Monthly Archives: February 2009

So its Lent today, has anyone given stuff up? I finally decided on a couple of things i am going to give up/take up. At School of theology the other night Simon Ponsonby was talking about how often he thinks it is really good to take something up for lent, as lent can often seem to come across as a negative thing, giving up the things we love. But it could be really good to take something up to bring us closer to God. One of the things i decided to do today is to learn 40 new worship songs off by heart by the end of lent, to help me get out of using the same old songs each time i lead worship, and to really stretch me. I am unsure how i am going to manage to learn 40, but i am going to try my best, i think its possible

Also, each week we have started doing a thought for the week in the worship department where each week one of us (Lauren rich and us worship interns) are going to write a thought for the week to email out to the whole worship team. This week was my turn, so i thought i would share it with you in case anyone is interested, i will probably share each week with you written by the other guys so here’s this weeks…

I have been thinking lately a lot about being called to be a Lead Worshiper/Musician. We all know that our worship is a meant to be a lifestyle and not just a few songs on Sunday. But I think often we can overlook the importance of the role we play each time we step up on stage. God has been challenging me musically lately, basically saying ‘Hey I have given you this gift, now make the most of it!’ So often we find ourselves getting comfortable as the Sundays pass, playing the same songs, the same arrangements, often maybe we even go through the week without touching our instrument.

We know that our worship and the music we play in Church is to lead others into the presence of God, but for an audience of One, so we want to make it the best music we can. God doesn’t ask for half hearted worship that we have thrown together at last minute, he doesn’t ask for songs that we struggle through at the front of Church because we don’t know them well enough. He desires and requires worship that comes from deep within our heart, worship that we put everything into, riffs and chords, harmonies and lyrics that we have taken time during the week to practice.

One thing I have challenged myself to do lately is to commit to learning at least one new song a week off by heart, so I am making sure that I am stretching myself to use new songs and not sticking to the same old, I recommend setting yourself a challenge each week, maybe its learning a new drum pattern or honing the bass line you could never quite get right, or maybe its just setting aside 15 minutes each day to sing your heart out to God.

Whatever it is, lets try going that extra step to give God even more time in our weeks so on a Sunday it is the pinnacle of a week of worshiping Him.

God Bless,
Gaz