Copyrights done right

In a week from today a new record label will be launching. It is called Re:Sound. It’s a part of The Resurgence which is a theological and ecclesiological organization who’s mission is to make available to all Christians resources for spiritual growth and maturation. They are reformed in their theology and bible based in pretty much everything.

The things that gets me most excited about this new record label are this;

1) New Congregational Music that was written for the church and has strong doctrinal truths in them.

2) The way they are doing copyrights for the music is the way that all worship music should be done.

- They are allowing free sharing and adaption(remixing) of the music (which all churches pretty much do already anyway)

- The only conditions of the use of their material is that you attribute the artist

- This means as a general rule they are waiving the right to collect royalties. This is the part that makes me excited. There has been a general malaise surrounding copyright laws and church music since the internet made it easy to find and print worship songs on your own.  The easiest way to use a lot of worship songs is to buy a CCLI liscense. The point of this is that the artists register with CCLI and collect royalties based on how often their song is being copied/projected. You pay CCLI for the right to project and copy the songs/lyrics and eventually they ask what songs you used that year and then distribute your money accordingly. Resound artists on the otherhand simply waive the right to collect royalties (they still reserve the right to collect if they want to).

I know that might have been more than you wanted to know but I’m really excited about this. I hope that this will be a trend starting in Christian music.  That instead of just letting churches (knowingly or unknowingly) break the law by copying their music, they just intentionally allow them to. Most artists want churches to use their songs to praise God and would never sue. (there was one case of the Arch-diocese of Chicago being sued, that’s the basis for the CCLI being formed, and pretty much the only case of that)

3) Streamlined Projection.  Resound artists only require the that the title of the work and the author of the work be listed as attribution. This means on Sunday the title slide can look like

Hallelujah by John Doe

instead of how CCLI requires that it be displayed

4.2 Church agrees that each reproduced version of a Song will contain the Song title, writer credit(s), and copyright notice in substantially the following form:

“Hallelujah,” words and music by John Doe
© 2000 Good Music Co.
Used By Permission. CCLI License #____________

As a general rule I get around the CCLI requirement by putting that whole fun thing on a bottom corner of the last slide of a song in 8 point font (or anything that is only readable by those with 20/20 vision)

But with resound songs you don’t have to do that at all.

Resound has released a sample EP of 8 songs, with chord sheets, in anticipation of the launch. I have listened to them all and they are generally good songs. Some are downright Great. (I got goosebumps and it’s 70 out). And they have great content. Some of the styles are not going to work so well for all churches. But you can take the words, structure, and music, and adjust it to fit your church (something I think we should be considering with most of our music anyway)

And so i am eagerly awaiting the upcoming Launch of Resound, and anticipating great things from them in the future.

Apprenticeship |

The idea that I’m about to present came about during a late night talk in college. We were talking about the limitations of our internships, of our schooling and what we wished we could get out of all of these. The result that came during the conversation was the age old system of Apprenticeship. To partner with a master of the craft. To live with them and learn the ins and outs of one who lives the life of a craftsmen.

(those involved in the conversation were a bible major, a film major, a political science major, and a musical composition major.)

Our Complaints|

The educational system that we are all put through teaches a great deal of information. We are expected to transfer that information into knowledge. But what we need is wisdom, or less accurately the practical working out of that knowledge.

The solution to that, in recent history, has been the internship. A time spent working a lesser version of the career you wish to pursue. The result of this is that you vaguely know the “on the job” expectations and have some working knowledge. But for us this fell short.

Our Desire (solution)|

Not so long ago there was, and in some places there still is, a system of education called Apprenticeship. The main idea is to live with a master of the field which you want to study and be intimately taught one on one.

For the most part we agreed that if we had the chance to apprentice with someone we respected we would do it.

How does this apply to worship and biblical values?

I’m glad you asked.

In 1 Kings 19  God speaks to Elijah, THE prophet of the day, and says that he is to anoint a new king of Aram and Israel and his own successor. Now God does not just tell Elijah to pick someone he thinks might be good for the job, or to wait for the man to ask for the honor of following the prophet, He tells Elijah to go and find Elisha the son of Shapat from Abelmeholah. Lots of names we don’t really understand, but the point is this, God says “I have the man for you.” His name is Elisha. He lives in this town and this is his father. That’s pretty specific.

