Living A New Song

Sing to God a brand-new song.He’s made a world of wonders! He rolled up his sleeves, He set things right.  Psalm 98:1 The Message

Have you ever wondered where, or how the Church got all of the hymns, praise songs and worship choruses?  There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands of them!  Some of the songs we sing in Church every Sunday were written from a place of pain and despair. Others were birthed from hearts full of hope.  But many of the popular hymns and worship songs which have been sung through the years came from a place of excitement and personal, or corporate revival.

In other words...these songs come to us as a response from people who were in the middle of experiencing something new and fresh from God.

When God does something new in us, we should bring new worship to Him!

Now, maybe you’re thinking...”what if I don’t write music, or know how to play an instrument?”  Remember this: Worship is a lifestyle. It’s never just about the songs we sing in church!

So when I say that we should bring new worship to God when he’s in the midst of doing something new in our lives, I mean that we should, in return, seek to worship, praise and thank Him in new ways, rather than what we’ve always done in the past.

In order to understand this approach to new worship, we need to remember that God is always on the move. He’s never a stagnant, boring God. Neither should our worship to Him be stagnant and boring. The challenge for each of us is to look for how He’s moving in and around our lives and respond with adventurous and fresh worship!

I’m excited to talk more about this at all of our weekend services this week as I’ve invited our new worship director, Eliot Stone to join me in teaching. You’ll enjoy his insights into how music and other forms of art are meant to be authentically worshipful. We hope you’ll join us!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

Empowering Encounters

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you." St Augustine

Empowering Encounters from God and the Holy Spirit are something I crave today in my faith. To be newly awakened to His great love and divine presence in my every day living. To experience the supernatural and be freed from the traps of a boring, lazy and mundane faith.

Do you resonate with this? Are you finding yourself with the same desires? Restless for more of God? You're in a good spot, my friend!

Here's what I've learned whenever I crave new and empowering experiences with God...

1. Receiving this fresh revival of faith almost always begins with worship. Intentional worship that sets my heart and mind in their rightful position where I'm more aware of, and open to receive God's presence.
2.  My worship cannot be dependent upon feelings. My feelings are in constant flux, therefore, making it almost impossible to experience authentic connection with God who is always unchanging and unwavering.

The unfortunate reality for many of us (myself included) is we have become convinced that worship is music and the worship music needs to make us feel connected to God for it to be good worship.

Eugene Peterson, in his book: The Pastor - wrote these prophetic and convicting words regarding worship:

By the time I arrived on the scene as a pastor, the American church had reinterpreted the worship of God as an activity for religious consumers.  Entertainment, manipulation and cheer-leading were conspicuous in high places.  American worship was conceived as a public relations campaign for Jesus and his angels. Worship had been cheapened into a commodity marketed by using tried and true advertising techniques.  If so called worshippers didn't "get anything out of it," there had been no worship worth coming back for. Instead of calling people to worship God, pastors all over the country were inviting people to have a "worship experience".  Worship was evaluated on the satisfaction scale of one to ten. 

It struck me as a violation of the holy, a secularization of the sacred.  Taking the Lord's name in vain. I determined to reintroduce the idea: let us worship God. I knew this wasn't going to be easy.  The entertainment model for worship in America was pervasive.

Tough words, huh?

If you're craving a more empowering faith and find yourself desiring God to move through you in fresh, powerful ways; I strongly encourage you to join us this month as we dive into the topic of worship.  Our aim is to explore the Bible and the many stories of genuine worship from regular, every day people AND to help provide you with a guide for living a life of worship.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised to learn how much God desires it and how we were made for it.  See you this weekend!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

Think Spring

My wife Jackie, bought a decoration that said ‘Think Spring’ and it is the first thing we see when we walk through our front door.

 In Seattle, meteorologists tell us we have only had four days without rain since November, so yes, we are ready to think spring. On Sunday we had a spring day. Day five on the count-down for nice days this winter. The birds were singing at dawn. I had not heard them sing with so much gusto! Maybe Seasonal Affective Disorder affects song birds too. The day was just rejuvenating for all of our community. I like to think we all need renewal or springtime in our soul. Artists, authors, CEO's, grade school children, athletes, marrieds and singles. Springtime is not only a phenomena of nature, it is a state-of-mind. So let’s think newness, sunshine, realistic optimism, and enjoy the beauty that we are surrounded by. Let’s think spring.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim

The profound beauty of God’s world

Interview and post by Pastor Linda Skinner with artist Kathleen Henderson “Creation and creatures applaud you, God; your holy people bless you. They talk about the glories of your rule, they exclaim over your splendor, letting the world know of your power for good, the lavish splendor of your kingdom.” Psalm 145:10-12 (The Message)

Recently I had the privilege of interviewing a very special lady in our church, Kathleen Henderson. Kathleen is a painter and right now her art is being displayed in our very own Inscape Gallery located in the Spirit Falls building. (Inscape Gallery is a part of Washington Seminary one of the 5 non-profit organizations affiliated with Washington Cathedral.)

Kathleen has been a part of the Washington Cathedral family for many years and she has been painting under the instruction and mentoring of Kay Barnes for the last 5 years.

She feels that God planted a seed in her life when at the age of seven she received a Christmas gift of watercolor paints and paper. Later in college she dabbled in painting with Acrylic.

A few years ago, and after experiencing loss, she saw some paintings that a friend had done. She liked the style of painting, she called it a “realistic style”, and she wanted to give it a try herself. She wanted to try creating something beautiful.

She got in touch with her friend about an art instructor, Kay Barnes, and she signed up for weekly classes. Kay has been a wonderful mentor and friend to Kathleen as she has helped her discover the gift she had buried deep inside.

Kathleen told me that she found painting very challenging and hard. So I asked her “Why do it?” She passionately answered that it brought her satisfaction and she liked learning and seeing the progress she was making.

When I asked her what she did if she finished a painting and looked at it and just didn’t like it, she immediately replied, “I throw it away.” “How many have you thrown away?” I asked. Her reply was “Very few.” Then she added, “But when I’m painting I pray to God.” I responded back, “Maybe that is why you don’t throw many away.” She looked and me nodded her head and smiled. Kathleen brings God into her paintings and it shows.

Kathleen paints the two things she loves most – flowers and dogs. She loves using exciting colors, and painting from a very up-close perspective. Her hope is that her paintings will urge viewers to stop and look closely. When they do, her prayer is that they will see the profound beauty of God’s world.

While I looked around her house, I saw many picture hangers with no pictures hanging on them. Curiously I asked, “Is that where all your paintings normally hang?” And with a little sadness in her eyes, she nodded her head. So I inquired of her if she missed her paintings while they are display. And she responded “Very much, they are my friends.” She said “People ask me why I don’t sell them. I can’t sell my friends.” But if someone commissions me, I love to paint their dog or flowers that mean something to them.”

I hope Kathleen doesn’t mind me sharing this, but she started painting in her 60’s. She’s had a number of very serious health challenges and I think God has used her painting to help her through. At the same time, He blesses us through her.

If you would like to see Kathleen’s beautiful art. Come by Spirit Falls building on a Saturday night or Sunday morning and you will experience some beautiful paintings. On March 11 at 7:00 pm there will be a “Closing Conversation” in Spirit Falls Sanctuary and you can meet Kathleen and let her know how much you appreciate her using the gift God has given her and for sharing “her friends” with us.