Songs From The Valley - Website

Check out the Songs From The Valley website. You can learn a bit about the artists who will be sharing their music with us and get a chance to listen to some of the tunes. Enjoy!

Songs From The Valley - Aug 21 at 7pm

Hey everyone,

There's a concert coming up called "Songs From The Valley" featuring Art Heckman, Dave Foster and a group of guys who sing a capella together called "Quint-Essential". The purpose of the concert is to serve as an encouraging time of worship for our community. There is no other agenda other than gathering to spend some time hearing some great music and worshiping through song. If we happen to have a good time and are blessed because of it, then that is the great goodness of spending time together and joining our voices as we worship. Come and sing!



What: Songs From The Valley

When: August 21 at 7:00pm

Where: Saint Matthew Lutheran Church, Walnut Creek, CA 94518

Contact: 925-932-1955 x117 or jasonb@saintmatthew.org

- Jason

New Sunday Evening Worship Service

New Sunday Evening Worship Service

Beginning September 6, we will be offering a Sunday evening worship service at 6:00 p.m. in the Teen Center. With the fall season and the congregation-wide OUTFLOW series approaching, we want to give people many opportunities to participate regularly in worship.

There are many reasons why people can't make it to church on Sunday mornings, they:
- work Sunday mornings
- have kids in competitive sports
- are away for a weekend
- missed Sunday morning worship
- have been encouraged to hear the message by
someone who attended earlier in the morning
- are teens and/or families involved in Promiseland & Impact

If you can identify with any of the above mentioned situations, we'd like you to consider worshipping on Sunday evenings.

The format will be a band-led worship time with more contemplative shades and room for more eclectic style and content. The message will be given by the morning preacher as an overview of the morning message, with a chance for dialogue. And in the spirit of what it means to worship together at Saint Matthew, we will celebrate communion at every service. Also, we will have a shared meal immediately following this service (potluck style).

One of the implications of doing this Sunday evening worship is how it will affect Heritage worship. Our plan is to revise how we are approaching Heritage worship by offering this service less often (we're thinking quarter ly), but with more significant content. We'll offer great music by a variety of organists and other gifted musicians from Saint Matthew and the surrounding areas, a chance to sing some of the best and most beloved hymns of the church, and time of shar ing in communion and hear ing from God's Word.

Please pray for the worship planning team and the worship volunteers who give so willingly to Saint
Matthew. May you be blessed as we worship together this fall!

Jason

woah...technology

I'm posting from my e-mail w/o having to actually sign into this blogging website.  Awesome!
Jason

Why We Worship Together

Well, school is out and summer is here! As I write this article, I’m reflecting on a presentation I heard at the men’s Crosswalk retreat. The words I heard that weekend are still ringing in my ears: “Don’t try to do this on your own.” The presenter was highlighting a crucial element in the life of the believer who is striving to follow Jesus – community.

When I heard these words, I immediately thought about why it’s important for us to worship together and make the commitment to attend worship regularly. According to scripture, we have been created to thrive in community. God recognized that it was not good for Adam to be alone and created a help-mate, Eve (Gen. 2:18).

The words of scripture also encourage us to “keep meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25) and to encourage one another through “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19) as we are led by the Spirit. In the second chapter of Acts, we read about the early church and how “they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42). This is a good model for us in an age where we are so easily enticed to stay disconnected and distracted from the needs and encouragement of our community. When we meet on Sunday mornings the very act of participating together in worship fosters “glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46). This in turn encourages unity and growth in the Body of Christ(Acts 2:47).

I have heard people say that they will “worship on their own” in the car with a worship music CD or participate in a worship service online at home. There is a time and place for worshiping and praying in solitude and it was modeled for us by Jesus (Luke 6:12). Our busy lives can certainly prevent us from making it to church every Sunday morning, and it is good to have alternatives for when we’re out of town or on vacation. But committing to being at church regularly to worship with the community whenever you are in town has a significant spiritual and unifying impact on the Body of Christ!

May you be blessed as you enjoy this summer!
Peace,
Jason

The Edge - Gibson Explorer

Here's a video from the BBC featuring the Edge from U2. Nice series of videos.

Let Our Hearts Be Gladdened

I like to cook. It's really quite fun and fulfilling (in the accomplishment and the eating). I often find myself wandering over to the laptop computer that is an ever present companion on our kitchen island to find new and interesting recipes. My wife, Sara, is a huge fan of Simply Recipes and we're more often than not trying out some of the great things we find on this site.

If you happen to be coming over to dinner at our place, chances are we're gonna use you as "new-recipe guinea pigs" for some random meal we've found on this site. Don't worry though--as far as we can tell, we've never found (or made) a bad meal yet. When we share in the goodness of food together (and thanking God for His provision in our lives), I believe we tap into something holy and beautiful. Dig in!