Monthly Archives: March 2011
Jesus Christ: Hell is A Real Place and Real People Will Go There.
A Bible Study on the Biblical topic of Hell based on Revelation chapter 14. This is an audio message given by Jim Greer (me). I thought I would post it since Rob Bell has come out so strongly against the concept in his “Love Wins” book. Like Rob Bell, I would prefer that Hell was not an option. However, what you or I prefer doesn’t change how things are. The most important question is not what I would like to be true. Rather it is what does the Bible say about the topic? What did Jesus himself teach about Hell? Sadly, He taught that Hell is a real place and real people will go there.
Charles Spurgeon: Jesus Christ Doesn’t Need a Worship Band to lead People to Himself
These days, it seems that music is the most important element at the typical Sunday morning church gathering. Don’t believe me? Try this: take your watch and time each element of the service: announcements, singing, the message, prayer, etc. The time alloted for singing at many churches is often the winner. Usually, we give the most time to that which we consider the most important thing.
If we ask why music takes such a prominent role in our gatherings, one of the answers we are given is that non-christians like good music and it draws them to church. If we want to reach them with the gospel (who doesn’t want to do this?) then we have to have a great band! I disagree with this. Non-christians do not come to our services because we have a great band. They really don’t. As a full-time musician, I can honestly say that the music in our church services is largely VERY unimpressive to the christian let alone the non-Christian. Plus we don’t serve alcohol!
The great Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon himself, declared that Jesus Christ does not need a great worship band to reach the lost. Well, he didn’t use those exact words. But that is what he would say today. Consider his argument: Read the rest of this entry
Christ-Centered Worship Songs: “Perfect Lamb of God”
We have noticed a disturbing trend in the corporate worship songs of the church. Perhaps you have too? It seems that we sing very little about the main point of Christianity. This is due, in large part, to church leaderships desire to be more “sensitive” to those who attend the service but are not Christians.
The research tells us (we are told), that non-Christians don’t really want to hear about sin and guilt and being accountable to a holy God. Hearing about a Savior dying on a bloody cross for their sins is not high on their priority list. To reach them, we must eliminate these topics from our sermons and our songs. Sadly, much of the Evangelical church has mistakenly signed on to this approach. We could not disagree more strongly!
The message of a crucified and risen Savior and the reconciliation that this can bring is the only message the church has! It is the one and only message the church has been entrusted with and that the lost so desperately needs to hear.
As one who has been responsible for leading corporate singing for years,…
I can attest to how frustrating it has become to find songs that are worth singing! There are many out there, but it takes time to find them. Because of this, we have started a new feature at Not For Itching Ears. Each week, we will post one worthy (at least in our opinion) worship song for you to listen to. We will post the lyrics as well as the Mp3 along with a chord chart when possible. This weeks selection is “Perfect lamb of God”, by Adam Sacks. We hope you enjoy it. Caution: The first time I heard this song I hit the skip button. It has a Jewish flavor to it, and the intro to the song made me falsely assume that I would not like it. I was wrong! Read the lyrics first and then Read the rest of this entry
The God of Calvinism and A Calvinists translation of John 3:16-18?
I thought I might stir things up a bit today. A friend wrote this story and titled it “The God of Calvinism. He didn’t add the question mark, that was my addition. Is this the God that true Calvinism depicts? Read this story by Kurt Dahlin and share your thoughts. Read the rest of this entry
Get This Must Have Book On Early Church History
The Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs by David W. Bercot, is a must have book for anyone interested in learning what the early church fathers taught. Extremely informative and very easy to read and use! I am thrilled that I found it about 3 years ago. So much so, that I wanted to let you all know about it.
Most evangelical disciples of the 21st century have had their theological views shaped primarily from the arguments of the 1500’s. That is 1500+ years removed from the actual events. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back and read what the early disciples taught about these matters? Of course, you can, but it has been a tedious endeavor. Up until now. This book is written in a format that allows simple and easy access to the writings of the early church fathers of the first 300 years of church history (The Anti-Nicene Fathers).
