It’s here folks! We will be selling tickets at the door if you’ve slacked and haven’t already bought your tickets. There are a few VIP tickets left, just a few. VIP Q&A session starts at 5pm, doors open at 6pm, concert starts at 7pm. Go here for full ticket information.

See you tonight!

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Life Connection Church is having our first Open Musician Call on May 10th at 1pm. We’re going to try and accomplish 3 things on this day:

1. Observe level of musicianship. Each person will have a short audition and we will encourage with some critique and present what the next level for each person is musically. It may be that lessons are needed before you are considered for band placement, or maybe you are ready for band placement talent wise but you need your own instrument.

2. Explain vision and commitment. I will explain to everyone what the vision of Life Connection worship is, how we build bands, how we train worship leaders and how that process can begin for those interested. I’ll discuss what worship is in general and what our doctrinal footing is in our practice of worship musically. In our individual interviews I’ll explain a bit more about the level of commitment and sacrifice required and see if you’re up to it.

3. Band placement. If you’ve made it through the first 2 steps then we’ll start analyzing what type of band you’d best fit into and work on band placement.

If you wish to be part of this day please send me an email and let me know you are interested so we can build a schedule of auditions. Even if you know you may not be ready for band placement I really encourage you to come and get the process started so we can encourage and direct you in training.

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Mark and I attended a very interesting and entertaining concert last night, Bon Jovi with Chris Daughtry as the opening act. Mind you, we would never have purchased tickets for this show as I think Bon Jovi is one of the cheesiest rockers out there but we were not going to turn down free tickets and a suite with free food and drinks. We went with the mindset that it was probably going to be pretty bad but a chance for some great people watching and another opportunity to see what we can receive, redeem and reject from the experience. So with that being said here is some feedback on the show:

Daughtry’s music was good, not great, in the words of Randy Jackson, “it was just alright for me dog”. The songs were clean and rockin but I realized after each one of them ended I had no interest in hearing them ever again so that’s never a good sign. The thing I liked the most about them was their humility and their camaraderie as a band. It seemed like they were just a group of close friends getting to live out a dream playing in front of a packed crowd of 18,000 and loving every moment of it. They were fun to watch and their sound was tight so all in all I give their entertainment factor a C+.

Read the rest of this entry »

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“Hither to thy love has blessed me, thou hast brought me to this place

And I know thy hand will bring me, safely home by thy good grace”

The opening lines to this read like a David psalm although not nearly as whiny and scared, much more at rest. These lines remind me of Hebrews 4 where it speaks of sabbath rest, resting in the accomplishment of Christ as the Father rested in his finished work. Hebrews 4:10Hebrews 4:10
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
10 For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his.  

“for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his”. Resting in the sacrifice of Jesus and His work should lead us to sing this verse. God has brought us to a resting place, I rest in His grace and know His hand will bring me home(salvation).

I also find the use of God’s “hand” here especially poignant. Wherever God’s hand is at work in our lives is where we are weakest and He is strongest. When the hand of God touches us in healing, restoration, purification, it’s His holiness, His majesty, His glory falling upon us. So God’s strength will bring us home, not our works, but his grace and accomplishment has become our strength if God’s hand is at work. I think this verse does much in the way of illustrating salvation by grace through faith.

I’m really excited about the next chapter in this exposition, it’s my favorite part of the song, stay tuned.

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Life In Stereo has just been added to the John Mark McMillan ticket on April 25th. They are an awesome band from right here in Phoenix playing their newly released cd The Shape of Things to Come. So now that little $10 ticket gets you in to see not 1 but 2 incredible bands. I must be crazy folks, these deals won’t last, get your TICKETS NOW!

Check them out at their website www.lifeinstereomusic.com or on myspace.

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 “Teach me some melodious sonnets, sung by flaming tongues above.

