Mercy Mercy

Occasionally I’ll hear a lyric in a song of worship that will make me wince. Brooke Fraser’s bridge section from Hosanna is a good example of this where she pens,

“Heal my heart and make it clean…break my heart for what breaks Yours”.

We sing, we follow suit, we play…but, really? Break my heart – really? Lord, I want to feel deep heart-break…really?

I winced recently when I heard a lyric clearly from the costly, private world of Matt Crocker and Joel Houston from the Zion track Mercy Mercy – and I wince every time I hear it and wince even more when I have the courage to sing it.
Continue reading “Mercy Mercy”

John Piper responds to John MacArthur’s Strange Fire Conference

This Desiring God blog is worthy of being in reblogosphere territory. The wisdom and balanced but prophetically penetrating points from Piper are compelling. Happy reading!

http://dsr.gd/1gRRuNC

God Almighty Built the Universe & All Its Planets

Watching the recent programmes from the BBC entitled Richard Hammond Builds a Planet/Universe has reminded me of the hopelessness of our attempts to reach or understand God without God himself leading the way.

Continue reading “God Almighty Built the Universe & All Its Planets”

Yearnings of O

Etched on the grand arch above where we worship together as a church family here at HTR are the following words from Psalm 96:-

“O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness”

Since arriving at Holy Trinity two months ago with my beautiful wife, Mairi, we have talked about these words together several times. They seem to watch over the church like an angelic reminder, like a prophetic banner as we sing and pray, a sense of the beauty of the presence of the King just a few feet above our heads, covering all we do in unspeakable grace.

HTRWORSHIPContinue reading “Yearnings of O”

Grace Notes

During times of corporate or private worship, song-writing, prayer and even rehearsals, I’m always on the look-out for ‘grace notes’. I’m on the look out for them because they are keys for moments when it’s as if there is a special deposit of anointing available, His presence, for the purpose of the moment that is unfolding.Continue reading “Grace Notes”

Taken In

One of the Bible’s highlights for me is Psalm 27 – it contains some the most beautiful verses anywhere in its pages. I’m thinking of sweeping, lyrical crescendos like verse 4, “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

Another verse that stuns me, particularly because of the brokenness I constantly see in society where families Continue reading “Taken In”

Presenting The Presence Project

The Presence Project is the brand new worship project from Firebrand Notes that has been conceived and born from a desire to get real, talk about our experience of the Presence of God and consider how we are really seeking Him in the hope of being deeply aware of Him in our lives. He promises to draw near to those who draw near to Him. He loves you insatiably!

I hope you’re inspired and encouraged to seek God in new ways and to know the joy of intimate, personal relationship with Jesus Christ – you can listen to the full Presence track here

Nick Franks

Divine Immanence

Ahead of the release of the fbn2 Presence Project next week, here are some potentially life-changing bullet points and excerpts for you from A W Tozer’s The Pursuit of God and the chapter The Universal Presence. I pray that they would whet your appetite and bless your relationship with God.

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MTC Aug 2013 – Days 3-5

This is such a refreshing emphasis that I had to reblog. Let all that we do to serve Jesus be rooted in the knowledge that He is coming again and that He is indeed en route as we pray now. Let the Spirit and the bride say ‘come, Lord Jesus’ – Amen

iServe Africa Webmaster's avatarUtumishi Blog

return christ

What really struck me from the last few days of the ministry training course last week was the emphasis that came out on the future, eternity, our great Hope.

I’d never noticed what Fidel brought home so powerfully from 2 Tim. 4:1-2 that the number one reason to preach the word is the return of Christ. We are preaching in the last days a gospel of eternal life in view of the coming Day (cf. 2 Tim. 1:1, 10, 18; 2:10; 3:1; 4:8).

We found that the reason to put to death our ungodly desires (Col. 3:5) is because Christ, who is our life, is about to appear and we will be glorified with him (Col. 3:4).

Sammy reminded us from Job that the end comes at the end, and in the same session one of the apprentices very movingly shared how she had been through times when…

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