Sunday Setlist - 02.12.12

Week #186 of Sunday Setlists. Here is the setlist for Sunday, February 12th.

- We Cry Out by Jeremy Camp
- Forever Reign by Hillsong
- All Because of Jesus by Steve Fee
- Everlasting God by Brenton Brown
- How He Loves by John Mark McMillan
- Word of God Speak by MercyMe

This week my wife and I attended Spring Hills Community Church. The music was great. I've gotten to know the worship pastor over the years since I've been here and he does a great job with their team. We're definitely planning on going back at some point. The service was good, but when it came to the message there wasn't a lot of time spent in the Word, so we want to check it out again and make sure it's not a regular occurrence. Ironically, they just started the "40 Days in the Word" campaign. It was an introduction to the series, so we're hoping that the lack of scripture used in the message was just because of that.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out TheWorshipCommunity.com at http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-186/

Real Marriage by Mark & Grace Driscoll

Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship & Life Together by Mark & Grace Driscoll has been a highly anticipated book and one that I was very much looking forward to reading. I was grabbed from the first time I read a description of the book and was happy to see that a pastor and his wife were going to tackle a book on marriage together. I appreciate how the Driscoll's start off this book by openly sharing about their marriage. It sets the tone of how open and real the rest of the book will be. Now I realize there has been a lot of backlash against Driscoll and this book for his supposed "crudeness" and the highly controversial "Can We _____?" chapter. However what I see and read is a pastor who is not afraid to tackle these tough issues. I believe the church needs more pastors like this. So often in the church we talk about how unfortunate it is that culture, movies, celebrities, etc. are influencing the way young people view sex, but at the same time we don't ever bring it up inside the four walls of our local churches. Here is a pastor and his wife who aren't afraid to take a biblical stand on marriage and sex. This is a definitely a book I will need to spend more time in, but I can say that is has caused me to stop and think about my own marriage. And I believe that is the point that Mark and Grace want to happen as people read this book; to stop and think and have conversations as a couple about their marriage. I recently came across an article interview that Mark did and he says this,

"Our goal in the book was not so that bloggers could talk with one another about issues of their sex lives. Our goal was that husbands and wives could have those conversations. That’s really the motive. So bloggers and tweeters and Facebookers, they’re free to discuss it, but really, it’s for married couples."

I challenge you to get past your preconceived ideas and opinions of the Driscolls and this book, and read through it with an open mind. Let it cause you to think, to have conversations.

Currently, Mark's church, Mars Hill, is doing a sermon series based off the book; Real Marriage: A Sermon Series About Jesus, the Gospel, and Marriage. You can check those out here.



Special thanks to Thomas Nelson and BookSneeze for providing this complimentary book to read and review. You can purchase the book here on amazon.com.

Sunday Setlist - 01.29.12

Week #184 of Sunday Setlists. Here is the setlist for Sunday, January 29th.

- Anchor Me by Alwyn Wall
- How Great Thou Art
- Come Ye Sinners by Fernando Ortega
- Sing to Jesus by Fernando Ortega
- Living Water by Five O'Clock People
- Stronger by Hillsong

This morning my wife and I attended Refuge Christian Fellowship in downtown Santa Rosa. It was a great morning of worship. It was a refreshing change and we were blessed to have been there today. The pastor brought a fantastic message out of Genesis 15 on Justification by Faith. He contrasted that with how much we get stuck going through life in a justification by works mindset. Was a great reminder on how much we need to focus on the gospel even as Christians. The gospel isn't just for when we're non-Christians, but for Christians as well. I'm currently reading Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian and came across this quote;

"The gospel remains the power of God for salvation until we're glorified."

What an important Word to remember. We were also able to go to lunch afterwards with some friends that go there and chat about church and life. It's definitely a different and strange time in our life, but we're continuing to trust that God will lead us to a church to get involved in.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out TheWorshipCommunity.com at http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-184/

