If you would like to download the “Alive” record from iTunes, it is now available! Here is a direct link by clicking here or you search Alive The Rock Music. Thank you for all of your support.
I have no gift to bring that’s fit to give the King
What do we have to give the Lord, the King of kings, the creator of the universe? There is nothing we can give him that he has not seen, that he has not created, that he has not already given us as a gift of grace. The earth is his and everything in it! So what can we do?
As musicians, we get really excited about writing new riffs, getting perfect tone, and coming up with fresh beats. But really, God created it all and he knows all music before we even play it. He created good tone, he created harmony and he has heard the angles singing since the day he created them. When we write, we are just discovering what God has already created somehow. So, what could we do as musicians to impress the Lord?
First, we can play our best for him. I believe God is honored in our excellence. See Shai Linne’s blog or Tim’s post on craftsmanship for more on this.
Secondly, we must make our hearts humble before the Lord. God looks at the heart of man not the outer appearance! We will never be able to write a melody that is impressive to God. It is however, possible to be pleasing to him in our worship. If our music is rooted in the gospel and centered on bringing God glory rather than ourselves, I believe God will delight in our music.
For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. — (1 Samuel 16:7)
Ultimately, we need to be concerned about how God sees our heart through our music and how the world is introduced to his grace. What a great balance that is! Show God a humble heart, bring the church before the throne of grace, and show the world that not only is our music incredible, it is the truth of the gospel.
From the words of the Little Drummer Boy:
I have no gift to bring, that’s fit to give the King. Shall I play for you, on my drum? Mary nodded. I played my drum for Him, I played my best for Him, Then He smiled at me, me and my drum.
Grace and Peace,
Austin
Alive Release
I love releasing a new record. A record release locks in a specific moment in time, and stands as monument, so to speak, demonstrating as to where we as musicians, and as a church, were at that specific point in time. Every release gets me amped; I get excited to see what Jesus is going to do with the release and with the future of The Rock Church and The Rock Music.
The Alive cd release was no exception. It really meant a great deal to me because of the amount of prayer that, as a church and musicians, we dedicated to this record. The album was constantly on my prayer list. Everyday my alarm reminded me at 2:08 (based on Psalm 2:8 “Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the whole earth as your possession”) to pray for the Alive record, and that God would do mighty things through the music. This record was a long time in the making: the concept came about in October of 2010, it was recorded on May 21, 2011 and then finally released to the public on November 12, 2011. For more than a year, the many contributing musicians and The Rock Church as a whole bathed this entire project in prayer.
The night of the cd release show was not just an ordinary concert. As musicians, we wanted the night to be a celebration of what Jesus has done with The Rock Music. We stripped the show down to simply an acoustic set including songs from every record that we have released, starting with Anything and ending with Alive. This was a great picture of The Rock Music. Twelve different musicians took the stage, playing their songs and discussing how God led them to write those songs. People connected on a deeper level because of a new understanding of the meaning of the songs. This alone was a huge win.
We turned the lounge of the church into an art gallery, displaying different pieces of artwork, flyers, pictures, and CDs documenting the history of The Rock Music. There was a booth set up with new stickers, buttons, download cards, t-shirts and, of course, the new record.Overall the night was an honor to God, showing what He has done with a few willing musicians who have committed their lives to serving Jesus and the local church!
Check out this little video from the night with the prayer right before we started (below) and click here to a complete set of images from the night! You can also pick up your copy here.
Serving the King –
Tony
Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness! – (Psalm 115:1 ESV)
Do I Really Listen?
God is so kind. In the last year I’ve seen so much growth being cultivated by the providential hand of God. I’ve seen Him move graciously, correctively and compassionately in my heart. I’ve seen Him mold and shape new believers into passionate, hardcore Bible lovers that dig into the truths of Scripture. I’ve seen Him lead the lost into repentance and saving grace. I’ve seen Him change the paradigm of “conventional” Rock Music bands into quasi-bands; to which I’ve never seen the Church engage in worship quite like this before. In all of it, God showed me that He responds. Always.
