Jonah – For the Least, Last and Lost

May 25, 2012 Leave a comment

Track two from the For the Least Last and Lost CD is a song called Jonah. Firstly, I’ve had that guitar lick you hear in the opening for a few years and never could put it to the right lyrics. I’ve probably wrote five different songs using a variation of this chord structure and  strums. I finally came with this using the syncopated lyrics. The song practically wrote itself.

It was inspired like a lot of the songs on this CD from Nora Jones and Matt Kearney. It has a laid back feel and the piano adds color to the foundational chord progression. It also has a feel of Celine Dion’s song My Heart Goes on when they play the soundtrack in the movie Titanic with no words during a moment of  reminiscing from the older Rose.

Jonah is my favorite book in the whole bible. It’s a book about a prophet who heard God’s voice and decided to obey the exact opposite of what God said, then finally after a little “coaxing” from God, he went to Nineveh and was still upset with God because God had a different idea of what was needed to happen to the people of Nineveh. It sounds pretty mean to say if you don’t turn to God that He will overturn you and your city. But it’s truth. He has no room for sin in His presence and Nineveh was full of it, them fish slappers.

My favorite verse in the whole book is the very last verse of Jonah.

Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?” Jonah 4:11

You can download the CD for fre at Noisetrade.

Jonah

A town of many people
With no future in sight
A town of many people
Can’t tell their left from their right.
 
A town of many people
So vile in their ways
A town of many people
Will change their heart today
 
Come and listen to me
One of these days
You’ll be overturnd
If you don’t change.
 
A God of  many people
Oh His anger is slow
A God of  many people
Is abundant in love
 
A God of  many people
Has compassion for all
A God of  many people
Wants to send out a call
 
 

Filed under For the Least, music

Here Am I – For the Least, Last and Lost

May 24, 2012 2 Comments

The first track from For the Least, Last, and Lost is “Here Am I”.   A bible readers first inclination would be to think I wrote this song after reading Isaiah 6 where Isaiah is before the Lord and after having his mouth touched with the burning coal cleansing him from his sin, a question was asked on who should God send to speak to His people and Isaiah said, “Here am I lord, use me.”

You would be somewhat right.

I really wrote it with the song message of Just As I Am in my mind. God takes us just as we are but He loves us so much and sees so much potential to be much more than we are that He saves us right where we are at but doesn’t want to leave us there. He wants to make us more. That means taking us where we are at begin to clean us, prune us, and break us of worldly things and put new garments on us, clean us up to be made beautiful so that when Jesus looks at his bride, the church, He sees a thing of beauty.

In the same sense that God takes us where we are at, we must take God where He is at. The difference is God doesn’t change. He is perfect in every way. He doesn’t need to change. Unfortunately we as creation try to make Him to be what he is not through our translation of His word, through our human manifestations and call it the Spirit, and other ways that we misrepresent Him to this world.

We have to allow God to change us.

We have to allow God NOT to change.

Download the CD for free at Noisetrade.com/KevinRiner

Here Am I

Here’s my addictions, all my afflictions,
These chains that keep me down.
Here’s my tongue, my pride and my lust
Do you regret me now that I’m found
 
What can you do with me this way
Who am I that you would want to set free
 
Here am I, take me as I am
Here am I, take me as I am
 
Here’s my love, compassion and trust
Faithfulness in you my child
See the cross where I gave it all
So that you may be justified
 
What can I do with you
Trust me without refuse
 
Here am I, take me as I am
Here am I, take me as I am
 
Just as I am without one plea
My heart lay bare, take it and see
 
Here am I, take me as I am
Here am I, take me as I am
Here am I, take me as I am
Here am I, take me as I am
Just as I am

Filed under and Lost, music

For the Least, Last, and Lost

May 23, 2012 Leave a comment

Three years ago, I received an issue of Worship Leader magazine in the mail. In this issue, there was an article from Tim Hughes  talking about reaching people who are far from God. He said, “God’s heart breaks for the least, last and lost” *. This article really shook me to my inner core and I was moved to go to my office for the next two weeks and pour out my heart in my music writing about fifteen songs for a new CD I wanted to record.

I finished recording these songs and like the CD I recorded before that, I never could figure out how to boost my volumes to radio levels and I didn’t have the money to have them professionally mastered. Until recently when I received a computer with some software on it that could do it.

