• This track is designed to support addition electric/acoustic guitars, keyboard and vox.

Target Audience

• Kindergarten through 5th grade

Video Song Slides with Arrows for jumping…

Everlasting Love Music Track

Credits

Words and Music by BILL BATSTONE
Copyright: 1993 MARANATHA PRAISE, INC.
Year: 1993

Man Running Animation Background 1

http://www.ignitemotion.com/video_background/man_running_animation/OAeYA1UUEPo

Ignite Motion Royalty Free Stock Video
Copyright: Ignitemotion

Moving Water Animation

http://www.ignitemotion.com/video_background/moving_water_animation/ICXCzQltfok

Ignite Motion Royalty Free Stock Video
Copyright: Ignitemotion

Sand Beach Waves 18

http://www.ignitehd.com/video_footage/sand_beach_waves-18/

IgniteHD Royalty Free Stock Video
Copyright: IgniteHD

Sand Beach Waves 9

http://www.ignitehd.com/video_footage/sand_beach_waves-9/

IgniteHD Royalty Free Stock Video
Copyright: IgniteHD

Arrangement: Mike Gold
Guitars: Mike Gold
Drum Track: Mike Gold

The opening set is two worship songs back to back…

Lord you are good, Lord I lift Your Name on High. (8.5 min)
Please Note: there are 16 bars of intro/welcome music at the top before the first song begins.
Solos & additional guitars and vocals will be  live.

He Knows My Name (4 min)

Last Song – Solos & additional guitars and vocals will be live.

On the Justice Journey Bus, 2005

To open my mind and my heart, on His compassion and  justice, God brought amazing new mentors and friends into my life, and he brought me throughnewexperiences. One example of this was in the Summer of 2005 when 25 leaders from Willow Creek Community Church, a predominantly White church, and 25 leaders from Salem Baptist Church, a predominantly African American church all loaded a bus to go on the a journey called the Justice Journey…We traveled through many of the routes

Selma Alabama, 1965 after the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge

and locations where Martin Luther King traveled with the Freedom Riders in the 1960s.

God opened eyes and transformed hearts on that journey that ended with leaders from both of our churches walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama. We walked arm and arm together in peace. Just 40 years before this event, that same act ended in tremendous bloodshed and pain.  On that journey I forged some deep friendships, gained a deep admiration for so many heroes who sacrificed and even died for the cause of Godly justice and I learned from some amazing Godly people.

People like Dr. John Perkins, who accompanied us on that Journey, taught me that Go

Selma Alabama, 2005 after a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

dly justice looks to make things right when one person blocks another person’s access to the blessings God intends for everyone. He pointed me to Isaiah 58:6-7 and Isaiah 58:10 :

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:  to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?” Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him and not to turn away from your own flesh andblood?   Isaiah 58:6-7

“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.  Isaiah 58:10″

Since then, my family and I continue to travel on this Justice Journey. I truly believe that living out a personal mission of justice is a critical part of God’s great commission as illustrated in Matthew 28:19-20. For me a mission like this adds power, definition and credibility to the words of Jesus when he says in John 14:12, I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…

I once heard Gary Haugen, president of the international Justice Mission speak on this, I was inspired by how he illustrated God’s plan when he said,

“How are people oppressed by injustice in our world supposed to believe that God is good. In fact if you think about this question…What is God’s plan for making it believable. That he is good, for those who are suffering and hurting in our world.”

It turns out that the bible says…we are his plan…and that God doesn’t have another plan.

God says in Matthew 5:14,16 that we are the light of the world…”Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” This is not just a trite little bible verse that you learn in Sunday school. God’s call for all of us let our light shine is a call to engagement, it is call action, it is a call toward compassion, and it is a call toward justice.

