Preparing for Sunday, 11-21-10

Another Sunday is almost upon us, and we have good things in store. Music rehearsal went really well last night, and I’m thoroughly excited about the set. The team will be playing 3 songs this Sunday morning, and our kids’ choir will be adding a 4th. Pastor John will be preaching on Titus 2:11-15, on the character of a Christian that God has saved in and through the Gospel. Our worship set will be as follows:

• Forever: Our call to worship for the morning. A great song of praise to God for His faithfulness in how He loves us. The verses repeat the phrase, “His love endures forever,” which echoes psalms that are repetitious in how they praise God for certain attributes.
• Mighty to Save: This is our transition song from thinking about the sovereign faithfulness of God, to thoughts of the Gospel. Our Savior is a sovereign Savior, Who is mighty to save, and will save His people. Verse 2 of the song is a plea for God to “fill our lives” with His presence and the control of His Spirit, which connects to the subject of Titus 2 (appropriate Christian conduct).
• The Power of the Cross: After offering, we’ll lead through this song, which is a close reflection on the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The song moves systematically, partly as a narrative, through what Christ has accomplished for us. One of my favorite lines comes from verse 4, saying, “Oh to see my name written in the wounds, for through Your suffering I am free! Death is crushed to death; life is mine to live, won through Your selfless love!”

A note on The Power of the Cross: In our corporate worship week-to-week, we need to keep finding our way again and again into the Gospel. This means thinking about the Gospel, remembering what God has done in our own lives to save us, thinking about what He has saved us from, and what He has saved us to. God tells us in the book of Titus, over and over, that as Christians we need to be all about good works. But do our good works save us? Absolutely not! God has saved us completely by His grace, through Jesus (everything this song talks about), and because of that God desires us to do good works. So as we hear preaching about living correctly, having lives filled with good works, we need to understand that all of this happens only because Christ died, and lives on our behalf. Praise God!

See you Sunday!