I’m finally able to get the music out to everyone and I’m very happy about it. I’m afraid that most people won’t understand these songs simply because it’s a heavy record in the sense that the songs carry a heavy message. There’s really only a couple of tracks that are somewhat light in its message so it’s not one that you’re ging to rock in your car. In fact if the right legalist folks get a hold of it, I’m sure I will get some backlash from some of the language I use. You can thank Derek Webb for the inspiration to tell it like I see it.

You can listen as well as download it FOR FREE at noisetrade.

So since this week has been full of introductions, why stop now. I introduce to you…

For the rest of this week and the next, I will be blogging each song and what effect they’ve had on me and why I wrote them. Stay tuned for that. Here is the track listing.

1. Here Am I

2. Jonah

3. Give and Receive

4. Jesus Loves Me (3 year old Kevin)

5. Jesus Loves Me

6. I Believe

7. Here We Are

8. Nighting Gayle

9. True

* Worship Leader magazine March/April 2009 Issue No Depression article p.26

Filed under music

Jesus Lean

May 22, 2012 2 Comments

DO IT!!!

Filed under music

Introducing Nicki Bluhm

May 21, 2012 Leave a comment

I love Stumble Upon. If you haven’t tried it, it’s an app that runs in your browser and when you’re bored, you can click on the icon and it will go to a new website that was predetermined by your interests you set up when you create your account.

Introducing Nicki Bluhm. I love these videos she and her group The Gramblers shot driving around in their van. These are just a handful of all the ones they’ve done. Enjoy!

Filed under music

5.20.12 Worship Rewind

May 20, 2012 3 Comments

  • Like A Lion – Daniel Bashta
  • Your Goodness – Brian Campbell
  • One Thing Remains – Jesus Culture
  • The Awakening Song – Brian Campbell
  • Bones
  • 10,000 Reasons – Matt Redman

Continuing our series Worship Is As Worship Does, we had guest worship leaders, Aaron Long and Brian Campbell stop in off their East Coast tour and lead us in worship and Aaron spoke on Worship As A Lifestyle. Man, I’m really enjoying this series we’re going though. Leaning a lot on worship and hopefully the church is too. I know I’ve already heard a few testimonies on how folks have gained a better understanding.

Aaron does a unique version of Like a Lion leaning more towards the Daniel Bashta version. I do one leaning more towards the radio friendly Newsboys version. Love hearing Aaron sing it.

Brian stepped in and sang a song he wrote called Your Goodness. Brian has an amazing voice sounding a lot like Phil Wickham, smooth and clear. Has a great heart for worship and this song was a great song lyrically.

Aaron picked up the mic again and sang One Thing Remains and back to Brian for another song he wrote called The Awakening Song and then back at Aaron for Bones. They also had Rachel singing backup and she has a really beautiful voice. She reminded me a lot of the band Eisley. I can’t get enough of Eisley.

At the end Brian led us in 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman. I definitely like his version of it. Kinda subdued but not humdrum and didn’t build as much through the song. Great version.

These guys did a great job of bringing a fresh voice and sound to our church as well as giving us a great word on worship as a lifestyle. I’m not much on pulling one line out of a message and building theology around it but Aaron said something that really stuck with me.

“Put your hands down and start getting them dirty. That’s worship!”

What he was saying was we raise our hands in musical worship but worship is more than a song. It’s past time we quit raising our hands so much and start getting them dirty in the work of serving. That’s worship. AMEN  Aaron!

Filed under Sunday Setlist

Brett Lawrie Hits An Umpire

May 17, 2012 Leave a comment

(Sorry for the bad quality video but YouTube restricts copyrighted material)

There’s a good reason why Solomon tells us in Proverbs to watch you anger cause it could come back to bite you. Here we see Brett Lawrie get upset at a strike called high and rightfully so. I believe the reason the umpire called that high strike is because of Brett’s actions on the previous called strike that was juuuuuusst a bit outside. I should know. I’ve done it before while umpiring. If a batter doesn’t like a call  I made, the next pitch will prove a point; that what I say goes.

Unfortunately when we get upset, if we act out of stupidity, we’re going to reap the consequences. Brett, I’m very sure didn’t mean to hit the ump with his helmet and admitted so after the game in a press conference.

“That was not my intention at all,” Lawrie said of striking Miller with his helmet. “I’ve never, ever, done anything to go at an umpire before in my life, and I didn’t mean to tonight. I apologize for that. It just kind of took an unlucky bounce and I think it got him, so my apologies for that.”

But unfortunately for Brett, his helmet took an unfortunate bounce right into the umpire’s leg. Not only with there be a fine but a lengthy suspension as well.

Think before you act. This video shows what not doing so looks like.

Here’s a better video from MLB.