To my core I believe that Jesus is the path to God and the path to real transformation in our world. I also believe if more people met the real Jesus more people would accept that truth. My question is, do we as “Christians” portray who Jesus really is to to world around us. If Jesus is the path to God then perhaps living out a life of true, Biblical compassion and justice is the path toward letting the world see the who Jesus really is in all the fullness of His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control.

The world is not longing for religion, it is not longing for some new religious experience, it yearns for Godly compassion and justice where the blessings that God intends for everyone are not blocked by anyone.

As I dig into this Matthew 5:3 and look a the depth of the words Jesus used in the context of the world view of his day, in the context of who he was speaking to and in the context of the language that was used to communicate His truth, I see a brilliant picture emerging. I translate this verse in today’s thoughts as:

Blissful and fortunate are you who see how powerless, destitute and needy you are to the core of your being. Yours is far beyond this puny and fleeting world. You get the kingdom where God lives. The world may always see you as poor and powerless but God will make you rich and powerful in ways that are eternal and not fleeting. Your name is ptōchos (neediness), I will fill you with the universe.

If you are curious as to how I came to this interpretation please read on…

Bible Study

It seems to me that goal of everyone in the world is to be wealthy.  In one way or another, we spend most of our time and energy throughout our lives figuring out ways to become rich in health, relationships, significance, power and of course money. Parenthetically, the Bible emphatically states,
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Through it’s actions the world states, “And these three things are pursued: health, power and money. But the greatest of these is money.” Throughout history, in one form of capital or another, from the world’s perspective, money has been the ticket to almost every other form of wealth.

Enter Jesus. Against the backdrop of a world in ruthless pursuit of riches, Jesus has the audacity to say,

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3)

This is not just a quaint little abstract phrase that looks good on a Christian bookmark. This is a radical, even revolutionary statement made by Jesus that flies in the face of our common world view. If you let this statement sink in a little, you will find that it is not the kind of statement that can be easily dismissed. Perhaps unpacking this verse a little will help us see just how crazy radical it is.

Blessed – μακάριος ( makários )

The Greek word Jesus used for “blessed” in the verse is μακάριος ( makários ). After careful study of this word, I translate it in English as a dramatic and extended form of the following: Blissful, Fortunate, Happy. It does translate to “happy,” however it seems to be more dramatic than that. There is another common Greek word for happy (makár). Makários is an extended form of this word. I think of it as “BIG, PROLONGED HAPPINESS.” Aristotle apparently contrasted  makários with the word ἐνδεής (endeēs), which is defined as lacking or needy. If this is true then we can observe that through the world language of the day there was a dramatic contrast between one who was blissfully blessed and one who was needy. Seems like a duh right? No one then or now would consider someone who is lacking or needy to be fortunate, blissful or even happy. Hopefully it is helpful for us grasp the scope of blessing Jesus is communicating to us as we see how this word is used in the context of Matthew 5:3.

Poor – πτωχός (ptōchos)

The Greek word Jesus used for poor is πτωχός (ptōchos). This is another dramatic word used by Jesus which comes from the Greek root word πτοέω (ptosso) which means to crouch. This word is the image of a needy, helpless and afflicted beggar without wealth, influence, position or power.

Spirit – πνεῦμα (pneuma)

Here Jesus used the word πνεῦμα (pneuma). The Greek word pneuma is rooted in the Greek word  πνέω (pneō) which means “to breath.”  The word Pneuma has been used to describe the Holy Spirit. However, it is possible that Jesus is not using this word in that context here. In this case, Jesus seems to be refer to the core of a person; something deeper than the physical body. He seems be be referring to the very essence of an individual.

Heavens – οὐρανός (ouranos)

The Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) as it is used in the Matthew 5:3 is literally translated as the heavens: 1) sky, starry host, the universe, 2) Where God dwells. While it is possible that in this verse Jesus is referring to the actual kingdom of heaven where God dwells, I also think it is equally possible that Jesus is also communicating the concept of some huge, the universe. Both would make his point valid.

Putting is all together.

