Salvation is of the LORD!

Preparing Your Heart for Worship - August 27, 2017

As you think toward our time together this coming Sunday morning, here are some thoughts about what we'll be doing in our worship gathering to help you make the most of our time together.  

Scriptural Call to Worship

We’ll be starting our worship gathering a little differently this Sunday. While we typically begin with a few verses of a Psalm or another passage, then have a more lengthy Scripture reading later in the service, we’ll be opening our time with our “Meditation on God’s Word” this Sunday - it will certainly have a different “feel,” but how can you go wrong when you begin by turning your mind and heart to God’s Word?  

Amazing Grace

All I’m really going to say here is that there’s a reason this is universally considered to be the best loved hymn of all time.

Prayer of Praise

This element of our service is, in the big picture, still relatively new. The goal of this time is to turn our thought to praising God. This is a significant time of being very intentional to come in heartfelt adoration of our Lord. When preparing to lead the congregation in praise, it is absolutely honoring to the Lord to be prepared to lead the congregation in prayer and praise. Some of these prayers will be more “scripted” and some will be more “extemporaneous” (but no less prepared and thought out). As we are led in prayer, always remember that these men leading us are striving to facilitate our corporate exaltation of God by leading us to praise our Awesome God! 

Worship through Giving

We should always pause during this time to remember that every resource we have, whether it is finances, material possessions, or time, is a gift from God. This is a time to acknowledge that. Whether you give weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly, this is a time to meditate on worshiping God through giving back to Him.

At Calvary

As we prepare our hearts to study God’s mercy poured out to us on the cross, this song is a great reminder of God’s mercy, grace, pardon and the freedom we have at Calvary. 

Sermon: Our Merciful God, Romans 9:16

The best short paraphrase of this verse is: “salvation is of the Lord.” While verse 16 is self-contained and packed with rich, deep theological truth, it’s also a summary and conclusion of what Paul has been saying since 8:28. As you prepare to make the most of our time together this Sunday, read verses 14-16 and consider the following questions:

  • Why does Paul ask if there is injustice on God’s part?

  • What is his response to this question? 

  • What Old Testament story does he point us to in answering the “injustice” question?

  • What is the meaning of “mercy?”

  • What is meant by “compassion?”

  • What is the connection between the two words? 

  • Who is God saying He will have compassion on?

  • What does salvation not depend on?

  • What does salvation depend on?

  • How might we be relying on our own will or exertion?

  • What attribute of God is highlighted here? Why do you think that is?

As we did last week, we’ve moved the “bulk” of our singing to the end of the sermon so that we can sing in response to His Word. While this is certainly different than how we’ve structured our time together in recent years, the goal is to move from receiving God’s Word to exalting and praising Him in response to what He has said to us through Scripture. 

In Christ Alone

The opening phrase of this song is such a great truth - my hope is found only in Christ. 

Grace Greater than Our Sin

Any time we celebrate what Christ has done for us, we must see it in light of our extreme unworthiness. Not only was there nothing in me worthy of God looking on me with any favor, but my sin actually pushed me even farther down the “unworthy” path. I’m not just unworthy of His grace, I absolutely deserve eternal punishment in hell. But God’s grace has overwhelmed my sin. I’ll never be able to adequately express how thankful I am for HIs grace that is greater than my sin, but I’m certainly going to make every effort anyway. 

Trust and Obey

As we leave and head back out into our daily lives, this song is always a great reminder that we should walk in trusting obedience to what God has commanded us in the Bible. Believers are those who both trust in His inerrant Word, and obey it. 

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