Resonate Music

WORSHIP: God Transforms...

2012-02-29T10:30:00.004-08:00

This is a great message by Pastor Mark Driscoll on worship and I think all should listen to it. Click here to listen/watch this message from their Doctrine series from Spring o 2008.

Sadly, worship has too often been considered merely a style of music or event such as a Sunday church service. And, while worship is big enough to include these things it is by no means reduced only to them. In many ways, to speak of worship is to speak of all of life in its fullness lived to God’s glory and our joy. Therefore, in my sermon on worship this week, which is part of the Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe series, my hope is to give a comprehensive biblical understanding of this most important doctrine by answering some of the more common questions related to worship. At Mars Hill Church this theology of worship is the guiding ideology in both our worship and biblical living departments and therefore absolutely essential for us as a church. As an aside, much of the content in this chapter is taken from Chapter 9 of the book Vintage Jesus: Timeless Answers to Timely Questions that I wrote with my friend Dr. Gerry Breshears.

WHERE DOES WORSHIP ORIGINATE?

In his magnificent book Unceasing Worship Harold Best states his thesis saying: "The burden of this book develops the concept of continuous outpouring as the rubric for our worship. As God eternally outpours within his triune self, and as we are created in his image, it follows that we too are continuous outpourers, incurably so. " (Page 10)

As we studied in the Trinity: God Is sermon, we saw that God is a community of ceaseless outpouring. Although there is one God, the three persons of the Trinity continually exist with a ceaseless outpouring of love, communication, and joy. And, as we studied in the Image: God Loves sermon we saw that human beings are made in the image and likeness of God. As such, we too are ceaseless worshippers pouring ourselves out for someone or something.

In the Fall: God Judges sermon we examined how through sin our worship is bent toward people and things other than God who is our Creator in favor of created things. Subsequently, we need God to seek us out as we studied in theCovenant: God Pursues sermon and Incarnation: God Comes sermon to save us from sin and free us to worship as we studied in the Cross: God Dies, andResurrection: God Saves sermons. In many ways, these theme of worship is a major thread that weaves the entire storyline of the Bible and our Doctrine series together.

Summarizing this thread Best says,

"We begin with one fundamental fact about worship: at this very moment, and for as long as this world endures, everybody inhabiting it is bowing down and serving something or someone—an artifact, a person, an institution, an idea, a spirit, or God through Christ. Everyone is being shaped thereby and is growing up toward some measure of fullness, whether of righteousness or of evil. No one is exempt and no one can wish to be. We are, every one of us, unceasing worshipers and will remain so forever, for eternity is an infinite extrapolation of one of two conditions: a surrender to the sinfulness of sin unto infinite loss or the commitment of personal righteousness unto infinite gain. This is the central fact of our existence, and it drives every other fact. Within it lies the story of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation or final loss." (Page 17-18)

WHAT IS WORSHIP?

Quoted from Vintage Jesus Chapter 9

"Worship is living our life individually and corporately as continuous living sacrifices to the glory of a person or thing. This connection between glory and worship is clear in verses like Romans 11:36–12:1, which says, "To him be the glory forever. Amen. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." …First, we hold a person or thing in a place of glory. Second, we then worship that person or thing. Third, our worship of that person or thing we hold in glory is done by means of making sacrifices.

Glory means weightiness, importance, preeminence, priority, or that which is our greatest treasure, deepest longing, and fountain of hope. Functionally, what we hold in the place of glory is in effect our real god…Practically, worship is making sacrifices for what we are living to glorify.
The biblical word for worship is also sometimes translated "sacrifice." This insight is helpful because what we make the greatest sacrifices for reveals what we truly live to glorify and worship. For example, if we eat and drink in excess, we are worshipping our stomach and sacrificing our health. If we sacrifice relationships with God and people for a hobby (e.g., sport, music, craft), then we are worshipping that hobby. If we are giving our bodies to sexual sin, we are worshipping sex and/or another person whose glory is our highest aim, sacrificing holiness and intimacy with God in the process. In short, we give our time, energy, body, money, focus, devotion, and passion to that which we glorify most and make sacrifices to worship that person or thing. Because we were made for the express purpose of worshipping God, everyone is a worshipper. The only difference is who/what we worship."

Another definition is found from Harold Best who says, "I have worked out a definition for worship that I believe covers every possible human condition. It is this: Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god" (Page 18, Italics in original).

WHAT IS IDOLATRY?

Idolatry is one of the most frequent and most frequently misunderstood themes in all of Scripture. When thinking of idolatry, images of a primitive person bowing down to a statue or something akin to it come to mind. But, when the Bible speaks of idolatry it does so in a broad manner so as to reveal it as corrupted worship in contrast with true worship. Perhaps the most succinct definition of idolatry is found in Romans 1:25 which says, "they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." God is our Creator and our worship is to be directed to him alone. But, as sinners we are prone to worship created things rather than our creator God and that is by definition idolatry. In the context of Romans 1, this idolatry can be things God has made such as the human body and its pleasures (especially sexual), or things we have made such as human ideas about God and life that dominate philosophy and spirituality.

HOW CAN I FIND MY IDOLS?

As a general rule, it is easier to see the idols in someone else’s life than our own. This is because our idols tend to be seen by us as simply comforts, pleasures, habits, aids, and the like. Biblical counselor David Powlision says, "Idolatry is by far the most frequently discussed problem in the Scriptures." This is because idolatry is the root that nourishes every fruit of sin. This also explains why the last line of 1 John says, "keep yourselves from idols." Why, because if we do then we will live in victory over temptations to sin. Therefore, the following categorical questions are offered to help you seek out any idols in your life.

WHO/WHAT ARE YOUR EXTERNAL IDOLS?

Who/what is my Lord that rules over my life determining how I live?
Who/what is my Judge I am living to earn the approval of?
Where do you give the firstfruits of your wealth?
Where do you give the firstruits of your time?
What people and things take the majority of your life?
What do you plan and pray for?

WHO/WHAT ARE YOUR INTERNAL IDOLS?

What false beliefs do you hold about God?
Which parts of Scripture do you deeply doubt or even disbelieve?
Deep down in your heart who/what do you love, cherish, treasure, long for the most?
Deep down in your heart who/what do you despise and hate the most?
Who/what makes you happiest? Why?
Who/what makes you saddest? Why?

WHO/WHAT IS YOUR MEDIATOR BETWEEN YOU AND GOD?

Who or what other than Jesus do you use to get closer to God?
Who or what if taken from your life would cause you to not walk as faithfully with God?
How do you define yourself, especially when introducing yourself to others?

WHERE IS YOUR FUNCTIONAL HEAVEN?

When daydreaming about escaping this life, what does your functional heaven look like and how is it different from the real heaven?
On earth, where do you run for your safety or comfort as your hiding place (e.g. the fridge, alcohol, the television, a person, a place, a hobby)?

WHO/WHAT IS YOUR FUNCTIONAL SAVIOR?

What is your picture of hell in this life (e.g. being single, not having children, being poor, etc.)?
Who or what do you use to save you from what you fear (e.g. a relationship, children, money, shopping, sex, etc.)?

WHAT GOOD THING HAS BECOME A GOD THING?

Which idols are in your life that when appreciated and/or stewarded correctly are means of worship but have become objects of worship (e.g. work, family, health, friendship, pleasure, leisure, hobby, etc.)?
If you could obtain or change one thing/person in your life what would that be?
What idols am I selling to others?

HOW CAN I NURTURE MY WORSHIP?

The pattern for our worship is the redemption that occurred in the book of Exodus. There, God’s people were enslaved for all of their lives and then redeemed and liberated to be free to worship God. The picture of the Exodus is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus who is greater than Moses and conquered our Pharaoh Satan and redeemed us from slavery to sin and death. But, like God’s people in the Exodus we who have been liberated must walk with God all the days of our lives trusting him by faith as a lifestyle of ceaseless worship if we hope to have our lives be lived for his glory and our joy. Sadly, we often like the Israelites build golden calves of idolatry, grumble against God, and long to return to our sin and slavery while walking around in a circle.

The key to getting out of this horrendous loop is found for God’s people at Mount Sinai where God gave to them the 10 Commandments as the heart of his law. And, God begins the 10 Commandments by declaring that he alone is God and that nothing and no one is to be worshipped in place of or alongside him. The rest of the 10 Commandments go on to then illustrate how if these first two commandments are obeyed it will transform the rest of our life into opportunities to worship God with our desires, relationships, possessions, etc. Simply, if we worship God alone we will not worship sex and commit adultery, worship possessions and commit thievery or coveting, worship people’s perceptions of us and lie, worship unrighteous anger and murder, worship our job and never Sabbath etc.

In closing, the key to nurturing our worship of God is ongoing renewal. In a recent time I had with Pastor Rick Warren in California he gave a very insightful talk for pastors on stages of renewal. I share it with you because I find it helpful for this subject of worship. His point is that renewal happens in a pattern of six stages and that without the first the others are impossible. And, people who do not have the first tend to blame the others for their spiritual lethargy or dissatisfaction which is not the real source of their troubles.

