Worship and the Word Movement

On August 25, we did our first Come-Expecting Night of Worship at Harvest Worship Center, and it went amazingly! We raised $782.00 for Home of Refuge, bringing us to a total of over $10,000 this year, and we’re going for $100,000!

Man, there was a really worshipful atomsphere, and people were really worshipping the Lord… That really blessed my heart but way more importantly, I believe that it really blessed the heart of God. 

If you want to know when we are doing more Nights of Worship, let me know!

On August 18th, Tara and I hosted our first Worship and the Word Movement Dinner at Kevin and LeAnn Chamberlain’s beautiful home. What an amazing team we have man! I am SO thankful for the people that God has encircled us with. The food was amazing and we worshipped for almost 2 hours together! Thanks to the Chamberlain’s and to all of the people who made it!!

On the August 13th weekend, Tara, Hunter, and I had the privilege of leading worship and speaking at New Horizons Christian Church in Dacono, Colorado. (Hunter is quite the worship leader already) Rob Thomas, the pastor, gave us the whole service to hang with his awesome church family. I spoke on what worship really means out of John 4. After 9 years of leading worship , you would have thought that I would have known the meaning of the word “worship”, and I did generally, but it wasn’t until I took a deeper look that I found out what it literally means. The Greek word for worship is the word “proskuneo”… pros means “toward” and kuneo means “to kiss”! Is that wild or what? Worship, as God defines it, means to come toward Him to kiss Him. 

Wanna try something?  Lean forward, close your eyes and imagine giving our GOD, the GOD of the universe, a kiss on the mouth.

God showed me a couple of things in that text:

1. He wants to be kissed a certain way: John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit and those that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth.” That means that just any type of kiss won’t due. If you want to kiss Him, you have to do it His way. The act and the heart of worship, after all, isn’t about you or me, it’s about Him.

2. He wants us to remember who we are kissing: When I was studying this text in John 4, I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of me say, “Do you remember the first time you kissed Tara?” I said, “C’mon!!!! Of course I do!!!! How could I forget that… it was the first time I ever put my lips on the hottest person on the planet!”  Truthfully, I was shaking like a leaf.  She even asked me, “Are you ok?” I guts were literally trembling with excitement! She thought it was weird, but really cute, and I thought I was a spaz. I heard Him speak again, “In a lot of ways, you were very aware of who you were kissing at that point. Do you remember the last time you kissed her?” I had just given her a quick kiss and tucked her in bed. He said, “In a lot of ways you are more aware of who you were kissing now than you were the first time you kissed Tara, but in a lot of ways, you’ve forgotten.”  See the parallel He was driving at? There are times when we’re shaking like a leaf before Him, and others when we are just kissing Him without remembering the privilege that it really is.

Take some time right now to worship Him the way He wants it… in spirit and truth, and if you don’t know how, I want to encourage you to do something about it. Go online to www.e-sword.net and download a free version of the Bible. There is a translation on there called KJV+, which has all the Strong’s Concordance linked right into the text, so that you can explore the original meanings of the words. This is an unbelievable resource that has helped me tremendously in my personal study… It’s rocked my face off, honestly. How much is it? FREE  So, Giddy-up and find out what it means to worship Him the way He wants it.

Lastly, take a minute to remember who it is that you are kissing.

On the August 13th weekend, Tara, Hunter, and I had the privilege of leading worship and speaking at New Horizons Christian Church in Dacono, Colorado. (Hunter is quite the worship leader already) Rob Thomas, the pastor, gave us the whole service to hang with his awesome church family. I spoke on what worship really means out of John 4. After 9 years of leading worship , you would have thought that I would have known the meaning of the word “worship”, and I did generally, but it wasn’t until I took a deeper look that I found out what it literally means. The Greek word for worship is the word “proskuneo”… pros means “toward” and kuneo means “to kiss”! Is that wild or what? Worship, as God defines it, means to come toward Him to kiss Him. 

Wanna try something?  Lean forward, close your eyes and imagine giving our GOD, the GOD of the universe, a kiss on the mouth.

God showed me a couple of things in that text:

1. He wants to be kissed a certain way: John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit and those that worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth.” That means that just any type of kiss won’t due. If you want to kiss Him, you have to do it His way. The act and the heart of worship, after all, isn’t about you or me, it’s about Him.

2. He wants us to remember who we are kissing: When I was studying this text in John 4, I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit inside of me say, “Do you remember the first time you kissed Tara?” I said, “C’mon!!!! Of course I do!!!! How could I forget that… it was the first time I ever put my lips on the hottest person on the planet!”  Truthfully, I was shaking like a leaf.  She even asked me, “Are you ok?” I guts were literally trembling with excitement! She thought it was weird, but really cute, and I thought I was a spaz. I heard Him speak again, “In a lot of ways, you were very aware of who you were kissing at that point. Do you remember the last time you kissed her?” I had just given her a quick kiss and tucked her in bed. He said, “In a lot of ways you are more aware of who you were kissing now than you were the first time you kissed Tara, but in a lot of ways, you’ve forgotten.”  See the parallel He was driving at? There are times when we’re shaking like a leaf before Him, and others when we are just kissing Him without remembering the privilege that it really is.

Take some time right now to worship Him the way He wants it… in spirit and truth, and if you don’t know how, I want to encourage you to do something about it. Go online to www.e-sword.net and download a free version of the Bible. There is a translation on there called KJV+, which has all the Strong’s Concordance linked right into the text, so that you can explore the original meanings of the words. This is an unbelievable resource that has helped me tremendously in my personal study… It’s rocked my face off, honestly. How much is it? FREE  So, Giddy-up and find out what it means to worship Him the way He wants it.

Lastly, take a minute to remember who it is that you are kissing.

We were invited to lead worship at Harvest Worship Center on August 6 by the Pastor, Steve Valdez… which by the way, do you have anyone in your life that you have to say both their first and last name whenever you mention them to someone?  Steve is one of those people for me, or should I say Steve Valdez is one of those people. It just rolls off your tongue like butter.  Say it with me… Steve Valdez… SEE?  Anyway Steve is one of the greatest people I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. He’s a praying pastor, a fasting follower, and he’s hilarious, so it was really cool to be able to hang with him at Harvest.

During the first service, I found myself trying to push people into the Presence of God by singing louder and encouraging them to enter in to the heart of what we were doing. Even after the first time of worship, I was sitting on the front row just trying to “keep the fire burning” on the inside…praying under my breath, asking God to come rock the people. About half way through the sermon, I heard the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit speak in my heart. He said, “You know that no amount of loud singing or personal striving or coercive encouraging can make Me reveal Myself in an obvious way right? It’s not like the more you sing or the harder you try, the better the chances of twisting My arm will be.  What I want from you is honest, open worship… from your heart.  That’s what I love. It’s truthful kissing in the spirit.” I sat stunned for the remainder of the message.  In between the 1st and 2nd service, I gathered my band together and told them what God had put on my heart and encouraged them to do the same, and they did, and I did, and He did. The sense of the Presence of God, in my heart, was way more obvious the 2nd time. There was a freedom in that worship time because we were reminded that no amount of human effort or striving twists God’s arm. But He is seeking those who will open their hearts to His Holy Eyes and will invite Him to investigate the depths of their souls; He’s seeking a people who will humble themselves before Him, to worship Him the way He wants to be worshipped… in spirit and in truth. (John 4:23-24)