Jesus In My Place

So I wanted to take a quick minute and share with you my thoughts on the new worship album from the Summit Church released on iTunes today.  Of course I am biased toward this record because I am on staff with the Summit and I get to serve alongside the folks who crafted this album.  However, I am writing this review on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ my savior, and the glory He deserves.  There are 13 tracks on this album, 11 of which are full-length songs.  The other two tracks are musical interludes that even though they are not full-length songs are super worshipful.  Every song on this album from beginning to end stays true to the title of this album, "Jesus In My Place."  Every song displays what it really means that Jesus took our place and reconciled us to the one true God through his precious blood.  I liked what a friend of mine Liz Nicholson did on her review of this album so I will take the same structure by reviewing each track individually.

1) We Welcome You With Praise(feat. Sam Fisher)

You may have heard this tune before from the passion album a few years ago but the version that is on this album is so tasteful and change of pace.  This song is an opening prayer for the rest of the album, simply that "we welcome you with praise, almighty God of love be welcome in this place."  This place being, in our churches, in our lives, in our hearts.  Lord Jesus receive the praise you deserve through this album.

2) You Are(feat. Hank Murphy)

I will start by saying that Hank is the man and has one of the best voices I think I have ever heard.  The dude can flat out sing!  This is a more upbeat song, but still stays faithful to the message of Jesus In My Place.  It is an awesome anthem that Jesus in the great "I AM," and there is none like him who can do all that he does for us.  It's a foot-tapper and head-bobber for sure.

3) How Rich a Treasure We Possess(feat. Kelby Dover)

We have been singing this song at our church for a few months now so everyone gets jacked up when they hear it on the cd.  This song, I would say can be place in the category of a hymn with a modern rhythm and instrumentation, which I love.  Those theologically rich hymns put to modern instrumentation is so awesome and I fully expect this song to function exactly the same.  Also, Kelby has such a unique and distinct voice that I think is a perfect fit for this song.  

4) Interlude 1

Just listen to this interlude and tell me what I said earlier isn't true...you won't!  And my voice is mixed in there somewhere so I like listening and trying to find my voice..ha...I had to be honest with you.

5) Jesus In My Place(feat. Matt Papa)

When Matt Papa and Jonathan Welch wrote this song, I wonder if they knew what it would become.  This song is literally an anthem of the Summit Church.  The people at our church absolutely love this song and connect with it every time we sing it during our services.  The thing is, anyone anywhere can and should connect with this song like that if they have found faith in Christ.  It simply puts words to what Jesus has done for us, for all of us.  Not just for us on on worst days, but for us on our best days.  We need Christ to experience real life, real freedom, real love.  Once you hear this song, there is no way you won't buy this album.

6) You Are Our King(feat. Jennifer Brown)

This song was written during a sermon series our pastor was teaching through called "the search for a king."  The series focused on the life of King David and how he was simply a foreshadowing of the true king that would come and give up his life for us.  The chorus says "...you're all we need, you're all we need, only you only you Jesus."  This lyric speaks to something our pastor says a lot and something that is included in his recent publication Gospel: Recovering the power that made Christianity revolutionary, the fact that Jesus is all we need for everlasting joy.  Having everything in the world is nothing without Jesus.  Having Jesus and nothing else in the world is everything.  In Jesus you have all you will ever need, because in Jesus you are a child of God.  Also Jennifer's voice is unbelievable.  She kills it!  If it tells you anything, I'm pretty sure we started doing this song in a female key because of her.

7) Revive Us Again(feat. Matt Papa)

Okay we're halfway there.  This song is a plea for God to come and make the truth of the Gospel alive in our hearts.  That's what a revival is.  The truth of the gospel awakening people's hearts to be on mission for Christ.  This is a prayer of mine every day, that the gospel would become more sweet and irresistible to me and change the way I live.  The dynamics of the song are awesome.  The way the bridge builds up only to drop back down for a more mellow half of a verse, then jumps back up into the chorus is super creative and appealing to the ears.  Every time I lead worship at our church, I love leading this song!

8) This Is The Gospel(feat. Sam Fisher)

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard this song on the album.  It adds a very catchy groove to the cd.  This song just makes want to roll down the windows and belt out the end of the chorus "and I am not ashamed, no I am not ashamed, This is is the gospel."  Then when they add the acapella and drum bridge at the end I just want it to keep going!  

9) Interlude 2

This interlude will have you on your knees is awe of the creator who came to the earth and willingly received the wrath of God on your behalf.  Even without words, I am so in tune with the cross of Christ when I listen to this.

10) Savior of The World(feat. Hank Murphy)

This is a little different arrangement of the original written by Ben Cantelon.  And no offense to Ben, but because I'm such a Hank Murphy fan and because he's my friend, I like it better when Hank sings it.  