Elijah gets up and goes to find this young man. At this point Elijah is pretty well recognized as a Man of God, in the strongest sense. Elijah walks up to Elisha and puts his cloak on Elisha’s shoulders. Elisha knew exactly what this meant and asked to say goodbye to his family, then he offered up a sacrifice to God and followed Elijah.

The connection here is that Elisha left home and followed Elijah. Day and night, helping when told, and observing the actions and listening to the teachings of this amazing Man of God.

Fast Forward|2 Kings 2

Elijah is about to be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and Elisha will not leave him. The amount of dedication Elisha must have had towards Elijah. Elijah kept telling him to stay behind as he went where the LORD was leading him. But Elisha would not stay behind, because he knew what was about to happen.

Elijah is taken into heaven on a chariot of fire

Elisha becomes the Man that God called him to be|

After Elijah’s ascension Elisha calls out to God. “Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?”2kings2:14

God splits the river just like He did for Elijah. After that Elisha doesn’t miss a beat. The people of Jericho approach him with a problem with the drinking water. Without hesitation he tells them what to do and God purifies the water. The Shunemite woman approaches him and he tells her just what to do. The time that Elisha spent living and learning from Elijah gave him the confidence to trust God in all things. It makes me wonder, if we did things this way would we have the confidence to lead as Elisha did, With no fear of man?

Increasingly in today’s society we have a loss of moral values. We have boys who won’t grow up. We have girls who are searching for any kind of acceptance. We have a culture that stands for nothing but the maintenance of the status quo; minimal conflict, greed, comfort, and individuality. What we need is more people who understand what it means to be Men and Women of honor and are willing to teach all of what they know to someone else. It’s not enough to teach best practices anymore, because we will abuse that knowledge and twist it to serve our selfish desires. What we need is to be taught how the way of life, God’s way,  makes life worth living.

My hope is that we will one day do this for the next generation. Pick one or two men or women of promise, take them into our homes and our lives, let them become like second children to us, teach them the values behind the work, teach them the importance of rest and the rhythm of life. Let them into our hearts and show them what this work will do to you.

I don’t know what this looks like yet, but I guarantee it’s messy and not systematic or professional. It’s going to hurt, the mentor and the mentee are going to fail, we all might look like fools. But what will the result be? Men and Women who love God and understand why their work is important to Him. Men and Women who stand in the gap and say “No, I can’t do that. It’s not right.” instead of “We’re going to make so much money off this.”

Hope

I think that there are times when it is hard to discern what God is trying to do in our lives… recently it seems like always. But there is comfort in the words of our Lord given to us in Scripture.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” Mt 11:28-29

11 `For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, `plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 `Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 `You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 `I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD,” Jer. 29

There are things in life that can look pretty bleak and can knock the wind out of you. Especially in these days that are hard on so many. But we have a hope that is greater than any job, than any relationship, than any friendship, than any house, than any car, than any new pair of jeans, than any sense of earthly security that we have. Our hope is in Christ Jesus, creator and sustainer of all things made (John 1). He is our God and our advocate. He stands between us and the worst thing possible, complete seperation from the presence of God, and says “I paid for that.” “This ones mine, and they’re in.”

It’s not anything that we’ve done

Or can do

He paid the price and gives salvation as a gift to whom He will.

So no matter what happens, how bad it could get, we have the promise of a greater life.

Calling All |Want to Be| Worship Leaders

I had a thought this morning. How many of us around the world feel called to be a Worship Leader but have yet to find the place that they are called?

I’ve found the process of looking for a position somewhere to be frustrating, encouraging, tiring, energizing, and all around self contradictory. But through it all there is the overriding sense of God’s provision. As the jobs “to put food on the table” come and go it brings a sense of “this isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing.” Sometimes I think that is my flesh being malcontent so I pray for the ability to see what God is doing in my current situations to shape and mold me. Sometimes He gives me that knowledge, mostly I simply feel a very strong “Just trust me.”

As I talk to other “want to be” worship leaders I see that different people view this calling very differently. I wonder if that is just the specific person and what they are to be doing or is it that some of us truly misunderstand what it is we are striving to be.

This is what I see as the call to lead worship.

1. The world is not my oyster and I’m not entitled to be famous or even recognized. I am called to point people to Christ.

2. It’s so much more than music. The musical aspect of worship is so much more than notes and words. It’s a battle. We are part of a war, and we are on the winning side. This touches the part of me that wants to let it become another “gig”. If we are truly entrenched in a war how can we let our sins and our attitudes drag others, unknowingly, into danger.