As I dig into this verse and look a the depth of the words Jesus used in the context of the world view of his day, in the context of who he was speaking to and in the context of the language that was used to communicate His truth, I see a brilliant picture emerging. I translate this verse in today’s thoughts as:

Blissful and fortunate are you who see how powerless, destitute and needy you are to the core of your being. Yours is far beyond this puny and fleeting world. You get the kingdom where God lives. The world may always see you as poor and powerless but God will make you rich and powerful in ways that are eternal and not fleeting. Your name is ptōchos (neediness), I will fill you with the universe.

Final Thoughts

It seems to me that goal of everyone in the world is to be wealthy.  In one way or another, we spend most of our time and energy throughout our lives figuring out ways to become rich in health, relationships, significance, power and of course money. What is most disturbing to me is that even in the midst of owning and acknowledging my own spiritual poverty I still slip into the pursuit of wealth and power. I may disguise this pursuit and say that I only I want money, power and influence so that I am make a difference for Christ. I may even try to live the life of a “humble spiritual leader,” but secretly I really want power and influence.

Perhaps I am not alone in this issue. Does anyone ever want to admit that they are lacking in anything. However, in truth, at the core of our being, we were made to need God. Whether we are rich or poor is irrelevant in this context. In God’s eyes we are all impoverished.  When we come to grips with our neediness and bring our empty cup to God, it is then he fills it…and when God fills us it is not with small insignificant things. He pours the kingdom of heaven into our souls.

God…help us all see just how needy we are for You and help not choose lesser things to fill void of our impoverished souls. Amen…Amen.

Study Notes/Resources.

Please don’t freak out at my using Her in the title. I simply used it to refer to the church…the bride of Christ, May we all see our neediness.

• The Englishmens Greek New Testament, Zondervan
• Strongs Exhaustive Concordance
• The Complete Word Study Dictionary, New Testament – http://pdfcast.org/pdf/1278356092
• Vines Bible Dictionary
• http://www.blueletterbible.org
• http://strongsnumbers.com/
• http://www.etymonline.com
• http://www.biblegateway.com

Unemployment, National Debt, Cancer, Illness, Rising Healthcare Costs, Violence in the name of God, Violence for no reason at all, Organized Crime, Human Trafficking, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Natural Disasters, Plane Crashes, Train Crashes and every other kind of Accident. Radiation Contamination, Global Warming, Shrinking Pensions, Rising Taxes, Corrupt Government, Government Incompetence, Capitalists, Socialists, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, Fox News, CNBC, Sarah Palin, Barack Obama, Faulty School Systems, Racism, Ethnocentrism, Ethnic “Cleansing,” War, Falling Property Values, Rising Gas Prices, Rising Grocery Prices, Generational Injustice, Socioeconomic Discrimination,  Caring for the Poor, Raising the Debt Ceiling and the news that the Space Shuttle Program has ended.

Did I miss anything…I am sure that I did. It takes a great deal of energy to focus on and document the things that make us fearful, frustrated, angry, and discontent.  Over the past few years, I have watched, listened to and connected with different people who have expressed very real fear and/or frustration the items I listed above. I am not judging them. In Fact, I fall into my own sense of disillusionment at the uncertainty of our future often enough. Furthermore, not all the tweets and posts that move across my screen are bad. I am thankful that people take the initiative to voice their views and perspectives at the issues that face our world today.

However, after reading what seems to be a rising level of anger and frustration in posts and tweets from genuin believers in Christ. And…after reading how those with republican views and those with democrat views both believe that God is on their side, I decided that for me it was time to step up my prayer life. This is not a move to over spiritualize or romantize real problems. We can point fingers at individuals and institutions in Government all over the world. We can blame big business. We can even blame the poor and needy. However, change in our world has to start in hearts and minds of individuals. All of us contribute to consumerism and entitlement. All of us drift toward taking more than we give.

And So…for the next 6 days and 14 hours I am making a special appeal to God in prayer and fasting.