STAGES OF RENEWAL

Personal renewal (love God) – simply everything begins with a renewed passion for Jesus as our greatest treasure and object of worship. Personal renewal occurs as we take time each day for mini-Sabbaths to do such things as pray, read Scripture, and connect with Jesus as well as taking a Sabbath day every week, day or days out of town unplugged from technology to renew every month, and take non-working and spiritually renewing vacation every year. The key for personal renewal is to unplug from all that drains us to plug into Jesus who renews us to be and do what he asks of us in all of life by his strength. Personal renewal does not fix everything in our life, but it sets our hearts and minds aflame with hope to press forward in life.
Relational renewal (love others) – once we have personal renewal with Jesus the first effect is that we have new hope for people and pursue them in love. If married, relational renewal begins with our spouse. And, if we are parents our children ensue. Relational renewal allows us to be authentic around others, stop pretending and performing, and simply be in loving community where we are known and know others thanks to the work of Jesus gospel.
Missional renewal (love the mission) – once we have personal and relational renewal, the result is that God’s people want to be on mission together doing what God commands of the church. Without personal renewal, a church cannot have relational renewal. And, without both a church has no life or unity that allows them to press forward on mission with God together.
Church renewal (love the brothers and sisters) – the fruit of personal, relational, and missional renewal is that a church that has a new culture of grace internally and new passion for lost people externally. In a church this results in people trusting their leaders and one another more, wanting to spend more time together, hanging out longer after services, and singing together more loudly as they see themselves as a unified community.
Structural renewal – once the personal, relational, missional, and church renewals have been established so much has changed in how a church operates and people interact that new structures must be built so as to accommodate God’s renewing work. This includes new policies, procedures, and ways of managing the affairs of the church so as to enable further renewal.
Institutional renewal – institutions (e.g. denominations, seminaries, publishers, record companies, conferences, etc.) are always the last places of renewal because they function to preserve and sustain the renewal of a previous move of God. Subsequently, they become the equivalent of a trunk on a tree while new growth happens out on the ends of the newest limbs.

The key to a life of worship is ongoing personal renewal with Jesus. Without this, you will be prone to accept mediocrity and even idolatry while blaming your state on the people in your life and church you attend rather than repenting of your own failure to connect with God as he has made possible through Jesus Christ. On this point Best says, "Authentic worship is a continuous outpouring of all that we are and can ever hope to become in light of the saving work of Christ. It reaches into every quarter of our living, informing all of our actions and safeguarding them within the arena of Spirit, truth and sacrificial living." (Page 111)

So, in closing, how is your ceaseless worship and what needs to change for you to begin with personal renewal?

7 Tips for Talking with Your Neighbors about Jesus...

2012-01-18T10:14:00.000-08:00

We met in the elevator of our condo building.

Instead of the classic stare down at the ground and avoid eye contact bit, I said hello and introduced myself. I asked him a few non-awkward, basic questions. How long have you lived here? Do you like it? Have you met any cool people?

The following week, I saw him in the lobby, and we picked up the conversation with a longer discussion revolving around the Seattle Mariners and their dim prospects for the year. I checked again to see if he was up for talking more, “If you want to watch a game at Sport, [the appropriately-named Seattle sports pub,] let me know.” He accepted, we figured out a good date and time and within a few weeks, we were grabbing a bite and watching a game together.

Breaking the Stereotype of Judgmental Jerk

It wasnʼt long before he found out I was a Christian, went to church, and loved Jesus. He said to me, “Wow, my stereotype of Christians has been blown away. Youʼre normal. You like good food and drink, you love your city and donʼt come off as a judgmental jerk.” I soon invited him to church, where he heard the gospel preached powerfully. He became a Christian and got involved in Community Groups, praise God.

For whatever reason, it’s easy for Christians to clam up and get weird when talking about their faith in the day-to-day. Here are a few tips to make bridge those inhibitions and get the conversation going:

1. Find a road that leads to Jesus.

In the course of conversation, be thinking of how Jesus intersects with the discussion, because Jesus intersects and touches everything in our culture: sports, music, art, politics. Look for bridges to introduce Jesus into the conversation. It should be just as casually or passionately as you talk about everything else.

2. Donʼt be weird and awkward.

“So...now, Iʼd like to talk with you about Jesus.” If all of a sudden you put on your "Jesus" hat and you are talking to them like a project and not a friend, then you're entering awkward territory. Now, there will be times it becomes awkward because talking about Jesus and sin can be that way, but don't let it be because you are socially weird.

3. Be winsome.

Included in that word is the word “win.” Be “winning” friends and the conversation by being engaging, friendly, and kind. For more on being winsome, check out Soul Winner by Charles Spurgeon.

4. Counter stereotypes and caricatures of Christians.

Many urban, secular folks have a particular caricature of a Christian, which is not very flattering (judgmental, harsh, the “morality police”), although many don’t personally have any Christian friends. Be gracious and talk with them, serve them, and love them.

5. Host an open house.

When my wife and I moved into a new apartment building we hosted an open house for the whole building and went over the top with really good food and wine. Dozens of our neighbors came out and it was the foundation for future gospel-centered conversations.

6. Be honest about your struggles and failings.

We all fall short. We all struggle and fail. The credit has to be given to Jesus in your life. Many non-Christians donʼt want to talk with Christians as they will feel guilty regarding their own problems.

7. Actions also communicate.

Serve your neighbors. Serve your neighborhood. Look for opportunities without being an attention-getter. Your neighbors are watching you and just as James said, faith without works is dead.

C.O.A.L.

2011-12-16T12:07:00.001-08:00

Here are some ideas to help us have a Christmas On Another Level this year...

Donate blankets to a homeless shelter.
Make cookies for all your neighbors and wish them a Merry Christmas.
Buy gifts cards and gave them to people who needed them.
Babysit for a family or single mom for free!
Donate clothes, coats or boots to Lion’s for Kids Club.
Decide to help a needy child through Compassion International (www.compassion.com) or World Vision (www.worldvision.org)
Buy a couple pizzas and take them to a local hospital for those who were spending Christmas in ICU or ER.
Donate toys to Toys for Tots.
Donate can goods & food to local food banks.
Go out and eat and buy someone’s meal.
Tip a waiter/waitress 100% of the check.
Put up Christmas lights for a neighbor or elderly.
Visit the local nursing home.
Donate money to a local animal shelter.
Make cookies for the local fireman and police department.
Buy someone’s Starbucks who is behind you in line!
Write a thank you letter to your teacher at school!
Buy food for a fellow co-worker.
Buy a Bible for a friend.
Make a warm meal and invite some friends over.
Write an email to someone that I’m thankful for.
Help a single parent buy Christmas gifts for their kids.
Help someone with car trouble.
Help sponsor an Angel Tree child.
Operation Christmas Child (www.samaritanspurse.org)
Human Trafficking—help out at (www.unearthedpictures.org)
Check out Rapha House (Human trafficking) at (www.raphahouse.org)
Help out some Haitian Missionaries (www.nwhcm.org)
Take dinner to a friend who’s had a tough time.
Made Christmas cards as a family for people working on Christmas.
Give blood at the local blood bank.
Donate money to the Salvation Army.
Buy a meal for the Salvation Army bell ringer.
Invite someone over to hang out that has family out of town for Christmas.
Clean someone’s house or do yard work for a family that’s in need.
Mend a broken relationship.
Fill up a stranger’s gas tank.
Make a gift package to a needy college student.
Take a family to Zoolights at Point Defiant Zoo.
Donate stuff to Goodwill!
Give gift cards to someone who lost their job.
Donated money to Breast Cancer (www.5.komen.org)
Sell something and give the $ to the charity of your choice.
Pay for a US soldier’s dinner.
Have your children go through their toys and help them give them away to Lion’s for Kids Club.
Buy someone’s Christmas tree.
Help out someone who’s flying home to visit family.

Four Levels Of Generosity

2011-12-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

I believe most Christ followers want to be givers, not just consumers. Most want to be free from the love of money and to be seen as generous with their time, their abilities and their monies. Becoming this type of person takes time and intentionality, plus lots of obedience and some measure of faith. In my experience, I believe there are four phases of giving and generosity.

1. Tippers

These are people who give the leftovers of their money. This level requires hardly any faith and is motivated primarily by guilt or duty. They are typically inconsistent, giving only when prompted by a pastor at a church, or by an appeal on TV. If they have money, they will give a portion, but the amount never stretches them out of their comfort zone and always makes “sense”. Almost 90% of people in most local churches are in this group.

2. Tithers

These are people who set aside the first 10% of their income to give to the local church. This is a huge step up from the first level, because some faith now enters the equation. These people believe that God can do more with the remaining 90% if they are willing give the first. Tithers typically give consistently and seldom have to be prompted or “motivated” to give. They give even when it seems risky or when not giving would ease another temporary financial burden.

3. Givers

These people have discovered the joy of giving and are now on the lookout for opportunities to bless other people. While still tithing, they give even more to ministries, single parents, missionaries, and struggling neighbors. These people are super budget conscious, intentionally living below their means and setting aside money now, to give later. They love to hear about dreams and ideas to build the Kingdom. They’re never offended at being asked to give because they see it as a privilege and as worship.

4. Extravagant Givers

These people are radical about their giving. This is an elite group that is willing to give everything. They carry the same faith as the widow seen by Jesus in the temple giving all she had to live on. They completely believe that God owns it all and they are just stewards. They are prayerful and wise about their giving, but will not hesitate to give large percentages if God speaks. This group prefers anonymity and will ask a lot of really good questions because they need details. They take their time getting to know ministry leaders and only give when they see high levels of accountability and integrity.

I had to share this amazing blog post from Pastor Brady Boyd. (www.newlifeblogs.com/bradyboyd/)

7 Things That Worship Is....

2011-11-30T08:22:00.000-08:00

#1 – Repentance - Where there is no repentance there may be an emotional experience, but it’s not worship! Worship does not become worship until it IMPACTS the WAY WE LIVE!

#2 – Intellectual – We’re called to worship the Lord with our minds by renewing it and fixing it on Him. (Colossians 3:1-2)

#3 – Emotional- Worship is overwhelming when we realize how deeply we were entrenched in sin, how helpless we were and how incredible it is that Jesus would rescue us. (The reality of Romans 5:8 BLOWS ME AWAY!)

#4 – Intentional- No one accidentally follows Christ…if we are going to worship Him, it will be done purposefully!