3. I am called to serve. Our greatest example is Jesus, the greatest servant leader the world has ever known. We can also look to the Levites and see the role of musical leader and servant conjoined. I am not a rockstar, I am not a celebrity, I am a servant. No job is too small, no person is unimportant.

There is more, to be sure, but for now those are the important things.

There is one thing that we all must understand. This call is a privilege. It’s not a right, it’s not something we’re entitled to because we’ve paid our dues. It’s not something to force, coerce, or buy your way into. God uses who He will. He has chosen murderers (Moses, Paul, David). He has chosen people who just don’t get it (Peter, Gideon). He has chosen people who crumble in certain situations (Abraham, Elijah). I believe strongly that God does choose the weak to lead the strong so that we all know it’s Him. I’m not saying that driven, type A people aren’t called by God and don’t get things done. They surely are and most certainly do. But they know themselves and know that deep down they are failures. On our own we all are failures and all around bad people. But God moves in and through people to accomplish His works.

Be encouraged. If you feel a true call to lead God’s people in worship but haven’t found where yet, trust in Him. Study the Word, especially the Timothy’s and Titus, to make sure we do not disqualify ourselves from leadership in His church. Strive to be the man/woman God is calling us to be, and calling us to disciple. Let us make sure that, when we are called, we are ready.

Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

emerging church revisited|

So we’re back to the emerging church, for a little bit.

I read an article recently bashing the emerging/emergent church, using the terms interchangeably and mixing their leaders. It was a two page article that attempted to undertake the task of warning conservative America against the dangers of this new movement siphoning truth out of our churches.

It’s hard for me to take anyone seriously who attempts to sum up all of such a diverse movement as the emerging church in two pages. It simply cannot be done. The “emerging church” is more of a description than a moniker. Those labeled as emerging range from New Reformers (Mark Driscol, Matt Chandler, John Piper…ha… no one’s called him emerging but he’s a new reformer), to those who are changing the way they do church to reach those that learn and interact differently, and finally to the “emergent” (named because of the group “The Emergent Village”) who are questioning more of doctrine and tradition that most people are comfortable with. That is a more in depth view of the continuum of this movement than even this article gave, and I’m doing an injustice to the broad scope of churches that could be labeled “emerging”.

As some of you know I’m a stickler for critical thinking, personal engagement with facts, and deciding for yourself what you believe. And this article stepped on all of my toes. One example of this is the mention of Brian McLaren, one of the more controversial and out there leaders. The author puts forth some facts, and mentions a book of his “Everything Must Change” and follows with “So there you have it from a leader himself: the church must change to the modern-day culture. Old ways must be discarded, and new ways are in; but they are unsound.” The author got all that from a title.

It’s at this point that I’d like to say that I don’t totally disagree with this article. There are some fair warnings against where some of the mindsets put forth by recognized emerging authors can lead you. But it doesn’t take some of the advancements seriously. A lot of what the emerging authors say is that we have strayed too far from “true religion”, taking care of widows and orphans (James 1:27), and we need to return to what the bible teaches. Another strange thing is that the article groups Contemplative prayer, breath prayers, together with the labyrinth and yoga. I can see that yoga shouldn’t be part of Christianity because of its express roots in Hinduism and its use as an unbiblical meditation method. I also can see that the labyrinth is not of the most use, there are a lot of people who aren’t for the Christian use of the labyrinth. But I feel that legitimate bible based prayer methods that are a little more guided than reading through a devotional book shouldn’t be written off so easily.

To close this out I would like to say that I am disappointed, although not surprised, that as the younger generation finds who they are as Christians, some would malign and put down any sign of change.

I would ask a question to those who see any change as bad change; Did the church of America look the same from the 1920’s to the 1950’s? Did the church of America look the same from the 1950’s to the 1980’s?

Now I’m going to reach back a bit.

Where would the church of today be if the Reformers, Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, hadn’t seen the need for change and made the efforts despite opposition.

Where would the church of America be if the Puritans hadn’t made a stand for the doctrinal and ecclesiological beliefs that made them distinct?

I understand that change is generally met with opposition, but when it’s your son’s and daughter’s, your grandson’s and granddaughter’s, that are trying to spread the name of Jesus maybe we should take a guiding stance and engage this movement instead of stand in firm opposition and fear.

