Happy Birthday, Charles!
Happy birthday to Charles, one of our guitarists/vocalists! Here’s a shot of us from the summer, after the School Of Worship praise night. (He’s on the way left)
Author: Shameless Plug
Congratulations, Pastor Josiah!
Our great friend, mentor, and partner in ministry, Pastor Josiah Chung, was ordained yesterday in Michigan! We pray God will continue to bless you, your family, and ministry richly as you begin this new chapter! #PTL
Hand Of God
Yesterday, news emerged of NASA’s NuSTAR space telescope capturing this image of a star exploding 17,000 light-years away…
A star that exploded 17,000 light-years away was named the “Hand Of God”
What do you see?
Well, the astronomers who captured this called it the “Hand Of God”. What’s going on scientifically is that as the star is dying, a cloud of particles leftover are interacting with the nearby areas of magnetic fields, causing it to glow. The star is about 12 miles in diameter and is spinning nearly seven times a second!
How amazing that this was the snapshot it took… Do you see God’s hand at work in your life? I think this discovery is a great reminder of how great, how big, how massive God is! …and ultimately how small we are.
1 Peter 5:6-7 says that we ought to humble ourselves beneath God’s hand – quiet ourselves to His will, His way, and rest safe in the shadow of His wings. But the best part comes in verse 7: “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
It’s not likely that we’ll see a physical hand at work in our lives, which is why I think it’s great that this reminder comes from farther than we can see with our own eyes. This giant hand in the image above helps us to remember that there are indescribable things going on in our small lives, guided by a big God who cares and has a plan for you! We need to speak to Him, listen to Him, and trust Him to lead us in both joy and anxiety… because He cares!
Why do I feel like Louie Giglio will use this NASA finding in a future sermon? #Laminin
Reflection Song: Here I Stand
The Day After The Most Depressing Day Of The Year
Researchers determined that yesterday was “The Most Depressing Day Of The Year”, calling it “Blue Monday”. They say that January 6th would be the most miserable day, based on guilt-related words and weather complaints all throughout the internet – apparently up to six times more results than past first Mondays of the year.
I don’t know about you, but that kind of news just makes me think about the things that I’m grateful for and what to look forward to in the new year. Sure, the holidays are over and work/school is starting again. And yes, today is a drastic temperature drop from yesterday (The Most Depressing Day Of The Year): a shocking 6° (real feel -16°). But what are you looking forward to?
Let’s look ahead and remember that God is faithful. 2013 is done, and we’ve almost had a full week of 2014. Instead of complaining and living a life of regret, let’s continue to find satisfaction in the Lord this year. You may be “used to” bad news and discouragements in the past, but that’s not how we should live. Instead, God wants us to expect the good He has planned for you in 2014! (Isaiah 30:18)
It’s a new day, it’s a new year! Let’s put our faith and trust in God this year as the best is yet to come! Psalm 119:49-56 reminds us that God and His Word give us hope… hope for this new year, hope for a joyful and fulfilling life. All that we need He will provide. So let’s rejoice and live for Him, magnifying Him, and make Him known. Happy New Year!
Reflection Song: Prepare The Way
Top 10 Posts Of 2013
On this last day of 2013, we look back at our top posts and are thankful for those who have kept in touch with us through our website. We hope to continue updating you in the new year with the things God is constantly revealing to us – whether it be songs, blogs, devotionals, etc. So here are our top 10 most viewed posts of 2013:
- Unending Praise Released Today!
- Pilgrim Wave Revival
- My Life Is Not My Own
- Radio Single
- The Record Publicity Photos
- It’s Been Half A Year!
- Dry Bones
- “If Only” (A Thanksgiving Blog)
- Dead In Our Sins
- God Who Hears Me
Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas From Shameless Plug!
Advent Week 4 (2013)
In Luke 2:8-11, an angel of the Lord shares news to the shepherds. News that would cause great joy in us. News that would change us forever. News that Jesus is born!
Week 4 of Advent means that Christmas is near. It may not feel like it though because Thanksgiving was only 4 weeks ago, or because you still haven’t gone shopping yet, or because over here in the northeast we had unusually warm weather… (Maybe this is what Christmas in California feels like?) But soon we will be celebrating and giving glory to God in the highest for the gift of gifts – His one and only Son, and our Messiah: Jesus Christ!
We’ve enjoyed sharing our thoughts during this Advent season with you this year. Hopefully Christ won’t be the center of attention only during Christmas but every day as we live for Him. Just like we say in our song Unending Praise: Jesus, more than anything be our everything!
Reflection Song: Unending Praise
Advent Week 3 (2013)
The other day I overheard a mother and son talking about Christmas…
Boy: “Mom, Santa’s supposed to bring the Nintendo Wii U and the Light Blue 3DS, right?”
Mother: “Uh… (panicking) Don’t you mean the Aqua Blue 3DS?”
Boy: “No, the Light Blue.”
Mother: “I’m pretty sure you wanted the Aqua Blue…”
Boy: “Oh you’re right, it was the Aqua Blue!”
Mother: (Sigh of relief)
You see, the mother was panicking because she thought she had everything figured out until her son surprised her with some last-minute color confusion! The son thought he knew exactly what to expect for Christmas, but threw his mother off track a bit with his color mix-up!
It’s already Week 3 of Advent, which means next week is Christmas… what are you expecting? In this life we’ll find that so many things we plan, map out, or expect don’t go according to our design. We’ll be disappointed by many things. But one thing we can count on is the faithfulness of the Father, and especially in this Advent season we can certainly know to expect the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son. Even in our trials and suffering, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Let’s keep focusing on His coming with expectation and anticipation as we continue to make our way towards Christmas!
Reflection Song: Christ Is
Advent Week 2 (2013)
So you’re in Target, or Walgreens, or in the mall, and you start hearing Christmas music like “Angels We Have Heard On High”. You might think: Christmas carol time! But wait… remember that many of these songs are actually worship songs for the newborn king Jesus!
Often times we forget the true meaning of Christmas. We get caught up in the shopping frenzies, sales, presents… and then we have church. We think there’s a schism between “sacred” and “secular” around this time. Going to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular shocks some people when (spoiler alert) they talk about the Nativity of Jesus. But Christmas is what Christmas is… it is about Christ.
Last week, a popular article/blog on Switchfoot was trending on social media sites: Why Switchfoot Won’t Sing Christian Songs
During this second week of Advent, we would like to challenge & encourage you to be more Christ-like and to make Christmas about Christ. Advent isn’t about the arrival of your Amazon Prime order. Advent is about the arrival of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who didn’t come to die for our gifts but for our sins – which is the greatest gift of all!
Reflection Song: Only You
Cyber Monday Sale
We mentioned it last week for Black Friday, but we’ll say it again: Our entire store is on sale at 15% off! Grab what you want, what you can, in our store, and any order between now & December 31, 2013 11:59pm EST will also get an early link to download a free Christmas track we’re working on! It will be MP3 format, and should be ready in the coming weeks.
Head over to our Store and grab the latest t-shirt design for a friend, or an extra copy of Unending Praise as a Christmas present. Sale ends when it hits 2014!
Shameless Plug 