Exceedingly Abundantly

I want to finish this week and begin a new week with some wonderful words of praise. Here are 3 translations of Ephesians 3:20-21. I am focusing on the concept of our God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above what we expect or ask for. If you think about it, if He does abundantly more than we ask for, that is a huge blessing...yet He does exceedingly abundantly!! This is abundance multiplied towards us - it is abounding abundance. The primary meaning of the Greek word, ek (abundant) is "out of." I see this as abundance of blessings coming out of God's abundant blessings! In fact, these blessings cannot be measured or imagined - how about that!!

Eph. 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

Eph. 3:20-21 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. (NLT)

Eph. 3:20-21 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!

Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!

Glory down all the generations!

Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!

(The Message)

The only other time that Paul puts these two words together is when he is talking about the great grace and favor that was poured out to him as a minister. Look at these three things that were given to him in exceedingly abundant measures: grace, faith and love.

1Tim. 1:14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

I just want to say that I am returning home from The Gathering of Artisans conference in Black Mountain, NC exceedingly and abundantly blessed beyond measure.

Thank you to everyone who attended, and to Matt Tommey and His team. What a delight to see all that creativity in one place!

Gathering of Artisans

We are having such a fabulous time at the Gathering of Artisans at Black Mountain, NC. I am blown away by the level of creativity among all the artists here. So many art forms and so many precious artists.

Sean Feucht

Tonight Sean Feucht (founder of The Burn 24/7 HERE) led worship and Ray Hughes (HERE) spoke a powerful word. Here are some one-liners from Ray Hughes - sometimes it was hard to catch that Kentucky accent of his!!


• We will never change culture by becoming like it - we will never change church by becoming like it.

• The purpose for the creative process is to reveal another layer of the nature of God

• We think creativity is a product - it's not, it is a process

• God will speak through the process of creativity much more than the finished product

• Prophetic ministry is the declaration of the mind of God and the power of the Holy Spirit

• The whole earth resounds with the sound of God

• If you have an encounter with God, your art should carry the sight and sound of that encounter

• In churches, we tend to sink everyone to the lowest common denominator and then mediocrity settles in

• In these days we need to have informed hearts more than informed minds. We can Google information, but there is no Google process for the heart

• If we change the way the Church experiences worship, we will change the way the world experiences God

• Artists shape culture not law-makers

• Music is the most majestic form of sound

• What one generation sows in faith another generation reaps in favor

Ray Hughes

Gathering of Artisans

Gathering of Artisans

Heading off tomorrow morning for North Carolina to this wonderful gathering of prophetic artists:

Gathering of Artisans

I am looking forward to meeting all these fabulous artists, learning from them and worshiping together.

If you live near NC - come along and see what wonders God is doing and hearing from these prophetic ministries.

The Gathering of Artisans

In about 10 days I will be going to an exciting conference in the Black Mountains of North Carolina. If you are a Christian artist of any sort, I highly recommend this conference to you. Make plans today to attend and bring all your friends.

Matt Tommey and his team run this gathering - I have already posted some articles on Matt. (See here) I can't tell you enough how proud I am of my brother and the ministry he has with prophetic worship artists. You also need to check out the list of workshop teachers - I can't wait to hear some of these speakers:

From their website:

Gathering of Artisans 2013 is a national Christian artist retreat September 26-29, 2013 with hands-on workshops by master artists in Fine Art, Fine Craft, Prophetic Art, Performing Arts, Media and Artist Development. More than just a weekend school of worship, Gathering of Artisans is jam-packed with hands-on workshops, opportunities to collaborate with artists from around the country, dynamic worship experiences and anointed teaching from master artists like Ray Hughes, Sean Feucht, Matt Tommey, Pattie Ann Hale, Vivien Hibbert, Anthony Skinner and many others!

Our heart for Gathering of Artisans has always been to make it as ‘non-conferency’ as possible. What does that mean?  It means:

• Actually being creative, not just sitting around listening to people talk about it

• Hands-on workshops that let you learn from the best of the best

• Free-time and optional activities that let you choose how you want to spend your day

• One-on-one and small group interaction with master artists and Christian leaders

• Shared meals that foster opportunities to get to know other artists

• Dynamic worship experiences where your creative expression is encouraged

• Sharing real tools you can take home and use to keep the creativity going

Whether your creative passion finds it’s outlet inside or outside the walls of the church, there’s a place for you. This year, you’ll be able to participate in 4 different hands-on workshops led by master artists.  

Visit our workshops page for a detailed schedule and description of the over 50 workshops offered this year. 

Make sure you have looked over the entire website to insure you are registering for all the workshops that fit you best. and then share with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or whatever other social networking outlets you use. It’s very common for artists to come together as a group from your church or local area and we encourage that in order to help you foster creative community when you get home!

Matt Tommey