Karl Kerrigan Music

Relentless Love- Karl Kerrigan from Karl Kerrigan on Vimeo.

God’s love is so incredible, He gave His only Son for us. Jesus entered this world, a pure act of Relentless Love.

God is constantly searching throughout this world for a heart after His own.
Jesus made himself fully human, tempted in every way. He now stands at the Fathers side, risen from dead.He pleads our case daily, His sacrifice enables us to live a full life, in the very presence of the Father.

My hope for the video is that God would move through it, touch peoples hearts and that people would respond to the message of hope within. God is all around us in full Glory. We just need to follow after Him and find out His plan for us.

Be Bless,

Karl

Recently I’ve had the fortune of attending to excellent concerts.  Both concerts were extremely different but strangely had similar cross overs in terms of themes in their music.  During the first concert I was struck by one line in a song, the line read, “And I don’t know where to look, my words just break and melt, please just save me from this darkness”.  The song is “Make This Go On Forever” by Snow Patrol and I believe it’s all about hope.  While listening to the song you are taken through a person’s thoughts as they spell out the reasons of how everything has fallen apart, their relationship, and how there is no control and the song ends with that line.  While listening to these words a few other words rose up inside me, “loneliness”, “despair” but also “hope”. This is the kind of sentence that comes out when you know nothing can be done, but you feel like calling out and wanting someone to come rescue you. You can’t see anyway out, nothing you say will change the situation and you just want to be saved.  This yearning is natural reaction when devastation occurs, no-one likes feeling helpless and alone yet the very fact that we speak out that sentence means we haven’t given up, on the contrary, we are calling out for change. It’s that natural call in us that unites us as people, it’s a natural universal bond.

Since I was a teenager I have grown up with this idea that I am separate to everyone else. I tend to group people together. I think it’s the way my mind has developed when it comes to dealing with the different views and beliefs I have rather then something I do on purpose. I’ve come to the conclusion, that seeing people this way is  a very dangerous way of thinking.  I think it’s wrong to look at one person one way and another person a different way because of what they believe or how they view something. This really hit home with me when I was at the second concert last Thursday evening. My mind was already consumed with this moment I had in the Snow Patrol concert and now I was about to experience the same moment again.

The second concert was in the Academy 2 venue, a real tight and small place. You are pretty much on top of the band that are playing. Right from the start I had this comparison in my head of the two concerts, but as the night went on and the songs were sang I ended up with the conclusion, there isn’t that much of a difference. Needtobreathe are an American Band from South Carolina. The lead singer “Bear Rinehart” and lead guitarist “Bo Rinehart” are the son’s of a christian pastor in the states and their songs are influenced by their surroundings and what they believe.

The thing I love about the band and their music is simple, they write about what they know and live it out. The themes of their songs are about God as much as they are about breaking up with a girl. They have a way of conveying their themes excellently. They too sing about hope in a place where there seems like their is no hope. They have a song called “Lay ‘em down” and much like “Make This Go On Forever” it has this feeling of loneliness and despair but leads to hope and no beginnings. The whole song is a cry out for change, for a chance of new life, a chance to move into the light and out of the darkness. I love this verse, “We’re all tied to the same old failing, finding shelter in things we know, we’re all dirty like corrupted small towns, we’ll bring our troubles, we’ll bring our troubles, lay ‘em down”. There is great truth in these words and a great hope. No judgement, no condemnation and no grouping people. We are all drawn to the things we know aren’t the answer and we all fail sometimes. There is a universal hope for us all and thank God for that.

So I ended up enjoying two amazing gigs and found God in both of them. What I’ve learned from this moment is that we’re all not really that different. We all write music from the heart and sing it from the heart too, but we all have this natural yearning for hope and change. Even in the most desperate times.

God Bless

“Make This Go On Forever” by Snow Patrol

“Lay ‘em down” by NEEDTOBREATHE

So yesterday we started filming the video for “Relentless Love”….

It was a long long day but was so much fun, James O’Neil and myself set the place up from 2 o’clock. We filmed in the attic space of “The Exchange”, Trinity Church Network’s building in the city centre. The attic space is amazing, so raw and simple… The place was full natural beauty, from old window frames and doors to exposed beams and wooden floor boards.

At 6 o’clock the rest of the team joined us to film for a few hours… The video looks great but we are only half way there, I’m really looking forward to seeing all the ideas Jenny Wilson, James and myself tried to portray. So keep an eye out for it .

While we filmed the rest of the building was full of people coming to hear teaching on the “Sermon on the mount” and there were alpha courses running down stairs too. I was told after finished filming that lots of people had come up to sneak a peek, it was really a blessing to be able to use the room.

