This Just In...

I preached!

Last Sunday I had the wonderful opportunity to preach my second sermon ever. The pastor of my church here in Mexico City invited me to fill in for him while he was on vacation. It was my first sermon in an actual church and also my first sermon in English. I preached on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Here is an excerpt I thought I'd share:


"The wonderfully good news of the parable is that the Good Samaritan is Christ himself! This is the very heart of the gospel and it is what gives us any hope at all and all the hope in the world. If we are going to understand the hope and comfort that Christianity offers at all, we must understand that the gospel is a person. I work at the UNAM with a Christian ministry, and I talk with students all the time who are self-proclaimed “spiritual” people, but who are absolutely against the idea of Jesus as Savior. Maybe that’s where some of you are at this morning. I always try to explain to these students that, according to the Bible, and according to Jesus himself, there is no spirituality without the person of Christ. In other words, spirituality is a person. Religion is a person. And until we know the person of Jesus, we do not know God."

This is surely hard to believe

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

-William Cowper, 1774


O, that we would believe this!

Spurgeon on the "Black Words" of the Bible

I found this quite eloquent and enlightening.

"So the Lord doth add threatenings to commands; for sometimes a black word will drive a soul to Christ where a bright word would not draw it. Fears of hell sometimes make men flee to Jesus. The weary wing made the poor dove fly to the ark: and the thunderbolts of God's justice are only meant to make thee fly to Christ the Lord."

Eat Your Heart Out Hollywood

Lately I've been reading almost exclusively a mix of books on marriage. It has been a great blessing to mine these books for gold and to think through the joys and the hardships of marriage. This morning I read the chapter on Submission in Mike Mason's The Mystery of Marriage and was blessed by this profound thought on love and marriage:

"To love is not just to view someone as the most wonderful person in the world or as some kind of saint. It is also to see all the weakness, the falseness and shoddiness, all the very worst in the loved one exposed--and then to be enabled, by the pure grace of God, not only to accept this person, but to accept in a deeper, more perfect way than was possible before. Love works for two people, in other words, the way faith works for one. For faith always begins with a frank recognition of one's own sinfulness (called repentance), which paradoxically opens up the way for greater self-acceptance through forgiveness. Similarly, before love can really begin to be love, it must face and forgive the very worst in the person loved.

In marriage, a wife's imperfections are not something a husband can afford to hold against her, but neither can he afford simply to overlook them. Rather he must bear them with her as part of his cross, just as she bears with him. To live with her in love is to experience at close quarters the way she herself struggles with her own humanness. Is such intimate and costly knowledge to be repaid with criticism? No, it can be answered only with tenderness and compassion and borne with a profound sadness that in turn makes room for more and more love. In this way, love not only falls from heaven but rises from the earth. Lo love is to be caught in the vortex of another's humanity, to spiral down and down into the murky, tragic tangles of the sinful flesh, where only pure love can go without being defiled. If hatred often consists in being repelled by mere impressions, by surface characteristics in other people who happen to rub us the wrong way, then love consists in seeing into the very center of the twistedness and sin and self-love that are in the heart of another person and yet not being repelled: holding on to the grace by which we ourselves are loved and finding in it the strength to descend with another into their darkest place. If we love other people for their saintliness, then we do not love at all. Love is wasted on saints. It is meant for the sinner."

A Pet Peeve

When a band/artist makes a music video using an acoustic guitar when the song is clearly dominated by electric guitar. (i.e. the new Kevin Devine video for "I Could Be With Anyone"). Highly disappointing, Kevin. Actually, this is a repeat for you. You did the same thing (only reversed) in "Me & My Friends". That's just shameful.

Oh John, You Had Me At Hello

This fascinates me. While I always knew that John Mayer was one of the most talented pop/rock artists on the main-stream scene(probably the most talented in my opinion), I don't think I ever realized the extent of his genius. I went to his site randomly today to see if a new record was in the works, and, I must say, I'm addicted to this organic, focused, creative project he has going on. If only more musicians were as concerned with being smart and genuine, I think music would be in a far different place.

Choose Your Poison

Found this killer site where you can hear recordings of any microphone you can imagine. The best part about it--you choose the instrument or even a male or female voice that you'd like to hear recorded. This is great for people like me who have limited resources as far as actually listening to the sounds these microphones capture in a studio environment. Looks like my search for an affordable microphone that is good for acoustic guitar and vocals isn't as limited as I thought. Check out this site!

Anybody know anything about the BLUE Bluebird Microphone?

I'm looking for a solid, large-diaphram mic to record vocals and acoustic guitar for $300 or less. Anyone know anything about the BLUE brand of microphones, specifically the Bluebird? If not, any other recommendations for a good mic in that price-range?

3 Reasons Why April Just May Be the Best Month for Music of 2009

Do yourself a favor and pick all of these up on itunes or at your local record store. 3 of my favorite artists; 3 of their greatest works to date.

Home Studio, Here I Come!

Some of you may know that I have been working on recording a Spanish-language worship cd for the past semester. I am recording everything here in my apartment, and it has been a wonderful opportunity to acquire new gear to develop my home studio (which is really just beginning). A few months ago I picked up Sonar Producer 8 recording software (which I highly recommend as it is very user friendly and very complete). My newest additions to the studio are these bad boys:

They are Yamaha HS50M's and, so far, I am blown away by their clarity and accuracy. I highly recommend these affordable, quality studio monitors to any sound-engineer/musician with any sort of smaller project studio. Hope to get some pictures up soon of some of the recording process as well as my little studio set-up.

