Hey guys!
It's good to be back. We were away the last two Sundays visiting family, but don't worry. We're coming back with a vengeance!
Really quick, I'm super thankful for my buddy Paul Hoover for stepping in on 6/29 to lead our singing, and for Eric Durso on 7/6. Both guys are great, and really helpful. And to our awesome band - they're great, and did an awesome job (so I heard) playing with, and supporting these guys. Our band is made up of worship leaders, one and all. It's a huge blessing to serve alongside them, as we get to lead our church to sing praises to our Savior each week.
Hope you'll be with us this Sunday. Eric is preaching on Proverbs 2:1-6. Give the passage a read ahead of time as we prepare to continue our study through Proverbs together.
Here are the songs we'll sing, with some thoughts on WHY we're including each one in our gathering tomorrow.
A call to worship our great, powerful, majestic God. He imagined the sun and gives it light, creates the seasons, and holds the universe together. This song will serve to fix our gaze onto the right things as we start our corporate worship.
2. Sola
Sola is Latin for "alone" or "only." The lyrics to this tune are drawn from the 5 solas of the Reformation. The song continues the theme of the first song, as a call to worship, focusing our affections on the fact that we're saved, and Christians, and God's people because of Christ alone, born again through the Word of God alone, by faith and by God's grace alone, all to the glory of God alone. God is the author of our salvation from our sin, and we gather to worship Him only because of these truths!
3. All Creatures of Our God and King
Another "call to worship" type of song - you're probably noticing a unifying theme in these first 3 of our set. I love the 2nd verse we'll sing tomorrow, because it includes our practical responsibility if we have true hearts of worship. It says, "And all ye men of tender heart/Forgiving others, take your part." If we've been saved from our sin and given new hearts and new life in Christ, we should be glad to "take our part" and give grace and forgiveness to others.
4. Stronger
This song rejoices in the strength of our Savior, and the completeness of the salvation He accomplished for us on the cross. The first verse starts, "There is Love, that came for us/Humbled to a sinner's cross." Christ came to seek and save His lost sheep, when we were utterly lost. Praise God for not leaving us in our sin.
And here's the final response this Sunday to who our God is, and what He has done through Christ for us. God is good, and gracious father who has brought us into His house. Even in our earthly trials, when things go terribly, God absolutely means it for the good of His people. So we sing, "You give and take away/My heart will choose to say/Lord, blessed be Your name."
See you Sunday morning!
