7 Must See Events at KB 2011 (Countdown)--The Justice Experience

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The Justice Experience

Sunday-Wednesday Behind the Marketplace in the Meadow

The Justice Experience made its debut at Kingdom Bound last year and it was, needless to say, a huge success. A walk through experience examining issues of human suffering and calling believers to do something about it, the exhibit is a must see. The Justice Experience this year is highlighting issues related to refugees, modern day slavery, malnutrition and lack of clean water. The event will be happening all four days of Kingdom Bound. Last year as a result of the awareness raised at Kingdom Bound enough money was raised to build water wells in Sierra Leone providing clean water to hundreds, $3000 went to a safe house in Cambodia and over $400 to a local organization combating illiteracy.

7 Must See Events at Kingdom Bound 2011 (Countdown)

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Monday – Wednesday Various Spots

Brothers McClurg formerly Relevant Worship will be performing throughout the week at various stages and times. Surely to be a great show and experience with the Lord, Brothers McClurg are a local group with growing talent. The group was recently signed by Integrity Music and will be releasing their new album in time for K.B--"Alive" available for only $5.

7 Must See Events at Kingdom Bound 2011 (Countdown)

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Monday – Wednesday 12-4pm

The Sports Experience is back for the 25th anniversary of Kingdom Bound. Basketball, Football and Soccer games and clinics for ages 13 and older are taking place Monday – Wednesday from 12:00pm – 4:00pm. The Sports Experience will feature 3 on 3 basketball, 11 on 11 football and soccer, with games and clinics from some of the regions top coaches and players. Sign up ahead of time will guarantee you a spot, so sign up soon. Please note that a KB wristband is required for participation. Groups or individuals welcome.

7 Must See Events at Kingdom Bound 2011

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By Kyle Patterson

2011 marks Kingdom Bound’s 25 year anniversary and for this year’s festival they are holding nothing back. Bringing in the top musical talent nationally and locally including Chris Tomlin, Rebecca St. James, Paul Baloche and Brothers McClurg. In addition they have a great speaker lineup including Jim and Jill Kelly, Kevin Leman, Carol McLeod and Tommy Reid. Here are seven recommendations for events not to be missed. As an online feature we will be counting down to the Kingdom Bound with a new "Must See Event" added daily.

1) Enemy Opposition:

Monday-Wednesday on The Blvd. 1-4pm

Enemy Opposition (EO) is a Christian action sports organization made up of a talented group of inline skaters, bmx'ers, flatland bmx'ers, and skateboarders. As a group EO puts on incredible action sports demonstrations of all sizes that people of all ages can enjoy. Enemy Opposition is a ministry first and will be performing extreme sports demos daily on the Blvd. from 1-4pm. Their gravity defying tricks display their talent and they are sure to share the gospel with their viewers. A great way to introduce Christ to those who may not receive the message in the typical church setting. 

Our Purpose is to Worship

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By Robert Stearns

There’s been a lot of talk in the Body of Christ during recent years about purpose. Maybe you yourself have questioned what your purpose is as a Believer on this planet. Having a sense of purpose in life is a noble thing. However, before we are called to anything – before we are called to preach, prophesy, raise the dead or win the lost, we are called to worship. The purpose of your life is to know and worship God.

When we engage in worship not as an activity, but as a lifestyle, we begin to touch the heart of God. From this place, signs and wonders happen. Individuals are set free. Nations get transformed. But God makes it very clear that His call to the people of Israel – and to those of us grafted in to the family of God – is a call to worship.

What does it mean to worship? Is it singing? Music? Acts of service?

Worship can be all of these things, and much more. Acceptable worship unto God is an issue of motivation – of why we’re doing what we’re doing. It is also a matter of obedience – of doing God’s will God’s way. Once this formula is in place, really anything could be considered worship unto God… Painting a mural; baking a cake; singing in the car; volunteering. Worship is the key that unlock doors of purpose.

When we worship God, something happens. Throughout all of Scripture, the catalyst for any Divine act involved God’s people worshipping Him acceptably. Abraham received Isaac back through his obedience and trust. The woman who sacrificially anointed Jesus days before His death earned herself a place in Scripture through her giving. Joshua and the Israelite army toppled the walls of Jericho through their prophetic praise. As the early Church worshipped and prayed, God sent an angel to set Peter free from prison.

