Richmond Road Blog & Events

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

Over the last five weekends, I’ve had the opportunity and pleasure to be able to lead worship at our Richmond Road campus. I’ve really enjoyed the consistency and being able to observe our people from the stage as they worship God each week. I love the times that we gather together to sing and praise God for who He is and what He has done in our lives and in our church. But I’m not sure that’s all that worship is or could be. For whatever reason, the term “worship” has simply come to mean singing in church. And the verse that...

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These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

Time to highlight and introduce you to another team member. I have known Dawn Beaver for 15 years and she is one of our most loyal and passionate volunteers at Southland. Dawn has been part of almost every aspect of our music program and most recently been playing keys in the band. Two things you will notice about her if you spend some time with her...

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These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

This weekend we are introducing a new song called Oceans and it is one of my favorite worship songs right now. The first time I heard this song I knew it was one that we should do as a church family. The lyrics talk a lot about faith and how we should put our trust in Him even though it may be difficult.

The theme is taken directly from Matthew 14 where Jesus walks out to the disciples on the water. Once the disciples realize that it is Jesus that is walking on the water Peter asks to come meet Him. I love what it says in the Message, "Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, 'Master, save me!' Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, 'Faint-heart, what got into you?'" (Matthew 14:30-31)

It makes me think of how often I get distracted by waves around me and the things that don't really matter in life. Jesus is right in front of me and inviting me to step out in faith to Him. I'll leave you with the lyrics to the bridge:

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior"

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) - Hillsong United

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

Every so often I’ll have someone stop me and ask who this guitar player is or what’s the name of that drummer. We have so many incredible people that serve in so many ways around this church body that I would love for each of you to know! One way we can help with that is to shine a little bit of a spotlight on our volunteers periodically here on the blog. So without wasting anymore time, let me introduce you to Richard Wooldridge...

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How often do we really take the time to marvel at creation? In the midst of this fast paced, frenzied, idevice driven, man made world, there is a magnificently crafted one. Sometimes I find that I am so busy trying to entertain myself, that I overlook the main attraction. I lose sight of the beauty that is sitting right in front of me.

As a kid, I can remember playing outside from sun up to sundown slashing through creeks, climbing trees, catching crawdads, tadpoles, frogs....you name it, I stuffed it in the front pocket of my overalls! And now as a dad, I get to watch my kids getting to enjoy the exact same things as I did...

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On Thursday night I had the privilege of seeing 366 men in the same room. Ordinarily I don’t know that this would be a highlight for me -- unless I was at a sporting event. But on Thursday night we had that many guys gathered together for Man Night here at Southland.

It was awesome. Loads of manly food (Indi’s wings, Canes chicken fingers, and Goodfellas pizza), fun manly movie trivia with a manly TV as the prize, a rocking manly cover band, and a manly message that challenged us to “man up” and “thrown down” anything that might be hindering our relationship with God. I walked away encouraged, excited and determined.

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These songs can be downloaded on iTunes.

Waiting. Waiting for anything seems to become more and more difficult these days as our culture bulges with quick fixes and instant gratification at every turn. While we may not be good at waiting, we all would defend that there are things worth waiting for, and that many times the things or people we’ve had to wait on, are the things or people we value the most.

Scripture encourages waiting and even offers insight into how to wait and some of the benefits of waiting. We wait on the Lord, but sometimes, I believe He waits on us. Certain requests God makes of His people do not require waiting, they simply require doing.

We’ve been introducing a new song lately called “Here and Now.” This song calls us to action and says, “I want these things to be true for us right now. These are things we don’t have to wait for, these are things we can be and do in the here and now.” For me, this song creates a modern day creed for the church or manifesto...

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