A Passion for Prayer {Book Review}

BOOK TITLE: A Passion for Payer… Experiencing Intimacy with God

THEME: Christian Living/ Spiritual Growth/ Prayer

AUTHOR: Tom Elliff

ISBN: 978-971-789-248-1

PUBLISHER: CLC Publications

OVERALL RATING: 4.8/5

Of all the disciplines of the Christian Life, prayer is perhaps the most neglected. Yet Jesus’ brief earthly life was permeated with it. If our Lord made prayer such a priority in word and in deed, shouldn’t we?

Our spiritual life is so unhealthy without a prayer life, the way our physical being needs to be nourished, our spiritual being needs more. We ought to be always connected with the Lord – a deep, intimate and strong communion. Think of a computer without an internet connection or a wireless connection to access the net; it has no regular updates for its software and applications nor updated to current news, trends etc.

Be connected with GOD – PRAY! God is calling you to pray, He’s calling us to draw near to Him, as James 4:8 declares, draw near to God and He will draw near to you. So ask yourself; do I pray?  Do I pray enough? I pray; but do I have passion for prayer? God has given us prayer not primarily as a method for getting things or changing circumstances, but as a means of cooperating with Him.

A Passion for Prayer seeks to help you develop—or deepen you communion with God. Drawing on personal experience and the assurance of God’s word, Pastor Tom Elliff shares some of the principles, challenges and disciplines of prayer:

                         -The perils of prayerlessness

                                 -Persevering Prayer

                                 -Prayer and Fasting

                                 -Praying for the grace to forgive

                                 -Intercessory Prayer

                                 -Prayer in the times of temptation

With this book you will be encouraged, strengthened and rejuvenated in you prayer life. Ignite the passion within and leave the courts of mediocrity, never let Satan steal the fire & passion of your prayer. Increase your prayer confidence, consistency and effectiveness in every circumstance as you daily come before the throne of grace!

You are called to pray… pray more… pray with passion!

Have a very meaningful, blessed, fruitful and Jesus-centered week! :)

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“If My people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

-2 Chronicles 7:14

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Former missionary, past president of the Southern Baptist Convention, pastor for over fifty years and author of numerous books, Tom Elliff has led crusades and conferences around the world. He serves as senior vice president of the International Mission Board for the Southern Baptist Convention.

ABOUT THE CLC PUBLICATIONS

CLC Publications (formerly Christian Literature Crusade) is the English language publishing house for CLC Ministries International. Headquartered in Fort Washington, PA, CLC has published books for the Deeper Christian Life for over 50 years. Our focus has been to publish books by trusted authors with a clear and timeless message. Some of our better known authors from the past include Watchman Nee, Corrie ten Boom, Amy Carmichael, Andrew Murray and Roy Hession. Today we are also publishing books by well known authors like Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt.

Many of our books are influenced by the message of the Keswick movement starting in 1875 in England and therefore some of our older authors have British origins or spoke on the Keswick stage at one time or another. While we do not limit our publishing to the theology of this movement, we are certainly excited to be able to convey the message of the Victorious Christian Life to a new generation.

As a part of CLC International, our books are sold and distributed in countries all over the world including but not limited to the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, India, the West Indies, and the Philippines. We are committed to being a significant part of fulfilling CLC’s international purpose of making evangelical Christian literature available to all nations so that people may come to faith and maturity in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Disclosure: A review copy of this book is provided for review by CLCPhilippines

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Flashback: #JIL34

Time passes by so fast, it always seems like yesterday! For my today's post, I would like to have a flashback, a flashback to sound a trumpet call for the JIL 35th Anniversary! It will be held on the 25th of October 2013, Friday, 5 PM at Luneta Park, Manila.

Now the flashback is about my experience last year at #JIL34 Anniversary  (first published on my tumblr account).

God is still in the business of doing the miraculous. It was the 5^th day of October when the JIL Church gathered together to praise and exalt God in one accord. All that I can say is great is Thy faithfulness oh GOD! Luneta Park was filled with millions of believers across the nation and abroad disregarding the sway of the weather, people of God didn't hesitate to praise Him!

                The program started with songs filled with energy led by the extreme KKBs with ate Diane Gacila as the lead worshipper – persuading people to get up and dance for Jesus! Jose Villanueva III a.k.a. “QUEST” also performed in the stage serenading GOD with various songs. The rest of the anniversary is great, anointed and EXTREME!