Abram to Abraham| prt. 2

Picking up where we left off |

Terah, Abram’s father, has died in Haran and now Abram’s house (and Lot) can move on toward the land that God has called them to inhabit.

Along the way Abram screws up. To sum up his… uhm … less than bright moments. He deviates from his journey due to famine and enters egypt. Where he allows his wife to be married off, as his sister,  to the pharaoh. God saves Abram’s butt and brings plagues on pharaoh’s house until pharaoh figures it out.

As a result of not fully “leaving his kindred…” Abram and Lot had to seperate because thier herdsman were fighting over grazing rights, etc… and Abram lets Lot choose which land he shall take. Lot chooses the valley of the jordan river which is “like the garden of the LORD”. So Abram is in the Cannanite wilderness. Then he has to go rescue Lot from some kings that sacked Sodom and Gomorrah and took Lot and his possetions off as spoils of war

God’s Provision

After Abram returns Lot to his land Abram is met by a priest king, Melchizedek. Melchizedek blesses Abram, and Abram gives him a tenth of everything. He then leaves the spoils with the kings of the area. God comes to Abram in vision and promises him offspring and makes a covenant with Abram. The interesting thing about this covenant is that unlike the normative covenant, where the two parties would meet in the middle of the ceromony, God does it all Himself. In this God promises to uphold the covenant dispite Abram’s faithfullness.

Then Sarai gets impatient and has Hagar sleep with Abram and we get Ishmael, who then fathers a nation that is at odds with Israel to this day.

Finally Abram turns 99 years old and in that year God comes to Abram again and renews his covenant. He also Changes Abram’s name from

Abram: High Father

to

Abraham: Father of a Multitude

and his wife’s name from

Sarai: contentious or my princess

to

Sarah: princess

After the name changing vision Abraham, in keeping with the covenant, circumsizes all the men of his household (himself being 99 when he was circumsized)

At this point you may be asking, I know I am, ” Why are we simply doing a flythrough of Abraham’s life? Isn’t this supposed to be about worship?” But to look at Abraham’s life with the lens of worship on is fascinating. To see how faithfull and trusting he is at times. Then to look at the times when he lets his idol of personal safety control him, when he says of his wife “she is my sister”. This man does amazing things and then he screws up in ways that we would like to think that we wouldn’t.

What I got out of this, and what I would like you to get out of this, is that although we may fail God (and we will) the point is to strive towards His glory. Abraham didn’t give up, he didn’t leave Sarah (even after he married her off as his sister a second time… yep twice, I bet she never really let that one go) he didn’t give up on the land that God had promised him. He perservered. But he didn’t stop and wait either. He was active, he was focused, he was driven. We need to look at Abraham and see ourselves, not any moralist teaching about how to do what is right, and draw encouragment from the fact one of the partriarchs was credited righteousness despite his failings.

praise God for His mercy and grace, in the name of His son Jesus.

Amen

Sorry

I posted something a while ago that was not in the spirit of this blog and I am sorry for it.

sooo. here

Abram to Abraham| prt. 1

“Why the distinction?” you might ask. Isn’t that the same person? Aren’t we going to talk about his obedience and the offering of Issac as a sacrifice?

Yes it is. Yes we will. But first there is more.

Where does Abram come into the picture? The flood has happened, the scattering of those in babel who intended to escape the “fill the earth” part of the cultural mandate, and then people were born and people died… then Terah, abram’s father.

Genesis 11

²⁷ Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot. ²⁸ Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his kindred, in Ur of the Chaldeans. ²⁹ And Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran the father of Milcah and Iscah. ³⁰ Now Sarai was barren; she had no child.

Abram was a chaldean in the land of Ur. This is actually important to understanding the character of Abram and his family

In the  Jameison-Faussett-Brown Commentary it says Ur–now Orfa; that is, “light,” or “fire.” Its name probably derived from its being devoted to the rites of fire-worship. Terah and his family were equally infected with that idolatry as the rest of the inhabitants (Jos 24:15).

So Abram was being called out of a land devoted to the worship of fire. From this we can see that the family of Terah was going to be hard pressed to leave this life that sorrounded them and was so much a part of their culture.

