The Pure Worship Podcast

Once again Josh and Jeff extract some incredible personal and practical nuggets from a major story that Jesus highlights—yet one, honestly, that many of us would prefer to gloss over. It makes us a bit uncomfortable, and we tend to dismiss it as one in the worship extremist category, all the while, Jesus is trying to highlight it as just the type of worship he’s looking for. Sooner or later we’ve got ask ourselves, why we are so uncomfortable with those who go all out for worship? Is it simply a matter of cultural differences? Or personality difference? Or could it be it’s just easier to dismiss them as “quacks” than it is to admit our own need for growth and Kingdom maturity? Jesus certainly doesn’t call it a matter of culture—he calls it a matter of “love.” This is the moment you've been waiting for. It's finally your time to get out of your comfort zone and get into extravagant love for your Father in heaven.

Guys, we don’t like being told how to worship. We might even get a little ill-tempered about the whole thing. But what if the Bible is calling us to be willing to go where our natural personalities don't really want to go? Don’t we trust the Lord? Don’t we believe he has our best interest at heart? If he’s asking us to break outside the box to sing and dance or bow and be still, don’t we trust it’s because he is doing it for our benefit? He certainly doesn’t ask the quiet person to shout out to hurt them, and he doesn’t ask the loud person to be still to punish them. He does it all for our good! Truth is, any time we find ourselves aiming toward comfort in the Kingdom, we know we’re likely getting off point. Most times, we should avoid approaching God in worship simply in the way that is “comfortable”—God’s ways may seem uncomfortable at first, yet we can know that they bring true comfort in the long run as we trust his directions. NOTE: We are taking 2 weeks off for Christmas and New Years, so we'll see you again for our next episode on January 8, 2019!

We may not realize it, but our perception of God—based on how we were raised as well as our own natural disposition—has a profound bearing on the way we worship him—for better or for worse. Is God friend or King? Most of us gravitate toward one extreme or the other. Even so, some folks feel largely uncomfortable when God is referred to as lover or close friend—as if somehow He's being disrespected. Others mourn deeply as those around them seem to view God as a distant, relationally detached, “big man upstairs.” In this engaging episode, Jeff and Josh beg us to reset our God-perception in an attempt to reconstruct a full-picture, Biblical understanding of exactly who He is. Why? So we can avoid falling into the obvious trap of excluding great portions of His goodness that can circumvent our ability to respond to Him properly in relationship. Now is the time.

Wow, I’m so grateful to my cohost, Josh Edwards, for being willing to invite us into his not-so-perfect journey with God as he shares an incredible personal testimony of how reading my book on an airplane helped give him a total reset in the time he spends alone with God. You're gonna want to listen to this one over and over! His story really challenges us to be brutally honest about our own messes and in turn, invite God to revitalize our secret place time with Him once and for all! Many of us are unaware that our secret place time with God is under heavy fire—that the enemy is highly interested in guiding us coyly away from this burst of oxygen for our soul. It's time to stop making excuses. It's time to carve out time for God in our lives. And it's time to stop wishing we were close with God and start becoming close with him as we make the choice to encounter him daily in walking and talking relationship. Let's go!

As soon as someone starts talking about idolatry we tune out. I mean, what could idolatry have to do with us? We don't worship idols. Or do we? Don't be fooled. Idolatry may seem like a thing from the Old Testament or for those in third world countries, but everyone wrestles powerfully with the temptation to put things above our Creator. It's clear that we each have a deep, deep longing—put there by God himself—to be amazed, to be wow’ed, to stand in awe of something. It's like we're always looking for that next big thing, hoping to satisfy our souls. Yet it always seems just out of reach. And if we’re not careful, we’ll spend our entire lives scouring the earth endlessly searching for that one thing that could blow our minds—chasing earthly idol after earthly idol, always coming up short—when the very thing we’re searching for is the true fulfillment and wonder that comes from intimate fellowship with the God who made us. Tune in as Jeff and Josh break it all down!

Ever run across this verse in 1 Corinthians 15:28? Most people we've met haven't. And it's a doozy! "Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere." Somehow, many of us have allowed the enemy of our souls to distort our view of Jesus and in turn erode our understanding of the role of God the Father as the universe's ultimate power source. In the same manner, we've been tricked out of pursuing intimate fellowship with God the Father in order to fellowship primarily with the Son. In this week's podcast, Jeff and Josh hit on the second of two halves in a podcast that seeks to remind us that Jesus and the Holy Spirit exist for one purpose; to invite us into sweet fellowship with God the Father. Together with them. So go ahead. Join the conversation now!

It can be frustrating to find that we’ve held to beliefs for most of our lives that turn out to be faulty or a little sideways—especially when they involve Jesus. But when it comes to relationship with God, we simply cannot afford to be off in our understanding in the slightest. And we cannot stress enough how important it is to truly know the WHO of worship, because if we find that we know the what, why, and how of worship, but miss the WHO, it's all for not. This is even more important since our world is often in harsh disagreement with what the Bible reveals about God. In this episode, Jeff and Josh uncover some startling revelations concerning Jesus that help us drastically refocus our efforts toward establishing a true and vibrant relationship with our Creator.