#5 – Relational – Worship impacts every relationship we have, it is impossible to be a fully devoted worshipper of Christ and be a jerk to your wife or try as often as possible to take advantage of the opposite sex.

#6 – Financial – Until following Christ has impacted our finances in a sacrificial way we are not followers of Christ. Would you like to see the primary object of your worship…look at your checkbook!

#7 – Unconditional – (and NOT situational!) Worship is consistent, 24/7, not just when I feel good or God is giving me all that I want. If we worship only when things are good, we do not worship God…we worship a genie!

**Blog post from Perry Noble at www.perrynoble.com**

10 Things a Worship Leader Should Never Do

2011-11-23T10:52:00.001-08:00

The times they are a’changing. Worship leaders used to be conservative. Now you’ll see them sporting hats, deep v-neck shirts, and TOMS. They use vocoders and trash cans for a bit of creativity. But some things about worship never change. This is my take on 10 things a worship leader should never do. Enjoy!

Chastise the congregation. If the congregation isn’t responding, it can get tempting to “preach” to them about how they aren’t worshipping. But we can’t judge their hearts. Plus, it’s the pastor’s job to bring correction. The worship leader should be a cheerleader, not a grumpy coach.
Take a secular song, and change the word “baby” to “Jesus”. (Unless it’s referring to baby Jesus.) Come on, guys. I know it can be tempting to play that really cool song on the radio. A simple change of the word “baby” to “Jesus” could do the trick. But, seriously?!
Introduce every song with a story. An occasional story can be a useful tool to engage folks with a song. But you’re there to sing, not tell anecdotes about your child reaching up to you saying “Dada”.
Run the sound while leading worship. This is especially tempting at the churches where the sound guy and worship leader are always fighting. Trust me. Even a bad sound guy can do better than you can while leading worship. Don’t do this unless you have no other choice.
Close your eyes during the whole service. You’re leading. Plus, it looks like you’re in pain if you close your eyes the whole time.
Attempt a hymn you “think” you know. Be sure you know the hymn. Otherwise that throwback for the traditional folks will fall flat.
“Wing it.” Unless you’re the only band member…with no sound team or slide runners…don’t wing it. Even then. Be careful. You’ll probably end up saying something dumb or forgetting all the words.
Let choir members smuggle percussion instruments on stage. There’s nothing worse for a sound guy than suddenly hearing a choir member shaking a tambourine or smacking a cowbell next to the choir mics. Have a gender-segregated pat-down before the service if you need…
Show your mid-riff. It’s the next inevitable phase after the deep-V. But please…don’t do it! (Especially guys.)
Think it’s all about you. It’s not about you. It’s not about the music. It’s not about the songs. It’s about leading people into worshipping God.

Anything I left off the list that a worship leader should never do? Chime in!

Original Post by The Church Ideas Blog

The Skinny On Worship...

2011-11-23T10:46:00.000-08:00

Weekend Review 11.06.11

2011-11-08T08:29:00.001-08:00

Band:

Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

Songs:

He Is Faithful (Bryan & Katie Torwalt) (@BryanTorwalt) (@KatieTorwalt)

Jesus, You Have Won Me (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

Murdered Son (John Mark McMillan) (@JohnMarkMC)

How He Loves (John Mark McMillan) (@JohnMarkMC)

This weekend we entered week two of our Margin series! Last week we talked about having margin in our life for people. People are the most important thing outside of our relationship with God and God calls us to love people as ourselves. We have to create space in our life for people. This week we talked about creating margin with our time. Our world always tells us do more, spend more and live more. But if we live our lives full tilt all the time we skim the surface relationally, your attitude is challenged, we race past our priorities, and we miss out on the life God intended us to have. Margin is the amount available beyond what is necessary. Unfortunately margin is something that most of us DO NOT have. So how do we create margin in our lives?

#1 Keep the main thing the main thing. Love God, love people as yourself is the main thing.

#2 Learn to say no. Just so you know you will disappoint people. But if you don't say no to things you already are disappointing the most important people in your life... your family.

#3 Pursue balance. If we don't create margin in our lives the stress of life will force margin upon you.

#4 Take a day out of the week to rest and enjoy life. God commands us to take a day to rest and enjoy all He has given us and all He has created.

#5 Shut down the zoo. If you want a different life... choose to live differently.

As Mike Breaux (@MikeBreaux) says, Divert daily, rest weekly, and retreat annualy.

To listen to the message from this weekend click here.

Weekend Review 10.30.11

2011-11-01T15:17:00.000-07:00

Songs:

I Saw The Light / I'll Fly Away (Hank Williams Sr. & Albert E. Brumley)

How Great Thou Art (Stuart Wesley Keene Hine)

Blessed Assurance (Fanny Jane Crosby & Phoebe Palmer Knapp)

Amazing Grace (John Newton)

Band:

Acoustic Guitar & Kick Drum: Corey Wilkins (@CoreyLayne)

Bass: Rob Sherrod

BGV's: Sarah Hatfield

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

This weekend we began a brand new three week series called MARGIN. Margin is something that unfortunately America as a whole struggles to find. We have very little margin in our lives. But, when we create space for the things that are most important God leverages them for His purpose and our good! What are the things that are most important in your life? Where do you spend most of your time? Where do you spend the most money? Jesus gave us His answer to this question in Matthew 22:37-40 when He quoted the Shema by saying "love God and love people". Can other people tell what is most important in your life? Is God #1 in your life? If it was illegal to be a Christ-follower would you be found guilty? Do you sound at all like this?.... "I really like Jesus but I don't have the time to spend in God's Word." "I like Jesus a lot but I don't like coming to church more than a couple times a month." "I like Jesus but I'm not going to serve, change or be Baptized." "I really like Jesus but don't talk to me about_________." "I really like Jesus a lot but I don't like giving money that I worked hard for, that I earned away to some church or to someone that God puts in my heart." "I like Jesus when it fits with my life." Jesus is either Lord of ALL or not at all. Love costs us something. Love calls us to sacrifice. We demonstrate that we love God by spending time with Him.

I heard a story about a guy who put this steel I-beam on the ground that was 140-feet long beam that is 6 inches wide at this construction site. There was a crowd of people around interested in what the man was doing. And the man asked, “Who would walk across this 6-inche beam for $10. Everyone raised their hands. Then he said, “What if it was 160-feet in the air? Who would walk across it for $10? Nobody raised their hand. What about $1,000? Nobody raised their hand. What about $10,000. Nobody raised their hand. Then he said, “What if across that beam I was holding your kids by the feet upside down over the building? Who would walk across it then?” Everyone said, “Yes.” The big question is, “What would you walk across that I-beam for?” I wouldn’t do it for any amount of money. I wouldn’t do it for fame or riches. I wouldn’t do it for anything else besides people! I can think of some people that I’d do this for.

I’d walk across this beam 6-inches wide, 160 feet in the air for Jesus. If Jesus called me across that beam…He’s given His life for me—I’d do that for Him.
I’d walk across this beam for my wife & my daughter. I wouldn’t even have to think about it—I’d -walk across it for them.
I’d do it for my family.
I’d do it for people in this church & the people in my life!
If it’s the only way that the gospel would be know & embraced…I’d walk across that 6-inche beam for the lost people in my life!

Who would you walk across that I-beam for? The most important things become crystal clear in hospitals, nursing homes & funeral homes.

It’s sad that it takes the most painful of times for God to get our attention and communicate:

“It doesn’t matter how much money you make!”
“It doesn’t matter if you had more degrees than Fahrenheit!”
“It doesn’t matter where you lived and what kind of car you drove!”
“It doesn’t matter if you worked 80 hours a week if you’ve got a wrecked marriage, you kids resent you and don’t really know you, and you really have no friends in your life that you have community with.”

Isn’t it amazing how quickly we forget what matters most? The only things that matter are our relationship with God and our relationship with others.

The paradox of our time in history is that we

Have taller buildings, but shorter tempers;

Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints;

We spend more, but have less;

We buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families;

More conveniences but less time;

We have more degrees but less sense;

More knowledge but less judgment;

More experts, but more problems;

More medicine, but less wellness.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life.

We’ve added years to life, not life to years.

We’ve become big on quantity and short on quality.

We’re big on the latest and greatest and small on the stuff that matters.

We’ve majored in the minors when we should be majoring in the majors.

We’ve got priorities all mixed up, people matter period.

Do the people in your life know that they are a priority? Does your priorities reflect the things you do, the words you say and the investments you make?

Weekend Review 10.09.11

2011-10-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

Songs:

God Is Able (Hillsong Live) (@HillsongLive)

How Great Is Our God (Chris Tomlin) (@ChrisTomlin)

You Have Won Me (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

The Stand (Hillsong United) (@HillsongUnited)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Ash Moselle

Electric Guitar: Corey WIlkins (@CoreyLayne)

BGV: Mary Beth Holmes

Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

This weekend we continued our seven week series Ignite: 6 Things That Ignite Your Faith. Our Lead Pastor Scott Hatfield (@Scott_Hatfield) talked about everyones favorite thing to talk about DISCIPLINE! This is something that we all have a lot of and love to talk about! Not really... Mostly discipline is something we all know we need but generally love to not partake. Going to the gym is one thing... but having private spiritual discipline is a whole other beast. Discipline is doing what I ought to do instead of what I want to do. Most people who I know that love or somewhat like Jesus want to have a great faith and know the Bible... but unfortunately most people just want that given or imparted onto them in a prayer line. They don't want to spend the time to do that... Or they don't want to have the discipline to do this or make this a reality in their life. But if you engage in spiritual disciplines your faith will ignite and grow! The amazing things is that what starts out as a discipline become an obsession and a passion. What begins as a discipline becomes a habit. What begins as a discipline becomes a lifestyle. What starts out as a discipline becomes and incredible reward. What started out as a discipline becomes a joy. Being disciplined in any area of your life will always result in joy. I have never heard anyone say... "Man, if I could do my life all over again I would be less disciplined." Here us the crazy thing about disciplines is that your attitude towards it is completely irrelevant. You can start off working out and hating it but you still can get the great results as the person who loves getting up and going to the gym.

