Notes From My Church-Every Time I Breathe You Seem A Little Bit Closer
PLACE:Lakewood Church-Houston, Tx
Joel Osteen, Pastor
DATE: Saturday, June 23, 2007
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
THE MUSIC:
Worship Team: Cindy Ratcliff, Da’dra Greathouse, Choir & Band
Songs: Forever, We Have Overcome, All The Earth, How Great is Our God, How Great Thou Art, You Deserve The Glory, Turn It Around, Every Time I Breathe
Worship was led by the ladies this week and they did a stellar job. I particularly enjoyed “All The Earth” which was led by Cindy. It’s a beautiful song of worship with lyrics that remind us of the splendor of Almighty God. Splendor of such magnitude that everything on earth literally sings with the love and glory of God. The ladies teamed up on “How Great is Our God” and rocked the place with their tight harmonies! They sounded awesome together! When Da’adra followed up on lead on “How Great Thou Art”, you could feel the change in the atmosphere. It was a great time in the presence of God.
Lakewood’s choir director, Michael Mellett sung Big Daddy Weave’s “Every Time I Breathe” with the accompaniment of two guitar players. I’ve noticed the name Big Daddy Weave all over the Billboard Charts, but had not heard any of the music. I think the name had me hung up a little bit. 
But, I really liked the song and Michael and his guitarists did a great job. I liked the lyrics, maybe because I see myself in them. I am sure all of heaven has heard me cry about one thing or another too. The song reminds me of the bible verse that says, the closer we draw to God the closer He draws to us (James 4:8).
I am sure all of heaven’s heard me cry
As I tell You all the reasons why
This life is just too hard
But day by day
Without fail
I’m finding everything I need
And everything that You are
To me
Chorus:
Every time I breathe You seem a little bit closer
I never want to leave
I want to stay in Your warm embrace
Oh basking in the glory shining from Your face
And every time I get another glimpse of Your heart
I realize it’s true
That You are so marvelous God
And I am so in love with You
That’s another thing I love about Lakewood, getting to hear all kinds of music. This Big Daddy Weave tune is currently Billboard’s top Christian song. I enjoyed being able to hear Michael’s version again on FaithBasedBlog. You can also catch Cindy and Da’adra at that link. I need to go and cop Big Daddy’s Weave’s CD!
THE MESSAGE:
Scripture Reference: Philippians 1:6, Hebrew 10:23, Zechariah 4:6
Subject: God Wants To Finish What He Started In Your Life
Sermon Synopsis:
Pastor Joel said we all have things in our lives that we have not completed, such as a dream to start a business, to get out of debt or to obtain a better job. For many people, the pressure of life has caused many of their dreams to be abandoned. According to Pastor Joel, God has promised to bring all of our dreams to pass if we stay in faith and keep our hopes up. God is a god of completion; He will finish what He started. God is continually working behind the scenes in our lives, to bring to completion the dreams he’s put in us. We slow down this process by having negative and discouraging thoughts.
Pastor Joel said that when you believe, all the forces of darkness can’t stop your dream from coming to pass. Get a vision for your dream and be confident that God will finish what he started in you. God put the dream in your heart and He has every intention of making it come true. Pastor Joel said that it is important to be content where you are, but keep your dreams alive in your heart. No matter how many obstacles you face remember that God always has a way to bring your dreams to fruition. Every day declare favor over your dreams. God is faithful and He has the final say. It is never to late for you to live your dreams.
**Of course, this is only a very short summary of Pastor Joel’s sermon. To get the full effect you can watch this service and other archived services at http://www.lakewood.cc/ or http://www.joelosteen.com/. You can also sign up for the free podcasts or call 1-800-487-0565 for copies of the sermons.
THE ATMOSPHERE:
To me worship is praising God for who He is. Praise and worship changes the atmosphere and allows everyone to focus on the majesty of God and His love for us. Lakewood sets the atmosphere for you to forget what you are going through and focus on God. Pastor Joel says at the beginning of every service to forget about your problems and focus on God. I believe that when we do that, God is able to move in our lives.
….and that is what happened in my church this weekend. What was it like in your place of worship this week? The entire universe is filled with God’s love and grace. We would love to hear about your church service. Post a comment or e-mail me at dominique@1800gospel.com and tell us all about the music, the message and the atmosphere at your church.
Comments
Leave a Reply
