1-1/2 new songs this Sunday!

This coming Sunday, July 2, as we gather for worship, we'll be singing together the song that was introduced last Sunday.

The song's title is "Glorious Christ" and what a beautiful expression this song is! Pulling from ideas found in Romans, Colossians, Philippians, and more - when we sing this song together, we'll truly be exalting Christ and celebrating what He has done. As you think toward our time together this Sunday, read through the lyrics of this song so that you're ready to sing this song:

Glorious Christ

Verse 1
The radiance of the Father before the dawn of time
You spoke and all creation came to be
The molecules and planets reveal Your great design
And every one was made so we could see...
Chorus 1
You are the glorious Christ – The greatest of all delights
Your power is unequaled, Your love beyond all heights
No greater sacrifice than when You laid down Your life
We join the song of angels who praise You day and night
Glorious Christ
Verse 2
You left the air of heaven to breathe the dust of earth
And dwell among the outcast and the poor
You came to be forsaken and died to take our curse
So You could be our joy forevermore
Bridge
You're seated now in heaven, enthroned at God's right hand
You've shattered death and freed us from our fears
And though we cannot see You, You're coming back again
And all will be made right when You appear

Not only that, but we'll be singing another older hymn with some updated lyrics. You may be familiar with the hymn "My Faith Has Found a Resting Place." It's one of the songs I grew up singing. I recently came across some updated lyrics to the song that significantly improved the depth of expression in the song while still being faithful to the "feel" of the original song. There are several things in the song that almost sound as if the song was written for where we are in Romans right now. Imagine that! God, in His sovereignty, brings a song along exactly when we're working through that in Romans? Hmm....

Check out the lyrics to this song - and when we sing it (we did sing it once this past Sunday night), let the lyrics draw you closer to our Awesome Savior and all that He is doing for His Children!

My Faith Has Found a Resting Place (New Lyrics)
Verse 1
My faith has found a resting place, Foundation firm and true
The end of strife and restlessness, At last, no more to do
Chorus 1
I need no other argument, I need no other plea
Not of myself, but by His grace, My soul has been set free
Verse 2
My heart is leaning on the Word, The written Word of God
Salvation by my Savior's name, Salvation through His blood
Chorus 2
I need no other argument, I need no other plea
It is enough the living Word, Proclaims its truth to me
Verse 3
I am His workmanship, prepared For His good works, in love
And yet what worthless offerings, Compared to Christ, above
Chorus 3
I need no other argument, I need no other plea
No earthly hands have made the place, He has prepared for me
Verse 4
My faith has found a resting place, The end of guilt and doubt
He died to pay my debt of sin, And rose to cast death out
Chorus 4
I need no other argument, I need no other plea
It is enough my Savior lives, And intercedes for me
Chorus 5
I need no other argument, I need no other plea
He reigns in righteousness above, One God, eternally

If you're unfamiliar with the tune - here's the original song.

Looking at our Assurance (yes again!!)

Preparing Your Heart for Worship - June 25, 2017

As we continue our series titled “The Great Hymn of Assurance,” we’ll be singing some of the great hymns of our faith and celebrating the security we have in Christ. 

Victory In Jesus

It is because of the victory that Jesus won on the cross that we are saved. As the lyrics so beautifully put it - “He sought me and bought me with His redeeming love.” I’m so thankful for His great work on my behalf. What a joy it always is as we sing this song together! 

Blessed Assurance

Oh what a foretaste of glory divine! When we sing together, we get a glimpse of what it will be like when we gather before the Throne in Heaven. The weight of eternal glory far outweighs the difficulties we face in our daily lives. Christ alone is our rock and our salvation. We are heirs of salvation!  

Prayer of Praise

Remember that as we are led in prayer, we are coming before the Father TOGETHER! And at the conclusion of the prayer, when we all say “Amen!” together it is a beautiful indicator of our unity in Christ. 

Worship through Giving

Giving is an act of worship. The New Testament teaches that our giving should be sacrificial and joyous. When we give back to God, we are acknowledging that everything we have is because of His grace toward us.  

As we take up the offering this Sunday, we’ll begin learning a new song titled “Glorious Christ.” This song is a beautiful expression of who He is. You can listen to the song on the Spotify playlist or watch/listen on YouTube. 

Meditating on God’s Word

We’ll hear directly from God as His Word is read. God desires for us to simply hear His Word read when we gather for worship. Let this element of our worship gathering do as the old hymn says “tune my heart to sing Thy praise.” 

Pastoral Prayer of Petition

What a joy and privilege it is to not just pray for you throughout the week, but to come before the Lord, on behalf of the assembled Body, and pray. I’m truly honored and humbled to be your pastor. I love praying for our church in our worship gathering!

The Solid Rock

At the beginning of the sermon last week, we sang just a few lines from this song. We’ll be singing the entire song together this Sunday reminding us that our salvation is built on what Christ has done, not on anything we might do.  It really is who Christ is and what He has done that provides the rock solid foundation for our hope. As we’ll see in verse 31 this coming Sunday, verses 29-30 are the foundation for our hope. It is because God knows us that we can sing of our great assurance. 

It Is Well with My Soul

Pointing back to verse 28 (“all things work together”) and verse 18 (“the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with [heaven]”) we can have a right perspective in the midst of any trials or difficulties in life. Verse 3 has a great phrase reminding me that all of my confidence lies in His personal, intimate knowledge of me: That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate, And hath shed His own blood For my soul. Wow! - He did this for ME!

Sermon: The Great Hymn of Assurance, part 2 - Romans 8:30-39

As we near our conclusion of Romans 8, Paul wraps up this great chapter by taking everything he’s said since verse 1 and summarizing it in to what really is an awesome crescendo of assurance. I know we’ve been talking about security and assurance for weeks now - but how can we ever tire of hearing that, as verse 31 says - God is for us - and what hope does anyone or anything that stands against us have? And yes - I LOVE rhetorical questions. 

He Will Hold Me Fast

We’ve sung this song together several times this year - I could sing it every week. What a beautiful reminder of our security this song always is. And my security is not based on my ability to remain true to God or the strength of my own faith. My security comes because HE holds ME!! I’ll be looking forward to singing this song with my church family all weekend!

Galatians

Sunday Nights @ Fellowship returns this week and we’ll be walking through Galatians. If you have a chance to sit down and read through this entire letter in one sitting, it would really help you be prepared for our study this Sunday night. 

As always, be in prayer for:

• Rex and all those who lead the music in our time together.

• Pray that we all come together on Sunday with hearts prepared to engage in intense, focused exaltation of God. 

• Pray that we demonstrate holiness, unity, and love in both our personal lives as well as together as the Body.

• Pray for Mike Walker as he prepares to teach us Galatians Sunday night. 

• Pray for me as I prepare to preach God’s inerrant Word!

I’m truly looking forward, as I do each week, to our time together as the Body. What a joy and privilege is it to be able to gather together as brothers and sisters in Christ and exalt our Lord together. 

Rob