If you’ll notice a common thread throughout all these accounts, it is that these worshippers based their actions on what God wanted, and not on what the situation seemed to dictate. Because they, in faith, chose to honor God in the circumstances they faced, they were able to move the heart and hand of God.

And what about us? Are we, above all else, worshippers of our Almighty God? Do we seek to obey, exalt and serve Him at all times? Too often, we relegate “worship” to 90 minutes on a Sunday morning. Friends, worship should be our very identity. Meditate with me on this verse of Scripture that has been much on my heart lately:

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship,” (Romans 12:1).
Do we take New Testament Scriptural exhortations like this literally enough? Do we take them seriously enough? Have we fallen into the trap of thinking that worshipping is God is optional? That it requires any less of us than everything? Have we forgotten that God’s power is linked to our praise?

Can you imagine what would happen if Christians exhibited as much passion, enthusiasm and energy in their Sunday morning worship services as they did at their Sunday afternoon football games? Do we think that God was being metaphorical when He urged us to shout, clap, dance and raise our hands in His Presence? Could the reason for our lack of physicality in worship be that our hearts aren’t in it either?

The unlimited and irrepressible power of God is at your fingertips – quite literally – when you lift your hands and heart in worship. Could it be that the answers we’re seeking – for provision, joy, transformation and healing – are ready to be poured out over our lives as we worship?

Ask God to give you a burning passion to know and worship Him. And then, start intentionally worshipping God throughout each and every one of your ordinary days. As you worship, you will find your purpose, because our purpose is to worship.

Former Growing Pains star Kirk Cameron will be speaking tonight at Eastern Hills Wesleyan Church in Williamsville, NY at 7:00PM. Cameron will be unveiling a 10 minute trailer of his new documentary film, Monumental.

Benji and Jenna: Church @ Buffalo

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Benji and Jenna Cowart may not be Western New York natives but they are convinced God is doing something special in their new hometown of Buffalo. Moving to Buffalo after helping to plant a church in Las Vegas, the Cowarts serve as Worship Leaders in their local congregation encouraging unity and passion for Jesus in our region. Their latest CD release titled, “Letters to the Church at Buffalo” came out of a desire to minister to and encourage believers in their own congregation (The Chapel at Crosspoint). Their message? God sees your effort to serve and love Him even when others don’t. It’s a message they believe God is speaking to not just their church but to the Church at Buffalo. Benji explained, “It has been really exciting to see churches of various denominations coming together and partnering to plant new churches and partnering to carry out Kingdom endeavors. I lived in a lot of different places throughout the country and I have never seen churches partnering together under the same mission like I have witnessed here in Buffalo.”
     The Cowarts drew inspiration for their new CD from the little things people in their own congregation did to express love for God. In one of their already popular tracks on the CD “They Will See God” the Cowarts sing, “Blessed are you who have chosen to choose the right way no matter the cost, you do what you say when you say what you do, not counting the gain or the loss. Blessed are they who hold on to faith when everything is coming undone, day after day they stand in the face of the wind and the rain and the storm, they will see God, they will see God.” The lyrics point to the conflict believers often face and yet remain faithful to Christ and finish strong even when no one is looking. Benji explained, “In the beginning of this project Jenna and I wanted to do a recording with just she and I as a married couple ministering together but this project grew into something more beautiful. When I went down to Nashville to write songs, I realized that I just wanted to write songs that would work in my church and the churches in the WNY/Buffalo region. As I sat in the writer’s rooms with the songwriters, I would just begin to tell Buffalo church stories…stories about people in our church and how they lived out the Gospel doing things like recycling water bottles so that they could send others on missions trips….or the three brothers (two have since passed away) who drive an hour, one way, to show up at our church and work on our grounds keeping team every Thursday morning simply because they just want to use their gifts out of gratitude for what God has done for them. All of the songs that we wrote on that trip just came out reminding me of Buffalo and the people that comprise the Church at Buffalo (in the same way that Jesus referred to the church of a city in the book of Revelation).”
     In terms of the CD being a letter to the Church at Buffalo, the Cowarts explain it has been a process of wrestling with two questions in the context of their own church and the greater Body of Christ in our region, something they have been working through collectively with other churches for some time. “Our church along with many other churches in this region has been walking through a process where we have been wrestling with two questions. What does God want for Western New York? And what would it look like if God got what He wanted? We have landed on this as an answer— that every man, woman, and child would have multiple opportunities to see and hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Western New York area. With that being said, it becomes very obvious that no single church can possibly accomplish such a huge undertaking. We all have to be a part of this process and start treating other churches’ wins as our wins and other churches’ losses as our loss. It is too important a task and the times are too urgent to be competing with other churches. It has been really exciting to see churches of various denominations coming together and partnering to plant new churches and partnering to carry out Kingdom endeavors. I lived in a lot of different places throughout the country and I have never seen churches partnering together under the same mission like I have witnessed here in Buffalo. It’s not perfect and we certainly have not ‘arrived’ in the whole area of working together but it has come a long way over the past five years,” explained Benji.