I would really encourage you that if you didn't make it this Sunday please take the time to CLICK HERE and listen to this weekend message.

20/20 Mark 4 (The Parable of the Sower)... My Insights...

2011-10-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

As we continue to embark on this awesome journey of 20/20 I thought it would be cool to post some of my thoughts on todays reading. Today's reading was Mark 4:1-13 which is the Parable of the Sower which is also found in Matthew and Luke. So I am going to put the scripture below and input my thoughts in orange throughout the scripture below.

Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

¹Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. ²And he was teaching them many things in parables (A parable in the Greek means "to throw alongside" so when Jesus is teaching in parables He uses a story to throw alongside of truth so that it is easy to understand and make the connection), and in his teaching he said to them: ³"Listen! A sower (a sower represents a preacher or someone teaching the Word of God) went out to sow. ⁴And as he sowed, some seed (seeds are Words) fell along the path, and the birds (birds represents demons) came and devoured it. ⁵Other seed (seeds are Words) fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. ⁷Other seed (seeds are Words) fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸And other seeds (seeds are Words) fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." ⁹And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Obviously He is speaking of spiritual ears here.)

The Purpose of the Parables (I love how Jesus goes ahead and explains the parable. Jesus thinks this parable is so easy that He goes not to say if you can't understand this you cannot understand any of His other teachings)

¹⁰And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, ¹² so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven." (He says here the Bible has been given to you Jews. So you can easily know the secret of the Kingdom of God but for those who did not grow up hearing and knowing the Bible and my plans I have to explain everything in a way that they would easily understand) ¹³ And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word (the teacher or preacher teaches people to Words of God to the people listening). ¹⁵And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them (Group 1 / is the people who hear the Words of God. They hear it and then Satan comes immediately and rips it away from them). ¹⁶And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away (or stumble) (Group 2 / these people go to church they have even accepted the teaching and believe that it can radically change their lives. They keep coming back to church and hear more. But at some point along the way life gets hard. Something in the Bible requires something from them... some kind of change and they aren't willing to do it anymore so they take their ball and run home. Jesus, never promises us that being a devoted Christ follower would be easy... actually He tells us it will be the opposite.) ¹⁸And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, ¹⁹but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (Group 3 / These are people who hear the Word receive is and believe it can radically change their lives as well. But because they have a skewed view of what being a Christian really is they quit. They desire way to much to have their feet in both worlds. The Bible tells us to be in the world but not of it. You can't act and do the things the world does and expect Jesus to honor and bless your life... that isn't how this works. So this group gets that realization and they quit.) ²⁰But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." (Group 4 / These people are the people that hear the Word of God, accept its truths and use it to begin to change their lives. They are not just hearers of the Word but doers as well. Because they do this they are blessed far beyond what they could ever imagine... 30 fold, 60 fold and 100 fold.)

This scripture really shows us the four stages of spiritual growth. I also hope that this helps us understand the importance of coming to church prepared to hear the Word of God, to receive it and hold tightly to it because the enemy is trying to steal it from our hearts so that we don't even remember what was said once we leave. If he accomplishes that he has done all he needs to do. So lets come to church prepared and focused ready to hear and apply it to our lives that it bears fruit in our lives. THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT!

Weekend Review 10.02.11

2011-10-04T13:46:00.001-07:00

Songs:

Great, Great God (David Moore / Gateway Worship) (@DavidEricMoore)

You Are Good (Kari Jobe / Gateway Worship) (@KariJobe)

He Is Faithful (Bryan & Katie Torwalt) (@BryanTorwalt) (@KatieTorwalt)

Holy Spirit (Bryan & Katie Torwalt) (@BryanTorwalt) (@KatieTorwalt)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Rob Sherrod

Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

This weekend for the first time in Resonate history a partner of Resonate teach instead of Scott, myself or other staff members. We had a great friend of mine Corey Wilkins (@CoreyLayne) teaching and continuing our series called Ignite. Personal ministry is a huge part of our spiritual growth. It is automatic that when we enter into a life of personal ministry we have to jump out of our comfort zone. When we step out of our comfort zone it always ignites our faith in amazing ways. To hear more about how personal ministry ignites your faith click here to listen to the message from this weekend.

Weekend Review 09.25.11

2011-09-27T14:57:00.000-07:00

Songs:

He Is Faithful (Bryan & Katie Torwalt) (@BryanTorwalt) (@KatieTorwalt)

Holy Spirit (Bryan & Katie Torwalt) (@BryanTorwalt) (@KatieTorwalt)

God Is Able (Hillsong Live) (@HillsongLive)

You Are Good (Brian Johnson (@BrianJohnsonM)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Ash Moselle

Electric Guitar & BGV: Rob Sherrod

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

During the IGNITE series we have posed a question to all in attendance every single week so far. The question is... Imagine if we really believed that there’s a God that loves you unconditionally, was committed to what was in your best interest & you could trust to walk with you every single day? This question should effect how we do life if we land on the side of that being true. We believe that if we believe that then we lean into 6 key things that IGNITE our faith and grow us spiritually. One of the 6 things is PROVIDENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS. We all have them. These relationships are those that we rely on. These relationships that our life is radically different because of these relationships. Who are some of those people in your life? I wrote down a pretty big list during our weekend worship experience and spent the morning this morning emailing a bunch of those people who have made a huge impact on my life for the better. The people that I always think about are those who make me more like Jesus every time I am around them.

We all need relationships like these. Great lives are never meant to live in isolation. God always uses our human relationships to impact our faith and love for Him. We have all been in and seen the negative impact some relationships can have on our lives. And most of the times when we think about our greatest regrets they are easily traced back to relationships. God uses the providential relationships to grow up our faith and trust in Him. So I would encourage you to listen to this past weekend message here and then think about some of those people who are providential in your life and let them know how grateful you are for them and their lives.

Lastly, and even more important is when we in turn can be those providential relationships for someone else. This is definitely something to think about and pray about. What is your next step?

Weekend Review 09.18.11

2011-09-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Songs:

He Is Faithful (Bryan & Katie Torwalt) (@BryanTorwalt) (@KatieTorwalt)

Give Me Faith (Elevation Worship) (@Elevation_wrshp)

Love Came Down (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

Jesus, You Have Won Me (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

Band:

BGV: Mary Beth Holmes

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

We have begun a new series called IGNITE. IGNITE is a series where we will dig into "SIX KEY THINGS GOD USES TO GROW YOUR FAITH" We have asked our people the question... "Imagine if we really believed that there's a God that loves you unconditionally was committed to what was in your best interest and you could trust to walk with you single day?" That question has the potential radically change our spiritual growth trajectory. The six things that we believe radically ignite your spiritual growth are...

1.) Practical Biblical Teaching
2.) Private Disciplines
3.) Personal Ministry
4.) Providential Relationship
5.) Pivotal Circumstances
6.) Public Obedience

Matthew 7:24 tells us that people who hear the WORD and DOES it is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. That is the thing with Practical Biblical Teaching is that in order to grow your faith is not hearing it, it's not understanding it, it's DOING something with what you hear taught. Transformation in our life happens when we hear the teaching of God's Word of we read God's Word and we apply it to our daily lives. So this week as we read our Bibles, lets see how we can apply the truths to our lives then we will be like a wise man who builds his house on a rock!

Christian Hipster How To

2011-09-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

20/20 Challenge

2011-09-12T10:11:00.001-07:00

So we launched a new challenge to our community of people at Resonate Church. We are beginning a new campaign for people to spend 20 minutes reading 20 scriptures a day. There is nothing more life changing than the Word of God. For more info on the 20/20 Challenge make sure to visit our website for sample pages, ordering info, more in depth description and much, much, more.

New Series: IGNITE

2011-09-06T14:33:00.001-07:00

We are super excited to launch this new series this weekend. Ignite will be a 7-week series discussing the six things that God uses to rapidly grow our faith and life in Jesus. One thing we know is that in order for our daily walk with Jesus to grow we have to continually work at it. Being a devoted, alive, thriving Biblical, Christ-follower you have to work hard at it! So we believe there are six things that you have to utilize and do to Ignite your faith. The six things we are going to focus on is...

September 18th: Practical Teaching

September 25th: Private Disciplines

October 2nd: Personal Ministry

October 9th: Providential Relationships

October 16th: Pivotal Circumstances

October 23rd: Public Obedience

So make sure to come and check out our new series beginning this Sunday, September 11th.

Weekend Review 09.04.11

2011-09-06T14:15:00.001-07:00

Songs:

You Are Good (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

He Is Faithful (Bryan & Katie Torwalt) (@BryanTorwalt) (@KatieTorwalt)

How He Loves (John Mark McMillan) (@JohnMarkMc)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Corey Wilkins

BGV: Mary Beth Holmes

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

So as we finish up the RETRO series we were excited to end with Solomon. Solomon's life is the perfect life to end with and see that our past doesn't disqualify our future, nor does it define who we are. We looked deep into the book of Ecclesiastes that was written by Solomon. Ecclesiastes is kind of like the memoirs of Solomon. Solomon had the riches of Bill Gates, the sex drive of Hugh Hefner, the intelligence of Albert Einstein, the success of Warren Buffet and the drive and success of Donald Trump. He had 700 wives and 300 hooker girlfriends. Solomon answers the million dollar question we all want to know... Why are we here? Solomon pursued everything under the sun... which means everything outside of a life with God. He tried it all and tells us over and over that it is all meaningless. He pursued knowledge and worldly wisdom (1:16-18), pleasure, entertainment and alcohol (2:1-3), wealth and accomplishments (2:4-9), every man's desires (2:10-11), inequity of life (2:12-17), and labor and toil (2:18-23). After pursuing all of that at the end of his life he comes to find that the whole point and satisfaction of life is behind worshipping God and trusting and living by His word.

