Last night I was reminded about the fact that we as the body of Christ are family. We do life together and we are there for each other. Recently one of the volunteers on my team asked for prayer for their spouse who was interviewing for a new job. They brought their needs before God and before the people they do life with here at Fellowship Church.

You might think that it is normal to bring things to God, but what purpose other than praying could there be for sharing our needs with others?  Let me offer this thought. Many times God uses the people around us to answer our prayers. You may need to read the sentence again and let it sink in.

Let’s jump back to my story again for a moment.  Last night as we were beginning our worship team practice one member brought me a check and asked that I give it to that same member of our team who had shared just a couple weeks ago about their needs.  Because the member in need shared their request God used those around her to answer her prayer.

So the next time you are with friends or attending your life group please remember this.  God uses those you do life with to answer prayer and often times to meet your needs.  So get out there and do life together!

Today has been one of those days for me.  I have been open about my struggles with Panic & Anxiety.  There are a weeks when I could honestly tell you that I am not struggling with it.  But today is not one of those days.  It seems that it hits you out of the blue.  Today it hit me.  So as I wrestle with this real life battle even now as I type I want you to know what I do so that maybe you will take something from my experience.

When I am anxious and the walls seem to be coming in on me, I pray, I read, I listen.  Right now, I am praying and reading about the greatness and powerfulness of God found in Job 26.  He is powerful enough to hold the earth and space, so I know that He can handle my little anxiety and panic attacks.  No matter how huge they are in my own eyes, they are nothing He cannot handle!  He is bigger than my anxiety & panic.  Fill in the blank with this one.  Whatever your battle is at this very moment speak it out loud.  Say “God, You are bigger than________”  Claim that!  Because IT IS TRUE!!  There is nothing that our God cannot handle.  Say it again from the depths of your heart.  “God, You are bigger than  _________”     Speak it and believe it!

I didn’t really plan on blogging any of that.  I simply was going to throw this song up here and hope it encouraged you.  So here it is.  This is a great song of hope.  I believe it is going to be all right!!  Listen and remember God is bigger than ______.

It has been a great day. Church, swimming with the family, AFV (America’s Funniest Video), and a refreshing time of worship online tonight with Fred McKinnon. Fred is a gifted worship leader who has recently begun to do live worship from his home. My wife Jennifer went to bed early so I thought I would get on and check it out.

It was amazing and one of the highlights of my day. It refreshed me! I found myself weeping and worshiping God! As a worship leader I get to experience worship a lot. That’s a given. I love worship! It is my passion! I feel most alive when I am on stage worshiping God. But I need to worship on my own. I need to be challenged and encouraged. I needed to be led into worship. I needed refreshed! I needed this!

Don’t let anyone tell you that God doesn’t move through the internet or online ministries. Tonight God used this time in great ways. Thank you Fred! I can’t wait for next week!! If you’re interested go check it out.

Below is an archived video from last Friday morning’s online worship.

I grabbed my Bible this morning and the pages randomly opened  to a chapter  title that read “False Worship”.  Being a worship leader it obviously grabbed my attention.  I was challenged by the verse and want to share it with you.  The verse that stirs my heart even as I type  is Ecclesiastes 5:1.

“Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.”

The phrase “guard your steps” indicates & admonishes us to be careful, be attentive, and to listen.  The idea here is that we are to draw near and listen to what God wants to say.  It is the attitude and mindset that says “God wants to speak to me today”; “Speak Lord, I am listening”.

Can I ask you a question?  What is your attitude and mindset when you are on your way to the house of God?  Are you busy thinking about the day or the week ahead of you?  Are you thinking about what you can do for the church or how important you are to what goes on at the church?

This goes for me as well.  Although leading in worship is my “job” and my “calling/gifting”, God wants me to come quiet in spirit and heart and listen.  God’s working does not depend on me or the band.  It depends on God speaking to each individual and whether or not our hearts are open and ready to listen to God.

I challenge you my friends to begin to have a quiet mindset asking God to speak.  Slow down and listen.  Come this weekend with a heart of expectation of what He will say to you.

It is not about what we can do or bring to God.  I remind the band of this regularly.  It is not about us.  The songs we rock to and the songs we raise our hands and worship have two main purposes.  To worship God & to prepare hearts to HEAR God speak to them.  Whether we use a Beatles Song or a U2 song, the purpose remains the same.  We engage our culture that they might HEAR God speaking to them.

So Father as we prepare for this weekend, it is my prayer that you would speak to my heart.  Help me remember that it is not about me, not about the band, not about anything else but hearing and obeying you.  Speak to us!  We come having no agenda of our own. Speak and we will listen!

When Chester (our black lab) woke me up at 6:30am to go outside I wasn’t thrilled. But when I got down stairs and opened up the back door I saw the hot tub and felt God beckon.
So God and I soaked for the last 40 minutes. It was a a good time of prayer. It was a good time of crying out to God and asking Him for wisdom, peace, & security. I am learning to rely completely on God. When I have a need, I used to go to him after I searched all other avenues. Now, I try to go to him first thing.
So in the midst of a morning of taking care of the boys and getting them ready for school, thanks to my pal chester I have already had a great time with Jesus.
There is something about mornings that is so peaceful. The birds sing, the wind blows, and sometimes if you listen close enough you will find that Jesus wants to meet with you in the quietness of your day. I need that time. I need Him.

