^{The Poet's Corner - Poet Angel Rivers has been a member of Strictly
Biblical Bible Teaching Ministries for the past three years. Angel came
to Strictly Biblical with a unique gift to minister to the church by
way of Apologetic (defending the faith) Poetry. She'll share some
original works that are powerfully relevant. She'll also have CDs
available afterwards.}

The New CD - It's finally here. How Do You Read It? by rufus harris. The album takes an honest yet hopeful look at the state of the church. The songs contain catchy melodies with a message that challenges the listener with mature lyrics designed to build up the church. Hear all the new songs live this Friday and pick up the new CD. The band will be signing copies afterwards.

Don't miss this show! Our guest host will be Jennifer Cesario - a bubbly gal with a great personality!

Help us get the word out! We can't do this alone. We need your help in getting these songs played on the radio. Help us generate some excitement about this release.

Call WMUZ-FM103.5 to request your favorite song on the new album - How Do You Read It? Their number is 313-272-3434.

Write a review about the album on Amazon.com. People really read these!! Thank you for your support! With your help we can get this timely much needed message out there and also put Detroit back on the map.

Visit our website - clips from the new album are on the site, new pictures and even the 60-second commercial we're running on WMUZ Fm103.5 this week. Check it out!!

Special Thanks to Christina Hoeinghausen - we got some great pictures last month. All of the 4thFridays performance pictures were taken by this talented lady who was kind enough to lend a helping hand last month.

Can't Make it to the Party - You can pick up the new release at all area Family Christian Bookstores or online at Amazon.com and CDBaby.com

Rufus performed live on the Christian Television Network - Glenn Plummer is the host and producer of CTN Live. He invited Rufus to be part of the network's telethon on channel 26. The telethon airs in Detroit and in the Southfield area from 8-11pm.

Look for Rufus the week of Oct. 27th thru Oct. 31st performing some of the new tunes from the How Do You Read It? release.

^{No 4thFridays shows in November or
December - Due to the
fact that 4thFridays falls on the day after Thanksgiving and the day
after Christmas, we've decided to take a break and start up again on
January. But we'll still keep you abreast of other special performances
throughout the holiday season.}

In September 2003 we ministered at Harvest Land Ministries, a church in Pontiac, MI. It was a normal church service. The praise and worship team shared a few congregational songs to get us focused on the Lord in general, then the Band was introduced and we performed a few specific original songs to pave the way for the special guest speaker, David Ravenhill. David - an evangelist, author and foreign missionary - is the son of noted British evangelist / missionary Leonard Ravenhill.

One of the many points David made during his talk was regarding "praise and worship" ministry not being what it ought. I immediately raised my defenses because here was a "non-musician" getting ready to most likely slam the preceding musical presentations. Obviously, this has been a point of irritation for me in the past. However, I relaxed, got off the defensive, listened and I was able to receive the point he was trying to make.

He explained that the "praise" part of praise and worship is very straightforward. We raise our hearts to thank the Lord for his goodness, his mercy and above all his love for us. He explained that that part is relatively simple because usually we have no problem thanking God (or anyone else) for what we perceive as providence toward us.

He went on to share that the "the worship" in praise and worship is another matter all together. He pointed out that the first instance of worship in the Bible is from Genesis 22:5.

Previous to that verse, Abraham had been told to sacrifice his and Sarah's son, Issac. Issac was the son that Abraham had waited for practically all his life. "Good grief"- to coin-a-phrase from Charlie Brown - Abraham was 90 years old when the Lord first promised to give he and his wife a son. One evening he was asked by God to sacrifice - that is, to kill his son as a sacrifice to God! The next morning Abraham, his servants and Issac set out for the place of sacrifice.

When Abraham, his servants and Issac reached the place for the sacrifice he said to his servants, stay here while I and the boy go over there. "We will worship and then we will come back to you". Many times what is pointed out in this scripture is Abraham's faith in saying, "we will come back to you". That is true but we may miss the other point in this passage. Abraham by doing what the Lord had told him to do was going to worship!

Yes, worship means to bow oneself down, to humbly beseech, do reverence, etc, but all this physically without obedience doesn't mean a lot. Does it? True worship of God is obedience to God - not a praise and worship "service".

There is a vast movement in the church regarding praise and worship - even Time-Life has a Praise and Worship series of CDs. Many people are certainly thankful to God - giving praise, but where is the obedience - the worship of God?

Rom 12:1
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.

(All scriptures are from the New International Version)

Something to think about. If you want let me know what you think. Email rharris@ameritech.net.

4thFridays is held in Studio A at: