On Friday, October 21 at 7:00 PM, DSC will host the second annual Cause for Praise, a night of praising God with our city. Last year, Cause for Praise was recorded live and released as DSC’s first album of songs for worship, Cause for Praise. This year’s Cause for Praise will be a live recording, as well, which will be released as a series of digital downloads available in the months following this year’s concert.

In addition to being a live recording, this year’s Cause for Praise concert will also serve as the release concert for an album of psalms adapted, set to music, and performed by members of DSC. The album’s title, Psalterium, is Latin for “Psalter,” which refers to a collection of psalms. So, it’s a new word, but this is what happens when artists name things. We get something new, creative, and refreshing. In the years ahead, we expect to release additional collections of psalms set to music, so this album is officially titled, Psalterium, Volume 1.

Here’s the artwork for Psalterium, Volume 1:

Admission is free and open to anyone. So, take advantage of this great opportunity to invite family and friends from work or the neighborhood to DSC.

Jesus spent time with children.

In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Our theme for VBS this year was, “The Gold Rush: Discovering the Rock of Ages.” From July 25-29, we spent a week with children, helping them rightly identify Jesus Christ by asking them an important question. We asked the question Jesus himself asked of his disciples in Luke 9:20, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter, of course, answered correctly, Jesus is “The Christ of God.”

We thank God for the faithfulness of 160 workers and His goodness to bring over 300 children to VBS this year. Here’s the video we showed on a Sunday several weeks back.

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On Saturday, August 6, 350 men gathered at DSC from four churches for encouragement and help from God’s Word in the man’s fight for godliness. Fighting for Godliness, of course, was the theme for this year’s The Man Conference, hosted by Blaze Christian Fellowship, Desert Springs Church, Mars Hill Church, and Trinity at the Marketplace. Our speakers, Michael Kelshaw and Carlos Montoya, preached sermons worth listening to if you are a man and missed the conference.

Here’s the audio from this year’s theme, Fighting for Godliness:

• “Fighting for the Gospel,” Michael Kelshaw
• “Fighting to be a Godly Husband and Dad,” Carlos Montoya
• “Question and Answer 1,” A.J. Hamilton, Michael Kelshaw, Carlos Montoya
• “Fighting for the Mission,” Carlos Montoya
• “Question and Answer 2,” A.J. Hamilton, Ryan Kelly, Michael Kelshaw, Carlos Montoya

Audio from last year’s The Man Conferences with Dave Bruskas from Marsh Hill Church is available here.

God made men to lead.

For that reason, we are encouraging all of our men to join us for The Man Conference this Saturday at DSC from 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM. The conference is free and details about the theme and speakers are available here.

Strong men are important for the sake of God’s glory in their families and in our church. And strong, biblical men are also important for the church that DSC will plant in Rio Rancho in January, 2012 – what is now less than six months away.

With that in mind, Darrin Patrick, pastor and author of Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission, has a compelling word for our men in this short video:

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Partick’s book, along with other important books for men, are available at the Resource Center during the conference and this Sunday.

Men are important. Along with women, they are made in God’s image, but God has given to men a particular responsibility for leadership in the home and among God’s people. Of course, whether they mean to or not, men are always leading, even if to the wrong place. But men redeemed to God lead their families and churches in conformity to Christ and commitment to his work.

With this responsibility in mind, the theme for this year’s, The Man Conference, is “Fighting for Godliness.” The event will take place on Saturday, August 6, from 9:00 AM – 3:30 PM at Desert Springs Church and is in partnership with three area churches: Blaze Christian Fellowship, Mars Hill Church, and Trinity at the Marketplace.

Our two speakers are both preaching pastors at two or our partnering churches: Carlos Montoya, from Blaze Christian Fellowship, and Michael Kelshaw, from Trinity at the Marketplace. Carlos’ story was recently published to the Acts 29 Blog and is worth your read. These are good men and they will lead us is looking to Christ and leading from the gospel.

Topics and Speakers:

“Fighting to be Gospel Centered,” Michael Kelshaw
“Fighting to be a Godly Husband and Dad,” Carlos Montoya
“Fighting to be On Mission,” Carlos Montoya

Schedule:

Morning Session 9:00 AM-12:00 PM
Lunch (not provided) 12:00-1:30 PM
Afternoon Session 1:30-3:30 PM

The cost is free, so we hope you can make it and bring a friend. For more information, contact Carlos Griego at carlos@desertspringschurch.org.