                At the first place, I wasn't able to focus on the program [sad…] because, I’m in the MIS booth [if you have read my recent blogs, you know why] but I really felt the presence and the move of God in the whole place.There was a time in the anniversary when Bro. Eddie prayed and asked the people to raise their hands before the Lord, when I heard that I left the MIS booth for a while, and with hands lifted up I joined with the prayer, suddenly tears fell from my eyes – I really felt God’s move in my life!

                I will never forget the message of Bro. Eddie in the latter part of the anniversary – “only the glorious church, a church without blemish, spot and stain will be raptured…” We really need to consecrate our lives before the LORD to see Him. We should be holy, for our God is holy (Leviticus 19:2).

PREPARE YE THE WAY FOR THE LORD, MAKE STRAIGHT THE PATH FOR HIM. LET THE KING OF GLORY ENTER IN!

Visit Jesus Is Lord Church at www.jilworldwide.org

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Holy Ground Album {Review}

ALBUM TITLE: Holy Ground

ARTIST: Citipointe Live

BEST TRACKS: Holy Ground, The Ninety-Nine, Emmanuel, El Shaddai

OVERALL RATING: 4.50/5

Brisbane, Australia’s Citipointe LIVE just released its 8^th and latest live praise and worship album – Holy Ground. It has 12 tracks in a CD+DVD format, a great resource to any Christian specially to lead worshippers. It is already available in Australia and worldwide through iTunes and is set to release here in the Philippines on the 15^th of July 2013.

It was recorded live at Citipointe Church by their key lead worshippers-- Aaron & Becky Lucas, Joel Ramsey, Chardon Lewis, Beau Lamshed and the Citipointe worship team. The majority of the songs were written by Aaron Lucas, Joel Ramsey and Collin Moore.

The album title was taken from the passages in the book of Leviticus 20:26 (The Message): “Live holy lives before me because I, GOD, am Holy. I have distinguished you from the nations to be my very own.” While the album art depicts the burning bush when YHWH spoken to Moses.

THE ABSOLUTE, words & music by Aaron Lucas, this song declares the Lordship of Jesus Christ; the absolute truth of His Kingship and endless power. It was led by Aaron Lucas, and it started and ended with a shout “All glory to You” (taken from the end of the chorus). It has resemblance to the worship anthem “Break the Silence” (also from Citipointe). “You’re the absolute King of endless worth… Awesome God of truth…”

UNSHAKEABLE, words & music by Aaron Lucas, this song proclaims the unshakeable hope found in Jesus for He is Elohim—The All-Powerful One. This energetic song was also led by Aaron Lucas. Christ alone is the Unshakeable and the Solid Rock on whom we can put our trust—a song of Faith. “The waters crash around but my feet will remain on Christ the solid rock…”

HOLY GROUND, words & music by Aaron Lucas, the title track of the album. This song is short in composition but intimate, which makes it an ultimate worship anthem. Its chorus is very powerful and will surely stir up your spirit as you shout the holiness of God.  This song is easy to master and so congregational. As you sing this song, an atmosphere of worship will surely touch your heart as if you are Moses, back in the bible times—having an encounter with GOD in the burning bush. “I stand on holy ground, lifting a holy sound… Angels dancing all around…”

THE NINETY-NINE, words & music by Collin Moore, led by Becky Lucas, this song was taken from Matthew 18:12 (NIV), “What do you think if a man owns a hundred sheep, an one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one who wandered off?” It declares the love of God for humanity that he chose to leave the heavens above to save us—to find us who were lost. Our God is YHWH Rohi—the Lord our Shepherd. ”Merciful and Mighty, for love you left the ninety-nine.”

EMMANUEL—GOD WITH US, words & music by Chardon Lewis, led by Chardon Lewis, this song is an anthem of praise for our God who never leaves us. It is a broad declaration of faith—“whom shall I fear, for you are always near,” Chardon sang soulfully (as always) never forget Becky’s powerful second voice as the drum line beats. It’s my favorite track in the album, so powerful!

WE’VE COME ALIVE, words & music by Joel Ramsey/ Colin Moore; it proclaims the All-Sufficient GOD—YHWH El Shaddai. His faithfulness through the ages and His power to save is the message of the powerful chorus.

