Tag: worship

MY PROBLEM WITH THE ‘OVERWHELMING, NEVER ENDING RECKLESS LOVE OF GOD.’

Okay I am finally going to be that bloke who writes a blog moaning about a song loads of people love to sing in church. I know it’s never popular and if you absolutely love the song Reckless Love then just watch it again here on Youtube, enjoy it, pray for me and write me off as a grump. To be fair, I initially liked the song a lot and I’m very grateful to Bethel who put lots of great stuff out for the church. It was only about the fiftieth time of into belting it out at yet another conference that something kind of rose up that didn’t quite fit right. I’ll probably get over it and sing it again. I never thought Amazing Grace would be a hit. But there’s something in the back of my mind now that started to niggle now. It’s kind of all about…me Count how many times ‘I’ and ‘me’ is used. I’ll save you some time, 16. And of course that’s without singing the chorus over and over, so we all really […]

Wonderings about Worshipping

Worship is not ‘a service’ we go to. It’s not even what we do during a service. Worship is our service – Romans 12:1 says when we offer our lives to God, and he’s transforming our minds as we do that, as our lives start to line up with his perfect will– this is ‘our reasonable service.’ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. We want to encourage people to get involved here at Ivy and be a part of what God is up to in our community, but we remember; worship is not a religious ritual or routine, it’s not singing or clapping. It can include some of those things of course but it must never be confined to any particular location or a time of day – that’s the mistake ‘come to church’ church makes, and it’s one reason why I am glad we meet in cinemas, pubs, a warehouse, an arts centre, a […]

Stuck In Jerusalem? It’s Time To Move!

I’ll never forget my time spent in India and Sri Lanka with some of the most beautiful, bold and fearless Christians I ever met. Hearing their stories of persecution puts much of what we moan about in context and changed my mindset forever. I’m reminded of that and challenged to the core reading the post (below the photo) from Exponential. As you read it, ask – what stage are you at? I like to think Ivy is getting to stage 4 right now, but so grateful we do not at this point have to pay the same price at Stage 2 as our brothers and sisters in many parts of the world. What do you think could be the reason so many in the West stay settled in Stage 1?   As director of training and leadership development for India Gospel League (IGL), Benjamin Chellapandian (“Pastor Benny”) oversees 7,000 church-planting pastors in rural India and Sri Lanka who over the past 25 years have planted roughly 70,000 churches. Recently, Chellapandian spoke to a U.S. church about God’s plan and purpose […]

If You Want To Check Out Ivy’s Music…

These amazing guys are just some of of our fabulous musicians, regularly helping people find their way back to God through using their gifts at Ivy Church – as well as finding many other outlets to turn places into parties wherever they are. We’ve come a long way since All Things Bright And Beautiful, but they actually are very bright, very beautiful people who I love lots. Treat your ears!