The US described in relational terms

Preparing Your Heart for Worship - January 28, 2018

This Sunday, as we continue to look at what it means to BE the Body of Christ, we’ll be in Ephesians 5:22-6:9 examining how our family relationships are a reflection of the relationships we have in our church family.  

As you think toward our time together - remember the “hourglass” shape and notice how we begin by turning our gaze heavenward, and then tighten our focus on who God is, then as we conclude, turn our thoughts toward our “walk” - living out the gospel in the details of our daily lives. 

Call to Worship - Behold Our God

What a joy it is to hear our children praising God as we begin our time together. 

The lyrics of this song are incredible. As we begin to turn our thoughts from the cares of daily life, what better way to begin than to celebrate the Lord, seated on His throne. It is the worship in the throne room of Heaven that we are joining in when we gather together. 

Catechism

This new element of our worship gathering isa time where we intentionally focus on learning the great truths of the Christian Faith in a Question & Answer format.  

We’re Here to Worship

As we continue to exalt the Lord together - this celebration of our purpose for gathering is a great way for us to declare together why we have “come to church” today!

Prayer of Petition

Continuing our time together - we turn to ask the Lord to use this time to draw us together in unity and to draw us deeper into His Word as we strive to hear from Him. 

Speak, O Lord

We sang this song as our Benediction/Closing Prayer last week - continuing in that mindset, we’re singing it toward the beginning of our service continuing the Prayer of Petition corporately through song. 

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. 

Prayer of Praise

This prayer, led by one of our Deacons this week, reflects our desire to tighten our focus (moving further in to the center of the “hourglass”) on praising the Lord for who He is and what He has done for US.

Meditating on God’s Word

1 Timothy 4:13 – 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. The goal is to simply hear God’s voice as we meditate on His Word. 

Shout to the Lord &

How Great Thou Art

These two songs, which are no doubt familiar to us all, are a great way to focus on responding to who God is in worship.

Sermon: This Whole Church Thing... It’s About US!

We look this Sunday at what is essentially a list of the relationships that all of us have and how they reflect the whole “US” thing we find throughout the book of Ephesians. Spend time reading through Ephesians 5:22-6:9 several times between now and Sunday, noticing the different relationships and how and where they are pictures of the gospel. 

Oh How Good It Is

One of the reasons we sing this song often, especially during this “Church” series is because of how perfectly it expresses the joy of being a part of Christ’s Body. Be sure to read through the lyrics and notice when we sing together that this is not just singing a song together, not just a prayer, but also a ‘Benediction’ in that it sends us out thinking Scripture saturated thoughts about what it means to be US. 

Oh how good it is when the family of God

Dwells together in spirit, in faith, and unity

Where the bonds of peace, of acceptance and love

Are the fruit of His presence here among us

So with one voice we'll sing to the Lord

And with one heart we'll live out His word

Till the whole earth sees the Redeemer has come

For He dwells in the presence of His people

Oh how good it is – on this journey we share

To rejoice with the happy and weep with those who mourn

For the weak find strength, the afflicted find grace

When we offer the blessing of belonging

Oh how good it is to embrace His command

To prefer one another forgive as He forgives

When we live as one we all share in the love

Of the Son with the Father and the Spirit

Be in prayer for:

• Rex, the worship team, and choirs 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

Preparing for our time TOGETHER!

Preparing Your Heart for Worship - January 21, 2018

This Sunday, as we continue to look at what it means to BE the Body of Christ, we’ll be in Ephesians 5:1-21. 

As you look through the order of worship for our gathering tomorrow, pay attention to how everything flows together and leads us toward hearing from God through His Word in the sermon.  

One way of thinking about our worship service is an “hourglass” shape. We begin wide - with the distractions of the world and the past week in mind. Through the service, we tighten our focus on the cross, and then widen back out as we are commissioned to live out God’s Word in our daily lives. 

Call to Worship

We begin to turn from the distractions of the past week and focus our hearts, minds and actions on exalting Him. this is the “formal beginning” of our time together.

Worthy of Worship

We begin by declaring God’s worthiness together. 