The seven song album, “Letters to the Church at Buffalo” is presently available for download on iTunes and the physical CD should be available by the last week of June to purchase at The Chapel and other Christian music vendors in the area. At this point, the Cowarts are not doing any public concerts but are content leading their local congregation in worship each week. However, the Cowarts also lead the Vintage Band (college and college age ministry) and will be playing at Kingdom Bound on the Park Stage on Tuesday morning August 2 at 10:00 a.m.. As Benji explained, “We are worship leaders first and our calling presently is to the local body. The irony is that I was that guy who said I would do anything for God ….except, be a vocational minister… and here I am, and I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life. That’s just how God does it I guess.”

Final Thought: Mission: Reaching a Post-Modern Generation With the Gospel.

By Lou Perez

     For better or worse, today’s Church lives in the postmodern era. When I first began hearing about postmodernism many years ago, I would always walk away with a foggy understanding of what it was. Then I looked at the term “Postmodernism”. “Post” speaks of what comes after. In this case, modernism, was the era we have been transitioning out of for the past 60 years.  What helped me to understand postmodernism is when I started to notice the things it reacts to. Postmodernism is a reaction to the age of Modernism that began during the Renaissance and focused on science and reason as the way to find truth. In modernism, Sunday morning Church was based on many hours of Bible study, apologetics, and exegesis, which although is important, does not always connect with postmodern seekers.

     Postmodernism is characterized in general by a rejection of objective truth. You might hear post modern’s say things like, “There is no such thing as one way to God”. They tend to reject a single definition of truth. In fact, for postmoderns, truth is based on each person’s own experience. Postmoderns take a wrecking ball to the last era of modernism and rebuild it with materials borrowed from every religion and philosophy the world has to offer.

Postmodernism has not been without impact on the Church. Here are some ways this has occurred.

Challenge of authority: Postmodernism challenges the authority of the Church and the revelation it stands on. This is all done in an attempt to discover truth for oneself - a personal “journey of spirituality.”

No Objective Truth. Since postmoderns don’t believe in “one truth fits all,” Christianity is seen as just another buffet line where you pick and choose what you like and then go to other religions and philosophies for the rest. 

The image has replaced the truth. Postmoderns tend towards a shallow understanding of truth. Because we live in a media saturated “copy and paste” society where ideas can be remixed and photo-shopped, there is a tendency for postmoderns to create their own image of the “truth”. To put it simply, an image has replaced what is real. This is no different that Aaron’s golden calf in Exodus 32:1.

The problem with postmodernism is that Christ taught a specific set of non-negotiable truths that are relevant for every age.

“I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”   

John 14:6 ESV

So how do we as the Church thrive in a post modern world? How do we reach postmoderns?       Here are six suggestions:

     We can continue to do what we have always done and see what the next age brings. It may be a while however. Or we can go to where the postmodern lives. Paul did this by “becoming all things to all men”.  

“To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.” (1 Corinthians 9:20–23 ESV)

     We can engage the postmodern person. We can do this by affirming what is right and challenging what is wrong. If there is one area where postmoderns are correct it is that intellect and reason is not enough to find truth. At the same time, we can lovingly challenge the postmodern’s notion that “there is no absolute truth”. The problem postmoderns cannot account for is that it’s impossible to make absolute statements when you don’t believe in absolutes.

