Gospel Music Roudnup: All Day Bluegrass Gospel Sing & Dinner on the Grounds!

Ξ September 21st, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Music, Podcast, Sunday Service, Uncategorized, comments |

 

 All Day Bluegrass Sing! [60:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (303)

It’s the Gospel Music Roundup Sunday Service All Day Bluegrass Sing and Dinner on the ground!

Bring your covered dish and don’t forget the Cobbler! You can smell the barbecue and Fried Chicken in the air, the laughter of children playing and the spirit of God in the hearts of all.

There’s quite a lineup today of folks waiting to sing for you, but they all are united in the purpose of Praising our God, and Jesus Christ who died for our sins on the cross!

Also, if you are interested in BLUEGRASS GOSPEL, check out these events!

Lottie Collier

Still Waters

Dale McKay

Old School Bluegrass Band

Bill Monroe

Gospel Grass

Mark High

John “Legs” Lawrenzi

Marvin Whiteman

Goin’ Home Gospel Bluegrass

Dave Berland

Lori Bianco

Finley Duke

The Missourians

John Eric Anderson

And as always, soooooo much more!

Take the name of Jesus WITH you!

The Sunday Service: What’s on Top?

Ξ September 14th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Music, Podcast, Sunday Service, Uncategorized, comments |

 

 What's On Top? [58:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (144)

Hurricane Ike, or the remnants thereof, just passed over last night.  We’ve had a few roofing problems (Leaks) so my son, my wife and myself got out on the roof to try to cover the bad areas in preparation.  About the time the rain hit, we had gotten a decidedly hurried job done.  I had to have help down the ladder, since my knee isnt so good, but praise God, we all got down safely!

It rained hard and it rained long…  but I gotta say, I know what hit us was nowhere near what got Texas and Arkansas on the way here.  we still had leaks, and even a couple new ones, but in spite of it all, only one leak seemed a bother, overall, because it was one of the new ones, and we really hadn’t expected it.

This morning I rose to check out the damage, and there really wasn’t any.  Instead, this is what I saw:

Can anyone paint a better or more beautiful picture than God?  The awesomeness of his work overwhelmed me.

Have you ever heard the story of the new preacher, who delivered his first sermon to his congregation with a fire and a passion that made people raise their hands and applaude?  People shook his hand on the way out, and gave lavish compliments about the sermon.

The next sunday, the preacher stood this time and delivered that exact same sermon, all over again.  This time, those who had missed the week before were pretty excited, but the ones who’d heard it before were left wondering and discussing it among themselves  afterward, musing,”maybe it’s just the jitters, a new church and all…”

On the third Sunday, He began to deliver that exact same sermon, all over again!  A couple of the elders glanced at each other, and knew right away this needed to be addressed.  One of them stood up, right there in the middle of his sermon.

“Pardon me, preacher?” he asked, “But isn’t this the same sermon you preached to us before, both on your first sunday, and this last one?”

The preacher smiled a big smile and said, “Why, YES!  Of COURSE it is!”

The Elder scratched his head for a moment and then eyed the preacher carefully, as he posed his next question: “Well, what gives?  Don’t you KNOW any other sermons?”

The preacher stepped away from the podium and got down on the level of the congregation. “You brought me here to teach you.  As soon as the Lord tells me you have learned the FIRST lesson, we will move on!”

23 people were saved that day.

God sometimes allows repeat difficulties or problems to come our way in order that we might fully learn the lesson that has been placed before us.  The first time, we may cry out, and our prayers are answered, so we rejoice and move on.  Then the same thing happens again, and not only do we cry out, but now we are a little confused because we thought we had overcome the situation.  God will then use his word or another believer to bring you through.   But the truth may be that you haven’t quite GOT it yet, and you again become complacent.  AGAIN the storms come, and you find yourself at odds with GOD!  You get upset, depressed, angry, and overly sensitive, feeling like you are being singled out or picked on.  But God is faithful, and patiently waits for you to sort out the pieces of the puzzle.  If you believe him and love Him, you know the answer lies somewhere, so you start looking.  Opening His word, the answer comes.  This was an extreme faith building exercise.

Recently in my own troubles I got so absorbed in them that I failed to look outside myself at the bigger problems going on around me.  People needed hope, prayer and healing.  Major catastrophes were occurring all around, and my eyes were only on myself.  I was a self absorbed brat, where my Father was concerned.