Torn by Jud Wilhite

In Torn: Trusting God When Life Leaves You in Pieces, Jud Wilhite has written a book that is relevant to everyone. Christians and non-Christians should take the time to read this book. Jud is a pastor and his heart and passion of sharing Christ and strength in Him comes out in the writing of this book. Instead of focusing on our struggles, pain, and situations, Jud puts are focus on the God who can take care of all our struggles, pain, and situations. At the same time when putting our focus on God, he doesn't downplay or try and tell us that struggles won't come, but instead that they will and when they do we have someone who can take care of us. Jud writes this in one of the chapters, "When our world falls apart and the pain of life settles in, yes, we are looking for explanations and meaning and rationale, but even more so we want assurance. Yes, we want answers. But these cries of pain, whether to God explicitly or just into the universe, are evidence of an implicit trust that something or someone greater-someone with answers!-is out there." The reasons for all the "Why?" questions don't have to be from major circumstances in life. I would venture to say that most of have "Why?" questions. I found myself being spoken too throughout the pages of this book. For me it was in the second part of the book, where Jud talks about true community and sharing your struggles. I found myself after reading that chapter how I needed to find someone to speak the Gospel into my life. Jud quotes Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his book Life Together, and I couldn't get it out of my head.

"The Christian needs another Christian who speak God's Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ. The Christ in his own heart is weaker than the Christ in the word of his brother; his own heart is uncertain, his brother's is sure."

Life is sure to get rocky for us all, but what Jud shares is that we don't have to go through life alone. We need to share our struggles and allow others to walk with us, but ultimately we have a sovereign God who isn't surprised by what we're going through and is there to comfort us as we walk through the tough times in our lives.

Special thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah and Blogging for Books for providing this complimentary book to read and review. You can purchase the book here on amazon.com.

If you found this review helpful, would you go to the review on Blogging for Books and rate it.

Sunday Setlist - 01.22.12

Week #183 of Sunday Setlists. Here is the setlist for Sunday, January 22nd.

- Indescribable by Chris Tomlin
- Grace Like Rain by Todd Agnew
- Like Incense/Sometimes By Step by Hillsong
- Lead Me to the Cross by Hillsong
- In Christ Alone by Keith & Kristyn Getty

After a three-week hiatus from being gone and having family in town over the weekends, my wife and I started a new season in our life of finding a new home church for the time until God leads us to our next ministry position. This morning we went to The Cove. One of my wife's friends is the worship leader there. It definitely is a weird feeling being out searching for a church. Hard to believe that at the age of 27 and after 4.5 years of marriage this is the first time that my wife and I find ourselves in this position. Other than finding a church during college, both her and I grew up at one church and then went straight to Bethel after getting married. I'd ask that you continue to pray for us as we go through this transition and new season in life.

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out TheWorshipCommunity.com at http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-183/

Sunday Setlist - 01.01.12

Week #180 of Sunday Setlists.

This is a very different Sunday Setlists post for me. For the first time since I started taking part in this blog post series on September 6, 2009, I have nothing to report on. Last Sunday was my last day at my previous church. You can read all about that here. My wife had the last week off from work and since I had some time off we decided to take a small road trip/vacation at the end of the year and didn't get back home until Sunday afternoon. In the coming weeks I will keep posting, but it will be as a worshipper/attender instead of the worship leader. Pray for my wife and I as we seek out a new church home and as we figure out job options for myself. Praying that everyone has a fantastic 2012!

To check out what others are doing in their services and learn more about what Sunday Setlists is all about, check out TheWorshipCommunity.com at http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/sunday-setlists-180/

Books Read: July - December 2011

Part 5 of the posts regarding books that I have read lately. Part 1: books read in 2009, Part 2: books read in January - June of 2010, Part 3: books read in July - December of 2010, and Part 4: books read in January - June of 2011.

• Let God Change Your Life by Greg Laurie *
• The God I Never Knew by Robert Morris *
• Mirror Ball by Matt Redman *
• The Worship Answer Book by Rick Muchow
• Rumors of God by Darren Whitehead & Jon Tyson *
• Erasing Hell by Francis Chan *
• Torn by Jud Wilhite *
• The Christian Atheist by Craig Groeschel
• He Who Honors Me by Mike Kim & Derek Joseph Levendusky

Was hoping to have read more books during this time, but it didn't seem like I had as much time for reading. The last couple months have been good though. I'm currently going through Disciple by Bill Clem with a friend and fellow pastor in town. It is a great book that has been causing me to do a lot of thinking and reevaluation in my life spiritually. Thankful for his friendship and looking forward to going through the remainder of it with him.

What are you reading? Leave me a comment with your recommendations!

Special thanks to BookSneeze/Thomas Nelson, Blogging for Books/WaterBrook Multnomah, and The B & B Media Group/David C. Cook for providing some of these books to read and review (marked by a *).