Worship Review 110508

hi all,

Click on URL to access audio recording of last Sunday's worship led by William.

http://www.lkyouths.com/Purpose_Worship/Worship%20080511.mp3

Yg

Worship Review 040508

Hi all,

Click on URL below to download this week's audio recording of Worship led by Augustus.

http://www.lkyouths.com/Purpose_Worship/040508%20Worship.mp3

Yg

Pride - a potential downfall

Hi all!


Chanced upon an article on Worship Leader Magazine, written by Darlene Zschech. It's about PRIDE. No introduction required .... for our reflection.


Worship Leader's Definition: The desire to be more attractive or important than others.


Pride has always been one of the great problems of the human race-feeling superior, behaving in ways that are inconsiderate of the effect of those around us. Pride is described in the dictionary as "a haughty attitude shown by people who believe, often unjustifiably, that they are better than others."



As history has shown us, time and time again, pride is the one thing that will creep up on you with great subtlety but expose you very quickly when the pressure is on. In Isaiah 14, the Word says, "How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn." Morning Star in Latin actually means Lucifer. The language of this Scripture starts to change as Lucifer's language is quoted again and again saying, "I will raise my throne above the stars of God.... I will make myself like the most high" (vv 13-14 NIV). Again it says I will, I will. Here is the language of pride. I, I, I. The continual emphasis on the word I, me myself and I. Thinking too highly of yourself, claiming self credit for successes, even if on the outside you appear to be most humble.. It's always good to do a little pride test....


How do you respond when others are promoted before you or above you, even if it is seemingly unfair?

How easily do you become offended?

How often do you put others needs or dreams before your own?

How do you go when it comes to fighting for your rights? Your position? Your prominence?


And thus begins the rub for worship leaders, as the Word clearly defines those who may ascend the holy hill of the Lord, "He who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24) . Pride is not clean; it is a classic stealer of potential, as pride feeds all the wrong components needed for a healthy inner man. We were never designed to receive glory, only to give glory... That is why when people wrongly try to take it for themselves, it will eventually end up blowing them up so to speak.


Humility is the antidote... to be clothed with humility.. 1 Peter 5:5 says ... ‘That God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble'. The dictionary describes humility as the freedom from pride or arrogance, a modest estimation of ones worth.Humility is your strongest secret weapon in life.. Pride and humility, just like light and dark, have a very hard time hanging out together. James 3: 13 - 16 says, ‘Who is wise among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in humility that comes from wisdom. But, if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil'... Pretty straight talk, but pride, which seems to show itself so slowly, and often in the form of self righteousness, has always been the downfall of the prominent, so called successful person.


I remember many years ago Ron Kenoly teaching at a seminar, stating that the only one ever to get thrown out of heaven was a worship leader... We all laughed, and then the room got very quiet as the weight of that staement took hold.


I love the heart of David as a shepherd boy... When God called him forward from the shadows, he had a ‘who me?' experience. You can tell when pride is rising up in us when God calls someone else forward, your question changes from ‘who me? To WHY YOU?.. WHY NOT ME??'... David himself actually ended getting himself into trouble much later on when SUCCESS and PROMINENCE brought about COMFORT and OPTIONS.. The two enemies of hunger.. And pride began to breed in his very human heart.



Isaiah 66:2 says.. ‘this is the one I esteem, he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. One of the fastest ways to confront our own hearts if they are out of line, is simply to look at your hidden life of SERVICE. Servanthood will quickly reveal your true measure of humility... especially serving and giving where NO ONE knows about it.



Richard Foster writes... ‘Nothing disciplines the inordinate desires of the flesh like service, and nothing transforms the desires of the flesh like service in hiddenness. The flesh whines against service, but kicks and screams against hidden service. It strains and pulls for honour and recognition. It will even devise subtle, religiously acceptable means to call attention to the service rendered. If we REFUSE to give in to the lust of the flesh, that is when we crucify it. Every time we crucify the flesh, we crucify our pride and arrogance..'



So lets keep it simple friends, become and maintain being a low maintenance servant.. Not needing accolades and not needing constant affirmation, just being happy to serve... It is the least we can do..When it comes to worship, it should be the most unselfish thing we ever do... For Him alone, and through Him by grace.. in other words, emptying ourselves of all we are, and offering our lives again as a living sacrifice for HIS glory.

---- end of article ----


Yg

Worship Teleseminar 2008

Hi all,

No audio recordings from today's worship session ...

but I'ld like to intro everyone to an upcoming Worship Teleseminar 2008. The first such teleseminar was launched in 2007, which started humbly from the vision and needs of a volunteer worship leader in America, desiring to make worship training acessible to all. Last years seminar lasted close to 3 months and a total of 24 sessions!!! And guess what ... it's TOTALLY FREE! As long as you've an internet, you can participate and take part in the training.