I head off to New York this Tuesday to spend some time with my friend and have a much needed break, so I’ll be in touch from New York .

Thanks again to everyone who helped out last night, I truly appreciate it.

Good Luck!!!

What a packed weekend that was, not to mention how incredible it turned out to be in the end. I don’t think I have felt so full & content in ages. It started on the Saturday. I got up nice and early at the ripe time of 11 am to go practice with the amazing Chris Hearty. He is a friend of mine that played for the first time in church this weekend. He plays the electric guitar and he is only 14, he is deadly at it too.

We got the practice in and we prepared ourselves for the next day, I could already feel the spirit flowing. After practice I headed off to collect my friend Andy Hamilton, we both made a “potato wedges bake” and a “lasagna” for the Re:c dinner that was happening after church on Sunday. We spent a a good hour on them both. Time well spent if you ask me, we had to impress the folks the next day.

Later that night we met up with my friend Jack Delany and we headed to Awaken. Awaken is a night that happens once every 6 weeks for students across Ireland. It was incredible, the worship and teaching was powerful. During a song called “You’re beautiful” by Phil Wickham God really started to speak to me… It’s such a simple and easy song but its so challenging, something changed in me as I was singing it. I have been singing it for years, but there was something God was doing in me that was different on Saturday night. I have always found it hard to put into words who Jesus is and what he is to me, well more so when I’m talking to someone who doesn’t know him. I love writing music and songs about Jesus but speaking is different. I nearly expect people to know how I feel when I am talking about Jesus. It really is very hard for me to put into words.

I believe God captured me in a different way on Saturday night, the same way Stephen the apostle was captured and Moses and David and Paul… I have always know the beauty of Jesus personally, I have a very deep relationship with him, he guides my life. Yet I have learned and been shown by God that that doesn’t always relate easily to others. How can they know the depths of my thoughts or my heart.

This all flowed into Sunday morning, I couldn’t wait to lead worship. I was really nervous,  I always get nervous. We were playing a new song for our church called “Come away” by Jesus Culture and the new boy Chris (14) was gonna be leading in with the electric guitar, so tension was high for me. Plus above all I really wanted people to be able to engage. The second song into the set, right at the build out of the bridge (the song was “Forever Reign” by Hillsong) my guitar string broke… Nightmare! yet I didn’t feel stress or panic. I looped the bridge again and kinda brought it to a place where we sang without instruments. My friend jumped up and re-strung my guitar, it also gave my time to give testimony of what had happened the night before hand with myself and God and I explained to the church were how God had recaptured my heart in a new way. I love bringing the church on the journey I am on with God. I find its really important to be honest as a leader (there is a time and a place of course). We then went into “Come Away” and Chris nailed the intro and then the whole song, he was truly amazing and I thank God for him. He give’s me hope and strength cause I see how God can use anyone, at any age. It was great and the church were in full engagement with God and his spirit.

To finish the day off, our young adult group Re:c went out to Kildare to have some amazing dinner and desert and the community was great, I managed to score a beautiful header in a game of Football

All in all, God moved in power this weekend and showed me once again how beautiful he is. I’m still convinced the guitar string broke for a reason. It’s the third time it’s happened to me in worship and God has moved powerfully everything it happened… I’ll have to ask him one day when I meet him.

Night

I’m writing a song at the moment based on the “truth of God being in the darkness”. You might be thinking; well God is light and there is no darkness where God is. I don’t want you to misunderstand me. When I say “in the darkness”, I mean the darkness that I (or we) experience day to day. The different situations we are involved in or we engage in.  I believe that I walk in the light and that I bring light into situations in my life, yet sometimes I feel confined.

During the week I was leading worship at a group I attend called Re-connect. It’s a group of about 25 people that gather to worship together and seek out God in community. The atmosphere of the group is very freeing and prophetic. We call on God to show himself to us and to reveal his glory and we ask him to speak through us. As I was leading I really felt that God was wanting to empower the people in the room and to speak to them, in a sense lift the cap of peoples hearts and draw them deeper into his presence. Yet it felt like something was stopping the movement of the spirit.

Someone then spoke out, they felt that people were letting themselves be held back and not engaging with God, the person went on the say “don’t to let darkness keep a hold of you or prevent you from moving in Gods presence”. As they said this my heart started to pound, like it was coming out of my chest. When things like that happen, I believe its God’s way of telling me that this is where he wants to speak into. I love to listen to God and let him direct me, He knows a lot more about whats happening in the room than I do. So I start singing against darkness, Singing “In the darkness You are there”, over and over and then proclaiming that; He is greater than the darkness. ( 1 John 4:4 was floating around in my head)

The worship came to an end and we prayed and spoke out truth to each other but it left me thinking, why do we experience darkness? If we are of the light then why do we get pulled into dark places? And how do they stop us from moving with God? or why do we let them stop us from engaging with God?