Looking to Habakkuk we can see even further into who they were

“For behold, I am raising ^R13 up the Chaldeans, That fierce ^F5 and impetuous people Who march throughout ^F6 the earth To seize ^{R14 F7} dwelling places which are not theirs. (NASB)

or

For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. (ESV)

Abrams people were known as a people who were quick to make decisions and who took lands from other people. Just the kind of people for the Job that God had in mind. To take Abram from his home and give him other peoples land.

So Abram’s family lived in a land of idolatry and were a people prone to rash decisions and to seizing lands that weren’t theirs.

Lets look at the Call of Abram. A good example of a man of faith who heard God and rose up to do what he was told, to receive the promises made to him. Right?

We’ll see

Genesis 12

¹ Now the Lord said ^F54 to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”⁴ So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan.

Something here seems amiss. Wasn’t Abram from the land of the Chaldean’s in Ur? Let’s back up and see how they got to Haran.

Genesis 11

³¹ Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there. ³² The days of Terah were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

The Geneva study bible and Gill’s exposition give an interesting interpretation of this. It seems that even though the call of Abram is related to us after this passage that it happened before. If we take these passages to relate chronology then, Terah and his family were on their way to Canaan and then God called abram to Canaan. But if we see this as the conclusion of the geneology section where it sums up Terah’s life and then begins a narrative on Abram’s life, then it would seem that when Abram was called to move to Canaan and leave his kindred and his father’s house he went to his father to seek guidance.

It makes sense to me. I worship fire and have established myself in this land with these people, and some God I don’t know comes to me and tells me to move to a land some distance away and take it from the people who live there. Sounds like fun to me but it also seems a little crazy, so I go check in with dad. He says that we need to do this, after Haran died it’s been hard to be around all these places that have so many memories and it sounds like quite an adventure. So Terah picks up the family and moves out to Canaan.

But there is a problem. God told Abram to leave his kindred and his Father’s house and go to canaan. And who is going with him… Lot (kindred) and terah (father with the house) is leading the expodition.

So they get to the land of Charan (haran) and Terah can’t go on traveling, perhaps he’s too old. But for whatever reason the family settles in Charan. Not what God had called Abram to do. Eventually Terah passes and Abram continues his journey in obedience to God.

From here on out Abram is generally focused, he makes some slip ups (some BIG ones), and that is encouraging. Because in my journey to follow God’s will in my life, I’m pretty sure I’ve screwed up…ok I’m positive I’ve screwed up. But Abram’s story gives me hope, despite his many missteps and faulty judgment God still uses this man to achieve what He wanted to achieve.

God is Sovereign and will achieve His goals, we will fail Him but He will never fail us. Praise God, He is in control.

:then next one is on Abraham: who knows how long it will take me to get through that

First Family | part two . . . The Offerings||

The next Chapter in our study on worship throughought the bible is to look at the children of the first family. After “the fall” and the exile from the garden.

Side note – Man’s exile from the garden is another example of God’s supreme love for mankind. When defiant rebellion entered into the relation between mankind and God that relationship was broken. God could not stand the presence of this sin and removed Adam and Eve from the Garden where they walked freely in His presence. God’s plan for redeeming mankind and bring restoration to this relationship was already prophesied, Gen. chapter

“And I will put enmity ^R81

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her seed;

He ^R82 shall bruise ^F63 you on the head,

And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

God’s prescription for Christ’s victory over Satan, sin and death was put forth before the exile. But within the Garden stood a tree that would condemn Adam and Eve to an endless broken life separated from that redemption, the tree of life. So God removed this chance by exiling mankind from the garden and guarding the tree of life from us. (see Gen. 3:22-24) God loved enough to preserve the chance for redemption.

Back on topic

Now being outside of the free presence of God worship took on a new look, Sacrifice. How this came to be is not really shown. All we see is that in the next account Adam and Eve have children and they offer sacrifices of their work to God. It seems that this idea might have been a natural conclusion from each man, there isn’t a direct command from God to make sacrifices to Him.  (david chadwell) So we must look at the account that describes the happenings of the new form of worship.

Gen. 4

³ So it came about in ^F71 the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. ⁴ Abel, ^R98 on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the ^R99 LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; ⁵ but for ^R100 Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain ^R101 became very angry and his countenance fell.

In the Adam Clark Commentary he gives the opinion of a scholar that says that the phrase “on his part also brought” describes that Abel brought a sin offering, while Cain only brought a gratitude offering to show that he was thankful for God’s part in his cultivation of the earth. This is an interesting perspective that Abel recognized his sinfulness and was making atonement for it. While Cain didn’t recognize his sinfulness and was merely standing in God’s general grace in provision and not His special grace for sin.

