More…

Brian Doerkson wrote this back in 1994… a simple song of declaration, desperation, adoration, worship, love and more

More than oxygen, I need Your love
More than life-giving food the hungry dream of
More than an eloquent word depends on the tongue
More than a passionate song needs to be sung

More than a word could ever say
More than a song could ever convey
I need You more than all of these things
Father, I need You more

More than magnet and steel are drawn to unite
More than poets love words to rhyme as they write
More than the comforting warmth of sun in the spring
More than the eagle loves wind under its wings

More than a blazing fire on a winter’s night
More than the tall evergreens reach for the light
More than the pounding waves long for the shore
More than these gifts You give, I love You more

Copyright © 1994 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing

It’s a tough time right now – there are a lot of things we/I am struggling with right now and it’s difficult to always find God or to feel His direction, will and purpose. Whilst playing the guitar this evening and having a bit of a personal worship session, this song sprung into my mind once more. I’ve not played it for years on end and not listened to, or sung, it for nearly as long and yet it entered my mind with such a resounding crash it was plain that God was dropping a (not-so-subtle) hint and it also echoed the cries of my soul right now.

On Sunday we had David Ring speak at Kingsgate. David is a mid-50s preacher from Nashville who also happens to have cerebal palsy. Not a minor variant that is barely noticable but a major, life-effecting, variant that has shaped his whole life. Look him up on YouTube, please, and catch some of what we experienced on Sunday. It was a humbling, heart-warming, challenging, encouraging, amazing and blessed testimony that he shared with us including the very simple, but life-challenging, line of “I have cerebal palsy – what’s your problem?”

I’ve tried to hold on to the inspiration that he gave to us – but unfortunately it’s not that easy for too many reasons to list here and so I’ve still found myself struggling a lot and feeling quite down and trapped. This song sums up for me what my heart is crying out now… More than a word could ever say, I need You MORE than all of these things…

Please pray for us at the moment. It’s a time that is proving testing and difficult but we know that God has it all under control – it’s just remembering that when I feel the darkness swamp my mind.

More than oxygen, I need Your love. More than life-giving food the hungry dream of….. Father, I need you MORE!

Ouch

Do you have your Ouch-es?

These are the sore points that come out and don’t so much prick your conscience as give it a totally huge kick.

Evenings such as the recent Comic relief night are seriously good for causing Ouch-es – did you see the video that showed the 12-month old boy dying from malaria?

Another good source of Ouch-es are the weekly sermons we hear at KingsGate.

Don’t get me wrong – Ouch-es are GOOD things, not negatives and, received with the right attitude, can be life-changing moments.

We can sometimes have the nice warm & fuzzy sermons, and they are great… but the ones that have the biggest impact, and the most effect, are those with the OUCH factor.

The current sermon series is looking at Jesus: close up and yesterday featured some seriously big OUCH-es (yes, they were that big they deserve to be written in capitals!!!)

Right now I am pondering all that these ouches are going to mean to me, to my walk with God and to my life in all.

And the core of my prayer – May I receive it well and… More Lord!

Who is Jesus? Do you know Him?

We’ve just started a new series at Church looking at “Jesus: Close up”, an ideal subject for the build up to Easter (my favourite time of year!) and the sermon this Sunday was looking into “Who is Jesus?” [you can download here!]

It’s not necessarily as straight-forward to answer as you may first think because there is just so much to who He is and even though I’ve grown up knowing about Him, I still learnt a fair bit from the session and it was really good having a refresher session on areas I probably havbe taken for granted.

Dave Smith (and Karen) has just returned from a mini-sabbatical and really seems fired up in a new way following visits to many churches around the world and there is a passion that fills all he says which makes the talks even more powerful. There seems to be a real sense that we are entering the “second chapter” of the churches history and that there is something big on the horizon.

At the end of the sermon we were shown a video clip which I have since found on YouTube and have put here for your enjoyment 🙂

Have a listen, enjoy, be blessed… and be challenged!

P.S. Hope you’ve noticed the new Worship Videos on the right-hand side? This is a playlist I’ve made on YouTube and will change every now and then.