So what does this look like in your life?

Are you living your life in a way that accomplishes God's purpose for your life?

Are you simply living day to day hanging on, not sure of where you're headed?

13 Things I Would Tell Church Planters (by Perry Noble)

2011-08-30T11:48:00.001-07:00

Church Planting is one of the hardest and most rewarding things I have ever done in my life. There is no way to prepare for what lies ahead. There is no seminary class for it and you had better be on your A game all the time. I came across this blog earlier today and it really spoke to me and I thought I would share it with our community. Perry Noble is the lead pastor of NewSpring Church located in Anderson South Carolina. And his insights to this are incredible. So read below and be encouraged.
One of the most frequent questions I receive is, "If you could tell a church planter one thing, what would it be?"
I've thought about that question...and honestly, I can't come up with just one thing because the world of church planting is complex. So, I made a list of several things...so here's what I would say to someone who is considering planting a church...
#1 - You are going to have to take huge steps of faith to see the dream God has placed inside of you become a reality. Church planters that pray but refuse to take action never actually do what God has called them do to...and they wind up bitter at God because they prayed for things that God was more than willing to do if they had just acted on what they were praying for!
#2 - You are going to have lots of doubters when you share your vision with people...especially churchy people! They typically are used to "by faith we believe God can raise enough money to pave the parking lot" vision and not "we are called to reach the entire world" vision!
#3 - One of the biggest doubters you will encounter from time to time is yourself! (Personally, I keep going back to Isaiah 61:1 when I doubt!)
#4 - People who you thought were great friends and would always be by your side will leave you...and many times it won't be pretty.
#5 - People you don't even know right now will one day come along side of you and be unbelievable friends and partners in the ministry God has given you.
#6 - You will always feel significant financial pressure when you are pursuing the vision God has given you. The question you must constantly wrestle to the ground is, "Is THIS what God wants" and not, "Can we afford it?" Remember...if it is God's will then it is God's bill! What the King wants the King pays for!
You are going to run into doubters
You are going to doubt yourself
You are going to lose people
You are going to feel financial pressure
You are going to see God in ways that many do not get to see Him
You are going to have to declare what you are for rather than what you are against
You are going to have to choose whether or not you want to please insiders or reach outsiders.
You are going to have to take steps of faith
You are going to want to quit
You are going to experience a whole new level of spiritual warfare
You are going to be tempted to copy the success you see in church world rather than believe the vision God gave you.
You are going to change your mind about things you are pretty set on right now.
#7 - You are going to see God in ways that many do not get to see Him.
#8 - You are going to have to be WAY more passionate about what you are for rather than what you are against!
#9 - You are going to have to choose whether or not you want to please insiders or reach outsiders...you cannot do both.
#10 - You are going to want to quit-don't! He who called you is with you and will sustain you!!! (See Philippians 1:6)
#11 - You are going to experience a whole new level of spiritual warfare...just remember, the only reason the enemy is attacking you is because he sees you as a threat! Take up the promise in Isaiah 54:17!
#12 - You are going to be tempted to copy the success you see in church world rather than believe the vision God gave you. BUT...God called you because He knew He could trust you with what He has given you...so be who HE has called you to be.
#13 - You are going to change your mind about things you are pretty set on right now...what you think is innovative and cutting edge will one day be considered "traditional." You can't allow the pride behind the fact that your idea is no longer the best idea to bring your church to a place where people meet and talk about what God used to do!

Weekend Review 08.28.11

2011-08-30T11:15:00.001-07:00

Songs:

God Is Able (Hillsong) (@HillsongLive)

Forever Reign (Hillsong) (@HillsongLive)

God of the Redeemed (Jeremy Riddle) ( @JeremyMRiddle)

*Plus a Michael Jackson Medley

Band:

BGV: Carly Absher

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

This week we had the privilege to have Dr. Don Wilson (via video) from Christ's Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona to jump into our series call RETRO to talk about Noah. We are taken 7 weeks to look at lives from the Old Testament and dig into them to find the similarities in our life here today. Sometimes when I read the Old Testament I feel like it was written today. Some of the Israelites struggles are still our struggles today. The amazing things about these lives we've looked into is that they are all from the lineage of Jesus. Jesus had a jacked up family tree! I don't think his family could even be a made up show on Jerry Springer. The amazing things about Noah was that he was the ONLY righteous person left on the face of the earth. The Bible says that he was blameless which means he had not been contaminated by the world around him. He was courageous, full of faith, and obedient.

Sometimes I forget how amazing Noah really was! I usually just think of him as a man who built the ark and thats it. But Noah has officially jumped up in my Hall of Faith. Maybe top two or three. His life was amazing. Noah was a farmer. He was not a preacher but the call God put on him to build this ark radically changed his life right then and there immediately. He became a preacher and a carpenter. Most of the time we try to have God change His plans rather than allow Gods plans to change us. And that is what Noah did. It took Noah 100 years to build the ark. 100 YEARS! It was the same size as 522 railroad cars! It was huge! But here is the part that amazes me about Noah more than anything....

During the 100 years of building the ark he preached about repentance and the end of the world coming. He was the first John the Baptist and the Bible tells us that no one ever responded to his preaching! Being a church planter if no one ever responded to the word of God I don't know that I could continue for 20 years? 10 years? Let alone 100 years? Noah was incredibly faithful. True faith has something to back it up. True faith is visible in our lives. True faith always acts. True faith need storms so it can mature. True faith trusts God even when He is silent. The ark after the flood floated for 5 months in silence while the waters receeded.

So our challenge is to have true faith and if we don't have true faith like that we need to really challenge ourselves on why? If we don't are we truly a Christ-follower? We have to allow the plans of God to change us not the other way around.

If you missed this weekend make sure to listen to the message by clicking here.

So That's How It Happened... (David vs. Goliath)

2011-08-18T14:34:00.000-07:00

Weekend Review 08.14.11 STUDENT TAKEOVER

2011-08-17T11:13:00.001-07:00

Songs:

Our God (Chris Tomlin)

Your Love Never Fails (Chris McClarney)

Mighty To Save (Hillsong)

Stronger (Hillsong)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Corey WIlkins

BGV's: Sarah Hatfield

BGV's: Trisha Brock

Lead Vocals & Electric Guitar: (Me), Jason Eaton

We had a crazy weekend by taking a break from our RETRO series and allowing RSM to completely takeover our weekend worship experience. It was amazing to see what happened and be able to experience a portion at what they experienced at their week of summer camp with CIY (Christ In Youth) Conference. Students took over by picking the songs, reading scripture that we powerful to them during the weekend and sharing and teaching on what they learned each day during the conference. RSM came back changed and fire up for the Lord and it is amazing to see what action steps they are taking in their spiritual growth. They made huge challenging push to our body of Resonate to read the Bible daily. They all took upon themselves to make being in GOd's word daily a priority in their lives and it was amazing to see that excitement of Gods word to trickle onto the adults.

So take a look at the highlight video from the week at CIY Move!

If you weren't able to be there this sunday make sure you take a listen to the student as well as RSM leader Kathy Marshall speak about the impact of their week together. Take a listen by clicking here.

To get more info on meeting times and all things RSM click here to check it out!

Here On Earth (Bryan and Katie Torwalt / Jesus Culture Music) CD Review

2011-08-09T12:43:00.001-07:00

So I'm excited that Jesus Culture is branching out and getting new artists to be apart of their label. This is a great step. I really love this album by Bryan and Katie Torwalt. Bryan and Katie are worship pastors at The River in Fresno. I first heard about them because they lead worship at Jesus Culture's Awakening Conference inChicago this past week. I really love the album a lot. To see a live interview / get to know the artists video click here to see them interviewed by Kim Walker-Smith (@KimWalkerSmith). As well as listen to bits of every song on the album.

My favorite song hands down and will be a song that we do at Resonate is "Holy Spirit" I love songs that start off slowly and become huge as the song continues. I love the theme of this song. The theme is all about encountering the presence of the Holy Spirit during our times of worship. This theme is an area that God is calling Resonate to grow in and I really think this song could help us FOCUS on experience the Holy Spirit in our times of corporate worship together. This songs is great!

"Glorious" is another powerful anthem. I love the energy this song brings as well as the lyrical content of the song. I love the chorus! It is so catchy and powerful. Anytime a song calls us to think on and focus on the glory of the Lord I am all for it and this song does that.

"He Is Faithful" is a very fun song. Bryan voice in this song reminds me so much of John Mark McMillan (@JohnMarkMC) which is a very good thing. I really love this who album but these three are ones that stuck out to me specifically.

Make sure to follow them on twitter: FOLLOW BRYAN (@Bryan Torwalt) / FOLLOW KATIE (@BryanKatelinT)

Weekend Review 08.07.11

2011-08-08T16:40:00.001-07:00

Songs:

My Soul Sings (Delirious) (@Delirious)

Great, Great God (David Moore / Gateway Worship) (@gatewayworship)

One Thirst and Hunger (Jeremy Riddle) (@JeremyMRiddle)

Retro Song: Don't Stop Believing (Steve Perry and journey)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Rob Sherrod

BGV's: Carly Absher

Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

This week we studied the story of Rahab. Rahab is truly a rags to riches story and a true Cinderella type of story. The story of Rahab starts off with her as an adult woman who happens to be a prostitute. The sad thing is that we do not know what happened to her to lead her to a place of making that choice. Was she abused? Was it a bad relationship? Were her parents killed at a young age? But we enter into this woman's story not knowing the back ground. But the beautiful thing is that with God our past doesn't disqualify us or does it determine our future. This woman was blessed with a God appointment. By the time Joshua enters the story she already is well away that her people are living in an already claimed land. She tells Joshua I know that this is your land. How does she know that? I believe God spoke to her and gave her the whole back story of His people and His love for them and the promises He has made them. One of those promises being the Promised Land where her people were currently living. Rahab goes on to hide Joshua on her rough to protect them from her people who were looking to kill them. Because of her kindness they told Rahab to hang a crimson rope outside her house and when the Israelites come to take over the land they will protect her and keep her alive. The Israelites kept their end of the deal and so did Rahab. The beautiful and amazing end of the story is that Rahab goes on to marry a prince and then gives birth to a son named Boaz. Boaz as we know from a few weeks ago becomes the Kinsman Redeemer to Ruth. An amazing story and it started out with someone who we you never believe God would use.