Let It Be Said of Us

We concluded our service last Sunday with this song asking the Lord that we would be a Body that is marked by forgiveness, known by our love, ruled by God’s peace, and, joined as one body. We’re singing it again early in our service as a reminder that even in our worship, these things should be our goal. 

Prayer of Petition

Praying that we would be truly joined in unity during our time together. 

Testimony

This Sunday is “Sanctity of Human Life” Sunday. We’ll be hearing from Barb Hutchison about Choices Medical Services, a wonderful ministry here in Joplin that seeks to protect the lives of the unborn and help young parents among other things. 

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. 

Prayer of Praise

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. 

Meditating on God’s Word

1 Timothy 4:13 – 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. The goal is to simply hear God’s voice as we meditate on His Word. 

How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

As we gather, what a joy it is to always sing of what Christ has done for US. This is truly the foundation of our unity, and something that we will spend eternity singing about. 

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

Originally written as a communion hymn, this song is a beautiful expression of not just what Christ has done for us, but how we should respond when meditating on the cross.

Sermon: This Whole Church Thing... It’s About US!

While salvation and all of life is about the glory of God, there is a distinct “US” dynamic when we think about what it means to be the Body of Christ. Please be sure to read Ephesians 5:1-21 as we’ll be looking at what God calls us to be tomorrow.  

Speak, O Lord

We typically think of this song as a “just before the sermon” prayer, but most of this song is a wonderful expression of our desire for God to use His Word to bring about change in our hearts. Take a minute to read the lyrics and story of this song so that when we sing it together, it’s coming from the heart. Begin praying that the Lord would do this in our Body even now. 

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 in the morning. 

Rob

Striving to BE the Body of Christ (1/14/18)

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

Our Faithful God

Preparing Your Heart for Worship - November 12, 2017

This Sunday, our study of Romans reaches Chapter 11. We’ll be looking at the first 10 verses, but spend some time reading the entire chapter so that you get a feel for the overall direction of the chapter.  

As you think toward our time together - here’s what we’ll be doing this Sunday. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the songs we’ll be singing as well as the passage we’re studying so that we can all make the most of our time together. 

Creation Calls

A multi-generational choir will open our service with a song based on Psalm 19. As we saw last week, the gospel message, along with the revelation of who God is, reaches every corner of the earth. The beauty of the Lord touches all the earth. This song points us again to the reality of the universal proclamation of the gospel  

Behold Our God

As we continue worshiping - we’ll keep our focus on God and turn our thoughts to the throne room of Heaven where He sits even as you read this. When we gather together each Sunday and sing to Him, we join with those gathered around the throne, and indeed all of creation, as we exalt our God.

Crown Him with Many Crowns

Awake, my soul and sing - of Him who died for me....

What a great prayer for us all to pray as we strive to be engaged in exalting our Savior. What a joy and privilege it is each week to come together as brothers and sisters in Christ and sing to the Lord together!

Prayer of Praise

The more we sing of the wonders of who God is and all that He has done for us, the easier it is to praise Him in prayer. As always, remember that whoever is leading us, we have the privilege of joining them and praying along with them. When we say “Amen!” together at the end of the prayer, we’re all joining with them in saying “YES! I agree!” It’s a wonderful way to be unified as we approach the throne of grace. 

Worship through Giving - How Great Thou Art

The act of bringing your gift to the Lord is an act of worship. We are, as we bring our tithes and offerings, speaking of how great God is to us. As we give, we’ll also sing about how great God is. Let this truly come from our soul, singing “how great Thou art!”

Meditating on God’s Word

We are a church that is centered on the Word. We hear, read, study, memorize, and meditate on God’s Word. Each of these elements is present in our worship gathering in some way. 

Pastoral 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. 

Grace Greater than Our Sin

There’s a reason that there are so many songs written about God’s grace. There’s a reason we love to sing them. And yes, there’s a reason that this hymn, written in 1911, remains. It’s a beautiful expression of God’s grace that has been poured out on us and covers all of our sin.

Speak, O Lord

This really is more of a prayer than a song. This should be our collective prayer as we get ready to hear God’s Word. The whole idea is that we are coming before the Lord and asking that the living, active, penetrating, transformative Word of God does in our lives what He intends for it to do. “Take Your truth plant it deep in us, shape and fashion us in Your likeness!”