I pray for our leaders around the world. I pray for Godly wisdom. I may not like them personally. I may not share their views, but I pray for them. I pray for our world. A very small percentage of the the injustice, the pain, and the suffering around our world ever makes it to the news. Train Accidents, Nuclear Meltdowns, Floods, Acts of Terrorism and the like are only a fraction of the disillusionment that is known to billions on a daily basis. I pray for your direct intervention on them. I pray that the violence we perpetuate in your name would not keep people from knowing you…that Your Love, Joy, Peace, Patience. Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self Control would sink deep into the souls of all mankind and that you would us draw to you.

I fast that my focus on You God would be elevated. That my physical needs and desires would take a tangible back seat to your will for our world…that I might remember all who go hungry every day without the luxury of choosing to fast…that I might acknowledge and symbolize that I too am responsible for the changes I seek in our world. I ask governments and corporations to tighten theirs belts, but often I am not willing to give up my view of entitlement and comfort.

I invite all who read this post to join me in this fast…I’m not looking for follows. I’m not looking for acknowledgement. However, I do believe that the current events in our world today warrant an extra level of prayer and fasting and I think it would make a statement of solidarity for church in our world if people re-tweeted this call for prayer and fasting.

Perhaps I am alone in this thought. But, I would rather see our leaders around the world covered in prayer as they face tough decisions this week than I see a bunch of frustrated thoughts and opinions flood the cloud. 

After-all, now through technology, the whole world has one language and one speech. People are saying let’s come together and “make a name for ourselves.” Technology has brought us together. It can help us feed the hungry, cure the sick and the lame. It can help us solve poverty. It can help us change the world. To a certain extent I believe this to be true. However, I hope that some of you reading this post recognized that the opening few sentences of this paragraph were taken directly from Genesis 11…the account of the tower of Babel. Please understand…I actually consider most of this stuff to be good. Technology really is amazing, with great potential to help people. I am just sad to see that our world continues to believe in the lie that we can actually build a tower to reach and even replace God.

At the rate humanity is growing in fields of science and technology. I think it is conceivable that humanity can and will produce innovations seen only in some of the most “far-out” science fiction movies of today. For me it isn’t a question as to whether or not our ability to create and innovate is right or wrong. My sadness comes from the fact that we have the arrogance to believe that we can build and actually manage this world we are living in…without God. That we can engineer solutions to the huge problems we have in our world and create lasting peace and community…without God.

Many in our world believe that our accelerated and expanded opportunities to influence the world around us will propel humankind to move in the right direction…without God. A wise friend once advised me to never elevate a person to a level of responsibility that is beyond their character and integrity. I can’t help but notice that as our world seems to place increasing amounts of trust in information and technology to deliver us to this better life, we are also placing a great responsibility on the people who manage this information and technology. I realize that this may sound negative, but as I look at all the injustice in our world. Humankind as a whole doesn’t have the best track record for having great character and integrity.

With this in mind, I would like to make an appeal to the people who work as leaders and professionals in the I.T. field and also believe in God through Jesus Christ. Now I just mentioned that I believe the world is placing increasing amounts of trust in technology. You put your trust in God. The world believes that technology can bring us together…You believe that only God can bring us together. The world believes that faith in God is not necessary. Faith in our ideas our innovations and in our technology will meet our needs. You believe that only God can meet our needs.

I strongly believe that as we move into the future, believers who work in the field of technology will have a more critical mission for Christ than they might currently imagine. I urge you to ponder this perspective as you walk through your datacenters, write code, implement solutions, answer support calls and manage information.

9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
1 Peter 2:9

In Ecclesiastes 4:4, Solomon wrote,

“All labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. this too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. The world is chasing after the wind, However, you know that without God…anything we may achieve is meaningless.