What were you born for? What's your biggest dream? What are you hoping to be known for? Are you ready to give it everything you've got? OK. Cool. What if you discovered that your top design characteristic as a human being is to worship God with every breath? With every heartbeat? With your songs AND your life? Would this bum you out? Or would you embrace your calling with absolute gusto? What if you discovered that every person on the planet has one single calling that trumps every other passion in life? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind, and your strength. The most important reason for your existence. Your greatest calling. Your greatest assignment. This one thing. The thing that God hardwired into your spiritual DNA. For better or for worse. Will you embrace your destiny? Will you allow it to powerfully impact everything else in your life? It's time. Because you were born for this.

Are you or someone you know struggling with fear, panic attacks, sleeplessness, or anxiety? It may seem too simple a fix, but in this week's podcast, Josh and Jeff put forth the scriptural notion that engaging in intimate relationship with the Prince of Peace is the answer to many of today's issues, whether it’s danger from terrorists and natural disasters or problems with mental health. We're way too quick to attempt to tap into natural solutions when God is calling us to reach out for his supernatural help. We look to medicine and counseling without truly developing deep and personal relationship with the God who is our Great Physician and who’s Spirit is our Comforter and Counselor. It’s simply not enough to say a few prayers and then move on to other means. God is inviting us to dwell daily in his presence in order that we walk in freedom and healing, protection and security in every area of our lives.

In many ways, choosing to worship God is the ultimate act of selfishness! How? Because when we worship him by faith—even when we don't feel like it and even when we don't understand—it not only benefits the Kingdom of God and everyone around us, it also benefits us! In the same way, choosing not to worship God—choosing not to respond to his invitation—keeps us from receiving everything God has for us. It's true. We often have it backwards. We imagine worship is something we do in order to get God's attention or something we do in order to punch our ticket to heaven, but Christ Dupre says it this way; "We don't worship God to gain his affection, but because we already have it." Yes! Worship is always a beautiful response to an incredible revelation of who God is—to how much he loves us and how much he has done for us. The only question is, how will we respond?

If you don't know where we're headed with the title of this podcast, you could already be fuming. And we're super sorry about that. Truthfully, that is not our intention. In fact, we promise, we're not trying to tick you off at all, and we're definitely not trying to make worship about us. There’s no doubt. Worship is always 100% ABOUT God and TO God, but it was designed FOR us. Thing is, God did not create this incredible thing called worship to build up his ego, but to build up our lives in Him. See, while he does want relationship with us, he doesn't need it. On the other hand, we simply cannot survive without worship, because he wired us with a foundational need to worship Him. This is our very life blood, and without relational worship, our spirits will shrivel up and die. So, grab your ear buds, open your heart, and jump in with us on the conversation!

Holy cow, have we ever underestimated the power of singing! In our first five podcasts, Josh and I have been pounding away at the idea that worship is sooooooo much more than a song, but now it's time to be reminded why singing is truly unlike any other expression in worship. There are incredible bondage breaking, burden lifting truths scattered all throughout the scriptures that are literally going to set us free. If you've been in bondage to certain sins or fear or anxiety or insecurity for years, we're going to show you how to break free from these chains once and for all. It's so simple you probably won't even believe it. But you and I are no different from the travelers we find in the Bible. If their chains can be broken through musical praise and worship, ours can too. Don't believe it? Try us and listen in to our latest podcast. You won't be disappointed!

Is worship a song, or is it something that happens in every facet of our lives? There seems to be much confusion on the topic, forcing many to choose sides. But, as you might expect, worship is both something that can happen with singing and in services as well as something that happens as we live our lives in worship. In this episode, Josh and Jeff break it all down, helping us remember that God is not only involved in the "spiritual" elements of our lives, but also powerfully in our work, our play, and our day to day activities. They challenge us not to push God out of the "normal" parts of life, but to invite him into all aspects of our lives to help keep us accountable so we are only engaging in activities that bring glory to God, whether in the majestic or the mundane!

As we know, there are many roadblocks standing in the way of true fellowship with the Father. The enemy is all over this! In this podcast, Josh and Jeff unpack one of the big ones. And even though it is one of the least discussed, it is certainly one of the most important, especially for leaders and seasoned believers. We have a huge propensity toward attempting to bolster our identity through DOING for God rather than through BEING with God. This is fairly common and yet very dangerous, and God, because of his great love for us, is not going to allow us to live in this deception. Why? Because he knows we will derail our lives if we try build them on anything other than true, unadulterated relationship with him. Let's talk!

What exactly is the presence of God? Does it come? Can it leave? Is it an “it”…or what? What if we came to grips with the fact that it is possible to spend time singing worship songs, reading the Bible, and going to church and yet never actually enter God’s presence? What if we really understood that God’s presence isn’t actually found in the soft music we often hear at the end of a service? As Christians, we often use words and phrases we don’t completely understand, some of which have taken on different meanings then originally intended. In this podcast, Jeff and Josh look into exactly what God’s presence is. Their findings will surprise and free you in ways you wouldn’t imagine.