He also showed me something deeply convicting, yet incredibly profound. The question of, “Do you really listen to Me?”
For quite some time now, I have seen a trend change in my relationship with Christ. The change was on my end. The change came from the Lord to correct me. God has revealed to me that He is always answering, always responding, always guiding. This is slight, and is greatly missed by the majority of Christians who aren’t seeking God in this way.
The unique way in his response is a simple “Wait.”
I often would dismiss this as God stepping away from me and leaving me in time out, while I spend hours, tears, breath, years in prayer over something. I conveniently neglected to doctrine of my God’s Sovereignty and Omnipotence. I irrationally chalked Jesus as impersonal or distant for not answering certain prayers; simply feeling isolated.
Three things that went wrong:
1. I was focusing on myself and my needs. My desire to know what God knows and not trusting in Him for my EVERYTHING.
2. I was believing lies from the enemy, as subtle as they were, lies nonetheless. Lies which lead to believing false things about God, about my relationship with Him and that I wasn’t doing the right things/enough things for my prayers to be answered.
3. I was asking God expecting my preferred answer. I prayed things with an intended response. I resulted in praying for God to cater to me.
The most amazing thing that God has done for me is save me on the basis of His unconditional grace. That it’s not on any merit of my worthiness or ability. And I made the bad decision to expect God to answer me how I wanted, in light of that incredible truth. It was a humble awakening, to be sure, when God corrected me of this.
In the last year, God showed me daily that He was answering me. In so many ways, in so vast arenas of life, He revealed His purpose and plan. It sometimes looked like one step at a time, or it looked like yielding to Him, but it’s an answer. A perfect answer. What an incredible miracle it is that He even does answer our prayers, or allow us to pray and commune with Him.
I think of Psalm 138:3 -
“On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.”
When we call on God, He answers. Yes, No, or Wait. We should rejoice in those things. That He is personal and responds, and that He knows our needs more than we do. Even when it’s against our own desire, we rejoice. Why? “My strength of soul you increased.” It grows our relationship with Him! It nourishes our faith! We become more apt to listen to God, without expecting any predictable answers of our own liking. Our resolve ultimately then becomes the disposition of wanting God’s best. Wanting to want the things of God.
And even Psalm 37:4 -
“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
When we are delighting ourselves in Yahweh, we are longing for the things of God. We have our utmost desire set on His truth and precepts. And when that becomes our heart’s desire, the rest of that verse He fulfills in our lives. “He WILL give you the desires of your heart.”
I’m so grateful for God’s instruction in my life on the important area of prayer. To expect to listen to God, and not try and listen for what I want to hear. Then, while God grows us in this area of listening to Him, we ask the question, “Am I responding?”
That’s a wild thought!
Soli Deo Gloria
Hayden
Submission
“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” — Titus 3:1-2
These are my thoughts: This is a challenge for me. I have many times struggled with authority, and I know I am not the only one who has. Whether the authority figure is a difficult boss, a pastor, or a president, the instructions are clear, practical, and provide a solution. Hey, even if you are the one in authority over others, the instructions to be gentle and show courtesy remain profitable if followed. Think of how peaceful our lives could be if we submitted to those in authority in a humble manner.
1 Timothy 2:1 says we should pray for those in authority, “that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” The next verse says that this is good and pleasing to God. Comparing these two scripture verses reveals a connection between showing courtesy and maintaining dignity. Fascinating, isn’t it?
Pride says we take power, and become demigods and goddesses. Humility says we support the honorable efforts of others. Obeying these verses can lead to unity, enjoyable relationships, and a peaceful lifestyle that is attractive to those who have been hurt by abuse of authority, and others who feel like they don’t have a personal or significant role to play in such a great big world.
- Tim
In the Details
One the highlights of my career as a musician was when music mogul LA Reid stopped abruptly in the hall at IDJ New York, turned to face me with his ready smile and said, “hey, I know you!” He then complimented a piece of music I had helped write. He said he couldn’t stop listening to our song.