How did the disciples of the Apostles and their disciples view original sin, the trinity, free-will, predestination, God’s sovereignty and fore-knowledge, worship, music in church services, parenting, salvation, eternal security or Read the rest of this entry
Christ-Centered Worship Songs: “Through the Precious Blood”
This column, “Cross-Centered Worship Songs”, was started as a way to serve my many worship leading friends. I hope to introduce some of the lesser known songs out there that you may not have heard.
We will be posting songs from different genres: hymns, a capella, contemporary rock, etc. We will post the lyrics as well as the Mp3 along with a chord chart when possible. I hope you find it helpful. If you do, please let us know! This weeks selection “Throught the Precious Blood” is a medium tempo song in 6/8 time. Read the rest of this entry
Worship Leader Make-Over: Choosing New Songs Wisely
There was a time, not to long ago, when choosing a new song for corporate worship wasn’t that difficult. There weren’t that many out there to choose from! Christian Radio wasn’t much help. If you walked into a Christian bookstore, you would find an 8′ x 4′ section dedicated to contemporary music. You heard that new song at a friends church or a conference, and that was it. Then, in the 80’s, Hosanna Integrity and the Vineyard began producing bi-monthly worship tapes. They were very succesful and their success helped catapult the fledgling contemporary christian music scene into what it has now become.
Finding new songs to choose from is no longer difficult. They are everywhere. Finding great new songs is a more tedious task. If you are responsible for leading the corporate singing time of your congregation, you are well aware of this challenge. So how do you go about choosing new songs for the congregation? What process do you use to help weed out the mediocre or poorly written songs, or do you have a process? What criteria should you use?
Allow me to share the number one thing I do to help me in this process. Over the years it has helped me more than anything else I could share. It is simply this: Read the rest of this entry
Is Using Instruments in Corporate Worship A Violation of the New Testament? An Argument from 1864
“I prefer reading books written by dead men!”, an old man of God once told me. When I asked him why, he told me that books by great men of God who are no longer with us, are not influenced by our current cultural trends. Their understanding of God’s word is not colored by the same issues that affect us in our day. Many of the issues we face, were not even around back then. It is refreshing to read books by people who do not have a horse in the race, so to speak. Over the years, I have come to appreciate that perspective and have adopted it as my own.
On a recent trip to the Goodwill, I found a very old commentary on the Book of Acts, written by J.W. McGarvey in 1863. (I bought it at for .99 cents!) As I read it, I began to tear up. “Where are these men today Lord?” I asked out loud.
I did a little research on the man who wrote the commentary. One of the things I found was this very interesting article titled “Instrumental Music in Churches.” He was against it and argued from the Scriptures that instruments were not to be used in the Church era. He wrote this article in 1864, at a time when most churches Read the rest of this entry
Christ-Centered Worship Songs: Leading Worship at a Funeral
It was the most difficult “worship” service I have ever had the honor of planning or leading. On a cold January morning, the pastor called me into his office. One of the young ladies in our congregation had died in a horrible car crash. She was only 20. “Jim,” the pastor said, “we’ve been asked to lead worship for her service. I am putting you in charge.” Nicole had been “The Girl of The West” which was a very big deal out here in Colorado. Because of this, her memorial service had to be moved to a much larger facility. We expected over 500 people to attend. I was overwhelmed by the assignment!
Leading worship at a funeral for a genuine believer is no small task. Yes, we gather to celebrate their life, but the emotion present in those gathered is not celebratory. It is grief, gut wrenching heartache, over the loss of someone they love. Few people feel like singing. In addition, many who attend the service will not know the Savior. If you are asked to lead worship in this situation, you will need songs that help people express their pain and their hope in the resurrection. You will also need songs that call unbelievers attention to the Savior.
I don’t remember the songs we chose for Nicole’s service. I do recall there were several drafts, and that I was not completely happy with our final choices. I wish I had known about Read the rest of this entry
Not For Itching Ears 