     Let’s be sure that we are fighting for the right thing. We don’t want to contend for the “good old days” of modernism where people swooned at our insights. One of the faults of modernism is the arrogance and condescension that came from knowledge.

     Let’s change our methods without changing the message. In an honest effort to reach people, some postmodern seeker-sensitive churches have reworked certain Bible passages to soften their blow. It is a dangerous thing to amend what one did not write, especially when it involves a saving truth.

     Experience and encounter. Provide opportunities for people to encounter God. This brings them beyond just head knowledge and into intimacy with God.

     Use stories and metaphors to illustrate Biblical truth. One final thing we can do to reach postmoderns is to tell a story to illustrate a deeper truth. Postmoderns love stories and will respond to the truth easier when it is embedded in a story. This isn’t just postmodern, this is Jesus. Jesus used parables as a delivery system for eternal truths.

      The Church has a sacred responsibility to engage the postmodern world, and with the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit, to bring people to the unchanging Gospel truths that are relevant in every generation.

   

Lou and Louisa Perez both grew up in New York City, and met in the first Church Lou pastored in Schenectady, NY. In 1999 they started Destiny Christian Church in Niagara Falls with the vision of taking Church outside the four walls. Find out more at www.destinychristianniagara.com.

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Dr. John Perkins was the keynote speaker at Going Beyond Charity. His message: city transformation by the Gospel.

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With All Your Heart, Mind, Soul & Strength.

By Kyle Patterson
Photos by Matt Brown

Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is the highest calling of our lives—the truth is we were created with a longing to be wholehearted and abandoned, and thus to know the joy of love. There is nothing more satisfying than having the power to give the deepest affection of our heart to God and to be loyal in love. We live life at the fullest  in the joy of holy love for God giving ourselves fully to him and receiving all he has for us. We long to possess the power to be abandoned instead of being stuck in boredom, passivity, disloyalty, and compromise which leave us broken and discontent. When God told Abram in the book of Genesis that God himself was his exceeding great reward, God had also promised to make him great, bless him, increase him and make him the father of a great nation and in fact established his covenant with all people through Abram (later Abraham). Despite the incredible earthly honor God would give to Abraham  on this earth, God established that he himself was his “exceeding great reward.”

Embracing the Romance of the Gospel

To embrace Christ as our exceeding great reward and love him in return we must understand that the Gospel is a story of romance, passion and desire—believe it or not. The greatest stories on earth are just a glimmer of what we have in Christ. The lengths at which Christ was willing to go for us and the suffering he endured for love is nothing short of extravagant. That fact that God eternal, immortal and invisible would set aside his divinity and humble himself as a Man to suffer, die and embrace us for eternity is beyond my understanding. Throughout Scripture we see glimpses into the heart of God—what he is thinking, what he is feeling and what he is really like. We get a glimpse in the book of Hosea where God shows his faithful steadfast love, as pictured in Hosea and the prostitute, for a people who are unfaithful to him. As a picture God spoke to Hosea the prophet to marry an unfaithful prostitute as a prophetic picture and declaration of the love of God to a people who continually go astray. Throughout Scripture God compares his love for us to a bride and bridegroom—Isaiah also catches a glimpse into the love of God’s heart in chapter 62 when he writes and compares God’s affection to a bridegroom rejoicing on his wedding day over his bride. He then says in that same way God will express his love toward us—he, God, will rejoice over us. Jeremiah also echoed God’s heart in chapter 2 when he says, “I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness.” John the Baptist goes so far as to actually introduce Jesus to the nation of Israel as the bridegroom who has a bride when he stated, “The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice.” Going further, Jesus himself spoke of himself  as a bridegroom when he stated in Matthew 9:15, “Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.’” Paul taking it further stated, “I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him,” and again in Ephesians, “’For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.”

     By weaving the beauty of his love for us in Scripture and comparing it to that of a bride and bridegroom, God is calling us to embrace his affection and love him in return. The Lord throughout Scripture is revealing and calling for those who would love him with all their hearts as a bride her husband in abandon, following him where he goes, giving of ourselves, our time, talent, treasure, affections and obedience at all costs. 

