Kristene dimarco biography of martin luther

Closing Worship may seem like a strange title, and yet it is probably a very accurate description.

Have you ever been at the end of a worship time in a corporate meeting when the worship just ends, and without any sensitivity in transition something else like the notices start.

When I think about the time which our worship leaders spend practicing their instruments, training their voice, rehearsing with their team, learning & writing new songs, praying into the set, arriving early, and doing a sound check, I cringe at the thought that they can do all that and the set be closed and the most powerful of moments in a gathering can be passed over.

This moment in a service is what many give the title of Closing Worship.

You might not be aware that there is a training series forCLOSING WORSHIP (click to purchase).

It was produced out of a desire to train leaders and their teams in maximising what I consider to be one of the most potentially powerful moments in any corporate meeting where there is worship.

This course contains: 10 Sessions including interviews with experienced worship leaders like Brian and Jenn Johnson, Jeremy Riddle and others.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. Introduction
                  2. Interview with Brian and Jenn Johnson
                  3. Lessons Learned. Kristene DiMarco Clip
                  4. Discussion with Steffany Gretzinger
                  5. Lessons Learned. Jeremy Riddle Clip
                  6. Discussion with Paul and Hannah McClure
                  7. Lessons Learned. I’ll Stand Clip
                  8. Lessons Learned. Brian and Jenn Clip
                  9. Lessons Learned. Breaking the Rules-Shame Clip
                  10. Discussion with Amy Miller
                  11. Closing Comments

It is encouraging and inspiring to watch as either as an individual or as a team training for those called upon to close worship and also for worship teams.

As so many of us return to church this is surely a time to actively pursue stewarding the Presence of God as we move on from this past season.

“If your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” Exodus 33:15

Moses had a clear

There is no way to honestly and thoroughly study United States history without including black history, and I think most home educators would agree – at least the ones I spend time with.

The question becomes, “How much black history is enough?” and each parent will have to answer that question for themselves. For me, it’s a bizarre query that leads me to wonder,

“How much white history is enough?”

I think black history is American history, white history is American history, and the history of America’s indigenous peoples is most certainly American history. The list goes on, and there is no quota on any of it because I want my children to have as complete a picture of American history as reasonably possible. I feel that they’re inseperable, so while I’m using the term here, I never mention “black history” as a subject in our homeschool. It’s simply history.

Without having a numerical goal in mind, I work (and it is certainly labor) to ensure that a significant amount of our United States history studies include dedicated examination of the experiences and contributions of black people in this country. Here is my approach to U.S. history:

• A general American history book. Most focus on white people and their experiences but are sprinkled with tales of black people and other people of color. The stories included are worthy tales of people and the decisions they made that explain so much about our country and how it came to be.
• General Black American history books. These books focus on what black people were doing and experiencing during the time period being studied. I have yet to find a single tome that encompasses all, or even most, of what I want to share with my kids, so I typically use several books to carry us through the year.
• Historical fiction. I schedule books with protagonists of various backgrounds, but we always have at l

May God give us gladness of heart, and may there be peace in our days in Israel, as in the days of old.

-Sirach 50:23

Today I’m writing my devotional in a totally different space, both physically and mentally. See, today as I write this is actually Tuesday the 5th, because Maria likes to receive them a few days early! I’m currently sitting in the back of the chapel, rocking a “Free Mom Hugs” rainbow t-shirt, jeans, tennis shoes, and my headphones.

Teenage me (I’m 42 now) could never have imagined this. I grew up in a church where women couldn’t wear pants to services. I went to an evangelical high school where Halloween wasn’t just frowned on, it was condemned. Girls couldn’t be acolytes at my church, and they certainly weren’t priests or even serving communion. Believe it or not, that church actually identifies as Episcopalian/Anglican, but until I came to Trinity, I had no idea that this wasn’t how the Episcopal church was! I always thought I was the weirdo. 

The idea of just showing up as I am-as my authentic self-just wasn’t a reality. Or that God loves me as I am. I always thought that I had to be some perfect looking person to come to church, and that I couldn’t hold beliefs that were opposite to what was taught to me. I felt fearful embracing anti-racist, misogynistic, and homophobic beliefs, and I couldn’t reconcile what I believed God to be with what I was taught.

Not surprisingly, I stopped going to church for almost 20 years.

Now, I go to a church who even marches in PRIDE. I belong to a church that isn’t all white, and who actively engages in anti-racism initiatives. I even had never heard of the book of Sirach (today’s passage) because it’s not included in the King James Version of the Bible! I can’t express how important it is for me to have my daughters seeing women in all roles of leadership within the church

Photo Credit: Suwalls

“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.” – Psalm 46:10-11

In the dark days of oppression, the great Reformer Martin Luther would sing in the streets of Eisenach, Germany, both to encourage himself and those within hearing. He wrote many hymns, but this one, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, written in 1527, became his most well-known. Inspired by Psalm 46, it became the heart cry of the Protestant Reformation.

“‘A Mighty Fortress’ so captured the spirit of the Protestant Reformation that when Protestant emigrants were forced into exile or martyrs went to their death, ‘A Mighty Fortress’ always seemed to be the song they chose to sing.” – Diane Severance

Photo Credit: YouTube

Severance also wrote about Luther’s love of music:
“Next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise. She is a mistress and governess of those human emotions…which control men or more often overwhelm them…Whether you wish to comfort the sad, to subdue frivolity, to encourage the despairing, to humble the proud, to calm the passionate, or to appease those full of hate…what more effective means than music could you find?” – Martin Luther

We sang this great hymn on this past Sunday as Movement Church gathered. In the past, we worshiped singing this song usually with the accompaniment of an orchestra or pipe organ. This time, electric guitar riffs and a measured drum beat reminded us of the call to remember who God is…even in the midst of great struggle and the hard press of a changing culture.

This God is the Lord of the church…and we are His people…not just some seemingly silly church people clubbing together. His people are meant to be ready for whatever comes. Not because we are great or able, but