The crowd is pressing, thronging Him,
He seems so far away.
I wonder if I'll ever have the strength to make my way.
In desperation, I push through, I must, I must succeed,
In touching One who has the pow'r to meet my every need.
CH: Closer to Jesus, that's where I long to be.
I long to have the hem of His garment just within my reach.
If I draw near to Him, He will draw near to me,
I want to be…closer to Jesus.
I've touched Him, now I know His pow'r
Is more than I could see.
So suddenly, the sin and guilt is gone, and I am free.
He turns to me, and oh, the great compassion in His voice,
Thy faith hath made thee whole, He says,
And now I can rejoice! (Let me be)
Closer to Jesus - http://www.godlychristianmusic.com/music/play2.aspx?id=553&type=song.mp3
This website has original songs from singer/songwriters. You have to weed through them, but there are many very nice songs to choose from. They have some really cute kid's songs and teen choruses. I am always looking for new songs to sing in church that others may have never heard of. There are also a lot of scripture songs, but be aware, not all use the KJV.
Questions For Pastors When Being Forced Out
Sometimes you feel that nobody cares about you. Having faced a form of this on a couple of occasions, I know exactly how it feels when the people that you love, pray for, help, and would die for, want to see you leave. It is also quite amazing how a pastor is treated by his fellow preachers when he does leave. It seems that when a pastor shares all of the gory details, making himself look good, that pastors are quick to get behind him. However, when a pastor tries to keep things "hush hush", somehow he is always the problem; obviously hiding something. The truth of the matter is that neither scenario is 100% accurate.
Listed below are some questions that a pastor should ask himself when he feels that he is being forced out!
#1 - Pastor, Are You Digging The Hole Yourself?- Many times, pastors are the ones who are digging the hole in which they find themselves.
- Look around and see if there are others in the hole with you!
Christmas tree or no Christmas tree :)
If I've heard it once....I've heard it a million times (pardon the exaggeration). Certain circles look down upon the lowly Christmas as a sign of idolatry, the eyes of scrutiny and the fingers of mockery point to the passage of (Jeremiah 10 v1-5) as proof that placing a Christmas tree in your home is one that should be avoided at the highest degree.
Alright....let's view the actual passage then, and see exactly what Jeremiah..or better yet the Holy Ghost through Jeremiah was talking about.
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. ~Jeremiah 10
On face-value, I can see why these passages may be interpreted to Christmas trees, but a little understanding of idolatry and what constitutes idolatry easily diffuses this mis-understanding pretty quickly.
In Deuteronomy 4; God in my opinion gives the clearest explanation of what idolatry is, for the sake of length, I shall not paste the verses here, but I encourage everyone to read the chapter.
To summarise what idolatry is, it's the making of any graven image of any likeness in Heaven, Earth or in the seas - not to mention worshiping the sun, moon & stars or all the hosts of heaven. God not only forbids making these images, but he also forbids worshiping them. A two-fold command which not only is against the creating of images of God, but also against bowing down and worshiping them.
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