I sat during this time and looked at my desk.  The bills were piled up.  There were no Job offers coming in, and I had been scammed, mistreated and injured.  All the evidence of my foolish selfish efforts lie before me;  The bills, the documentation from Unemployment denied and appeals, the medical records, medicines I’d been taking and various resumes intermingled with cover letters and such…

Underneath it all was the Bible.  I reached over, pushed the offal aside and picked it up.  Not headed to any book intentionally, it opened to here:

Philippians 2

1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all.

Once again, my own pitiful puny pity party had been exposed.  the words hit me, one of the leaders of the Faith, pouring himself our as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of our faith.

No matter what comes, my eyes are to be fixed on ministering to others, not playing catch-up in the arena of the world.  Satan will continue to try to busy me, but I must leave the temporal behind, and press on. God WILL take care of these things, so long as I persevere in what he would have me to do.

Our Praise Team today’

WIGTUNES

Dave Raymer

Dave Berland

The Missourians

Pure Heart

The Burneys

Jeff T

and so much more!

Gospel Music Roundup: Christ breaks through the storms

Ξ September 9th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Artist Spotlight, Music, Podcast, Sunday Service, Uncategorized |

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (153)

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the special

that was scheduled for this time can not be aired.

check back tomorrow and say a prayer for the heroes!!!!!

V1
(I heard )many a tale
and a story or two
about a vessel that was bigger than life
with Sails of spun gold
And a Wake white as snow
Cutting thru the sea like a knife
Her captain, He was
A strong and passionate man
Holding her steady and true
With an eye thru the night
Like a bright guiding light
This voyage was his mission to do

V2
There was a serpent ahead
Who left a trail of the dead
pirating the souls of mankind
The seas had turned red
From the blood that it shed
And the wreckage it had left behind
From the depths he arose
Bringing darkness to those
Whose vessels had strayed from their course
Man alone could not fight
Ol’ Leviathan’s might,
Feeding on the sin and remorse

V3
Oh, Our captain he knew
That his time was now due
To redeem what the serpent had done
There were souls to be saved,
And sin’s debt to be paid
The battle was his to be won
The redemption of man
Was placed in his hands
It required a blood sacrifice
With purpose and prayer,
He found satan’s lair
And gave up his life as the price

V4
The serpent grabbed hold
Of our captain so bold
And nailed him to the ship’s mast
As He sank that ship down
He watched our captain drown
He was certain that he’d breathed his last
For three days he stayed
at that watery grave
To be certain that the deed was done
But on that third day
Our Captain did raise
With the power of “The Path Of The Son!”

Dave and I worked together on this song….  but it could not have happened without the force of the spirit being there banding us together in Him!

As time has passed, I began to see the deeper meanings behind this song and behind this ministry.  I see the wonders of Friends joining across the lands…  and the waters,   In this episode, Lottie Collier sings her song, I Know The Water Walker…  a great testimony about the relationship with our savior;  a man who could not only calm the sea with a wave of his hand or a soft rebuke, but could walk upon it at the same moment.

I thank those of you who took upon themselves the ministry of Christ, and reach out to those in need, lifting them up in prayer and support as they attempt to walk upon the water as well.

Pray for me as well…  I started a new Job this week, and am having to load up my old brain with a ton of new facts I am having to memorize!

Love and blessings

Tom

The Burneys

Lottie Collier

Thomas James

DAVE BERLAND

Pure Heart

Dan Adkins

Mark High

The Missourians

The Burneys

Canaan’s Road

Rekindled

And so much more!

Gospel Music Roundup: He is faithful!

Ξ September 6th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Music, Podcast |

 

 A place to run to [58:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (102)

TIMOTHY 1:3 As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, 4 nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. 5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 For some men, straying from these things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion,

7 wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions. 8 But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers 10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,

11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; 14 and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. 15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. 16 Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

What a week..no, even a month, it has been. Seems like a roller coaster ride at times, with challenges in my home and in the homes of others.

Larissa’s condition has not changed much, but that may be a GOOD thing. Take a moment to pray once more, please… I will keep you all updated as I know more.

One of the things I love best about working with this program, is being so close to so many of you. You have been my support, my encouragement, and the compass that has pointed me to the cross with all my problems, and Lord Knows, there have been many.
Some of you have faced some serious challenges as well. Maybe even had your service in Him challenged, leaving you wondering if you are doing the right thing… All I can say, is… Stay the course, finish the race. He will not leave you or forsake you, and Christ hung on a cross to put an end to that a long time ago!