue to strive to take the message of the Gospel where it has never been preached! And give thanks for pastors and elders who realize the necessity of sending and giving and going to the ends of the earth.
The affections of worship
October 20, 2009 | Comments Off
(More on the idea that right worship involves passion–or feelings, or emotions.)
On the suggestion of a church member, I have been rereading the chapter on Worship from Piper’s Desiring God. One section in particular bears sharing here. Even if you’ve read it before, I think it will benefit you to read it again.
Piper is talking about the idea of vain worship–from Jesus’ words in Matthew 15:8-9 (to which we referred a couple weeks ago in corporate worship): “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far form me; in vain do they worship me.” Piper’s (and Jesus’) main contention is that in order for our worship to not be vain, our hearts–our feelings, emotions, affections–must be engaged. In this passage he expounds the kinds of emotions that should be involved in our worship.
Worship is more than an act of mere willpower. All the outward acts of worship are performed by acts of will. But that does not make them authentic. The will can be present (for all kinds of reasons) while the heart is not truly engaged (or, as Jesus says, is “far away”). The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart. Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead.
Now let’s be specific. What are these feelings or affections that make the outward acts of worship authentic? For an answer we turn to the inspired psalms and hymns of the Old Testament. An array of different and intertwined affections may grip the heart at any time. So the extent and order of the following list is not intended to limit the possibilities of pleasure in anyone’s heart.
Perhaps the first response of the heart at seeing the majestic holiness of God is stunned silence: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).
In the silence rises a sense of awe and reverence and wonder at the sheer magnitude of God: “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” (Psalm 33:8).
And because we are all sinners, there is in our reverence a holy dread of God’s righteous power. “The LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isaiah 8:13). “I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you” (Psalm 5:7).
But this dread is not a paralyzing fright full of resentment against God’s absolute authority. It finds release in brokenness and contrition and grief for our ungodliness: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). “Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15).
Mingled with the feeling of genuine brokenness and contrition, there arises a longing for God: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2). “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26). “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).
God is not unresponsive to the contrite longing of the soul. He comes and lifts the load of sin and fills our heart with gladness and gratitude. “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalm 30:11-12).
But our joy does not just rise from the backward glance in gratitude. It also rises from the forward glance in hope: “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5-6). “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5).
In the end the heart longs not for any of God’s good gifts, but for God himself [emphasis added]. To see Him and know Him and be in His presence is the soul’s final feast. Beyond this there is no quest. Words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight. But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). “Delight yourself in the LORD” (Psalm 37:4).
These are some of the affections of the heart that keep worship from being “in vain.” Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth. It is not a mere act of willpower by which we perform outward acts. Without the engagement of the heart, we do not really worship. The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart. Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead.
True worship must include inward feelings that reflect the worth of God’s glory. If this were not so, the word hypocrite would have no meaning. But there is such a thing as hypocrisy–going through outward motions (like singing, praying, giving, reciting) that signify affections of the heart that are not there. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
I hope and pray earnestly that our worship may never be deemed vain by our Lord. May our hearts be united to fear and love and rejoice in God together every time we gather, and throughout all of life.
A new blogger afoot…
June 9, 2009 | Comments Off
Hello out there in cyberspace. It’s your friendly neighborhood music minister (or, as some would have it, “chief musician”), having now been approved to begin blogging here on the FCC website (or maybe just not prevented from blogging!). I hope to post weekly, brief articles covering a range of topics, most of which will be at least tangentially related to either our corporate worship, music in general, culture in general, or our church life as a whole. Occasionally I will pass on a link I find helpful, or an interesting or provocative quote, or just something I have enjoyed and believe you will too.
I thought I would begin with just a little bit about myself, for those of you whom I’ve not yet come to know. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind the last month or so, and so I’ve only just begun to settle into my role here at FCC. I just finished my master of music degree at the UMKC conservatory, where I majored in piano performance. That degree is what brought Kimberly and me to Kansas City; we planned on staying until I graduated and then getting out of here (hopefully to somewhere with much warmer winters)! Obviously, the Lord had other plans for us, plans in which we now rejoice.
Before moving to Kansas City, I lived in Cincinnati, Ohio, where I completed a bachelor of music degree, also in piano performance, from the University of Cincinnati conservatory. For just under two years while I was there, I served as music minister at Ryker’s Ridge Baptist Church in the beautiful river town of Madison, Indiana, and it was there, under the leadership of two very solid and gifted pastors, that I came to more fully understand and embrace a Biblical picture of God’s sovereignty over salvation, as well as a more Biblical picture of doing church.
Also while I was in school at Cincinnati, through the clever (and underhanded!) work of some friends, I met the woman of God who would become my wife. Kimberly lived in South Carolina at the time, where she was completing a degree in early childhood education at Presbyterian College (no, she wasn’t a Presbyterian—in fact, her father is a Baptist pastor in the town, which is what led her to that school). Our correspondence grew into a full-blown courtship, I proposed April 6, 2007, and we were married December 29 of that year, following which she joined me in Kansas City.
Before Cincinnati, I had lived all but the first two years of my life in Eastman, Georgia, a town of around 6,000 people. My parents were solid believers, both having come from believing households themselves. They were diligent to see that my brother and I were raised in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, for which I am eternally grateful. My own depravity, however, turned this discipline and instruction into a life of self-centered, man-pleasing legalism (the kind that allows one to be a baptized, faithful church member, a leader in the youth group, in fact). My freshman year of high school was when, by the work of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, I first truly repented and believed the Gospel.