Loving God Is Our Response

    

     According to the Scripture, it takes God to love God. By that statement I mean that it is only by the power that God gives the human heart, by his grace and the revelation he imparts to us that we can grow in love and heartfelt affection for God. To love and know an invisible God takes supernatural ability, according to  Romans 5:5, “The love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,” and in Ephesians 3, Paul prays that God would give s the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God.  The truth is, our ability to love God is directly related to his love for us in that we love because he first loved us as we see in 1 John. AW  Tozer writes of the importance of Godward love when he said, “Not only are we all in process of becoming; WE ARE BECOMING WHAT WE LOVE. We are to a large degree the sum of our loves and we will of moral necessity grow into the image of what we love most. Our loves changes, molds and transforms us. What we love is therefore not a small matter to be lightly shrugged off; rather it is of present, critical and everlasting importance. It is prophetic of our future. It tells us what we shall be, and so predicts accurately our eternal destiny. Loving the wrong objects twists and deforms the life and makes it impossible for that life to image the Lord Jesus Christ. This furnishes in part a rational explanation for the first and greatest commandment: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” To become like God is and must be the supreme goal of all moral creatures. This is the reason for their existence, and apart from this reason there can be no excuse found for existence. (Thus the hopelessness of our day.)”

Loving God for His Beauty

When King David described in the book of Psalms the supreme passion of his life, it wasn’t power, military victory, earthly success or wealth, it was his undying love and passion to look upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. David’s longing heart to see and know the heart of God inspires us today. What does it mean to see the beauty or glory of the Lord? David both gazed on God, and He inquired of God according to Psalm 27:4. We gaze on God by the meditation of the Word specifically related to the beauty of his emotions and the beauty of his throne. We inquire of God by prayer, petition and the communion of the Spirit. We do this best when we have a paradigm of a God who is a beautiful. Revelation Chapters 4-5 give us a glimpse into the beauty of God’s throne—by meditating in the Word we begin to fall in love and our hearts become fascinated with him as he grants us revelation into his heart.  The revelation of God’s beauty is essential in our quest to live holy before God. We resist sin far better when God fascinates our hearts. When the Holy Spirit reveals the Father and the Son to our hearts, our hearts become fascinated and exhilarated with God. There is no greater pleasure in the human experience than when God reveals God to the human spirit. Moses prayed to see God’s glory and God answered Moses and promised to proclaim His name to Moses. When God proclaimed His name, He was proclaiming His character and His personality, in other words, God promised to manifest His personality to Moses. The way in which God reveals His glory or beauty to us is by revealing His heart and His personality.

Loving God with All Our Heart

Loving God with all our heart means to love him with all our affections and our emotions. We “set” our affections on anything we choose. We can determine some of our emotions by the setting of the heart—we change our mind and God changes our heart. Our emotions will follow whatever we set ourselves to pursue—we can set our heart to be filled with zeal for God.  The Psalmist wrote, “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him.” (Psalm 91:14) 

     Another way to intentionally set our affections to love Jesus is to remove everything that diminishes our affections for him like bitterness, lust and being over stimulated by entertainment. This requires that we focus on pursuing love for Jesus more than gaining things and influence. David declared that he would love God and therefore set the intention of his heart to love God. In Psalm 18:1 he said, “I will love You, O Lord, my strength.” John the Apostle leaned on Jesus’ heart or set his heart to love and be as near to Him as possible.  Likewise, we  can set our heart to love Him by committing to walk in obedience even when it is costly. We  also set our heart on loving God by regularly asking for supernatural help to love Jesus. Ask God to pour his love for Jesus into your heart and to direct the reigns of your heart into His love—”May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God. (2 Thessalonians. 3:5)