I believe sometimes in life things happen that are natural, that’s why its called “life” but some things happen or don’t happen because we are in a war. We are called to bring light into the dark places, we are after all called; ambassadors of Christ. I believe we experience darkness simply because the darkness wants to control us, makes us bend to its will. I’d urge you to read up on “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego”, you can find their story in Daniel chapter 3. Its the perfect illustration of going against the darkness and the things that aren’t of God. In the society we live in these days, we are constantly asked to bow down to things that we shouldn’t be apart of, resulting in a very crazy ending if we don’t participate. This can involve isolation, bullying or loss of lively hood. Yet God is with us. When people rise up against you, God is with you. When darkness surrounds you, God is with you. There is always another way, no matter how cornered you feel.

He delivered the three lads in Daniel 3 yet he called Stephen the apostle home after the crowd stoned him to death. Either way the truth is God is with us and in the darkness, he lights our paths and frees us from the bonds that hold us down. Have a read of the verse at the end and listen to the song “Give me Jesus,” it’s the all daughters and son’s version. The verse is so powerful and if you can grasp it full meaning then it will change your life. God is in us! So when we are in the dark places of this world remember God is the light that will guide you through. Don’t become part of the darkness simply let God light up the place through you. Fix your eyes on Jesus, just like Stephen.

1 John 4:4

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

Give me Jesus

I had the privilege of getting up on New Years day at 7.45 to practice my set for church. It was a very interesting morning, one I think I’ll remember for a long time. My dad had a word from the lord that we (the church) should stand for what we believe in, that we should shine our light this year as people and ambassadors of Christ. It was the first time I introduced my song “Love will light the way” to the whole church. We ended worship we an extra 30 people on stage, all holding candles and singing along side me. It was class, couldn’t have started the year more unified.

Love is the only way we will ever get the massage across about who Jesus is and what he stands for. As I led the church into the new year in worship, this burned heavily on my heart. Love will light the way and lead the way. Only by love will we see the lost saved.

Here are a few words from my dad as a challenge from the morning.

“Love will light the way; brings hope, peace, strength, freedom. This is the song God sung over his church on the first day of a new year and its still ringing in my ears.
Johns gospel 1:1-10 tells us that Jesus is now the one who meets every man as he comes into the world, as true light he offers light and understanding of his kingdom to all who believe. Darkness cannot comprehend light, mercy, grace, forgiveness and as the psalms say; he loads us up with his benefit’s. What love is this you might ask? that my God should lavish you with such blessings and it does not stop there. As you explain to another the life that brought you light, light rises upon them and offers them life, what grace! what love! what a God!   So heres the deal, God so wants to turn up in you to speak his word, shine his light and offer another understanding of his kingdom. Stand and say YES to God as he asks you to shine this year. Be the light that guides the lost home!”

I pray you’re filled with God’s amazing and power love as we moved into this new year.

Karl

Both my brother Jonathan and I had the pleasure of heading over to Holland this week for some business meetings.

It was so strange to be out of Ireland for awhile, it felt really free and relaxing. These last few weeks have been fairly rough on a lot of us, the hotel I work at part-time have cut lots of hours, I’m sure we are all starting to feel the financial pressures coming up to Christmas, then that beautiful budget arrived this week and all of a sudden this coming year looks a lot more difficult and in the mists of all this I am so thankful I trust in a God that provides.

Holland couldn’t have come at a more perfect time for me, with all the craziness of these last few weeks I needed something positive to give me a kick start again. I had been chatting with a friend about how I kinda feel alone in a lot of these struggles and asking questions as to why God feels so far from me in these times. She said to trust in him and watch him come through for me. To be honest it was frustrating hearing that. I am down a lot of money with my hours been cut and with other difficulties it made it really hard to hear someone talking in a positive and hopeful manner. Yet, the peace I felt in Holland and the relaxing time I expericend there has given me time to reflect on my situation and where I am going as a person.

The truth is; God is all about hope, all about giving strength to those who are weary and feel faint. We could all learn a lot from the Dutch I saw the fruits of what patients can bring to a company and to people. Ours friends in Holland I believe, have mastered patients and good timing. This is a lesson that I have seen with foresight rather than having to learning the hard way. God is good all the time, his love endures and he loves to endure with us. Time can sometimes be our friend even when we don’t think it.

I find, trusting in his timing and guidance is hard, hoping that his will is done is harder, yet the sweetness of the feeling when God comes through is powerful, its inspiring and its breath-taken. I’m always asking for God to speak to me, maybe I should just open up my ears instead. Maybe I should step back more often and give God time to move for me. Better to trust in the lord and his ways. I believe he sees a much bigger picture than I ever will.