Now, if I could just get some more microphones...

What's Wrong With the World?

I just finished reading Tim Keller's short but rich book on the Parable of the Prodigal Son entitled, The Prodigal God. I thought I would share this quote:

"When a newspaper posed the question, 'What's Wrong with the World?' the Catholic thinker G.K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: 'Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G.K. Chesterton.' That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus."

"Faith Reviving" by Augustus Toplady

I recently read J.I. Packer's A Quest for Godliness and discovered this gem-of-a-text within. It's both a blessing and a challenge. A blessing because it reminds me of the truth that my heart so desperately needs to hear. A challenge because I spend everyday of my life trying to justify myself in the way that this hymn explains Christ has already done.

From whence this fear and unbelief?
Hath not the Father put to grief
His spotless Son for me?
And will the righteous Judge of men
Condemn me for that debt sin
Which, Lord, was charged on thee?

Complete atonement thou hast made,
And to the utmost farthing paid
Whate'er they people owed;
How then can wrath on me take place
If sheltered in thy righteousness,
And sprinkled with thy blood?

If thou hast my discharge procured,
And freely in my room endured
The whole of wrath divine,
Payment God cannot twice demand--
First at my bleeding Surety's hand,
And then again at mine.

Turn then, my soul, unto they rest!
The merits of thy great High Priest
Have bought thy liberty;
Trust in his efficacious blood,
Nor fear thy banishment from God,
Since Jesus died for thee.

Letters of Samuel Rutherford

I've come to love books of pastoral letters. It's a tradition that has been pretty much lost in our day (with the exception of the late Jack Miller), but I've come to see it's beauty and grace, the reality of pastoral counsel recorded to be milled over and chewed as cudd. Lately I have been reading the Letters of Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish, Puritan pastor who was exiled from his parish and forced to cease all preaching of God's word. Here is a passage from his letters that strikes me as particularly poignant and real. As you can see, Puritan pastors matched brokenness and truth in a way that bleeds humility.

"I see faith's necessity in a fair day is never known aright; but now I miss nothing so much as faith. Hunger in me runneth to fair and sweet promises; but when I come, I am like a hungry man that wanteth teeth, or a weak stomach having a sharp appetite that is filled with the very sight of meat, or like one stupified with cold under the water, that would fain come to land but cannot grip anything casten to him. I can let Christ grip me, but I cannot grip him. I love to be kissed, and to sit on Christ's knee; but I cannot set my feet to the ground, for afflictions bring the cramp upon my faith. All that I can do is to hold out a lame faith to Christ like a beggar holding out a stump, instead of an arm or leg, and cry, 'Lord Jesus, work a miracle!' O what would I give to have hands and arms to grip strongly and fold handsomely about Christ's neck and to have my claim made good with real possession! I think that my love to Christ hath feet in abundance, and runneth swiftly to be at him, but it wanteth hands and fingers to apprehend him. I think that I would give Christ every morning my blessing, to have as much faith as I have love and hunger; at least I miss faith more than love or hunger."

Skinny Love

Brother's Blood

Kevin Devine is, in my opinion, one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. This is the title-track off of his upcoming anticipated release. I can't recommend his records to you enough. Buy them all. I know of very few artists who understand, and implement, the tango of storytelling and poetry in their songwriting like this young, Brooklyn-based artist.

The First Time In a Long Time...

I was in Spartanburg for a few weeks last month, and while I was there I had the chance to go to a house show at one of my old, good friend's house. He let me play some songs in between the other, scheduled bands sets. This is the product.

"Saved By His Precious Blood"

Recently, I had the great privilege and blessing of re-reading J.I. Packer's article entitled "Saved By His Precious Blood", which is an outlining of the Reformed faith. I believe this was the third time I had read the article, and I could not help but feeling inspired and, dare I say, further sanctified, as I was reading the article.

I doubt that any single article has ever affected my theology, and thus my life, in such a profound and drastic way (thus I exhort you to read this article!). When I first read the article, about 5 years ago, I was struggling with Reformed Theology (or Calvinism) and what the Bible really had to say about the manner in which God brings us to salvation and then to sanctification and glorification. This article was the resource that helped me most in my progression from being Arminian to being Reformed, as it displays a theology that is chiefly about glorifying God. While many Calvinistic arguments are based on arrogance and pride, this piece by Packer is humbly written and Christ-centered. He proposes that we should embrace the theology of God's sovereign grace, not because it communicates a high view of the gospel, but rather because (as Spurgeon once said), it is the gospel!

This essay is far superior to many other articles of a similar nature because it declares that Calvinism extends to far more than 5 points. In fact, Packer points out that the 5 points we commonly accept as Reformed Theology are actually just 1 point, that what Christ accomplished on the cross was completely effective in, not simply provided a way for sinners, but in actually effectually saving those who have been chosen by our sovereign, loving God. Packer cites the 5 points as falling far short of the glory of the Reformed faith, and expounds the wonders of the powerful, effective and saving God of the Reformed faith as compared to the puny, pleading, half-saving God of Arminianism.

If you are a Calvinist, I entreat you to read this article so that you will see the aim of our faith, to exalt God! If you are not a Calvinist, I hardly think you can reject the Reformed faith without reading this powerhouse of an article, which finds all of its potency in the voice of Scripture.

I pray that the Lord uses this article to bless others the way it has, and continues to, bless me.