Loving God With Our Souls

To love God with all our soul means to love him with our personality which is expressed mostly through our speech. When we determine to express our personality by speaking and acting in a way that enhances not diminishes love we express love for God in doing so. It actually moves God’s heart when we control ourselves from cutting down someone and instead choose to lift them up and encourage them. That is the difference between life and death—which as Proverbs tells us is in the tongue. 
      The most common way to use our soul to quench love is by grieving the Spirit by our words which in turns diminishes our ability to receive from God in the same measure.  We walk in love by purifying our speech (Eph. 5:1-6) rather than diminishing love by wrong speech that affects our inner man. For example, when we speak in dishonoring ways about the saints the Scripture tells us we are acting worldly and immature. We are to renounce grumbling and evil speaking against one another and rather encourage one another, singing and making music in our hearts to the Lord.
     The important thing however is that when we do fail in this our confession is not that we are a hopeless hypocrite nor are we despised by God. Rather we confess that we are loved by God and we are a lover of God, therefore this defines us and makes us successful. We are not defined by failure or by our accomplishments. By choosing to live in our spiritual identity of being loved and loving God in return our lives become secure in God rather than wrapped up in our appearance or performance before people. This is the principle of living before an audience of One. Not that we are not accountable and connected to people—that is absolutely vital to a vibrant Christian life. But we are also not devastated or puffed up by the rejection or the approval of people. Rather than needing affirmation from people, we receive it directly from God and affirm our agreement with him by our confession even when we don’t feel it—our emotions will catch up with the confession.  A great way to start is by saying to God, “Jesus, I am Your beloved, Your favorite one, a disciple You love.”  In a similar way John the Apostle described himself in his Gospel— “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’” John 21:7.

Loving God With All Our Minds

To love God with all our mind we must actively fill our minds with long and loving meditation on God’s Word and resist putting anything in our minds that diminishes love for Jesus and quenches the Holy Spirit.

     To love God with all of our mind is our decision to take time to fill our mind with God’s word and to agree with biblical paradigms of God. We gain revelation of God’s love by meditating on it from God’s Word. We position ourselves to receive by sitting long hours before God in his Word.
     

Loving God With Our Strength

Loving God with all our strength and with our resources includes time, money, talents, reputation and influence.

Loving God With Our Time

Does anything really speak more loudly to someone regarding your love for them and the way you feel about them than the time you spend with that person? When we slow our lives down just a bit and give God our time, which isn’t always easy but is necessary, we honor God and he is able to work in and through us. As his partners here on earth and his ambassadors, we must daily come to him and be filled with the Spirit and filled with faith and love to represent him truly. As with the nature of any love relationship, time is essential to developing it. Spending time getting to know Christ is the essence of eternal life—to know him. It is the “good part” that Mary of Bethany choose and Jesus declared would not be taken from her.  Give God an offering today of time, sacrifice that TV show, that Facebook update and even that meal to come away with the Lord, receive his love and give him your love in worship and prayer. Quiet yourself before him and allow him to touch your heart through meditation on his Word.

    

Loving God With Our Treasure 

You can’t serve both God and money is how Jesus described the relationship with earthly riches. As the saying goes money makes a poor master, but a good servant. When we love God and honor him with our finances by making him our treasure and pursuit of life, not more stuff, it moves the heart of God. According to Scripture when we make him our great Treasure rather than earthly pursuits he responds and blesses us for it. The Scripture explains that when we seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness he will add everything else to us. If God who owns all silver and gold and all things on the earth makes a promise like that, should we not trust him? So seek him first and expect his blessing. As Hebrews states, God rewards of those who diligently seek him. As C.S. Lewis said, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” 

Loving God With Our Talent 

  

For from him and to him and through him are all things. When the very breathe we breath is from him, we present our very being to him to use as he pleases. Paul explained to the Roman church that they were to present their very bodies and all its members to the Lord as a living sacrifice, for this is reasonable and it is your very act of worship. He gave his all for us and we give our all for him. How could we offer him half hearted love when he spared no expense for us? As the elders and living creatures around his throne never stop saying—he is holy and he is worthy. Our lives are meant to be one with his, this is the invitation to the divine romance.