EL SHADDAI, words & music by Joel Ramsey, led by Becky Lucas, this song is another worship anthem for the God who saves, our only hope. Becky’s voice never fails us to give us very soulful and anointed songs that will surely push anyone to a moment of worship. “Jesus our hope El Shaddai there is no one like you!”

SURRENDER, words & music by Aaron Lucas, another song led by Becky. As the title conveys, this song is an anthem of surrender. Beautifully crafted, this song will surely put you at the foot of the cross to surrender everything.

HOLD ME NOW, words & music Beau Lamshed, it started with strums of guitar, this song coveys the Power of God who created us that resonates with Psalm 139:13 (NIV), “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” I love how the song ends, a shout of “I am Yours!”

HEAVENLY LIGHT, words & music by Joel Ramsey/ Aaron Lucas; a Father to the fatherless; Eyes to the blind; Hope where all hope is gone, your name is Jesus Christ—A declaration of our need of Jesus for He is the only one who can complete us. You will surely love the part when the choir/ congregation sings as the guitar strums.

GLORIOUS, words & music Aaron by Lucas, Joel Ramsey & Collin Moore; It shouts the glory of our God who has conquered the grave because of his love. This song has an excellent guitar line; you are free to dance as you listen to it, what an energetic song indeed!

UNFAILING FATHER, words & music by Joel Ramsey & Collin Moore, an awesome song to end the album. Very congregational, it exalts our Unfailing God—the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, who was and is and is to come (Revelations 1:8 NIV). This song is prayer of the heart, giving and surrendering all authorities and dominion to our God, “Your kingdom come, your will be done… my forever King, Heaven’s royalty…”

I don’t know how to express my joy to listen and worship with this phenomenal album. It is an absolute declaration of worship to our Living, Powerful, All-Sufficient, Never Failing and Ever-Loving God. Every song in this album is beautifully written, spirit-breathed and so anointing! As soon as it reaches the music stands/ record bars in you place, I encourage you to get your own copy! It is very great resource indeed. Shalom! Emmanuel—God with us forevermore! J

Disclosure: A review copy of this album was provided by Citipointe LIVE. Special thanks to Ps. Mark & Leigh Ramsey and to Ms. Vanessa Johnson.

ABOUT CITIPOINTE LIVE:

Citipointe Live is worship team birthed from citpointe church Brisbane and Have a great passion for the local church. Devoted their church vision 'to unmistakably influence our world for good and for God', Citipointe Live travel internationally bringing changing worship and trainging to churches and conferences world wide

For more info., visit: http://citipointelive.com/

ABOUT CITIPOINTE CHURCH:

Citipointe Church (formerly Christian Outreach Centre Mansfield) is a Pentecostal Christian church founded in 1974. It is the founding church of the Christian Outreach Centremovement. The founding campus is located in the Brisbane suburb of Mansfield, in Australia. The church's senior pastors are Mark and Leigh Ramsey, who have held the position since September 2000.

For more info., visit: http://citipointechurch.com/

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Why Every Worship Leader Is A Teacher (And How To Improve)

If you were raised in church, congregational worship is normal.

You know the ropes – raising your hands, singing, bowing down before God. But for many in our churches today, this is completely foreign.

And to be honest, a little weird.

It’s not that people are disengaged.

It’s not that they hate your songs. It’s not that they don’t want to worship.

They just don’t know how.

Think about it. Many of the people in your worship services have never been in church before.

They don’t know Christ. They don’t understand the lingo. They don’t know your worship songs. They don’t understand why you’re so happy or why your hands are in the air.

As a worship leader, you have a responsibility to teach people. It’s not about the smoothness of your setlist, the rock and roll of your voice, and the dynamics of your stage presence.

If people aren’t with you, you’re not leading. And for people to be with you, you have to teach them.

3 Tips for Teaching Your Congregation How to Worship

When I say “teacher”, I don’t mean getting your PHD in worship studies and spending the rest of your life in a classroom. I also don’t assume you have the spiritual gift of teaching.

I’m simply saying you need to be mindful of who’s in your audience and helping them understand what is going on.

Here are a few tips for you to apply as a teacher of your congregation.