Getting ready to leave the church office for the school. The time we have worked and prayed for all week is upon us. I am speechless as I am overwhelmed with the love the “Father has lavished upon us”. Today we focus on the fact that “God is Love”.  I am praying that God will use the message and the worship, and speak through me to help communicate His love for you & for me. “…that we should be called Sons and daughters of God!” God is love!

This morning the Lord has really given me an awareness of our need for prayer as well as our need to know Him.  Not just prayer as individuals, but prayers of protection from the enemy for each other.  We are under attack!  Our vision is strong!  Our hearts are pointed in the right direction, and Satan is not happy.  Prepare yourselves for an all out attack by putting on the armor of God.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. ¹⁸And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. — Gal. 6:10-18

I write this because I know that I need to be better at daily putting all of this on.  We will not stand against this season unless we do.  The enemy is actively seeking to gain ground and ownership of our minds.  It must be combated with the only thing that can fight against it.  The Word of God.   We must personally fill up on the Word that we may stand our ground.  Pray for each other!   I am committing to take time out of every day to pray for  you and the battles that you are in.  Pray for me also.

One more passage that God really spoke to me through this morning.  It is time for self examination for myself and for the rest of us.

¹ “Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces;
now he will heal us.
He has injured us;
now he will bandage our wounds.
² In just a short time he will restore us,
so that we may live in his presence.
³ Oh, that we might know the Lord!
Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn
or the coming of rains in early spring.”

Press on my friends to know Him!

Did you know that the Bible mentions prayer 512 times?  I’m no scholar but something that is mentioned that many times in Scripture must be very, very important.  It must also be something that God wants us to do.  This morning I looked up some of those verses.  One passage that particularly sticks out to me is found in Ephesians 6:18-20. This is what it says.

Prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out. ^19-20And don’t forget to pray for me. (Your Leader) Pray that I’ll know what to say and have the courage to say it at the right time, telling the mystery to one and all, the Message that I, jailbird preacher that I am, am responsible for getting out. Taken from the Message

When I grade myself on how well I am doing with these instructions I fall short.  I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ all the time.  Those people include all of my friends & family.  Those people who have “prayer requests”.   I often fall into the thought process that says  if I do that, it is sufficient.  But what about the rest of the verse.  Paul, their Pastor and leader says, “hey guys, please don’t forget to pray for me!  I am your leader.”  He asks for prayer as he leads.  Why?  Because leading is not easy.  Because leaders need vision.  Leaders need to know where God is wanting them to lead.  The responsibility for the church getting the gospel out falls on all of us, but scripture specifically asks for us to pray for the leaders.  They carry heavy loads & burdens (both good and bad), that the church will never ever know.

I have been guilty for not lifting up my fellow staff members like I should.  Most of us are praying for our  lead pastor John Cremeans as he is in this tough season but have we been praying for the man that is standing in the place of leadership right now in John’s absence?  I am convicted and convinced that we need to be praying for Gus Sareyka, our Pastor of Life Development as he leads Fellowship Church during this season.  Gus is a man of conviction and a man that loves Jesus and Fellowship Church.

If the apostle Paul asked for his church in Ephesus to pray for him and his leadership, shouldn’t we be praying for our leadership?  I want to encourage you to take time to pray today for the entire staff of Fellowship Church, the elders, and especially Gus as they leads us through this time.

I was looking for an encouraging video to inspire us to pray…I found this and it made me laugh….I used to have “hammer” pants.

As I sit here reflecting on the services this weekend I cannot help but be so proud and boast at the work of God.  We say it all the time; Fellowship is all about life change.  I never get tired of hearing the stories of lives that have been changed.  This weekend was one of the coolest Fellowship life change moments for me.  As we sat and watched the live feed video of baptism I got to experience life change with every dunk.  It was awesome!  The stories behind the faces tell of a great God who still works and still is in the business of taking the old and making it new.

Personally the weekend meant so much to me.  I have often blogged about the season I am in.  Part of that season was fear.  Part of that season was uncertainty.  God has done a work in my own life over the last couple months.   Last week I had the weekend off and just got away and caught my breath.  I came back this week and was as excited to lead worship in God’s house as much as I was the first time I led worship on stage.  God has renewed my vision.  God has renewed a steadfast heart.  God has brought me through the season standing stronger and taller than before. Let me share some key components to staying the course when you find yourself caught in “that season”.

1. Pray – Sometimes I wonder if God allows us to go through the valley so that we realign ourselves with Him.  Somehow pain causes us to remember HIM.  Somehow uncertainity guides us to trust.  Pray, pray, pray.
2. Listen – Lots of times we find ourselves stuck at #1.  We pray, pray, pray, and never take time to listen.  God has something He wants to say to you.  He really does.  God is a personal God and He has a word for you right where you are in this moment.  Listen!  He will speak.  Maybe not right now.  Maybe not tomorrow.  But stay the course and He will reveal Himself to you.  It is the waiting that the hardest.
3. Worship – I have come to find over the years that nothing gets rid of depression, fear, and other valley symptoms like focusing all your energy and might towards Worshiping God.  I am afraid to say this because I don’t know what’s around the bend in my own life but problems are a matter of seeing things through eternity’s eyes.  It is all about perception.  Worship helps put everything into perspective.
4. Give Thanks – A wise man once asked me “what are you thankful for?”  in the darkness of a valley moment.  I hadn’t even thought about all the things I am blessed with.  The more I give thanks, the more my perspective once again turns away from me and turns to Him.

These four things are just a few things that help me in my seasons.  I am so glad that I have been coming out of my season.