11) We Bring Our Highest Praise(feat. Kelby Dover)

If you're looking for a new congregational worship song to introduce to your congregation or to learn, it should be this one.  It might just be my favorite song on this album.  First because it's so easy to learn and because when that chorus hits, the hands go up and people worship.  Sometimes I sit at home and just play this song by myself and worship Jesus.  The bridge is so awesome because it helps up realize that everything our hearts long for  and search for in other things, has always been there in Christ and his cross.  You will love this song.  That's a guarantee.

12) Thank You My Lord(feat. Haven Sink and Matt Papa)

First of all, Haven has one of the most pure and beautiful voices you will ever hear.  It is a blessing to have her at our church.  Okay now that I have my love for Haven's voice our there for the world to read I'll move on.  When you hear thing song you will want to just close your eyes and think about how much the song is relevant to you.  How it shows you how much you have that you aren't thankful for and most of all how we don't fully understand or grasp what we have in Christ.  This is the posture we should have and song we should sing every morning when we wake up.

13) Forever We Will Sing(feat. Kaimy Masse and Hank Murphy)

When you get a whole congregation singing this song, there is a 100% chance you will get jacked up!  I know this is a picture of what heaven will sound like.  It's so simple with not many words, but man those words are heavy and life-changing.  It's all we will desire to sing when we get to heaven "Worthy is the Lamb, Jesus Son of God. Risen from the dead, forever we will sing!"  Then when Kaimy starts belting, it's over.  Her voice makes people worship Jesus I'm telling you.  There is no way you can listen to this song and not lift your hands, scream, sing louder, clap, get goosebumps, bang on something or some combination.  I couldn't picture a better track to end the album on.  

So if you haven't figured it out by now, the next webpage you should go to is itunes to buy this album.  And I've conveniently included it here. So, buy the album, be blessed, be encouraged, worship Jesus and live a life that declares the message of JESUS IN MY PLACE!!!! 

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Infinite Power and Infinite Love Meet at the Cross

Mark 15:29-30
 "And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, 'Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!'"

I was spending time today reading through the last week of Jesus' life on earth.  While reading this passage really struck me.  These people were mocking Jesus and yelling at him to bring himself down from the cross if he was truly the son of God.  I have thought before to myself, "Why didn't Jesus just come down from the cross to shut those people up and display His power?"  Indeed he would have shown His power over them and over some nails and a cross.  He would have shut them up and shown himself to be divine.  

But then I thought about it more today as I was reading.  What is a display of greater power, coming down from a cross, or resurrecting from a grave after being dead for three days and shut up in a tomb in a rock?  In resurrecting from the dead, Jesus not only defeated the efforts of people to kill him but he defeated death!  He defeated the grave!  He defeated sin!  In rising from the dead, Jesus showed himself to possess an infinitely greater power than what it would have taken to come down from the cross.  He showed himself to possess the power of God alone, and therefore proved his claim to be the Son of God and the Word in the flesh.

Then i kept thinking.  What else would have been different if Jesus would have just came down from the cross instead of dying and resurrecting?  Well, simply put, God's love would not be infinite.  Because Jesus died and didn't "almost die," he showed the ultimate measure of love, a love like no other, a love with no end.  And, without dying, there can be no resurrection, and without the resurrection, we are still under the power of sin.  The gospel is not good news without the resurrection.  

In God's perfect plan and love for us, his infinite power and love meet at the cross.  The Lord humbled himself to be crucified innocently by sinners who mocked and spat on him, who rejected him.  All because of His infinite and matchless love.  Romans 5:8 says, " but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  Jesus died once for all, for the sins of the whole world for all of time.  Every sin paid for, not one uncovered by His blood.  We didn't love him so then he died for our sins, He died in the midst of our sin and rebellion.  In the midst of our rejection of Him.  To die for an enemy is a love that cannot be explained.  

We don't have to explain God's love for us, we simply just have to accept it freely.  Will you accept freely the love that is offered to you?  Will you tell everyone about the infinite love that is offered to them?  Remember Christ died for the world, not just for a few.  Christ's resurrection gives us power over the world.  We should not be afraid of the world.  We should pray as Paul did in Ephesians chapter 6, "... that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.," that is the gospel.    

I hope as Easter approaches, you would meditate on what it is we are celebrating.  We are not just celebrating our sins being forgiven, we are celebrating the attributes of God.  We are celebrating our eternal communion with our creator and the creator of the world!  We are celebrating the fact that God is who he says he is!  We are celebrating that we have an unshakeable hope!  We are celebrating the victory, the victory that we will celebrate for all of eternity!  THE VICTORY OF OUR GOD! 