1. Be A Worshiper - You may think I could have avoided this one. But there’s probably many times you lead worship but don’t worship. I know I’m guilty. I can be so focused on leading people that I’m not mindful of God – His glory, His nearness, His beauty. But in order to engage the room, you have to engage with God. Your “lost in wide-eyed wonder” worship will be the catalyst that frees people to do the same.

2. Explain Biblical Postures of Worship - When you lead worship, be high on explanation. Don’t just raise your hands, show them its place in Scripture. Never assume people understand what is happening. Model and explain the different Biblical postures of worship.

Here’s a quick reference guide:

Clapping – “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!” – Psalm 47:1

Hand raising – “I will lift up my hands towards your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statutes.” – Psalm 119:48

Shouting – “Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.” – Psalm 33:1

Dancing – Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!” – Psalm 150:4

Kneeling – “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!” – Psalm 95:6

Bowing – “I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.” – Psalm 138:2

Singing – “Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” – Psalm 100:2

3. Help People Relax

You can’t avoid it. People will always feel awkward in worship services. It’s your job to minimize that awkwardness. In nearly every worship service I try and speak to those people in the room who aren’t used to it. I say things like:

• “If you’re not used to this sort of worship, just relax.”
• “If you feel comfortable, let’s raise our hands to the Lord.”

The best worship leaders create a comfortable environment. They demystify. They set people at ease. They take their public speaking and their people skills seriously.

As you seek to improve your worship leadership, don’t just focus on the performance of your band and the selection of your songs. Also work on explaining, teaching, and helping people relax.

Worship Leader, I would love to hear from you.

What has worked for you in teaching your congregation about worship?

SOURCE

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5 Tensions Every Worship Team Must Balance

It’s too easy to misunderstand worship.

You’ve heard the cliches.

It’s not about music. It’s all about God. It’s not about excellence. It’s all about passion. It’s not about a song-list. It’s about flow.

Then you read the Bible and see how God doesn’t look at the “outward appearance” but also see how King David created instruments for praise. He appointed the Levites to stand before God and play music.

The Bible obviously emphasizes ideas that seem to be at odds with one another. Rather than saying which is right and which is wrong, it’s best just to step up to the diving board and plunge into the tensions.

Are you with me?

I want to take you within these tensions and explore why a worship team is so necessary, so important to the health of a local church.

Why We Need Worship Teams

Tim Keller said we have art because life has meaning…You are an artist because you are called to “go before” others and help us see deeper facets of His glory.

You observe, think deep, and create to help us see the deeper meaning of life. God, the Supreme Artist, has positioned you to stand before the world and spotlight His glory – to spotlight His incredible worth.

As a worship team, isn’t that what we do? We guide, direct, point, and wave our arms, jumping up and down, saying:

“Look at Him! Isn’t He beautiful?”

“Look at Christ! Isn’t He glorious?”

“Look at the Savior! Isn’t He everything?”

We need you. To worship God appropriately, we need you. To reach the world for Christ, we need you.

5 Tensions Every Worship Team Must Balance

Effective worship teams know how to navigate tension. They keep it in balance.

Here is a list of worship music tensions that, as Andy Stanley says, are tensions to manage, not problems to solve.

If you want to have an powerful worship ministry at your church, you need to be intentional about these tensions. Don’t just let them happen.

Are you ready?

Here we go:

1. Music and Heart – Worship is not just music, it is a response of the heart. But music is important. If music were simply a vehicle for worship, an afterthought, God wouldn’t have emphasized it so much in Scripture:

“Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy” (Psalm 33:3).

He loves music. So worship teams – we need your music AND we need your heart. Don’t minimize the importance of music and don’t minimize the important of worshiping in spirit and in truth.

2. Planning and Flow – Worship isn’t simply a plan, just as much as a date with my wife isn’t a scripted conversation. True love is spontaneous at times. However, the careful planning that went into my wedding ceremony testifies of our love. It was in the planning that we told a story – something meaningful was created in the plan. It was art. It was beauty.

It’s the same with worship. God moves in the spontaneous just as much as He moves in our Holy-Spirit inspired planning. Depend on God in the preparation and the performance. Both are important. Both are telling the story of God’s glory.

3. Creativity and Accessibility – In the last week, I visited the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago. To witness both a 20 foot Anaconda and a tree frog the size of my pinky finger-nail reminded me that God loves creativity. Not everything God creates always makes sense. But it still testifies of His glory.