Now I realize that statements like the ones I have written above might drive people to dismiss me as some sort of religious fanatic. I respect that. I guess I am a Jesus Freak after all. However, all the excitement around technology today can be intoxicating. Frankly, I believe that even the most faithful Christian believers and leaders in our world today can get caught up in the hype. In this case, I urge you, the technology leader and/or professional who believes in Christ to remember that your role as a technology pastor will always outweigh your role as a technology expert. It is your relationship with our God, your knowledge of His Word and the integrity of your faith that will will equip you to make the biggest difference in this world for Christ. Everything else is just chasing the wind.

To say that Jesus’ teachings in these chapters are radical and challenging is an understatement. If you believe in Christ and call him your Lord and Rabbi then these passages will rock your world view. I believe that it is impossible for anyone who calls Christ Lord to simply rationalize these passages without absorbing them deep into their soul. If you come to the same conclusion that I have over the years, you too will find that life described by Christ in His discourses can only be followed through His death on the cross on our behalf. In other words, everything points back to God through Christ. We can do nothing apart from him. I believe that if you read any of the sermons of Jesus without absorbing them through the filters of His death and resurrection, you put yourself at risk of living a life of legalistic futility.

The Sermon on the Mount is the first of 5 collections, or “discourses” of Jesus that Matthew recorded throughout this document that he prepared as a testimony to religious and zealous Jews. These pios individuals were leading lives of legalistic futility that was void of Love and Joy. What is worse, they were leading others toward this same meaningless existence. The discourses of Jesus are the very words of Christ when He walked among us in the flesh, carefully recorded and now shared with all of us. Again…I am compelled to mention that these sections can’t be read quickly. I know…we should read through the entire Bible very carefully and I am not forgetting that all scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (3 Tim, 3:16). However, in my overly complex, dramatized and romanticized American mind, I just love the thought of imagining myself in the crowd of people listening to Jesus as he “taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law,” (Matt, 7:29). With that thought in mind, I simply can’t resist the desire to linger in these passages a little longer than usual, allowing my somewhat dense heart and thick skull some additional time to let the meaning of each word uttered by Jesus to sink in a little more deeply.

I am out of time for today so I won’t even try to cover one word or verse in any of these discourses in this post. I will however, continue this study on a future post coming soon. As for today, I encourage anyone who might have glanced casually at this post to take a fresh look at these passages in Matthew, starting with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. I pray that you will be captured as I was by the thought that the privilege of reading the very words of the Son of  our most high God is an amazing gift. One that countless generations who lived before Christ longed for.

Coming soon…Matthew 5:3…Blessed are the Poor in Spirit…

Resources…

NIV, Bible
NASB
Ungers Bible Dictionary
Tyndale Bible Dictionary
The Teacher Bible Commentary
The New Ungers Bible Handbook
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church

http://www.biblegateway.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sermon_on_the_Mount – Yes I even use Wikipedia.

http://www.dictionary.com

Grace…24 years ago…almost to the day, I was baptized as a believer in Jesus. That day I proclaimed to the world that I believe that Jesus is the messiah, the Son of the most high God of the universe. By His Grace He died for my sins (1 Peter 2:24).  By His Grace He adopted me as a child (Ephesians 1:5). By His Grace He died for me, even in the midst of my great sin. (Romans 5:8). After 24 short years of following Christ, I still can’t fathom His grace. Only one things is clear. The more I know Christ, the more I see my own wretchedness…and…the more I see my need for His favor.

During our conversation, my friend made a comment that gave me pause to reflect. He said,”It seems to be popular these days for bible teachers to water down the bible into words of uncertainty.” His comment was especially engaging to me as we consider the gravity of the awe-inspiring event we stop to remember and celebrate during this season we call Easter.

