“Let a righteous man strike me – it is a kindness; let him rebuke me – it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.”  Psalm 141:5
         I have been a part of some extremely frustrating and disappointing circumstances and conversations recently. I don’t know how and I don’t know when, but somewhere along the way, too many Christians have come to believe that “what I do with my life is my business…and what you do with your life is your business. Don’t judge me!” That is …

OK…I think this will be my last blog on worship…for now. :)
A couple of blogs ago, I mentioned how, for most of us, we’ve always thought that we go to church to worship. But now, I hope that we are seeing that the better approach is go worshiping to church. Do you mind if I just quote one more time from Louie’s book? It’s too good not to…why try to say something well when it’s already been done?! I love it when an author can so perfectly capture in words …

So, I’m not sure how long I’ll be blogging about worship…but my heart is so full with it all, that I’ve got to share it! Today, I’d really love to just a quote a chunk from Louie Giglio’s book – I just don’t think I could say it any better than he already has! First, let’s read from God’s word:
 “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name. And do not forget to do good and to share with …

I mentioned in my last blog that I believe that many people in the church (not just at The Summit) do not really understand what worship is. Far too many people think that worship is when we go to church and sing some songs. Period. So, the thinking goes, some people like to worship, but some people don’t. And that’s OK.
But that’s not OK…because that’s not a biblical understanding of worship. First of all, we don’t go to church. We are the church! I know, I know…we all say it, …

One of the books I’m reading right now (why can’t I just read one at a time?!) is called “Extravagant Worship” by Darlene Zschech. I want to be an extravagant worshiper!! I want to be profusely excessive in my praise of Him because of the excessive, lavish, immeasurable love and grace He has given to me! He is worthy of so much more than I am giving! So why does my worship too often not reflect the magnitude of my Savior’s worth?
 “Yet a time is coming and has now come …

Recently, we attended a dinner reception that was actually a fundraiser for an issue that is very important to us. Everyone who was there knew what it was meant to be…in other words, we knew that we were there in order that we might give of ourselves (financially in this case) on behalf of someone else. The evening was structured in such a way so that we could hear from the main speaker and a few special guests first, think and talk about what we heard over dinner, and then …

I have no verse from Scripture from which to springboard…just some encouragement I believe I received from the Lord today as I was spending time with Him. I was simply talking to Him as authentically and vulnerably as I could…coming to Him as I am, without trying to pretend or hide. (Why, by the way, do we sometimes do that, believing that we can somehow “trick” God that we are feeling or believing something that we really aren’t?)
Anyway, I have a hard time really capturing in words where I find …

Theology. I love it. I could seriously have a worship experience while reading a commentary. I would have loved to have been able to go to seminary, not so I could get some letters behind my name and a piece of paper to hang up on my wall, but just so that I could learn and immerse myself in the knowledge of God! Right theology, right doctrine is extremely important – critical. You will never convince me otherwise.
But God brought the hammer down on me a few years ago. I …

So, I was reading in Mark the other day (The Lord has spoken volumes to me as I’ve encountered His Word in a fresh way through The Message – I love what Eugene Paterson set out to do and I thank God for him!)…anyway, I happened to be in Mark, reading the narrative surrounding Christ’s betrayal, death, and resurrection.  Once again, I had to stop and could read no further as I came across some words that pierced my heart:
         “Peter followed at a safe distance…”
           Just let that sink …

Isn’t it funny how you can read something in the Bible, knowing you’ve read it before, but reading it as if for the first time? That happened to me the other day. I was stopped dead in my tracks when I read this verse:
 “Johoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He passed away, to no one’s regret, and was buried…”    2 Chronicles 21:20
 Did you catch that? It broke my heart. Can you imagine living life in such a way that when you …