clayton faulkner

Every week I get to sing songs and tell Bible stories with the kids at Faith Lutheran Day School for their chapel service. It is a highlight of my week. Here is a story I did on Isaiah 6, retold so that preschoolers can understand:

Today we are going to learn about a person from the Bible. His name was Isaiah!

Isaiah lived a long time ago, even before Jesus was born. Isaiah was a prophet. A prophet is someone who is sent by God to tell God’s people where they need to listen to God.

God had a special plan for Isaiah – he wanted to use Isaiah to tell God’s people an important message. God met Isaiah in a very special way to give him the message.

Isaiah saw God sitting up very high on a throne. God had a robe that filled up the room. Isaiah saw angels flying over God. These angels had six wings. Two of the wings covered their faces (cover faces) – two of the wings covered their feet (cover feet) – two of the wings were flapping as they flew in the air (flap wings).

The angels were talking to each other! They said – “Holy, holy, holy is God! The whole world is filled up with his glory!”

Then Isaiah heard thunder and saw smoke. Isaiah became afraid! He thought he was goner. Isaiah said, “I am not good enough to see God, but I can see him here, the King of the heavens!”

While Isaiah was still trembling in fear, one of the angels came down to talk to him. The angel had a hot piece of fire in his hands, holding it with tongs. The angel took the fire and touched Isaiah’s mouth with it. The angel said to Isaiah, “You don’t have to be afraid anymore, your sin is taken away.”

Then God spoke. God said, “I need someone to go tell my people a very important message. Who will go for me?” And Isaiah shouted, “Me! Me! Me! Here I am! Send me!” And Isaiah went and told God’s people the important message.

God wants to use us just like he used Isaiah. God has a special message that he wants everyone to hear. God wants everyone to know that Jesus loves them. And you and I can go tell people that Jesus loves them. Can you tell people that Jesus loves them? Good – lets pray:

Dear God, thank you for Isaiah, thank you for your angels, thank you for your love. Help me share, the love of Jesus, with everyone I see. Amen.

“Orphan” is the fourth track from the “Family EP” that I recorded/released last year. Since we adopted Deacon back in May 2007, I had been reflecting on the whole journey. The whole process left a huge impact on me. This recording is my expression of what our adoption means to me.

In the process of song writing and deciding what themes to include, I knew I wanted to include a track that captured the Kingdom imperative to care for the “least of these.”

‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ (Matthew 25:34-40)

Caring for orphans, widows, strangers, prisoners, the sick, the abused, … etc. is hugely important. The reason I know this is important is because it’s not just a nice story found in one part of the Bible. It’s a command scattered across both the Old and New Testaments. One of my favorite renderings of this command is from the sixth chapter of Micah. “Orphan” is basically a rocking version of Micah 6:8.

He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

Give it a listen:

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Here are the lyrics:

People everywhere live with injustice.
Terror, disease, death, and war.

Love mercy,
Walk humbly,
Act justly,
Love mercy.

Strengthen the faint, lift the weak;
Your mighty hand can save.
Stand up for the orphan.

Love mercy,
Walk humbly,
Act justly,
Love mercy.

And the liner notes-type stuff if you’re interested:

“Orphan” – w/m by Clayton Faulkner (c) 2009
electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, percussion, vocals – Clayton Faulkner
drum programming by Stephen Bolech
Produced by Clayton Faulkner & Stephen Bolech.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Stephen Bolech at Studio K in Waco, TX.

I’ve been organizing this benefit show for Living Water International for several months now, and it’s happening next week! If you’re in or near Houston, I hope you’ll come see us, hear some great music, and support a worthy cause.

DATE: Saturday, July 17, 2010
TIME: 7:00 pm
VENUE: Church of the Holy Trinity, 211 Byrne St., Houston, TX 77009 (MAP)
TICKETS: $10 in advance, $12 at door

Some really talented and wonderful folks are helping out: Randall Goodgame and Ross King.

Your support in any way is appreciated. Here are some ways to help:

• download the flyer, print it out, pass it around, post it at church or where you hangout (DOWNLOAD FLYER)
• blog about it, write a post, link to ShareTheWellConcert.com
• follow us on Twitter (@wellconcert), RTs are appreciated
• RSVP on Facebook, invite your contacts to attend, share the event on your wall

Thanks for the support – together we can improve the lives of others with clean water.

Find this FREE video at TheWorkofthePeople.com

Work for justice.
Help the down-and-out.
Stand up for the homeless.
Go to bat for the defenseless.
Isaiah 1:17 [The Message]

Download the songs from Faith Inkubators HERE:

At Faith Inkubators, we believe in memory work. We also believe that memory work doesn’t need to be work. That’s why all of our ministry resources teach Bible verse memorization with verses—verbatim—set to music.