  • Anger in Proverbs

Proverbs 14:17 – A quick tempered man acts foolishly

Proverbs 14:29 – He who is quick tempered exalts folly

Proverbs 29:22 – An angry man stirs up strife, and a hot tempered man abounds in transgression

Filed under devotion

the Links

May 16, 2012 Leave a comment

MARRIAGE/FAMILY

  • How To Miss A Childhood – Great post on MAKING (not taking) time for your kids. I’m learning this one myself.
  • A Titanic Metaphor For Marriage - I’m a big fan of a tragedy. Yup, that’s basically what I’m saying when I say I love the story of the Titanic. This is a great post on 8 ways to making sure your marriage doesn’t sink.
WORSHIP
  • 7 Pet Peeves About Worship Music In Church – From the writer – “I would like to share with you the seven things I most wish I could say to both worship leaders and to those in the pews who complain about music (and this isn’t directed at any particular ones from my church, or from conferences I’ve spoken at :) . These are just general, universal observations! ):”
  • Silence - I’m a firm believer that silence is a huge part of worship. Sunday mornings it’s so difficult to implement it. I know I’d like to do more of this.
  • How Much Worship Is Enough - Is worship just the thirty minutes we spend singing at church? When does worship start? When does worship stop? Grat short post on how long our worship should last.

Filed under the Links

Weapon(s) of Our Warfare

May 15, 2012 Leave a comment

I get to live in an Army town and minister to soldiers. It’s a whole different lifestyle from what I’m used to. I’m from small-town U.S.A. The only experience of army life for me is when my brothers would come home on leave and wash all their stinky clothes and talk all G.I. Joe stuff. Which is to say, not much.

As a worship leader, I’ve never been much on the fighting side of God and have been more on the loving side of God (to my chagrin) because God is a mighty warrior (Zephaniah 3:17). Thanks to my fighting friends, I have learned so much more with an appreciation that God is not just a lamb but a roaring lion as well.

This month we are going through a series at church called Worship Is What Worship Does. This past Sunday, Laurel Grider from Bethel Clarksville came by and led us in worship and the word. She spoke on the weapons of our warfare. We fight not against the things of the flesh but the things of the spirit (Ephesians 6:12).

Th biggest thing I took away from her talk was something so simple yet so profound. It’s God that fights for us and when we take our eyes off Jesus, then we will fail to win the battle because when our eyes are not on him, they’re on the enemy and only He can win the battle. Like Peter began to sink, we begin to lose until we focus on Jesus, the one who champions our battles.

It’s so simple. Yet so hard to do during the heat of the battle. Don’t look at the enemy. Look toward God. When we look at the enemy we look at the problem and see how big it is. When we look at God, we see how much MORE bigger he is than our problem, our fights.

I encourage you when it feels like your fighting a battle that seems to hard to win, check your focus and see what you’re looking at. Are focusing on the enemy or God? When we focus on God, we worship and through our worship, God wins!

Filed under worship

Pair app

May 14, 2012 Leave a comment

Have you ever texted the wrong person and then a follow up text saying, “Whoops, that text wasn’t meant for you.” Yeah me neither, but playing around the other day, I found an app that might could do away from that happening but only with one person of your choosing. Because its intention is for spouses or partners to communicate in a private way without the possibility of texting the wrong person.

It’s called the Pair app.

With the Pair app, you can text with each other as well as send pictures, videos, doodles, to do lists and probably the most appealing use of the app, the thumbkiss. The thumbkiss is where both of you put your thumb to the phone screen and when they line up together, the screen turns red and the phone vibrates.

The concept is pretty cool. I was away last week from my wife and son and and it felt like forever. When I came across this app, I thought I would give it a try. We both went through the process of signing into the app and we tried the thumbkiss. I thought it was simple but somewhat neat. My wife was still trying to figure out what the point was. I’m not sure she got it.

It’s not all it’s cracked up to be unfortunately for me either. The best part about it is the privateness of it. There’s no chance of sending someone else a “love” text intended for my wife. with the phones these days you can send a pic and video through text so it would seem the ONLY good thing about the app is it’s privateness.

The thumbkiss would seem to be a cool thing but I tried to send my wife a thumbkiss but it doesn’t give her a notification that this is being attempted.

FAIL!

There should be a notification when someone attempts to give someone a thumbkiss. But really if this is the ONLY reason to download the app as well as the privateness, then to me it’s not really worth the time. I’d say keep on texting with your built in phone text app. and make darn sure it’s going to the recipient it’s intended for.

Happy texting!

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Filed under marriage

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