Looking at Cain’s worship we can see how not to worship but looking at Abel’s worship we can see how, in principle, we are to worship.

Let’s start with Cain, since this is the point most people get from the story, and see how he failed to offer a sacrifice that was pleasing to God.

Cain | the first born

Cain was a tiller of the ground and later became a cultivator of culture, he was by no means lazy or idle. His work was to till the ground after God had cursed it, and it seems that God blessed his work, we can see that from the curse that God placed on Cain after the murder of Abel.

“When ^R110 you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you ^R111 will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”

From this I believe that we can see that the ground did yield its strength to him. He worked hard and the ground responded in kind.

He brought an offering to God that he thought would be worthy of God’s acceptance. Where did he go wrong?

It was his heart and motivations. We can see this from the way that Cain responds to God’s correction.

” ⁵ but for ^R100 Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain ^R101 became very angry and his countenance fell. ⁶ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why ^R102 are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? ⁷ “If ^R103 you do well, will ^F72 not your countenance be lifted up? And ^R104 if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but ^R105 you must master it. ⁸ Cain told ^F73 Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed ^R106 him. ⁹ Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where ^R107 is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” ¹⁰ He said, “What have you done? The ^R108 voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground. ¹¹ “Now you ^R109 are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.”

Cain’s responses were to be angry, but even in this he did not sin and the LORD warned him that he was dangerously close to it. Then after he killed his brother he denied it and to even became defiant. And after his curse was declared his only thought was himself, not on repentance and redemption but selfcenteredness and selfpity.

Cains folly was that his heart was selfish and his offering was selfserving and not a humble worship of God.

Abel | the second son

It is interesting to me how often God honors the second born and those that would otherwise be without a birthright and honor. Look at Jacob and Esau, Joseph, David. All the younger siblings and all brought to honor by God’s hand.

Anyway

Abel was a keeper of flocks, a shepherd as it were. When Abel brought forth his offering to God he brought the firstborn of his flocks and the fattest. No such description was given of Cain’s offering. He trusted that God would provide for his work eventhough he was giving up the prime portion of his work. It’s a bit harder to get much from Abel’s account since his response is not recorded. But there is one interesting thing that is mention about him after the sacrifices

“⁸ Cain told ^F73 Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed ^R106 him.”

Cain told his brother… He told him God’s warning to him about his sacrifice and doing well and the sin crouching for him. The next thing they are in the field together. Abel is a keeper of the flock, what is he doing in the field with Cain?

This is speculation but I would say that Cain brought his brother to help him work in a way that he could offer a right sacrifice to God. But Cain’s selfishness and pride could not stand to be instructed by his little brother, so he was overwhelmed with anger and killed Abel.

Abel’s response was one of humility to work with his brother to help bring him to a right relationship with God. It was an offer of self sacrifice to neglect his work to help his brother.

from this we can see that Abel’s worship was

Humble in that he acknowldged his sin, trusting in that he offered the first fruits of his work and the fat of his work, and one of a servant in that he worked with his brother to help him be in right relationship with God.

the summer of the podcast|||

I have mentioned that this past summer I listened to about 9 hours of podcasts a day and grew immensely in knowledge and in spiritual maturity.

So here are the podcasts that I listened to. Hopefully this will give you a basis for where I am coming from and the grounds to give suggestions for further learning.

*the dates are which years of services I listened to.

Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church in Seattle Washington – 2006-2008

Matt Chandler at The Village Church in Highland Village Texas -  2005-2008

Brian Houston at Hillsong Church in Sydney Australia – 2007- 6/30/2008

Acts 29 church planting network – select seminars from 2004-2008

Chip Bernhard at Spring Creek Church in Pewaukee Wisconsin – summer of 2008

John Piper at Bethlehem baptist church in Minneapolis Minnesota – select sermons

Church of the Apostles in Fairfax, Virginia – 2008

Rob Bell and others at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids Michigan – 2008

Resurgence podcast – 2007 – select 2008

So that was my crazy summer, I have since stopped listening to so many podcasts, mainly because I’m all caught up, but also because that many sermons gave me enough to work on for the next several years

My friends may you grow in grace and in the knowledge of our lord and savior

My friends may you grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

- Anonymous