Perhaps my friend is right. People have been twisting the message of the Bible to suit their views of the world for generations. In a generation marked by uncertainty, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised? Nevertheless, with all the fear and doubt that seems to be reaching even some of the highest levels of Christian faith and influence today, there is one message that still rings our just as clearly now as it did over 2000 years ago. It is a message that did not originate as an idea or self improvement strategy. It is a message that originated as an eye witness account of an event that happened in history. An event that gives ultimate credibility to every word and deed performed by a person who really lived in history. Therefore, in the midst of all the immense, thick and dark clouds of ambiguity our entire world lives in today, this one message still rings with trustworthy surety…The Tomb is Empty. He is Risen. Perhaps it sounds too fantastic to be true. However, if it is true and Jesus did rise from death as testified by a sizable group of witnesses, then we must consider with certainty that Jesus is who He says He is.

Matthew 28:1-20

^.5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; he has risen, just as he said… More >>>

 

Mark 16:1-8

⁶ “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him… More>>>

 

Luke 24:1-50

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words… More>>>

 

1. Employ-ability – Pat had a great concern for our ability to grow in our skill as professionals. Pat came to Willow Creek with a tremendous amount of skill and experience as a technology leader and manager. She worked for large financial corporations and she new how fragile employment situations could be. An economic downturn could mean that she might be forced to eliminate a position. She would say, “I can’t promise you employment forever, however, I can do my best to promote your ability to be employed.” To this day I think about Pat’s perspective on “Employ-ability” and though I can’t always provide the training opportunities I would like for the people entrusted to me, professional development is always an intentional objective for me to pursue for any of the teams I have of the privilege of serving.

2.Integrity – One of the things I remember most about Pat when I was serving under her was her integrity. I have always known Pat to be true to her character, even when the outcome might be that her perspectives or decisions were not popular. Pat was not in the habit of necessarily telling people what they wanted to hear. However, Pat always provided an unbiased and tactfully honest assessment of any situation. She believed that she was accountable to God first and never played favorites when it came to stewarding resources and setting direction for anything she is accountable for leading at Willow Creek.

3. Grit - I realize that I don’t have any semblance of credibility to talk about the challenges that women have faced and continue to face in our world. However, I think that I have been in the field of technology long enough to safely observe that even today this field is heavily dominated be men. While I am encouraged to see a growing number of women filling positions at all levels in the field of technology, Pat is particularly inspiring to me. She served in both high tech positions as a developer and high leadership positions as a Vice President at a time when I believe such things were even more of an exception than they are today. I believe that it has taken a certain amount of grit for Pat to make as far as she has in her field of expertise. I realize that the term grit can carry a certain negative abrasive connotation. However, others who have served under Pat have described her as “always being tough but fair.” After much thought and consideration I came across the following definition: “firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck: She has a reputation for grit and common sense.” This is, of course, a definition for the word grit. After reading this definition, with all that Pat has experienced in her life. Pat is a person of Rock solid character in Christ and she has an unconquerable spirit. She has a reputation for grit and common sense that has inspired me to seek a similar path.

4.Adventurous Spirit – As long as I have known her, Pat has pursued a relationship with God with great passion. She has also pursued serving God wherever He may lead her. Even when this meant leaving high paying jobs to work in full-time vocational ministry, Pat followed God’s call on her life. Wherever and whenever God gives Pat an opportunity to explore and serve she follows His lead. This has lead Pat all over the world. I believe that as long as God gives Pat the strength for follow Him, wherever He may lead her…she will.

5. Undying pursuit of learning – I remember walking into Pat’s office one day to report on some task we were working on in I.T. when I caught her installing a training software to help her learn the Spanish language. Pat had just returned from a trip to the Dominican Republic. She was determined to learn Spanish so she could connect better with our partners in that area. As long as I have known Pat, she has continued to pursue a lifestyle of learning. She does this even if it takes her out of her comfort zone or challenges her to go beyond the boundaries of anything she may have explored before.

I am thankful for the influence that Pat Gilbert has had on my life and I am so very thankful for the growth opportunities that Pat has given me. I pray that God continues to bless her in all her efforts to follow Him wherever He may lead her.