In a recent blog by holy hip hop artist Shai Linne, he talks about the marriage between quality of craftsmanship, and the heart of the worshipper. He cites the scriptural details in the OT about the craftsmen who built the temple with skill, and the musicians who played with skill.
A craftsmen is one who labors over their work, focusing intently on detail because it must be perfect. Some craftsmen spend their whole lives working on these details. Some well-known ones are men like Michelangelo, or Leonardo Da Vinci. Their work is still unsurpassed today.
We lead a simple movement of worship in our church. We must acknowledge that musically presenting and representing the Gospel is a God-given talent, and therefore worthy of our best. May we truly be craftsmen as we spend our lives out, laboring to develop music in our church. May we not settle for impersonation, parody, or cheap imitation.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a master craftsman. The Bible calls him the Author and Perfecter of our faith. He is handcrafting our lives, using a hammer and chisel when He needs, or a tender and gentle touch. In Colossians, Paul says we will be presented as perfect one day, because of the work of Christ. How awesome it will be on that day, when God the Father says, “I know you- I can’t get stop listening to your song.”
- Tim
Answered Prayer
A little over a month ago, we had the amazing opportunity to go to Europe on a mission trip to preach the Word of God! The first country that we played in was Poland and it was an incrediable time. God really used the time to spread the Gospel. This is an email from, Jack Stockdale, the Pastor of the church we went to support…
Last Month’s Request: For continued good relations between the fellowship in Dabrowka and the local Roman Catholic priest who permitted the evangelistic concert to take place in “his” church building. Remember Acts 6:7: “…and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.”
Answered Prayer: The concert in September put on by the team from Utah has paved the way for continued outreach there! The team’s wonderful testimony of love for Christ and love for people caused the local priest to be open to hosting another concert, this one an “evangelistic worship concert.” On October 19th a team of Polish believers (above) preached the gospel with great exuberance and great boldness in a concert attended by about 75 townspeople.
Last Month’s Request:
For effective follow-up of the many contacts made during the concerts.
It is amazing to hear the answered prayers and please continually pray that ground will be taken for the gospel in Europe, that the saints would continually be encouraged, and that more people will come into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
If you would like to see photos of the concert the Rock Music was a part of, check our flickr feed and here is the video update from that night!
Love
“But please, please – won’t you – can’t you give me something that will cure Mother?” [said Digory] Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s[Aslan's] great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself. -C.S. Lewis, The Magicians Nephew, Chapter 12, 3rd paragraph.
When I first read these words, I wept. This reflects the one part of God that is so profound to me and so comforting. I was raised in a religion that taught me of a God that expected me to be perfect, and when I failed to do everything I could to make it up to him. I felt distant from this God, knowing that I could never measure up with his standard. Even more, I never knew when I had done enough to win his approval or affection, or even if I could earn the affection of God.
I spent majority of my life thinking that I was going to go to hell because I would never be able to please God. Why would God put such a high bar when he knew I couldn’t make it? Why would he expect so much from me when he knew I couldn’t deliver. How could God personally care about me when it seemed so cruel to put a goal in front of me that I could never obtain.
I fell away from religion and God for years. I even tried to convince myself he wasn’t there. The whole time I dug deeper and deeper into my own depravity until I couldn’t see anything but the filth that I had surrounded myself with. I ended up in jail, completely alone and lost.
Before I ever heard the gospel message, I came to God as I was and begged him to understand. I told him that I could never meet the standard that he had put before me and I would never be able to please him, or even give him a reason to notice me without his help. I came to God a broken and corrupt boy, like Digory, saying. “But please, please – won’t you – can’t you help me?”
Then I lifted my eyes to God’s face after a lifetime of turning away from His gaze, and the God that met me there had so much compassion and love that I still am overwhelmed by Him. He understood that I would never be able to live up to His standards, and that’s why He came to save the lost.
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Christ has experienced everything that we will ever experience. He has been tempted, abandoned, rejected, and beaten. God understands us and is “sorrier” than we are when we are begging him for help. He showed us his love by coming down and making the way back to him through his death.
The most amazing and life changing verse that I will treasure and meditate on often is also the shortest verse in the bible, but not at all the least significant.
