Tag Archives: Faith

Sounds of Freedom Week 4

Posted in Real Life Stories, Sounds of Freedom by

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This week’s Sounds of Freedom comes from Lydia. She opens up her heart to share her feelings on worship music today.

Confession: I love worshipping. I don’t always love worship music.

After much discussion and debate with friends, worship leaders and pastors, I’ve concluded that I am not a lone wolf and that, in fact, there is a chronic affliction amongst this pack of the musically-minded in our inability to connect in worship.

Having grown up in a Vineyard church in the midlands, the core Vineyard value of worship and the emphasis on creativity within our movement runs through my veins. I’ve been blessed over many years with wonderful worship leaders, worshipful friends and different expressions and experiences of worship wherever I have visited or lived. I’m a passionate pursuer of Jesus and a bit of a music fiend, so I find it extremely irritating when I arrive at church to worship and find myself unable to concentrate, distracted not only by the thoughts of the week but by the musicality of it all: by bands lacking direction from their leaders, by arrangements that don’t quite work and by my frustration with myself for not seizing the opportunity to worship.

I often listen to secular music and find many of the lyrics and melodies easy to worship God with, so why is it that I sometimes find it easier to worship God in a basement full of sweaty twenty-somethings who are there to worship the band? I believe it is because God has made me for worship. If He has inspired creativity in me then no wonder I am drawn to places where heaven-given melodies flow and lyrics written by troubled souls unknowingly sing of His goodness. Of course I was also made for corporate worship, to come together with the body of Christ but I must remember I was made for worship in the everyday and not feel guilty for my current struggle to connect during a church service.

Through live albums, where the passion for Jesus is contagious, I am re-learning to worship without distraction.

When asked for secular album recommendations, it can take me days to consider a piece that has had an impact on my life and that might be appropriate for that particular friend at that particular moment in life. I do not want to give glib advice when my passion for music is so key to how I live! When I apply my rule of thumb to recommending Christian music, I struggle. I draw a blank because if I couldn’t recommend a piece of Christian music to my non-Christian friends then I often wouldn’t listen to it myself. Cheesy, poorly-produced, repetitive and boring are words that typically come to mind when thinking about such albums. There are, of course, many exceptions to my general dislike of Christian music that would make my friends cringe, and these have been reshaping my understanding of the sound of Christianity!

As Dave mentioned in a previous post, Elevation Worship have been turning out some beautiful things, Bethel and the new Hillsong albums have been inspiring in my worship times at home – usually in the shower where I can get away with singing as loudly as I like! Special mention should go to Dave Miller at Trent Vineyard for his role in the amazing live album ‘Rooftops’ from the national Vineyard youth conference ‘Dreaming The Impossible’ and to the Hillsong We Are Young & Free album from 2013, which reimagined and inspired youth worship in many churches across the globe.

If one thing pulls me out of this struggle to connect, it is the reminder of my God-given purpose. I was put here to bring Him glory and I will therefore continue to learn to engage in worship. The power of God’s presence as we worship together and in the quiet of our hearts will never cease to amaze me.

Through the trials of life I’m sometimes asked why I worship and in my response I am reminded of a quote I once heard: ‘Sometimes you worship because you believe it and sometimes you worship until you do.’ In my journey to reconnecting with worship music, I will continue pressing into God’s love, hungry for more of His presence, worshipping in spite of and also because of this life.

I will worship because God is ALWAYS good and that is reason enough to teach my broken human heart to worship Him.

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Lydia Johnston is 22 years old and studying Biomedical Science at York Uni. Her favourite worship song is Do it Again by Elevation Worship

Are You Fearful of Success

Posted in Motivational, Uncategorized by

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Why is it that Christians are so quick to judge the successful? What, exactly, is it that they’re afraid of?

I first noticed this as a teenager. Why was it that the smaller churches were often openly critical about larger ones? They would accuse them of attracting large numbers because they were only saying what people wanted to hear, that they weren’t preaching the gospel, and at times, that the leadership weren’t even Christians.

And yet, when you questioned anyone about this, they would never have any evidence to back up their claims. Instead of being thankful that churches were growing; instead of being encouraged; instead of assuming this was happening because people were actually going out and telling other people about Jesus, they just had to believe it was something far more sinister. Because, after all, if they weren’t experiencing success, what right did anyone else have to it!

Unfortunately this idea isn’t just limited to church growth. When people are doing well, others are quick to criticise.

And I’ll admit it: I’ve joined in with this thinking as well. After all isn’t the Christian life supposed to be the hard option? The heavy cross and the narrow road?

How can these concepts that are drummed into our heads right from our Sunday School days ever fit with the idea of being successful? How can we remain humble and yet experience success?

For so many years I had failed to grasp that God actually wants us to do well. He commands us to try our hardest, and he even rejoices with us in our successes.

I was like that man in the parable of the talents. The one who, when his master left him with money, buried it. Too afraid to use it. Too afraid to invest, and when his master returned, had to explain why he hadn’t done the best with what he had been given.

And still I tell myself that not trying is the best option, that hiding is the best option. That it’s the most humble option. But It’s not. It’s false humility. And false humility is really just fear in disguise.

