The Gathering - Part Six

     We want to take the next few weeks and dig into an important part of our purpose for gathering each weekend. We gather to remember that God has brought us into a relationship with Himself through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This sacrifice of Christ is no less that a brutal execution on a Roman cross. Even more than that was what Christ suffered beyond just the physical torture of crucifixion. As God, He took on human flesh (John 1:1,14). As Savior, He took upon Himself the sins of the world (1 Pet. 2:24). As the propitiation for our sins, He bore the wrath of God against sin (Rom. 3:25-26). 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

     John Piper puts it this way, "If God were not just, there would be no demand for his Son to suffer and die. And if God were not loving, there would be no willingness for his Son to suffer and die."
   
     When we gather to remember what God has done, let us not forget the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When we consider the depth of how awful and awesome this sacrifice was it tells us so much about God and about ourselves and our desperate need for a Savior. 


"Father, may we remember Your Son's sacrifice. Allow us to see the terror of falling into the hands of a wrathful, righteous God. Help us to remember that He took our place so that we could draw near to You. May these thoughts shape our view of You and in turn shape our view of our circumstances! Amen."

Songs for Our Gathering this Week:

Everlasting God

     by Brenton Brown

How Great Thou Art 

     by Stuart K. Hine

Come Lord Jesus (Even So Come)

     by Chris Tomlin | Jess Cates | Jason Ingram

The Greatness of Our God

     by Stuart Garrard, Jason Ingram, and Reuben Morgan

Behold Our God
     by Jonathan Baird, Meghan Baird, Ryan Baird, and Stephen Altrogge 

The Gathering - Part Five

     Over the last few weeks we have been looking at what the worship gathering is all about. We gave this purpose statement for our gatherings:

To remember what God has done to bring us into relationship with Himself through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the communion that is now possible with God, to give attention to His word and to recommit to living within the grace of this covenantal relationship with God and each other.

     Last week we pointed out that our first priority is to remember. We stated that the Gospel is what God has done through Jesus Christ; His death, burial and resurrection which is the only way to bring us eternal life. God has provided this free gift so that we can be brought into a relationship with Him. All throughout the Scriptures we see God's desire to draw near to those He created and loves. He wants to include us in a relationship that He has always had within the Trinity! This is only possible through His provision. We are not able to approach a holy God on our own. He brings us in! 
     One other truth that we need to see is that when God brings us into relationship with Himself, He also brings us into relationship with one another. When we enter into relationship with God we are entering into a family, a body! So as we gather let's remember that we are gathering before God and with one another. Our activities in the gathering are to be worship to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and they are to be opportunities to encourage each other in the faith. What a great privilege we have!


"Father, thank you for drawing us to Yourself. May we marvel in the wonder of the creation being in relationship with the Creator. Help us not forget that You make this possible. And may our times together this weekend be a joyful reunion with one another that foreshadows what You will one day bring about when you call us home to Glory! Amen."

Songs for Our Gathering this Week:

Glory to God Forever

     by Steve Fee

In Christ Alone

     by Stuart Townend | Keith Getty

Great Are You Lord

     by David Leonard | Jason Ingram | Leslie Jordan

The Revelation Song

     by Jenni Lee Riddle

Come Lord Jesus (Even So Come)

     by Chris Tomlin | Jess Cates | Jason Ingram

The Gathering - Part Four

     A few weeks back we started a discussion on the worship gathering in order to consider, from a biblical perspective, why we meet and what we are to be about when we gather. We started with this calling: 

To remember what God has done to bring us into relationship with Himself through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the communion that is now possible with God, to give attention to His word and to recommit to living within the grace of this covenantal relationship with God and each other.

     If remembering God's plan and action to bring us back to Himself, we call this the Gospel, is to be the focal point of our gatherings, let's make clear what the Gospel is. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 gives the most succinct statement of the Gospel when Paul states,

"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." 

     This good news must be remembered each time we gather as believers for worship because it is our only hope for being able to worship. We remember that we have a holy and righteous God who has created us and who desires to commune with us. Our sin separates us from this relationship and a righteous God must punish this sin. In order to bring about reconciliation, God poured out the penalty for sin upon His Son Jesus Christ. He died upon a cross and was buried in a tomb. Because God's righteous wrath was satisfied by Jesus' sacrifice, God raised Him from the dead. That is the Gospel that we have received and which we remember when we gather to worship.

"Father, thank you for the Gospel. It is Your power for salvation to all who believe. May we believe in truth and clarity! May we never mix your Gospel with our own efforts and think that we can add anything that brings about our reconciliation with You. May this Gospel be central as we gather together to worship You. Amen."

Songs for Our Gathering this Week:

Our God (Is Greater

     by Matt Redman | Chris Tomlin | Jesse Reeves | Jonas Myrin

Before the Throne of God Above

     by Charitie Less Bancroft

I Stand Amazed in the Presence

     by Charles H. Gabriel

Your Glory

     by Leslie Jordan | Robert Lowery

How Great is Your Faithfulness

     by Jonas Myrin | Matt Redman

The Gathering - Part Three

     Last time we stated that the purpose of corporate worship is . . .

"to remember what God has done to bring us into relationship with Himself through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the communion that is now possible with God, to give attention to His word and to recommit to living within the grace of this covenantal relationship with God and each other."

     Our first priority is to remember. 

