God Knew

Tonight (Sunday) and tomorrow (Monday) were scheduled to be the end of a “seriously intense” stretch of calendar for me. I’ve logged lots of miles this week, lots of hours. Quantitatively this was the most ambitious week of the year to date at my regular job. Today was a tech-director Sunday for [...]

Read Full Post »

1 John 5

Add your thoughts in the comment section below; remember it’s perfectly fine to comment on a verse that’s already been mentioned. It’s around-the-table conversation, only digital.
Blessings,
Phil —
-=-=-=-=-=-
1 John 5
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know [...]

Read Full Post »

The Value of the Word “No”

 
“For me, the hardest word in the English language is … NO.
I would like to be able to say yes to everyone and everything,
but obedience to Christ requires me at times to say NO.
Like the gardener pruning the vine, I must constantly trim away
unnecessary activities if new life is to spring forth.”

Read Full Post »

‘SFRIDAY!

This week has been quite the month!
Not in the way comedians say about towns that didn’t impress them, “I spent a week there one night”. This week was one of those where you look back and can’t believe all that’s happened in just the last five or six days. This morning feels like [...]

Read Full Post »

Prune – For Even More Fruit

Well, it’s a bit out of character for me, but I turned a “Yes” into a “No thank you” this morning. Less than a week ago I accepted an invitation to contribute to a neat blog here on WordPress and today I politely stepped away. Fickle, aren’t I?
No, not at all. [...]

Read Full Post »

The Worship Pastor’s Congregation

If you’re a worship pastor you have a congregation — a flock to shepherd.
But it’s most likely not the large group you lead in worship each Sunday. It’s the group of people who work with you all the time:

your instrumentalists
your singers
the volunteer technicians at the controls in back
your children’s and youth choir [...]

Read Full Post »

And I Know the Artist

Last night on my way home from a consultation I saw the reddest of suns lower in the sky and exit stage West.
“I know the Creator,” I smiled, and thanked Him for the beauty of the sunset. But I was driving, wanted to get home soon so didn’t take a picture.
A few minutes later, [...]

Read Full Post »

A Psalm for Sunday

The strains of Psalm 84 are playing in my memory s I prepare for church this morning. Years ago someone set the first three verses to music and I sang “How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place” in my Senior Recital. So I’m going to leave the music off a while longer [...]

Read Full Post »

1 John 4

Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section below; remember it’s perfectly fine to comment on verses already mentioned. You would in Bible study, why not here?
Enjoy.
Phil—
1 John 4
 
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone [...]

Read Full Post »

The Best Music – Where?

There was a day when to hear the world’s best music you went to church. Hundreds of works originally written for public worship are now enjoyed by general audiences as part of classical repertoire. Over time and for a myriad of reasons, quality musicians began performing, writing and arranging elsewhere. We won’t [...]

Read Full Post »