True Worship

As one who leads others into God’s presence, I have realized how important it is to have a correct perspective of what worship is. Being a musician, I always felt that if I can just focus on God when I am playing my instrument, it means I worshipped and when I finish playing my music I can focus on other things. One day God revealed to me a higher view of worship. He said to me as I was writing a worship song, “Many of my people are only intense and passionate about Me when they are singing and playing. Why do I have to wait for the music to receive intense attention?” Then the revelation fell into my heart. I need to be intense about God all the time.—which gave me the understanding that worship is not a song, not a thirty-minute period in our service to God, it’s not even lifting our hands, and closing our eyes. Worship is a lifestyle, this is why God seeks such (John 4:23), who would worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

The Lord has shown me that a song, lifting my hands, and closing my eyes and playing my instruments are outward manifestations of what has been going on in my heart all week. If you are married, how would you feel if your spouse only showed interest in you when you are intimate, but after that it’s back to business as usual? In a similar way this is what we do to God when we only show passion for him when we sing and play at worship services and not in our everyday life. Every spouse wants someone who they have a great relationship with all the time, and then out of that great relationship you can express it emotionally, sexually and physically. Ultimately, I believe God is looking for what I call lifestyle worshippers. Those who naturally come into His presence in their daily lives—like fish in the sea—the only time the fish suffers and dies is when it’s out of its natural environment. Likewise, our very life depends on us coming to God and living in his Spirit daily. Today do not box your expression to God in a song or a service, be free and worship Him in and with your life.

Here are a few ways to get started.

1. Meditate on his Word daily.
Joshua 1:8 says, “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

2. Sacrifice your will for his will.
Mark 8:24, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

3. Make personal time each day for just you and him to talk.
2 Corinthians 13:14, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

4. Be transparent and talk to him about everything that concerns you.
Psalm 139:1 says, “You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.”

5. Acknowledge him in all your daily decisions.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

6. Keep a thankful attitude all day for everything he’s done for you.
Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.”

Now you can take these steps and then express them in a song, with instruments, and any other forms of expression. These have been some things that have made my worship unto God more amazing and life changing. Make up your mind today that you will be one who the Father seeks for. Make God the center of your very being, and you will begin to see His peace, love and joy overshadow you from day to day.

Interview: 5 Questions with Donna Russo

What has been the most rewarding part of running Kingdom Bound and seeing God's faithfulness to the ministry and vision?
To hear how someone’s life has been impacted or changed by a message they heard or a concert they attended during the festival is the most rewarding experience. Ministries have been launched as a result of a vision being cast by one of the speakers. We know that there are many stories we will only hear in heaven but every time a person takes time to write us and share what God did for them at a festival, it reaffirms why we do this event. Presenting the Gospel through the Arts with the purpose of seeing people come to Christ as well as encouraging believers continues to be the focus and mission of Kingdom Bound Ministries.

Starting out did you think it could grow into one of the premier festivals in the country? Probably not – I can remember each year on the second to last day of the festival the board members, staff and Fred Caserta (our President and Founder) would meet with the Darien Lake staff and announce that we would go forward for another year.  It was always an exciting time.  Now, of course, we plan the next year much earlier but it does not change our excitement and gratitude for God’s consistent provision for the festival. It truly is only by His grace that we take this walk of faith that results in the Kingdom Bound festival every summer.  We are very blessed to enjoy a wonderful partnership with the staff at Darien Lake Theme Park who allow us to fulfill this mission.

Do you have a favorite testimony of how God touched someone at the festival? Several years ago a family attended the festival as a last vacation together – the couple was heading for divorce.  They attended a seminar and had an opportunity to receive prayer and left the festival with a renewed sense of family and resolve to stay together.

What would you say to an aspiring musician trying to make it in Christian music? Pray a lot, be sure of your motivation, pray some more, be open to wise counsel and pray some more.

What is one exhibit/show/event you will make sure to see this year? Exhibit – the Kingdom Bound Justice Experience presented by Let Them LOL.  It WILL change your life. Concert – this is a tough call.  If you are a veteran Kingdom Bounder, you will not want to miss Classic Petra, Rebecca St. James or the Kingdom Bound rewind Band featuring Rick Cua (our current President), Will McFarlane, Margaret Becker, Phil Keaggy, Morgan Cryar, Michael Peace and more.  If you are newer to Kingdom Bound, you definitely want to take in Casting Crowns, Skillet and Chris Tomlin. Event – Enemy Opposition presenting extreme sports demos and testimonies is not to be missed.  For 2011 we are bringing back the Sports Experience featuring Soccer, Basketball and Flag Football – also not to be missed.

For more information please visit www.kingdombound.org or call 800.461.4485.Tickets and campsites are still available for the festival.