If you didn't get a chance to listen to this weeks message please take a listen by clicking here:

Weekend Review 07.31.11

2011-08-01T20:40:00.001-07:00

Songs:

You Are Good (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

Jesus, You Have Won Me (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

One Thirst and Hunger (Jeremy Riddle) (@JeremyMRiddle)

Band:

Drums: Mark Moneteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Rob Sherrod

BGV's: Mary Beth Holmes

Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

This weekend we continued our series RETRO by talking about the Life and Story of David. We are also excited to announce that we have added three more weeks to this series. There are many stories that we think about when we think about David. We think about when God to Samuel to go an anoint this shepherd boy to be the next King of Israel. We think about David and the amazing story where he defeated Goliath. For Worship Pastors like me we tend to think of all the music and lyrics he wrote all through the Psalms. The thing about David that I love and try to immolate in my life is that he was the only person in the entire BIble who was know for "being a man after God's own heart." What set David apart as a man after God's own heart was his unrelenting passion to search out and understand the emotions of God.

Most people think of this guys to my left when they think about David. But the David we are going to talk about is the David that fell and fell hard but learned to repent and be genuinely real.

The beautiful thing about God is that our past doesn't disqualify us, nor does it define who we are. If you do not know the story of David and Bathsheba I would sep right here and go read it in 2 Samuel 11. The thing about this story is that we see that not matter how we try to hide it, or run away from it our sin always finds us out. God loves us to much to allow sin to float around in our lives. God always brings the darkness into the light. When we put ourselves in a place where out first thought is to run, hide or conceal we need to come clean to God. David shows us a wonderful repentant prayer in Psalm 51 after committing adultery with Bathsheba and basically having Urriah murdered. When we come clean to God we have to plead for restoration and we have to allow our brokenness to lead us to repentence. We have to come to a place where we can trust God with our past, present and future. We cannot allow sin to become a naturally and easily tolerated thing in our life.

If you have not listened to this weeks message make sure to go here and listen.

Hope's Anthem (William Matthews / Bethel Music) CD Review

2011-07-25T22:30:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite days of the week is Tuesday, because it is the day all new music is being released. This Tuesday (actually Monday night at 9:00:01 PM PST) I am extra excited. I have a respect and love for Bethel Church (@BethelRedding) and Bethel Music (@BethelMusic). The long awaited CD release of former IHOP'er and now new Bethel Church Worship Leader William Matthews (@WilliamsMatthews22) is finally here. I have had this release marked on my calendar for a while counting down the days as I do with all Bethel Music releases.

There are a few songs that I have know about for a while that are really great solid songs because of Bethel TV (@iBetheltv)! Songs like "Deep Cries Out" and "Hope's Anthem" are amazing songs and are oldies but goodies for us Bethel TV junkies. As well as a song by IHOP Worship Leader

(and personal favorite) Cory Asbury (@RealCoryAsbury) called "So Good To Me. There are many amazing things about this album, but the thing I love more than anything is that there are many different style/genre's of influenced resonating through out the entire album. The writing is amazing because of all of the amazing writers that took place in this project.

There are three new songs on the album that I hadn't heard before and I have to say they are my absolute favorites on the album.

1st one of my new favorite all time is "This One Thing". It is super catchy and has a powerful chorus. I find myself singing it over and over. The words of the chorus are so powerful! I feel like William read my heart and wrote out my thoughts exactly on this one.

"Bridge Over Troubled Waters" is fun and energetic and as Lil' C would say "buck!" One this one Steffany Frizell (@SteffyFrizzell). I love how funky it is, it makes me feel like I'm in a big tent revival back home in Kentucky every time I listen to it.

"I Just Want You More" is a great slower chill song that you can just put on repeat and worship to all day long. I love the feel of this song it is very smooth.

I would definitely recommend everyone going to get it especially you Resonators! We will be doing some of these songs soon enough.

Hope's Anthem from Bethel Music on Vimeo.

Weekend Review 07.24.11

2011-07-24T14:49:00.000-07:00

Songs:

One Thing Remains (Brian Johnson) (@BrianJohnsonM)

God of the Redeemed (Jeremy Riddle) (@JeremyMRiddle)

Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Thomas Obediah Chisolm & William Marion Runyan)

Blessed Assurance (Fanny Jane Crosby & Pheobe Palmer Knapp)

Band:

Drums: Corey Wilkins (@coreylayne)

Bass: Ash Moselle

Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton (@JasonEatonMusic)

This weekend we had a guest teacher. Lead Pastor from Real Life Church (@RealLifeSCV) in Valencia, California, Rusty George (@RustyLGeorge). Rusty spoke about the life of Ruth as we continued our series Called RETRO. The reason the story of Ruth is so good is because it is a rags to riches kind of story. It is a feel good story. The story of Ruth the Moabite begins with a major famine. During the famine her husband, brother in law and her father in law left to go and find them food and they all three died. So Naomi and Ruth the Moabite decide to head back to Naomi's hometown which happened to be Bethlehem. What you need to understand is that Moabites were not normally welcomed to a place like Bethlehem. The Moabite family was founded when one of Lot's daughters got him drunk and slept with him and she conceived. When Naomi got to Bethlehem which means "the house of bread" no one even recognized her. Going to through a lot like Naomi will change you. The famine, the death of her husband and the deaths of her son's have really changed her. So much so that she asked for her name to be changed from Naomi "cheerful one" to Mara "bitter one". So Ruth begins to try to find food for her and her mother in law and she goes to a field to see if they would allow her to glean some grain and she comes across what would become her kinsman-reedemer, Boaz. Boaz is a beautiful picture of Jesus' love towards us. Boaz, loved and took care of Naomi (Mara) and Ruth the Moabite for the rest of their lives. Ruth and Naomi couldn't believe the favor that the Lord had shown them thru Boaz. If you haven't studied or read the story of Ruth you really should. Boaz is a beautiful picture of Jesus' unselfish love for us.

If you missed the message make sure to listen to it by clicking here.

Be Lifted High (Bethel Music) CD Review

2011-07-19T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have come to strongly believe that Bethel Church in Redding, California has the best worship ministry in the World, hands down. I that that obviously doesn't matter. But I have such a huge respect for them and what they do. And with their newest release "Be Lifted High" they have done it again. It is an amazing CD filled with songs for the church. Here are some of the tracks I really enjoyed:

"Love Came Down", "Furious". "You Are Good" , "God of the Redeemed", and "One Thirst".

With the addition of new artist and pastors to an already amazing team Jeremy Riddle, William Matthews, Stephanie Frizzel and Matt Stinton have added some amazing new life to this ministry as well as many amazing new songs. At Resonate we have enjoyed worship with these songs listed above and they have worked really well for us. I cannot wait for more from this church and ministry!

Weekend Review 07.17.11

2011-07-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

Songs:

Furious (Jeremy Riddle)

Jesus, You Have Won Me (Brian Johnson)

Forever Reign (Hillsong)

* Feature Song: To Be With You (Mr. Big) and here's the music video for your pleasure.

Band:

Acoustic Guitar & BGV's: Rob Sherrod

BGV's: Carly Absher

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

Before I begin explaining my thoughts on this weekends message I want to show you a quick video to set up the message:

Bible Stories w/ Dr. Arlan Buljack: The Story of Abraham from Resonate Church on Vimeo.

So thats exactly how Abraham's life went... But....... it was close. The amazing thing about this series and the Old Testament is that we see pictures of ourselves and our current life all throughout it. The beautiful thing that is shouted out throughout the OT is that our past doesn't disqualify our future, nor does it define who we are. The amazing take aways from this weekends message are:

Truth #1: Anytime God makes a promise He always keeps His word.
Truth #2: Anybody who thinks they have a better plan than God is wrong.
Truth #3: Anything God tells you to do He will supply all you need to accomplish it.
Truth #4: In impossible situations God always gets the glory.

If you missed this weekend make sure to go and listen to the message by clicking here:

New Series Beginning This Weekend!

2011-07-14T13:28:00.001-07:00

So we are beginning a new Old Testament character study this weekend. There is so much to learn about God and ourselves by digging into the Old Testament. Through the stories of these lives in the OT we see ourselves in them all too much. THe beautiful thing from learning from these stories is we get to see how our past doesn't determine our future or determine who we are.

July 17th: Abraham (Scott Hatfield, Lead Pastor of Resonate Church)

July 24th: Ruth (Rusty George, Lead Pastor of Real Life Church)

July 31st: David (Scott Hatfield, Lead Pastor of Resonate Church)

August 7th: Rahab (Scott Hatfield, Lead Pastor of Resonate Church)

So make sure to join us this weekend as we begin RETRO!