"Love has come, Your love has won!"  
- lyric from White Flag on the Passion White Flag Album released march, 2012    

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Fool's Gold

That aint treasure that's trash...cuz it aint never gonna last!

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God is the Gospel

So I have been reading a book by John Piper called God is the Gospel for the past month or so.  The astounding truth that Piper discusses in this work is the reality that greatest good in the gospel is that we get to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:4-6).  When most people think about what the gospel means and why it's good, even most Christians, they think about the covering of our sins and the imputed righteousness that we receive from Jesus.  Although these things are central to the gospel, they would not be "good" Piper says, if we were not able to see and experience the glory of God in Christ.  Seeing and experiencing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ brings with it the covering of our sins and the imputed righteousness of Christ we receive freely.

That word "gospel" is thrown around a lot and most people believe that they understand it in its entirety. However we can not go deep enough into the gospel because we cannot go deep enough into an eternal God.  Piper says on page 47, "The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God."  If we are missing this truth, then the gospel we believe is not the whole gospel, it is a surface-level gospel.  Its as if we are digging for gold and we finally find some small nuggets.  We are satisfied and then we stop digging.  As C.S. Lewis so brilliantly put it "We are far too easily pleased."  If we would keep digging, there we would find a treasure far beyond our wildest dreams, one that never ends.  This is the easily looked over reality of the gospel .  If we would only keep digging deeper and deeper into the "good news," we would discover what really makes the good news really good; God himself!

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Oh Africa!

Hey everyone.  So I'm flying out today with a team from the Summit to AFRICA!!  I've never been before so I am super pumped and ready to get there.  Please be in prayer for our team that we would experience God in a fresh and new way and that we would be able to selflessly serve the people there.  We would also like to experience safe travel so you can also be praying for that...lol. 

Summit College:  I had my first summit college small group meeting Tuesday night at NC State.  We had five guys come and I have received some emails in the last couple days of some other guys that are interested.  It was super encouraging to be able to talk and get to know those guys.  They seemed super excited about the group and it gets me excited.  Please pray for our group that we would develop strong relationships founded on the love of Christ and that we as a group would have an impact for Christ at NC State. 

Support:  I am currently sitting at about 40%.  Although its not a lot, it is more that I had the last time I posted so I thank God for that with a grateful heart.  No matter how slow support raising is going and no matter how I feel, God always has, always does and always will provide.  I am supremely confident in what God has for me in the coming months and I try to dwell on that.  Although it is very hard to do every day.  Please continue to pray for me that I would be confident in the Lord's goodness and His desire to give me good gifts and to provide.  Pray that I would have faith in His love.  Pray for the hearts of people who could financially support me, that they would see this as an opportunity to give to God and the great commission and not to me.  Pray that they would give joyfully with generous hearts.  Pray that I would see and experience God's faithfulness.

In other news, our 4th housemate has finally moved in.  As of last night Wes Smith is officially a member of 1015-2 ninth st.  Although he is here, he is still rehabbing from knee surgery so be sure to keep him and that process in your prayers. 

Well that's all for now.  Be looking for an update, hopefully with some pictures in the coming days, from Africa. 

Slave to Righteousness

Donovan 

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Church @ The Ballpark

So today was church @ the ballpark for The Summit Church.  All campuses met together this morning and the official attendance was 7200 and the pastors performed over 300 baptisms!  It was awesome worshipping with all those people this morning and feeling the presence of God in the ballpark.  The gospel was proclaimed and people were brought from death to life. 

In other news, I'm leaving for Africa on Thursday and I'm stoked!  I get to lead missionaries and church planters in worship of the King.  What an opportunity, to worship with heros of the faith who have given up everything to heed the call of literally "reaching the nations."  I can't wait.  Please be in prayer for our team that we would serve with hearts eager to love and serve like Jesus.  Also pray for our safe travel to and from Africa.  

As for support raising:  I have got a few more commitments that have trickled in over the past couple weeks.  I am still a long way from home.  I'm close to about 40% right now.  I still need a lot more people so please be praying for me that these people would come out of the woodwork and that God would provide.  Stay tuned for another update soon.  I am having my first college small group on Tuesday night @ NC State with some state guys.  Please be in prayer for me and for them that we will build lasting friendships and that God would be glorified in our time together.

For His Glory,

Donovan  

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Crunch Time

Hey everyone.  Just wanted to let you know that I am in urgent need of monthly supporters.  I have a deadline that I need to meet or else I might not be able to intern full-time.  Right now I am at 30% and I need to be at 60% at least in two weeks.  I need your help!  Please pray for me.

Donovan

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