All in all, I thank God for his intervention into my crisis once again and I pray you all have a wonderful blessed Christmas and its fun and relaxing for you all.

Karl

Last Saturday the Trinity Church group Reconnect were invited to lead worship at an event called “Awaken” in St. Mark’s Church, Dublin. The event, well more like a movement was born out of a heart of wanting to see God move in the generation of young adults in the city. It great to see God challenging this generation and people responding.

As I prepared for the night the week before, I had a real sense that God wanted to gather us together, unify and strengthen the bonds that hold us as the church of the wider city of Dublin. I felt that he wanted these times we spend together to be holy moments, were we draw from God and honor him as a generation of people seeking after him. Finally I sensed that God wanted to break off the generation, the name tag of “outcasts”, that he wanted us to be healed and not live in fear anymore. I believe God is calling this generation to stand for who they are and what they are, son’s and daughter’s of the living God.

The night was amazing and God did indeed show up, I felt in the room a real sense of friendship. (Which if you live in Dublin it can be hard to sense that sometimes) It really felt like God was stirring up passion in the room and seeking out the hearts that are willing to stand and give testament. It was also a great joy to be leading in St. Marks and I was really blessed by the team there. God has placed very gifted people all around us, I love that we get to meet these people as we start to move together and sharpen each other.

Looking forward to the next night sometime after Christmas.

Karl

Lately I have constantly been brought back to a place of questioning how I am as a person?

I attend a small group in my church every Tuesday night called Re-connect. Last night while I was leading the group in worship, I felt led to stop during one of the songs. We were sing “Nothing but the blood”, right in the middle of the song I felt God challenging me on my attitude towards people who get on my nerves, especially customers in work. It’s easy to love people who aren’t directly in your life but its harder to love the person who is in front of you, maybe trying to rip you off or work an angle on you.

I was feeling this tension inside me from God, telling me I needed to deal with the issue. I was singing “what can wash away my sins” yet I wasn’t really dealing with the sin. So I explained what I was feeling to the group and asked for forgiveness and the worship time ended. What happened next was the amazing thing that has me back in this place of questioning who I am as a person.

We headed out prayer walking and praying for the area around the church and asking God’s spirit to move, asking him to give us opportunity to show people who he is. It’s crazy how God works through others to speak to us. We came across this guy called Peter. He had fallen in the middle of the road and there was two guys helping him and seeing if he was hurt. We went over and asked if he was okay? and if they needed any help. After about 5 minutes we realised the peter wasn’t physically well but he didn’t want to go to the hospital. So the guy offered him a lift home, about 20 mins in the opposite direction to where he was heading.

I never got the name of the guy who was driving the car, the other random person’s name was Angel which we thought was ironic. They drove off and brought Peter home.

The thing that has struck me is; The guy in the car and Angel didn’t know Peter, Peter wasn’t part of their lives but he was in front of their faces and stopping them from heading home. They still went out of their way and showed Peter this random act of kindness. It has challenged me to check myself, what I do and how I control myself effects everyone. My attitude towards people needs to come from a place of love, whether they’re in my work place or face down in front of me on the street stopping me from heading home. I am called to be an ambassador of Christ, to show love and kindness to all, not judgement.

I encourage us all to look inside and figure out our hearts. God is on the move always, in our lives, the lives around us and the relationships between us.

Be blessed,

Karl

I recently watched Darren Wilson’s film “Furious Love”.  I have to say, I am a fan of the movie. I was completely caught by how he brought across “Love” and how God’s love is all we need.

My three favorite parts of the film: Jan Sjoerd Pasterkamp explanation of  “Truth & Unity”, Robby Dawkins description of the dream God had given him about the church and Will Hart’s interview in Thailand when talks and prays for the people in the red light district.

If anything this film has once again reminded me that “it’s not about me”. God’s love is so huge, its crazy to keep putting it in a box. I have a tendency to do that some times, yet even just listening to Robby Dawkins talk about the kind of church God wants to move in honestly scares me. lets be real here for a moment, it would be totally out of control and messy. How could we work in that?

This is the point though, we need to let God control it and work it out. We need to give God the opportunity to move. To love. We shouldn’t let the fear of lack of control stop us. We need to enable love.

After I watched the film I wrote a song, I played it the other night in church for the alpha group and it was pretty special. The truth of the song is that we are in a war, a war we can’t win on our own, our weapon I believe is love and the truth of the matter is, love is the only weapon we need. I would encourage people to get the film and watch it, there is so many powerful moments in it.

I am hoping to upload a video of the song, I just have to do a little recording and figure some stuff out but be expecting it up soon, it’s called “Love will light the way”