Weekend Review 07.10.11

2011-07-13T12:22:00.001-07:00

Songs:

You Are Good (Brian Johnson)

God of the Redeemed (Jeremy Riddle)

Jesus You Have Won Me (Brian Johnson)

Great, Great, God (David Moore)

Band:

Drums: Mark Moneteiro

Bass: Rob Sherrod

Electric Guitar & BGV's: Corey Wilkins

BGV's: Mary Beth Holmes

Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

Weekend Review 07.03.11

2011-07-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

Songs:

God of the Redeemed (Jeremy Riddle)

You Are Good (Brian Johnson)

Stay Amazed (Klaus Kuehne)

Oh Lord, You're Beautiful (Keith Green)

Give Thanks (Kurt Kaiser)

Oh How He Loves You And Me (Henry Smith)

Band:

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (ME), Jason Eaton

BGV's: Trisha Brock & Codey Brumbaugh

Weekend Review 06.26.11

2011-06-27T12:30:00.001-07:00

Songs:

My Soul Sings (Delirious)

Love Came Down (Brian Johnson)

God of the Redeemed (Jeremy Riddle)

Draw Me Close (Kelly Carpenter)

More of You, Less of Me (Brian Johnson)

Band:

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

BGV's: Carly Absher

Weekend Review 06.19.11

2011-06-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting in a while. I am been on a multiple week vacation and actually am still coming off of the vacation high trying to get back into my routine. But this weekend was a beautiful way to jump back in as we began a new video series. But before I jump into that I'll walk through musically what everything looked like.

Songs:

Great, Great God (David Moore / Gateway Worship)

God Be Praised (David Moore / Gateway Worship)

One Thing Remains (Brian Johnson, Jeremy Riddle, Christ Black-Gifford)

You Are Good (Brian Johnson)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar & BGV's: Rob Sherrod

BGV's: Mary Beth Holmes

Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

So we just got out of a great series called Supernatural and so we thought we would jump back into to another series that people love to talk about in church MONEY! You probably think wow if I can just make it past this money series they will probably talk about grace only after this series. Sorry.... thats not the case.

We love to do video teaching series at Resonate because their are so many amazing Biblical teachers out their that we want our body of believers to be exposed to. So we began this four week teaching series called How To Be Rich by Founding and Lead Pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia Andy Stanley. This isn't the first time you've heard from Andy nor will it be the last I'm sure. This is a different type of money teaching that I have ever heard before. The basis of this teaching series is to teach us how to be WISE BIBLICAL RICH PEOPLE. Because we are rich. It you or I make 35K dollars a year we are in the top 5% of wage earner in the world. If you or I make 47K or more we are in the top 1%. That is incredible. We are incredibly wealthy but we don't "FEEL" that way do we. We believe rich is the next class ahead of us. We believe if we make 47K a year that we would be rich if we made 100K and so on and so on. I want to encourage you to go to our podcast and listen to the message and make sure you are at church for the next 3 weeks to catch the entire vision of this series.

Weekend Review 05.22.11

2011-05-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Corey Wilkins

BGV's: Sarah Hatfield & Trisha Brock

Acoustic Guitar & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

Songs:

Forever Reign (Hillsong United)

Great I Am (New Life Church / Jared Anderson)

Great, Great God (Gateway Church / David Moore)

Revelation Song (Gateway Church / Jennie Lee Riddle)

We have been in this Supernatural series for four weeks now and we have touched on Spiritual Warfare and Satan and Demons for two weeks. This weekend we took a little turn in talking about the good guys! This Sunday we talked about Angels. In God's Word we hear the names of only three Angels throughout the Bible, 1) Michael, 2.) Gabriel, and 3) Lucifer. In the Bible God describes three different kinds of Angels all throughout scripture. The first is CHERUBIM. Ezekiel 1 describes a vision of CHERUBIM... each with 4 faces and they darted around around like flashes of lightning. The second kind of Angel were called SERAPHIM. The SERAPHIM's job in heaven is to lead the worship of God. They're only mentioned by in...

Isaiah 6:2 (NIV) "Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying."

The third kinds of Angel is the Archangels. The term Archangel only appears twice in the Bible but there are other references to the Archangel Michael.

We also know in scripture that Angel's do four things throughout scripture.

#1. Angels WORSHIP God.

Nehemiah 9:6 (NJKV) ⁶ You alone are the LORD; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.

Isaiah 6:1-3 (NKJV) ¹ In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. ² Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. ³ And one cried to another and said: “ Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

#2. Angels Bring MESSAGES From God.

Two of the words for Angels in Greek and Hebrews (malak and angelos) means messenger. Another word for Angels in God's Word is diakoneo which means attendant, wait upon, to minister as unto a friend.

#3. Angels PUNISH God's Enemies.

Acts 12:23 (NKJV) ²³ Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

#4. Angels PROVIDE For And PROTECT God's People. (DIAKONEO)

Hebrews 1:14 (NKJV) ¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

Matthew 4:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

I would encourage you to make sure you listen to the message from this weekend by Pastor Scott by clicking here.

Weekend Review 05.15.11

2011-05-16T10:36:00.000-07:00

Songs:

Nothing Is Impossible (Planetshakers)

God Be Praised (David Moore / Gateway Church)

Worthy Is The Lamb (Brian Johnson / Bethel Church)

Forever Reign (Hillsong United)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar & BGV's: Rob Sherrod

BGV's: Mary Beth Holmes

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

Last weekend we launched Part 1 of Satan and Demons by answering two questions. Who is Satan, what are demons and where are they from? And secondly What are they up to and what can they do? I wanna start by saying if you missed last week make sure you start there before getting into this weekend question. This weekend we looked at one question, what can I do to protect myself?

I am sure there are more than six steps to answering that question but we taught about six things. 1.) You need to know your enemy!

2 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV) says, In order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

The enemy has a scheme and a plot for us to destroy our life. So it is important that we read God's Word to understand their nature so we are not caught off guard with his schemes/plots. What what I am not saying is that we should study everything their is to know about the Devil. DO not dabble with darkness (we will talk about that in a second). God's Word gives us enough information on him that we do not need any other outside source about his schemes. You have to protect yourself form that.

2.) We have to understand, footholds, strongholds, and strangleholds.

Ephesians 4:27 (NIV) says, and do not give the devil a foothold.

The enemy will not try to come at us out in the open where it is obvious. He will be very subtle. If he can get us thinking one negative thought he has a foothold. He grabs ahold of our foot and not he has us right where he wants us. If someone has a hold of your foot you are going to get away to fast are you. Once the enemy has our foot, it is super easy to move on up and get us around the waste which would be a stronghold. The Greek word for stronghold is fortress. It literally means being locked down, imprisoned, held down and dominated. Once he has us in a stronghold on us he easily moves on to his finishing hold the stranglehold.

3.) Don't flirt with darkness. These things might sound harmless but they aren't. When we flirt with darkness by checking out or messing around with palm readings, horoscopes, oija boards, fortunetellers, tarot cards, music with Satanic lyrics, scary movies, witchcraft, or reading books about anything unGodly; Satan will use it to take us to a foothold. When we are curious or begin to dabble in any of this Satan has a foothold.

4.) We have to understand our authority IN JESUS. We have to understand that we in our own power cannot stop the enemies attacks. But we have authority in Jesus given to us through the Holy Spirit.

James 4:7-8 (NIV) says, Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you, Come neat to God and he will come near to you.

In Psalm 23 David talks about a very dark time in his life when the enemy was attacking him. He wrote, "even thought I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no EVIL, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME." The Almighty, all powerful GOd is with us - is there a more powerful and wonderful promise than that?

5.) Know God's Word. Scott talked about our house being our body. In Matthew 12, there is a incredible passage that talks about this...

⁴³ “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

What this scripture means is this... When the enemy is done attacking you for the moment it leaves and goes to find someone else to torment. When the enemy finds no one else or doesnt find anyone else the enemy comes back to your house to torment you against because of his recent success. But when he comes back if he find your house (body, soul, spirit) cleaned, swept and put in order (which means God is put back in His rightful place as Lord of your house). Then the enemy leaves and brings back 7 more demons so that the attack is that much harder on you. Think about it this way... Have you ever meet someone who was an alcoholic or someone who is over weight? They get clean or they go on a diet and loose a bunch of weight but then the next time you see them they are worse then they were the first time? They have gained back even more weight or they are more of an alcoholic than before. That is because the enemy came back seven times harder than before. Our house has to be clean, swept and put in order by filling out HOUSE with the WORD OF GOD. So that when the enemy comes back 7x's harder than before we can stand and resist the devil.

6.) Lastly we have to clean house and evict unwanted darkness. We have to do number five then make sure that all the doors are closed so that the enemy cannot come back in. Unwanted darkness can lead to a foothold. We have to constantly confess our sins and not do a blanket prayer over our sins. We have to call it what it is and more it out of our house. We have to get angry and hate sin. We have to clean our house and evict unwanted darkness from our life!

Spiritual Warfare and How To Protect Your House

2011-05-11T09:52:00.001-07:00

ACTUAL PICTURE TAKEN FROM RECENT TORNADO IN ALABAMA

We have all be rattled lately about the rounds of storms and tornados that ripped through the heart of the south destroying many homes and family. The tornado's in Alabama took the lives of 226 people. But during the Supernatural Series that we are in as a church you need to know that there is something far more dangerous than a tornado trying to destroy you house especially the things inside your house. Below I am going to give you some instructions that we talked about last night at ENCOUNTER about Home Blessings and how to protect and be on the offense when it comes to Spiritual Warfare in the home.