As I mentioned, Kimberly also grew up in a believing household, the daughter of a pastor. Her story is very similar to mine, in having come to realize, and repent of, her unbelieving legalism in her teenage years. She had known for years that she wanted to teach elementary-school-age children, and after doing so in the public school for a year, she was blessed with the opportunity to teach from a Biblical, Christ-centered perspective at FCA.
Just as we all can say, it is by the grace of God that Kimberly and I are who we are, and where we are. And as I said before, we rejoice in where the Lord has led us, and we look forward to serving in this body for as long as He would have us do so.
Thanks for reading,
Andrew
Ryan Ferguson recites Hebrews chapters 9 and 10
February 12, 2009 | Comments Off
This video is from the WorshipGod06 Conference Aug. 9-12, 2006. Ryan Ferguson is giving a memorized dramatic recitation of Hebrews 9 and 10 from the ESV Bible. God’s Word is powerful. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version is copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
Reading the Word with Profit
July 17, 2008 | Comments Off
Every believer should know intrinsically the importance of reading the Bible. But many times Christians really struggle reading the Word with profit. Sadly, reading Scripture can become a fruitless exercise that leaves many believers actually feeling worse about themselves and their relationship with God rather than better. It is important to realize and to remember that the goal of reading Scripture is to encounter God. It is through Scripture that we are to come to know experientially and personally the living God of the universe. So the most pressing question that we should seek to answer when we open up Scripture is, What does this teach me about God? So how does this work? Let me explain:
This morning I read my daily Psalm, chapter 15:
“O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? 2 He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; 3 who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; 4 in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; 5 who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.”
Psalm 15 challenged me to holiness. I thought carefully about how I talked about others. I thought about promises that I made. I thought about how I viewed money. But as I viewed this text from the question, What does this teach me about God?, I was reminded that God is holy. That is why He requires that I be holy. And that is why I must listen to this text with attentive ears. It was a solemn time for me reflecting upon the holiness of God.
Then I went to another of my Psalms-of-the day, chapter 75:
“We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds. 2 “At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. 3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah 4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn; 5 do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.’” 6 For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, 7 but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. 8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. 9 But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. 10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.”
Now my mind was already tuned to seek out the character of God. I was excited to explore more of what Scripture would reveal to me about God. And in Psalm 75 it was easy and plain to see what God was revealing: He is absolutely sovereign! Even though the pillars of the earth – economically, socially, politically – seem to be tottering, God alone is able to keep them steady! The pillars of our life often totter, but God’s omnipotent rule steadies the mind. As another Psalm says, “Therefore we will not fear; though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea…” (Psalm 46:2). Reminded of the sovereignty of God specifically over the wicked, I too was ready with the Psalmist to sing praises to the God of Jacob!
The pursuit of this question, What does this teach me about God?, should really frame and undergird our reading of Scripture. Jesus said, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). Ultimately, every promise in Scripture, every warning, every instruction, every hope, every truth, and every grace is rooted in the character of the Triune God!
Rain, Rain, Go Away
April 8, 2008 | Comments Off
The rain threw everything off today. Things have been progressing rather nicely on the rebuilding of our home, but I have been very eager to be re-settled in a permanent home. So even though the project has been moving relatively quickly, it still feels like it is taking forever. Today a lot was scheduled to be done, but the key word is “scheduled”. The rained delayed everything. Some people are probably more disposed towards grumbling and murmuring, but everyone does it more than they think. As I heard the rain beat against the house last night and woke to drenching rains, I knew my hopes for progress this day were all being washed away - literally. I think I said “stupid rain” several times.
“And the people complained in the hearing of the LORD about their misfortunes, and when the LORD heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the LORD burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp.” (ESV Numbers 11:1)
I knew what I was really doing. I wasn’t cursing the rain, I was angry with God because He is the one who controls the rain. And I also remembered that God doesn’t take such complaining lightly. Ultimately, the complainer says, “Lord, I don’t like how you rule the world…” Shockingly arrogant isn’t it? It is helpful to be reminded that a Personal, loving, and good God orders the affairs of our life. The most appropriate response to a day like this is a cheerful submission. I hope you learn a lesson from me today. I had to learn it again from ancient Israel.
Uncomfortably Good
April 1, 2008 | 1 Comment
I sat down this morning and finally opened my latest issue of Voice of the Martyrs magazine. I think subconsciously I had been putting it off. Sometimes there are things you would rather not think about. As I suspected, my life and even my very existence were challenged. Whether it was the Christian’s home in Egypt burned, or the new believer in Morocco who was thrown out of his father’s home, or the pastor’s front door welded shut (with his family still inside!) in China, all of them make me feel uncomfortable. But it is a good uncomfortable. They remind me that this world is not my home. They show me that Christ is wondrously precious. The Bible commands believers to remember those who are persecuted for their faith (see Hebrews 13:3). The hard part is feeling so inadequate. Offering help seems like an attempt to water the Sahara Desert. It is impossible to address all the suffering and pain of the persecuted church. But we cannot become paralyzed. I hope you will take time to read about the persecuted church today. There are several organizations devoted to this kind of ministry. I personally recommend to you Voice of the Martyrs. You can visit them online at www.persecution.com . I encourage you to subscribe to their periodical also. I may forget to get online, but that white envelope keeps coming. I would also encourage you to consider supporting your persecuted family abroad. I give regularly to VOM. I hope you would consider it as well.