Praise His name I’m fixed upon it, name of God’s redeeming love” 

 

I’m amazed how this song mixes a psalmist sense of poetry with a strong declaration of doctrinal truth. The author, Robert Robinson, comes from a place I think we can all relate. Daily indebted to God’s grace and stirring up within ourselves our desire to remain fixed upon Christ. I was telling my pastor as we sang this last Sunday as each line passes I feel regret for not meditating on it at that moment. Each line so rich of truth.

 

There is a story I read online about the author who, as he says later in the song was prone to wander away from God. It was some years after his writing of the song and he was on a stagecoach as a female passenger sat next to him and began to converse. She was telling him of her faith and he spoke as though he didn’t know of Christ and had fallen away. The woman began quoting the hymn Come Thou Fount to him and told him, “These words might help you as they have helped me”. Robert began to weep and replied, “Madam, I am the poor, unhappy man who composed that hymn many years ago. I would give a thousand worlds if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then”.

 

What power is in the Holy Spirit as we profess the goodness of God and what he’s done in our lives. My heart broke for Robert as I read that story, that he was unable to remain fixed upon Christ, but that again through God’s unending mercy and grace He sent this woman. God sent this woman to recite the very things God had done in him years ago as a reminder of his goodness and love. In God’s persevering grace he hunts us down, Ezekiel 34:11Ezekiel 34:11
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
11 For thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.  

says “I myself will search for my sheep and look after them.”. God was searching for Robert. One of my favorite examples of Christ’s love for the lost is Matthew 18, verse 12-14 reads

 

“…If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about the one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way the Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost”

 

The Father in heaven is not willing that Robert should be lost. I love that even as we are unfaithful to what we’ve prayed and sung to heaven, that God is always faithful. That He does not cast aside our prayers as we often do. God uses our own words to remind us of our own heart, He sends people to remind us of what He’s been trying to get through to us as he sent Samuel to Eli.

 

It’s fitting that this story comes with this verse, cause God literally was teaching Robert to sing as he sings and showing him what being fixed upon really looks like. Those melodious sonnets came back full circle as the words Robert wrote to God, now being sung back to himself by a good and loving God, through a servant of Christ, to remind him of who he should be fixed upon.

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On April 1st Delirious released Kingdom of Comfort and Hillsong United released their 2 disc live album The I Heart Revolution: With Hearts as One. Both of these bands are in my “buy first think later” category, they’ve earned it. Delirious continues to pour out songs from their ministry in Africa. I’m almost surprised Bono didn’t appear on this album, it would have made a lot of sense given both of their missional work there. 2 songs immediately jump out at me on the cd, All God’s Children and My Soul Sings. I heard them play this live in Phoenix and man, incredibly anointed, powerful, worship.

Hillsong United does their usual praise and worship destruction. I’ve heard some complain about the concert/performance atmosphere and “emotional” songs. Here’s my take. These guys love God, no doubt about it. They seek to honor God, they’ve devoted their lives to it and are anointed leaders. I think people equate professionalism to selfish performance and that’s too bad. They play to God in excellence they sacrifice and offer first fruits. This is their authentic pouring out of themselves. I love the anticipation people have of God’s presence at their “concerts”. I’ve been in lines that wrapped around buildings as people wait to experience God. I think that’s great, this should be the atmosphere every Sunday morning. We serve the King of Kings, I think there is something wrong with us if we don’t have tremendous anticipation of the Holy Spirit moving in power. Where this turns to worship of art or the artist, we’ve gone astray, but I don’t believe just because Hillsong plays in excellence and people are excited to be apart of it, that is misdirected worship.

BTW I just saw on Amazon they run a deal if you buy both albums…stinky…I bought it on iTunes before I saw this.

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This is probably one of the most moving videos I’ve seen. Mars Hill baptized 120 people on easter, in the sanctuary, while rocking an amazingly powerful hymn. Seeing people baptized in their street clothes while singing Gloria, man, intense, nothing else to say, so just watch.

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