Preparing Your Heart for Worship - January 14, 2018
This Sunday, we continue our series on what it means to BE the Body of Christ and will begin in Ephesians 4 with some very specific instructions to the Church as to what that should look like.
One of the things we can all do is come to our worship gathering prepared for our time together. To help you prepare - and see the overall flow and purpose of each element of our service, the rest of this blog will walk you through our time together with some thoughts and explanation of what we’re doing.
Call to Worship
The call to worship is an exhortation to God's people to turn from worldly distractions and focus our hearts, minds and actions on exalting Him. As we have come together for this purpose, this is the “formal beginning” of a time we have all set aside for this purpose.
Oh How Good It Is
Since we’re studying what God’s Word says about what “US” should look like, what better way to begin our time together by singing together. As the chorus of this song says: So with one voice we’ll sing to the Lord. And with one heart we’ll live out His Word... What a great way to frame our thinking right at the beginning of our worship gathering.
Grace Greater than Our Sin
Last week, we looked at the us, we, our, plural pronouns in Ephesians 1-3. As you think about this classic hymn that celebrates the God’s overwhelming grace, notice the our... not just in the title, but throughout the song.
The song speaks of: our sin, our guilt, the stain we cannot hide.
It also celebrates: God grace that is greater than our sin, our loving Lord, we may be whiter than snow, and the marvelous, infinite, matchless grace that He freely bestows on us who believe. This is a wonderful celebration of God’s grace toward US!
Prayer of Praise
I’ve grown to love this part of our service more and more over the past year. We’ve heard some beautiful expressions of praise as we’ve been led in prayer in this way. I’m so thankful for those who come prepared to lead us in exalting God and join with them as together we say AMEN! in agreement with their words that so beautifully exalt our Savior.
Worship through Giving
The giving of our resources to the Lord is an act of worship. It’s an acknowledgement that everything we have is a gift of God. Use this time, to reflect on all that He has blessed you with and the joy it is to give back to Him as we all strive to give faithfully, joyfully, and sacrificially.
Catechism
Each week, we’re memorizing the Questions and Answers about the Bible’s teaching on various together and will be reading the question we’re memorizing this coming week together. On Sunday evenings (5:00-6:00) we’ll be learning about the question in our evening teaching time.
Meditating on God’s Word
In 1 Timothy 4:13, we’re instructed to devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture. Each week, we select a passage of Scripture that helps to prepare us for the sermon. It is sometimes a parallel passage, and sometimes a complimentary passage. What a joy it is to simply hear God’s voice as we meditate on His Word.
Prayer of Petition
I really do love being your pastor. This prayer of petition is a time to come to the Lord on behalf of the congregation as together we confess our sins, receive the assurance of pardon, and beseech the Lord to be actively at work in our lives.
His Mercy is More
This new song is, again, a great expression of US coming together to acknowledge our sinfulness and rejoice in the mercy He has poured out on His people. Since someone suggested this song a few months back, I’ve grown to love it more and more. The tune is a little different, so try to listen to it a few times between now and Sunday. What a joy it is to sing together to OUR Lord each Sunday!
We Are the Body of Christ
One heart one spirit, one voice to praise You
We are the body of Christ
One goal one vision: To see You exalted
We are the body of Christ
And to this we give our lives: To see You glorified
This song is short, and simple, but a wonderful prayer expressing our desire to be unified as the Body of Christ.
Sermon: This Whole Church Thing... It’s About US!
As I mentioned this past Sunday - don’t misunderstand the sermon Title. Salvation and all of life is about the glory of God. We should always strive to glorify Him in every detail of our lives, but as we think about being the Body of Christ, there is a distinct “US” dynamic that Ephesians lays out. As we come to the second half of Ephesians - the “how to live it out” part, be sure and read at least chapter 4 before Sunday. We’ll walk through chapter 4, and possibly the first half of chapter 5 as we look at how we are to interact with each other and see specific instructions to that end.
O Church Arise
As we respond to God’s Word each week, one of our goals should be to submit in humble obedience. While we won’t look at the armor of Chapter six, as we sing of putting our spiritual armor on, we should remind ourselves that it is only in the strength that God has given that we can be obedient to the instructions Paul gives us in Ephesians 4, 5, and 6. Verse 4 really pulls it all together for us:
So Spirit come put strength in every stride
Give grace for every hurdle
That we may run with faith to win the prize
Of a servant good and faithful
Let it Be Said of Us
Following a time of contemplation, what better song to be our Benediction than this one?
As it says in the final verse:
Let it be said of us
We were marked by forgiveness
We were known by our love
And delighted in meekness
We were ruled by His peace
Heeding unity's call
Joined as one body
That Christ would be seen by all
Sunday Nights @ Fellowship
We’ll be looking at Question 2 of the New City Catechism and singing Praise to the Lord, the Almighty and Behold Our God
Be in prayer for:
• Rex, the worship team, and choir as they prepare to lead us in singing.
• Pray that we all come together on Sunday with hearts prepared to engage in intense, focused exaltation of God.
• Pray that we are obedient to God’s commands and strive for the unity He has called us to.
• Pray for me as I prepare to preach God’s inspired, inerrant, sufficient, authoritative Word.
Rob
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