     In his book Worship Matters, Bob Kauflin states, “Biblical worship involves proclamation and leads to proclaiming God’s truth with our lives. We’re doing more than emoting or having a ‘worship experience.’ We’re declaring why God is so great, what He has accomplished, and all that He has promised. We all need to be reminded, and proclamation helps us remember." We are a people who quickly forget things. We have a tendency to live in the moment and forget what has brought us to a particular time and place. 
     All throughout the Scriptures there are calls to remember. The feasts of the Old Testament were meant to be memorials that would enable the nation of Israel to remember and pass on to future generations what God had done to make them into a people of His own possession. They were designed to recall how He had continued to graciously provide for them. The monuments were another tool used for remembering. There were many times that memorial stones were erected in order that the coming generations would see and ask what transpired in a particular place. This would give opportunity to once again recount the mercies of God to individuals and the nation. 
     In the Gospels, when Jesus inaugurates the New Covenant at the Passover celebration on the night He was betrayed, He told His disciples, and those who would come after them, to partake in remembrance of Him. Peter desires the same thing when he writes, "Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder" (2 Peter 1:12-13). Our worship gatherings must have a component of remembrance, and what we are to remember is the Gospel. We should never think that the Gospel is only for unbelievers and that we ought to move on to deeper and more profound topics in our worship gatherings. There is nothing more central to our faith and to our gatherings than the Gospel.

"Father, as we gather together, may there be an element of remembrance. May You stir our hearts and minds to recall what You have done for us at the cross and how you have brought us to Yourself. As we proclaim and celebrate the Gospel may the next generation hear the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. Amen."

Songs for Our Gathering this Week:

God is Able (F1/F2/F3) 

     by Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan

My Lighthouse (FSat) 

     by Rend Collective

Glorious Day

     by Michael Bleecker | Mark Hall

Great Are You Lord

     by David Leonard | Jason Ingram | Leslie Jordan

Ancient Words

     by Lynn DeShazo

The Gathering - Part Two

Why do we gather each week? 

This question may appear to have an easy answer.  We may quickly conclude that we gather to worship. While this is true, we want to be able to understand what that means and what that looks like. Certainly we are told in scripture that all of life is to be lived as an act of worship. Paul says in Romans 12:1 to, “present your bodies (all of who you are) as living sacrifices.” He describes this as an act of worship. So if all of life is worship, then why do we gather each week? 

I believe that the purpose of corporate worship is . . . 

"to remember what God has done to bring us into relationship with Himself through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to celebrate the communion that is now possible with God, to give attention to His word and to recommit to living within the grace of this covenantal relationship with God and each other."

In other words, we gather to reorient our lives around the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Over the next several weeks we want to unpack this purpose statement for our gatherings. We want to see how the Bible speaks one unified message of God’s desire to gather to Himself a people who will serve Him as a kingdom of worshipers. There truly is no greater call in life than this!

“Father, we pray that You will allow us to understand Your purposes for the church gathered and as we grow in our understanding may we have a deeper desire to be joined together regularly with Your people to declare Your praise. Amen.”

Songs for Our Gathering this Week:

Strong to Save (F1/F2) 
     by Eddie Hoagland | Tyler Miller

Let God Arise (FSat/F3) 
     by Chris Tomlin | Ed Cash | Jesse Reeves

Grace Alone

     by Dustin Kensrue

Your Glory
     by Leslie Jordan

Man of Sorrows
     by Matt Crocker | Brooke Ligertwood

The Gathering - Part One

" . . . and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near."   

Over the next several months we want to consider the worship gathering or the "assembling together" as the writer of Hebrews calls it. Why do we gather? What are we to be about as we gather? What informs these answers? We will be looking at what the Bible says as a whole about worship and how it applies to us today in our gatherings. It is our prayer that these posts will truly "spur us on to love and good deeds."

There is one important point that I would like to begin with as we consider this discussion of corporate worship. The true nature of worship is responsive and not initiative. In other words, worship does not bring about any ability to provide for or secure a relationship with God. Worship starts with God and His initiative and we respond. Worship will never and should never replace the Gospel. There is no power in worship to bring us into the presence of God. That's right! Our act of responding to God's revelation of Himself does not bring us any closer to the throne of God's grace.  The Gospel alone brings us into God's presence and our worship should acknowledge this truth. This should bring great peace to the worshiper knowing that there is no pressure to perform in worship in order to bring about good favor with God. Christ alone brings us good favor with God. We are solely responding to who He is and what He has provided so graciously for us through the Gospel.

This response should also be based on objective truth which is revealed by God in His word. The motivation for worship is not first a subjective, feelings based approach, as if to say, "I'm not feeling this so I wonder if it is true." The proper order is faith placed in God's truth which will lead to right feelings.  We must not get these out of order. 

So as we gather together this week to respond to our God who calls us into worship we should not first ask the question, "How do I feel about what I am singing, hearing, experiencing?" We must first ask the question, "Do I believe these things to be true?" When the answer is "yes" then our minds, hearts and lives become reoriented around the Gospel! We move away from the idols of our lives and allow Christ to become the center!

"Father may You show us what is true.  We believe so many lies.  You are the Truth.  As we gather before You this week, please allow us to grasp that You have provided access into Your presence through Christ. May we come with no other hope! Amen.”

For further study on this topic see Hebrews 10:19-25; John 4:7-26

Songs for Our Gathering this Week:

Let God Arise (F1/F2) 
     by Chris Tomlin | Ed Cash | Jesse Reeves

Strong to Save (FSat/F3) 
     by Eddie Hoagland | Tyler Miller

Hear Our Praises 
     by Reuben Morgan

You Alone Can Rescue 
     by Matt Redman | Jonas Myrin

Rejoice 
     by Dustin Kensrue | Stuart Townend

The Rock Won't Move 
     by Jacob Sooter |Kyle Fredricks | Landon MacDonald |Tyler Miller