Check out the website:
http://www.worshipteleseminar.com/

For more info on the background.
http://www.worshipteleseminar.com/about.html

I've benefitted immensely from these sessions last year. In these times when "worship" is increasingly becoming commercial, it's heart-warming to know that there are some who still believes that worship of our GOD should be of the Spirit & the Truth.

For it's Christ and only HIM that we worship,
Yg

Worship Review 200408

Hi all!

Here's the link to this week's worship led by William:

http://www.lkyouths.com/Purpose_Worship/080420%20Worship(William).mp3

Here's an article on "What's your foundation in leading worship?". I hope you will find this article helpful in anchoring us upon the ROCK in the midst of all our busy-ness (or business?).

It's written by Tom Kraeuter.

Tom Kraeuter (pronounced Kroyter) has a heart for God and for God’s people. He is a gifted communicator who has been face-to-face with thousands of believers from all walks of the Body of Christ. People of all ages receive new insights from his straight-forward, humorous style.
One of the real hallmarks of Tom’s ministry is practical, biblical teaching that can be immediately applied to life. One pastor said it this way, “Tom has a deep and obvious love for the Lord Jesus Christ, a passion for knowing God in a deeper way, and a wonderful ability to communicate those qualities.”


"Some time ago I heard an elderly gentleman discussing how his priorities had changed over the years. As a youth he had been taught that certain things were important. Over time he had abandoned many of those values and embraced new ideals. But as he grew in years and wisdom, he found himself doing another reversal. Those things which he had left behind were once again becoming top priority. He had realized that the standards he had learned as a youngster really contained lasting value.

I have gone through much the same process in my years of leading worship. I first began leading worship mostly out of a deep, intense gratitude to the Lord. He had redeemed me! He had, as the psalmist said, "brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm" (Psalm 40:2). I wanted to verbalize my appreciation. Beyond saving me, He had become my friend and constant companion. To this day I still have trouble grasping that the almighty God of all creation would desire me. But I had accepted the truth of His Word and my heart was filled with unending gratitude toward God.

From the beginning of my walk with the Lord it was obvious to me and others that He had called me to leadership. Therefore, it was only natural that my gratitude would spill over onto others and I would end up leading others into this same expression of appreciation, or worship. But the expression itself was more important to me than leading others in it. I just wanted to love and honor God.

As time went on, however, I began to realize that other dynamics played into the worship leading process. My musical abilities and understanding became increasingly important. I looked at the type and style of music being used and its affect on the song service. I began to grasp how people's relationships affected their worship. Even the other musicians and their abilities came to play a more important role in my understanding of how worship "works." I began more and more to take my cues from people's reactions to the "worship" instead of from the Lord. I had almost completely abandoned the once simple gratitude based relationship I had with God. Concepts effecting worship leading had become my focus more than the Lord Himself. I was more in touch with the process than I was with God. I was not spending time with the Lord developing our relationship. In fact, the only real quality time I was spending with God was while I was leading.

At first I was able to fool most of the people while I went through the above scenario, due at least in part, to the strong gifts which God had given me. No one really knew that I was more conscious of the techniques than I was of the Lord. Still, as time went on, my drifting from God became more obvious and had the potential for getting much worse.

I had reached bottom. I was not leading worship from a heart full of worship; I was leading using techniques alone. The tools which God had provided to be effective in leading worship had become an end in themselves. The reactions of people had become more important to me than having a heart which desired to please God. I was not really leading worship. In reality I was only toying with people's emotions, including my own.

Fortunately, I once more experienced the rescuing, redeeming power of the Lord. His unending mercies touched me where I needed them most and I saw the falsehood of what I was doing. By His grace I was able to recognize that the path I was on was quite a distance from the one I should have been on. The Lord graciously brought me back into that simple grateful relationship we had before. There were no lightning bolts from heaven or earth shaking revelations, just a simple understanding of His new every morning mercies. I could once again lead worship out of a heart which radiated true worship.

In going through this process I learned some lasting principles. The most obvious was this: the only way to be effective long term as a worship leader is to maintain a close relationship with the Lord.

If I am not in constant pursuit of a close relationship with the Lord, if I am not continually allowing Him to fill this empty vessel, then I will have nothing to give. I may have some nifty tricks that will "pull me through a few services" but beyond that, I'm empty. I need to be daily renewed and refreshed by Jesus, the living water. If I forego this ongoing relationship with Him, I have really missed the fullness of His calling on my life.

Anyone aspiring to be an effective worship leader must have as their main anchor point maintaining a relationship with the object of their worship, Almighty God. Throughout this book I will discuss other ideas and concepts to help you on your path to becoming the most effective leader of worship you can be. However, maintaining your relationship with the Lord is foundational to it all. You would not expect to be a close friend of a person with whom you never spend time. Relationships take time, and lots of it, to develop. In the same way, it is essential to spend time with the Lord, just as you would spend time cultivating an earthly friendship. Nothing--absolutely nothing--is more important.

This article is excerpted from the book, Keys to Becoming an Effective Worship Leader

For its Christ ( & only HIM) we serve,
Yg