In our worship, we need to pursue deeper creativity. It keeps our imagination soaring and serves the church in revealing more of the depth of God. But we are also called to “worship with understanding”. In corporate worship we can’t be so creative that we leave people watching. We want them to sing, to engage, to worship.

4. Outward and Inward – While we know man looks at the outward appearance and God looks at the heart, what is acceptable for leading worship? You must pay attention to both. I find it hard to believe that if your heart is alive in God your outward appearance can be so boring. The inward informs the outward.

As a worship team, we are responsible for both. People watch us. They are inspired by our worship. We need to model expressive, declarative worship. But not at the expense of a cold heart. Honor God with your lips AND keep your heart close to His.

5. God Songs and Passion Songs – What is acceptable? Singing songs about God or singing songs about our passion? There seems to be a diverse mix. My opinion is that the majority of our songs should be songs about Christ, songs about God.

It’s there that our hearts are made alive. It’s there that we find answers to questions. It’s there that we are simply kept from mere emotionalism.

I would rather be impressed with Christ and Him crucified than David Santistevan and his passion for God. That’s not to say the occasional song about passion and response is wrong. It’s helpful in worship, especially if it medleys with a Christ centered song.

Here’s the main challenge coming from these ideas: be intentional about who you are as a worship musician. Don’t just look to Hillsong United and Bethel and John Mark McMillan.

Balance these tensions with intentionality.

It’s time to hear from you! What are some other tensions I have left out of the mix? How do you balance them?

SOURCE

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Lift Up Your Eyes {Book Review}

BOOK TITLE: Lift Up Your Eyes… Daily Encounters with God for Leaders

AUTHOR: Christopher Shaw

ISBN: 978-971-789-201-6

PUBLISHER: CLC Publications

OVERALL RATING: 4.75/5

Leaders often work under heavy pressure. While the demands of ministry can threaten to overwhelm us, Christopher Shaw encourages you to pause and lift up your eyes to the One who can equip and empower you to accomplish His work.With so much things to do in this busy world, one can sometimes forget the basic things needed by our spiritual life. Daily encounter with God is a vital need to any leaders—to focus on the Lord daily. It recharges, rejuvenates and re-empowers you for the long way run ahead, as if you are a battery that is to be recharged to make it function.

Our lives will never be complete without having communion with the Lord; unhealthy... vulnerable. For Ephesians 6:10-12 reminds us to put on the whole armor of God, always… everyday… every minute… For the devil is like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Everyone needs the perfect strength that can only be found in the Lord to fight the works of the enemy.

This devotional book emphasizes the pitfalls and limitations of human solutions; look instead to the true and all-sufficient source of strength and wisdom, none other than Jesus Christ. These daily meditations are filled with fresh, raw, new perspective; that Christ indeed is the strength needed to an excellent and productive service.

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“But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

About the Author

CHRISTOPHER SHAW is the director of Desarollo Cristiano Internacional (Christian Development International) and publishing editor for the magazine Apuntes Pastorales (Pastor’s Notes). He received a master’s degree and a doctor missiology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Los Angeles, Ca. Christopher and his wife iris have three children: Melanie, Timothy and Jonathan. He lives with his family in his native country of Argentina.

About CLC Publications

CLC Publications (formerly Christian Literature Crusade) is the English language publishing house for CLC Ministries International. Headquartered in Fort Washington, PA, CLC has published books for the Deeper Christian Life for over 50 years. Our focus has been to publish books by trusted authors with a clear and timeless message. Some of our better known authors from the past include Watchman Nee, Corrie ten Boom, Amy Carmichael, Andrew Murray and Roy Hession. Today we are also publishing books by well known authors like Warren Wiersbe and Michael Catt.

Many of our books are influenced by the message of the Keswick movement starting in 1875 in England and therefore some of our older authors have British origins or spoke on the Keswick stage at one time or another. While we do not limit our publishing to the theology of this movement, we are certainly excited to be able to convey the message of the Victorious Christian Life to a new generation.

As a part of CLC International, our books are sold and distributed in countries all over the world including but not limited to the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, India, the West Indies, and the Philippines. We are committed to being a significant part of fulfilling CLC’s international purpose of making evangelical Christian literature available to all nations so that people may come to faith and maturity in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Disclosure: A review copy of this book is provided for review by CLCPhilippines

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