This weekend David Hinkle preached from the book of Ruth to talk about God's mission and how it has involved His people throughout history. The message was title "Legacy," and he talked about how we can become a part of God's overarching purpose in this world. One of his main points was that we were born at this time to be involved in this specific part of God's plan - sending us out to tell the world about His Son, Jesus. It was a challenging reminder of the calling on our lives as rescued believers in Jesus Christ. We have a mission. For this week's message, we focused on the gospel, mission, pursuing God, redemption, and the new covenant. Each of these songs carries at least one of these elements in it.
Here's our set from this weekend:
Pre-Service - "Kingdom" (A) [Kristian Stanfill] Call To Worship/Prayer "Happy Day" (Bb) [Tim Hughes, Ben Cantelon] Welcome/Offering/Announcements/Greeting Time "Let Me Sing" (Bb) [Todd Fields] "Forever Reign" (Bb) [Jason Ingram, Reuben Morgan] Message - "Legacy" [David Hinkle] Communion Song - "Rock of Ages" (Bb) [Augustus M. Toplady, Thomas Hastings] Response - "Son of God" [Jon Neufeld, Tim Neufeld]
This weekend was another good weekend of worship. One highlight for me was seeing one of our young guys, Anthony Dake, jump in on drums and do a fantastic job. He played like a champ, and served our congregation well. I look forward to having him in there again soon. Part of our vision for our worship ministry is to build into our younger guys and gals and teach them early on what it's all about and how to lead worship through music, with authenticity and excellence. Our NextGen Worship Leader, Erik Oldberg, does a fantastic job with these guys, and even in the six months I have been here, I have seen huge growth in each of them. I am thankful for his leadership and passion for worship.
"Kingdom" - This song was a great fit for the theme of the weekend, but it is a little tricky for most of our congregation to sing with, which is why it was in the pre-service slot. It really communicates that it is our responsibility and calling to carry the truth of the gospel to the world, and to invade the darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. I love the message of this song.
"Happy Day" - This is now a standard for our congregation, and it has been a while since we sang it together. I love what it communicates about Jesus' victory over sin and death, and how our eternal destiny has been permanently affected by His work on the cross and His resurrection.
"Let Me Sing" - We began teaching this song a few weeks ago, and this was our refresher week, to solidify it in our congregation's memory. This song supported the theme of the weekend with the idea of us shining as lights in the darkness as an act of worship, in response to the amazing sacrifice that Christ made for us. In my mind, this is the most significant reason we have to worship, to obey, and to give of ourselves - Christ gave first, and did so in a marvelous way.
"Forever Reign" - We bracketed the message with this song, or parts of it anyway. The bridge and chorus really helped to communicate the drive of the message, for us to pursue Jesus Christ and His purposes with everything we have.
"Rock of Ages" - This hymn arrangement is from a band called Ascend The Hill, on their album of reworked hymns, Take The World But Give Me Jesus. The first time I heard it, I was immediately struck by the powerful lyric, and the simple arrangement, which added great power and emotion to the truth of the lyric. The lyric conveys the desperation we should all have for the saving work of Christ. We are completely hopeless without His help and His rescuing us. We sang this song during communion, and it was very appropriate in that slot. Here's the lyric:
Rock of Ages Augustus M. Toplady, Thomas Hastings
VERSE 1 Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure; Save from wrath and make me pure.
VERSE 2 Not the labor of my hands Can fulfill Thy law’s demands; Could my zeal no respite know, Could my tears forever flow, These for sin could not atone Thou must save, and Thou alone.
VERSE 3 Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to Thy fountain fly Wash me, Savior, or I die.
VERSE 4 While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyes shall close in death, When I rise to worlds unknown And behold Thee on Thy throne Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.
"Son of God" - We finished the service by singing this great song to our Savior. It actually ended up being more fitting than I thought it would be, because of the way that David emphasized the covenant and Christ's sacrifice on the cross for us. The ends of each verse spoke to these elements, singing directly about the cross and then in the second verse about how Christ fulfilled prophecy and how He is coming again for His church. I think it was a solid way to end our times together this weekend.
I am so thankful to be a part of this great church, and for the opportunity to grow together in worshiping our King. I hope you had a great weekend of worship as well. Check out The Worship Community to see what other worshipers experienced and why.
Let me know your thoughts! I love reading your opinions and feedback.
In the Son,
Bill