To understand the reason for a house blessing, we first have to understand the concept of the authority we have in the spiritual realms. Scripture tells us in Ephesians 2:6 and 6:1 that we have authority in Christ. By no means are those the only scriptures about the authority we have been given in Christ. Scripture tells us that we have the same power that raised Christ from the dead living in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our authority extends to every realm of our lives, including the territory in which we live. We have legal rights in the spirit world over our homes. Even though this is sometimes tough that understand or grasp but the enemy may have gained a place to stand due ti the previous owner of the home you live in because of choices they made, practices they did, or sin that took place in that house. Sometime when we buy a used home we never know the lifestyle of the people living in it before us whether they were adulterers, violent, occultist, murders, or other types of people or practices that occur inside a house that may give the enemy enough authority to make life difficult for the next owner. Our legal right to own or rent the house also gives us the authority to cancel any claims the enemy can make because of previous activities there or previous agreements. This extends not only to the dwelling, but to the property, and its heritage. Our purpose today is to claim authority over our houses and to exert the power in Christ to cancel all previous agreements that many have been made with the enemy inside the walls of your home.

Also, we will pray back over the history of the land, asserting our authority in Christ to cancel any enemy rights gained through the generations that lived on or owned this property. If this property was ever used for violence, war, murder, or occult or tribal worship, we have the authority in CHrist to break the rights of Satan to occupy it.

Here is an example of how to pray: Lord Jesus, you have all authority in heaven and earth, and you have delegated authority to us as the present owners of this house. Our authority permits us to cancel all agreements with the previous owners and all rights given to the enemy by them. We thus break all Satanic power of this house and the land on which it stands, and we bless this house with the power and presence of God.

I would pray this prayer over any rooms in the house where Satan may have gained ground in the present as well. I would pray this prayer over the property over the property in which the house rests as well.

If you travel, prayer a prayer of protection over your home and family. THis home is a place where Christ resides, our children are a gift from God and we dedicate them to Christ.

You may find it helpful to put scripture around your home, on the doorposts of your house in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as an action of consecration.

Here is an example of a House Cleansing Prayer for you: Heavenly Father, I acknowledge that you are Lord of heaven and Earth. In your sovereign power and love, you have given us all things richly to enjoy. Thank you for this place to live. We claim this home for our family as a place of spiritual safety and protection from all the attacks of the enemy. As children of God seated with CHrist in the heavenly realm, we command every evil spirit claiming ground in the structures and furnishings of this place, based on activities of previous occupants, to leave and never return. We renounce all curses and spells utilized against this place. We ask You, heavenly Father, to post guardian angels around this home to guard it form attempts of the enemy to enter and disturb your purposes for us. We thank you Lord, for doing this, and pray in the name of the Lord Jesu Christ. Amen.

Here is an example of a Bedtime Prayer of Protection: Thank you Lord, that you have brought me into your family and blessed me with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in CHrist. Thank you for providing this time of renewal through sleep. I accept it as part of your perfect plan for your children, and I trust you to guard my mind, and body during my sleep. As I have meditated on you and your truth during the day, I choose now to let these thoughts continue in my mind while asleep. I commit myself to you and your protection from every attempt of Stan or his emissaries to attack me while I sleep. I commit myself to you as my rock, my fortress and my resting place. I pray in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.

When you pray you have to say these prayers out loud because the enemy cannot read your mind so you have to pray it, speak it out loud! Say it with confidence, boldness, and authority not in our own strength but in His! When I start to feel the enemies oppression I just recall verses that I've memorized and I recite them out loud so that the enemy can hear them! God's Word is truth and it comes in the authority of Jesus!

Another thing to do in closing that I love to do of course if play worship music in your home. Put on a worship CD with your kids at night as they fall asleep or during the day so that their spirits will be full of words of praise!

Weekend Review 05.08.11

2011-05-11T09:13:00.001-07:00

Songs:

Furious (Jeremy Riddle)

Great, Great God (David Moore / Gateway Church)

Nothing But The Blood (Robert Lowry)

Great I Am (Jared Anderson / New Life Church)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Corey Wilkins

BGV's: Trisha Brock and Carly Absher

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

We continued our Supernatural series by beginning Part One of Satan and Demons. We set out to answer three questions of two weeks about Satan and Demons. These three questions are...

1.) Who is Satan, what are demons and where are they from?
2.) What are they up to and what can they do?
3.) What can I do to protect myself?

In Part One we set out to answer the first two. We used two main scriptures to talk about who the enemy is and where they are from. The first one is Revelation 12:7-9.

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon (SATAN); and the dragon (SATAN) and his angels (DEMONS) fought, ⁸ but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So the great dragon (SATAN) was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels (DEMONS) were cast out with him.

And also Isaiah 14:12-15,

¹² “ How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer (SATANS TRUE NAME), son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! ¹³ For you have said in your heart: ‘ I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; ¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ ¹⁵ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol (HELL), To the lowest depths of the Pit (HELL).

We do not know how many Angels the Lord created but we do know that they are CREATED. That is important to know. They are CREATED by the CREATOR. So God is on top. God is in completely control. We also see how prideful Satan was. He truly thought that he a covering angel of the Lord could be more powerful and more deserving than the CREATOR GOD. He was so good at deception and lying that he lead 1/3 of all the created angels astray with him. Then we see his life mission is to destroy the things of God. Since he is a created being and is only alive because God allows it he know that he cannot destroy God. So his ultimate goal is to steal, kill and destroy anything of God. If you are a parent and someone wants to really hurt you really bad what would they have to do? Hurt our family right?! I know if someone did something to Greenlee I would be very hurt. So Satan and his Demons try to go after the family of God. We also see that they were from Heaven, but that God cast them into Hell (Sheol, the Pit) as well as onto the earth. Scripture tells us that the enemy (Satan and Demons) are roaming the earth like a lions looking to devour us. When a lion goes in for a kill who does it go after? The weakest link. That why we have to constantly train ourselves spiritual by being in the Word of God, by being around other believe, by fellowship and worship the Lord corporately in Church and by praying for one another. I am reminded some amazing words by Pastor Brady Boyd of New Life Church in Colorado Springs in his new book "Fear No Evil"...

"We are in a real battle, and Satan plays for keeps. It's not merely a philosophical battle, a battle of wits. The fight is also visceral, one that can hit you right in the gut. But the victory if already God's. I take great comfort in that."

So as we prepare ourselves for battle lets daily remember this...

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Weekend Review 05.01.11

2011-05-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Songs:

Know Your Enemy (Green Day)

Bless Your Name (Eddie Kirkland)

Healer (Mike Giglielmucci / Hillsong United)

Great I Am (Jared Anderson / New Life Church)

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Rob Sherrod

BGV's: Sarah Hatfield

Electric & Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

This weekend we began a series called SUPERNATURAL where we will discuss Spiritual Warfare, Satan, Demons, Angels, the Holy Spirit, and Victory. Scripture is very clear that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers and principalities of evil and darkness.

Whether you realize this or not but from the minute you were born there was something that was trying to distract you from the person who created you. There is a battle over you. There is someone who is trying to destroy your life, your family, and everything around you. This person is Satan and the other 1/3 of the fallen angels we call demons. From the beginning of the world Satan (the serpent) lied to Adam and Eve to get them to turn from God. And this same battle takes place in our every day life every minute. There are many things the enemy tries to do to destroy us... One way is that he tries to blind the minds of believers. Another way is that he loves to steal God's Word from us. Are you ever distracted at church? Do you ever think about lunch during the message? Do you find yourself compiling a list of to do's during worship? The enemy loves to stop us from doing good. So what does scripture tell us to do with these constant attack?

^{Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV 10} Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

First thing we have to do is put on our armor against the attacks. None of us would ever go into a battle with normal clothes on. Our main problem is that we don't live as thought Satan and his demons are real and that he is trying to destroy us. We live life with a "I'm fine" attitude. But think again... Resonate be a people who loves God's Word and fill yourself with it!

Top 10 Reasons Not To Join A Church Plant

2011-04-26T10:13:00.001-07:00

Blog originally posted from the Resurgence, Mars Hill Church.

1.) If you're looking for the next cool thing in town (We want to grow by conversion growth, not church-goer transfer growth).

2.) If you're a Christian and you don't like your current church (You will find reasons to not like this church.)

3.) If you have had a bad track record at church of being unteachable and causing problems (You won't change here, you'll repeat the pattern).

4.) If you're a consumer wanting to "got to church" 1x a week for a nice show (We are not a Sunday show, we are a community of disciples on a mission).

5.) If you want religion (This church will be built on the radical gospel of grace).

6.) If you have an agenda (We have our vision, our mission, and our values - your private agenda does not supercede them).

7.) If you're a wolf (We will sniff you out).

8.) If you think this will be a nice little church that stays the same size, where everybody knows your name and you have my cell number on speed dial and we have a picnic lunch together every week (By God's grace, we want to grow).

9.) If you think this will be easy and smooth (This will be hard and difficult, this will be a fight, a battle, and a challenging mission).

10.) If you want to hold onto your comfortable life (You must lose your life).

Weekend Review 04.24.11 (Easter Sunday)

2011-04-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

Band:

Drums: Mark Monteiro

Bass: Gerald Lay

Electric Guitar: Rob Sherrod

Electric Guitar: Corey Wilkins

BGV's: Mary Beth Holmes, Carly Absher, Trisha Brock

Acoustic & Lead Vocals: (Me), Jason Eaton

Songs:

Great, Great God (David Moore, Gateway Worship)

Victorious (Walker Beach, Gateway Church)

Jesus Paid It All (Elvira Hall, Alex Nifong, Kristian Stanfill)

Feature Song: Learn To Fly (Foo Fighters)

What an amazing Easter weekend we had at Resonate! It was a packed house and I truly believe that people left different, left touched by Jesus, and left understanding their worth to Him. We chose to focus on the tomb this year for Easter. Because we believe that the empty tomb settles our past and communicates what we're worth. We believe that the empty tomb gives us a reason to live! And the empty tomb give us hope when we die! We all need hope. Someone once said, "Man can live 40 days without food, 4 days without water, 8 minutes without air, but not a single second without hope." Jesus is our hope! Instead of me talking about it I think it would be best for you to just listen to the message here.