God  gave us our gifts and talents so that we could use them, not bury them. And if has given us what it takes to become successful, he will give us everything we need to handle that success. And if we don’t succeed, he will give us everything we need to handle that as well.

Are you afraid of success? Why?

Is there something that you are too afraid to try your hardest at?

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corninthians 9: 24-25)

Sounds of Freedom Week 3

Posted in Real Life Stories, Sounds of Freedom, Uncategorized by

In Christ alone my hope is found

This week Margaret shares her favourite worship song, and how it has encouraged her through hard times.

It wasn’t hard for her to decide. When I asked if she wanted to share, she responded within seconds.

My Favourite worship song is In Christ Alone. For me it says everything about what God means to me: he is my rock and my comforter in times of trouble. That sums him up for me.

He is my strong anchor when things are going rough, I can depend on him to protect me, he will keep me strong in times of trouble ….I stand complete in him!

What a powerful answer! I followed up by asking if there was a time when this song was especially important to her. I guess you would think that someone with such an obviously strong faith might have had an easy life.

We have been through years of illness with my husband Peter, looking back I can see a pattern of God’s grace to us, supplying our needs in all sorts of ways. When I sing this song it has great meaning, only through him can I be strong, his love has always been there for us. And it always will be.

Isn’t that a fabulous reminder that even in the toughest of times, we can put our trust in God and that through him we can be strong.

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Margaret was born and bred in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and is fond of this little place. She is part of the Worksop Gospel Community Choir and loves music with a passion. She also enjoys worshipping at her local church, St Johns in Worksop.

 

Girls do Brave too

Posted in Motivational, Uncategorized by

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Sometimes I’m not sure if I want to be brave. Brave is scary. When you’re brave, you don’t know what’s going to happen next, and brave isn’t exactly girly, is it?

I mean aren’t all girls supposed to want to be rescued by prince charming. How are we ever going to have that fairytale ending if we just go ahead and rescue ourselves?

And we do need rescuing. Even if we don’t want to admit it, we are all damsels in distress. We all can’t do this life on our own. Even the men!

But none of us need to sit around eating cupcakes and drinking tea, waiting  for that perfect rescue, that fairy-tale ending. Not because it’s never going to happen, but because it already has.

We have already been rescued.

We can stop living as damsels in distress, and start living as the brave, because brave isn’t just for boys.

Brave sounds scary. Brave sounds messy. But brave sounds like an adventure.

When you know that you have already been rescued, when you know who is on your side, you can do things you never dreamed of. You can climb mountains and travel continents. You can pray bold prayers, stand up for the vulnerable and be honest right where you are. You can speak to your neighbours, give to the poor and share your faith. You can can crush an army and you can scale a wall.

Sometimes you just stumble across things at the right time. That happened while I was writing this post. I found this blog in which the author lists four reasons why we don’t need to be afraid:

God goes ahead of you. We can be brave.

God will be with you. We can be brave.

God will not fail you. We can be brave.

God will not leave you. We can be brave.

These promises are for everyone.  No one needs to be afraid. We can all be brave. We don’t find that bravery within in ourselves, but through God, the one who is with us, who fights for us and who loves us.

Brave isn’t just for boys. Girls do brave too.

In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. (Psalm 18:29) NLT

 

 

 

Sounds of Freedom Week 2

Posted in Motivational, Real Life Stories, Uncategorized by

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This week I am sharing some of my testimony as part of the Sounds of Freedom series.If you would like to be involved in sharing some of how one of your favourite worship songs has impacted your faith then please get in touch.

Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat remembering some stupid thing I said, about five years ago, to someone I don’t even know anymore,

It’s like I’m right there again, and the guilt washes over me anew.

I’ve got regrets of friendships I didn’t put more effort into and exams I didn’t try hard enough at.

I’ve got some bigger regrets as well. Like, when I was a teenager I was determined to work as a missionary in New York. I thought about applying to work with a ministry over and over, but in the end Idid’t because I was just too scared.

It’s easy for me to think that if I had tried harder, if I had been braver, then my life would be in completely different. Sometimes I feel like I have missed my chance. Because I didn’t listen to God’s voice that one time, he won’t ever want to use me again.

That’s not true.

God’s grace is so much bigger than that. It’s bigger than our circumstances, bigger than our past mistakes. His Grace is huge, and it covers everything.

Matthew West’s song sums it up perfectly: “Grace wins every time.”

The mistakes we made in our past may impact our future, but they don’t define them. Jonah was swallowed by a whale, not devoured by one. And God still wants to use us. No matter how much we messed up in the past.

He wants to use you if you’ve made the biggest mistakes imaginable . He wants to use you if everyone thinks you’re the perfect little Christian girl, but deep down you know that you’re not. God’s grace covers it all.

Throughout the bible we see God use imperfect, messed up people, time and time again. Moses was a murderer and yet God used him to lead his people out of the promised land. David was an adulterer,and still he was called a man after God’s own heart.

God’s grace covered their sins and it can cover yours as well.

 

 

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This weeks Sounds of Freedom was written by Alice, she loves works as a teaching assistant and love Christ, chocolate and crochet.