A Celebration of Grace!

Preparing Your Heart for Worship - August 8, 2017

As we turn our thoughts to Romans 9, there will be many things that come out in our study of this great chapter. God’s continued faithfulness to His people, the trustworthiness of His Word, and the abundant overflow of His grace toward us are just a few things that stand out. As you think toward our time together this coming Sunday, be in prayer for those who will be leading as well as carefully thinking through the lyrics to the songs we’ll be singing. The songs are so rich and deep in directing our minds and hearts toward the Lord. As always, I’m really looking forward to our worship gathering this Sunday.  

May the Peoples Praise You

What amazing lyrics! This song is a wonderful expression of thankfulness “to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-13) As those who have been saved - we gather together to exalt Him for His glorious grace!  

Hallelujah for the Cross

As we continue to sing about what Christ has done for us, this song leads us to think about the gospel again. I love Verse 2: What good I've done could never save, my debt too great for deeds to pay. But God my Savior made a way, Hallelujah for the cross!

Prayer of Praise

Each week, someone is asked to lead us in a prayer of praise to God. We place this prayer right after a time of singing so that we can continue praising God together. As I’ve mentioned before - let this be a time where you’re very intentional to track with the person leading the prayer and when he’s finished praying, join with the congregation in saying “AMEN!”

Worship through Giving

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) This

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. Whether you give weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or otherwise, use this time as an opportunity to meditate on your giving back to the Lord through Tithes & Offerings. 

Meditating on God’s Word

What a joy it is each week to hear someone reading directly from God’s Word. As the Scripture is read this morning, make effort to truly focus on hearing the Word. 

The Ligonier Statement on Christology

A couple of weeks ago, in the sermon, I presented four things that characterize a True Christian. First on that list is “Believes in Christ.” It is absolutely critical that when we speak of Christ, that we speak accurately. As we read this statement together, let this time 

Pastoral Prayer of Petition

As we turn our thoughts back to the Lord and prepare to praise Him, we tune our minds and hearts to His amazing grace and declare together our desire to hear from Him. 

Nothing But the Blood

This song, along with the next one, is what we would call a “classic hymn.” There’s a reason these songs have been sung by Christians for many years. The truth contained in these two songs is both deep and should drive us to passionately praise Him for what He has done for us. After declaring who He is through the Ligonier Statement, we turn to celebrate what He has done for us! It is through what Jesus did that our sins are forgiven, our brokenness made whole, and our lives are turned back to God. (P.S. - The version in the video is a little different than we'll be singing it)

The Solid Rock

As we have been talking about for several weeks, our hope is not built on anything we would do, anything we own, our own strength, or even a great Godly heritage. Our hope is built on the Righteousness of Christ that is “infused” into us in salvation.  

Sermon: God’s Grace in Salvation - Romans 9:10-13

As you prepare for our time together, read through Romans 9. It’s ideal to read from Romans 8:28 all the way through to the end of chapter 9, but if you only have a couple of minutes read Romans 9:6-13 a time or two. 

Our study tomorrow is primarily in verses 10-13 - as you think through these verses, consider the following questions:

1. What does the phrase “not only so, but also” point to?

2. List all the things that Jacob & Esau had in common. 

3. What was Rebecca told about her unborn twin sons?

4. When she was told this, what had Jacob & Esau done?

5. What was the purpose of the Lord telling Rebbeca this?

6. What does Paul mean by “loved” and “hated” in verse 13?

7. Which of the twins deserved God’s love more?
(yes, that last one is a trick question - for the answer, read Romans 3:10-18)

Grace Greater than Our Sins

We should be struck by “Jacob I loved,” for Jacob certainly wasn’t deserving of God’s love. When we think about God’s grace, it not only overwhelms our sinfulness, it comes in spite of our sinfulness. None of us deserve God’s love or His grace even in the slightest bit - but thanks be to God that though we were His enemies - HE. SAVED. US!

This Is Amazing Grace

This song will be our “Benediction.” The closing thought. As we prepare to head back to our daily lives, all the things that God’s amazing grace is to us should echo in our minds and hearts as we strive to live out the gospel in the details of how we live our lives. 

Sunday Evening: 1, 2, & 3 John.

We’ve got a different approach planned for our study of 1, 2, & 3 John this Sunday night. As always, we’ll be doing a zoomed-out big-picture summary of these three New Testament books, but as we survey the New Testament, looking at the books in a more summary fashion helps us to see some of the interconnectedness of the Bible as well as the recurring themes.  

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 me as I prepare to preach God’s inspired, inerrant, sufficient, authoritative Word.

Rob