“Jesus wept.” John 11:35
Amazed by our God that understands us and loves us,
Rhett
God-Confidence
“.. for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’. So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” — Hebrews 13:5-6
Trust, or lack of it, is an issue that we all deal with at times in our lives. Some of us even spend the majority of life, in one way or another, struggling to trust God or other people. There are countless reasons why we, as people, struggle with it; some are raised in homes where it is broken from the beginning; others are hurt by people close to them later in life. Any way you look at it, it seems that trust is broken or betrayed, in big ways and small ones, on a continual basis throughout life… we are all sufferers, and the culprits, of betrayal.
There is only one who has never been the offending party; who is continually good, just, and perfect in every act and every circumstance. He has never wronged you or me; and although he is continually betrayed, by us, he remains gracious. Still we have problems trusting him. And this seems to be at the root of every circumstance we face. Do I, or am I going to, trust God in this?
It was so good to meet every morning in Europe, as a team and to hear what the Lord was teaching everyone. It was so encouraging! Even in the times where I really didn’t want to be there, because sleeping sounded so much better, God softened me and spoke through my friends, straight to my heart. There was always a promise from the word that God was giving, and we were sharing with one another. We called them “promise verses”, and it was really, for me, one of the biggest sources of strength throughout the trip. What an awesome thing, to be able to encourage and spur one another on with the word of God. Because we believe it! There is power in the promises of a loving father to his kids and we are able to take them, and meditate on them until they go from our heads, into our bloodstream.
And thats what we did. Every morning. We took the promise God gave us, shared it with each other, praised the Lord, then went into the different cities on mission to proclaim Christ.
“I will never leave you nor forsake you”, is one of those promises that for us, as Christians, is applicable to every circumstance we will ever face. If you are in Christ, you are in Him forever! And he will never leave you. That’s the kind of confidence we need to be ambassadors for Christ throughout the world; that’s the confidence I need to proclaim Christ in Poznan, Poland or to my neighbor in Salt Lake City; that’s your contentment when you’re broke, and your strength in the face of sickness and suffering.
If God is your father then you have a father who is trust-worthy. In all things. So, read the word, believe it, and meditate on it. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” I want to live a life, not of self-confidence, but of confidence in God alone. I want to say with total assurance that “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear”, no matter what country i’m in or my circumstances are; because the Lord is worthy of my trust.
That probably sounded like a whole lot of rambling thoughts… I’ll blame it on jet lag.
God bless you all,
Paul Porter
Truth
…we cannot build a ministry, nor healthy Christians, on a diet of fulminating against the world. No, rather we do this by seeing the Scriptures expose the sin in our own hearts, undeceive us about ourselves, root out the poison that remains in our own hearts—and then helping our people to do the same “by the open statement of the truth” -Sinclair B. Ferguson
I read this on a blog sent out from Ligonier.
I don’t know what it would be like sitting in a church with a Pastor who did nothing but damned the world and everything of it. Don’t get me wrong, the things of the world are futile and worthless indeed, but to be taught on only that one subject would not be beneficial.
I have the type of personality that has to try something in order to find out if what others say about it is true. My mom told me at a young age that the stove was hot and I shouldn’t touch it. 50 seconds later I was screaming because my hand was burning.
Instead of telling us that sin will destroy us and the world has nothing for us and stopping there, I think its imperative to continue to the heart and explaining the sinful nature of man and the misdirected desire to touch that hot stove. Coming to terms with the truth of who I was before salvation and the old man that I fight against now was one of the most beneficial truths that God has given me.
More than that, learning who I am now in Christ gives me the desire to turn from the stove and use my hands to build God’s kingdom. Having the blessings of new desires given to us by God and the ability to turn from our old lives is an amazing gift!
I thank God that we have Pastors who not only tell us what the world truly is, but open our eyes to who we truly are. I thank God that he has made us his children, being sanctified by his grace and truth. The fight rages on in our own lives, but we are more than conquerors through Christ.
1 Corinthians 6: 9a, 11
9Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? 11And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Rhett