Sermon: God’s Faithfulness

Romans 9-11 does stand as a “section” of Romans. Of course, it fits into the overall big picture and flow, but as we move into Romans 11, we are coming to the third division in this section of Romans. As you spend time reading this week, read through the entire chapter at least once, then go back and read verses 1-10 several times and think through these questions so as to make the most of our time together:

  • Who are God’s people?

  • What does “foreknew” mean?

  • What is the Elijah store referred to? 

  • Why does Paul mention it?

  • What is the relevance of the “remnant?”

  • Where else do we see the “grace vs. works” idea in Scripture?

  • What is meant by “the rest were hardened?”

  • Why does God close ears and darken eyes? What does it mean?

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Another great hymn of the faith, this song celebrates God’s faithfulness. He never changes. He is always faithful to His Word. He is absolutely and completely trustworthy no matter what seems to be happening in our lives. What a beautiful song this is and what a beautiful doctrine it celebrates!

Be sure and continue to pray Colossians 4:2-4 daily and always be looking for the opportunities to share the gospel that the Lord brings to you.  

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 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

New songs this Sunday!!

Preparing Your Heart for Worship - October 29, 2017

This Sunday, we continue our study of Romans 10 and shift our focus from man’s responsibility to call upon the Lord in repentance and belief from the heart to our great joy and privilege of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others.  

Singing Together as the Body of Christ

We’re singing a few new songs this week. Micah Miller will be leading our time of singing along with a few others. Be sure and be praying for him as he prepares this week to lead us in exalting Christ. 

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

As we begin our time together - we gather to bless the Lord - to worship His holy name. To sing about his excellent greatness. This is a great song to begin our time of worship with. It reminds us that every day is a new day and that no matter what the situation is in our lives, God’s goodness and mercy and kindness are ever present in our lives.

Forever Reign

As we continue singing together, this song (new to us) continues to celebrate God’s attributes and then turns to a great description of what our response to His goodness should be. Be sure and listen to this song a few times so we can all be ready to sing it together. 

Better Is One Day

Coming almost directly from Psalm 84, as we continue singing together, we’ll continue to declare our dependence on God and the desire we have to know Him more deeply.  

Breathe

This short song is a simple declaration of our daily dependence on the Holy Spirit in all of our life. 

The Solid Rock

As we prepare for our time in God’s Word together, what a joy it is to sing about Christ our hope. It truly is the sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf that is the foundation of my hope and joy and comfort and peace.  

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

This song isn’t new to us, but we haven’t sang it very much. As we sing together, let this song be a meditation on all that Christ has done for us. 

Sermon: Beautiful Feet, Romans 10:14-17

This passage of Scripture is a familiar one. While it doesn’t hold the “popularity” (for lack of a better term) of verse 9-10, it’s certainly a great passage that speaks of our assignment to take the Gospel to as many people as we can. 

Read through Romans 10:5-17 several times and pay close attention to verses 14-17. As you consider the passage, answer the following questions that come from verses 14-17:

  • who is the “they” referred to three times in verse 14?

  • what is the first thing we want the “they” to do? 

  • at the end of verse 14, what is “their” need?

  • there’s a new “they” in verse 15 - who is it?

  • what is this new “they” to do?

  • why do you think Paul uses the image of feet in this verse?

  • what does it mean to “obey the gospel?”

  • read the Isaiah quote in Isaiah 53:1. why do you thin Paul used this passage

  • what is the foundation of faith and hearing?

O Church Arise

As we consider the command of Scripture - we couldn’t think of a better song to conclude our time together with. The call of Romans 10:14-17 is to rise up, armor up, and step up to the challenge of sharing the good news of Christ with the world. That begins with those that God has placed in our lives - friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and others that we have some sort of “connection” with. 

Be sure and continue to pray Colossians 4:2-4 daily and always be looking for the opportunities to share the gospel that the Lord brings to you.  

Be in prayer for:

• Micah Miller, Cody & Katelyn Western, Amy Pryor, and Ryan Halstead as they prepare to lead our time of singing 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