As it happens, the holiday season was busier than most other times of the year, and one of the things to get trimmed away in the midst of the busyness was blogging. But here we go again; and it's a good time to return to the blog, it being New Year's and all.
The year has been a good one for our church, full of trials and heartache, as well as joys and triumphs over sin. And I'm sure the next year will have both in store for us as well. This coming Sunday will be a vision casting opportunity for Pastor John and Pastor Jordan, as we look ahead to the coming year of discipleship, ministry and worship as a local body of believers.
The sermon text will be Luke 13:10-21, and the title for Jordan's sermon will be "Resisting the trap of hypocrisy, traditionalism, and missing the nature of Christ's Kingdom." The morning, then, will really focus on doing things as a church with the right goals, and not missing the point of why we do what we do (in ministry, making disciples, worshiping God individually and corporately, etc).
The songs will ultimately focus in on the glorious God that we worship, and Who has graciously and lovingly called us into His family. The songs will be as follows:
A big, full-band call for praise to our great God. He is a God of "measureless might" and also of "ineffable (so-amazing-it-can't-be-put-into-words) love."
One of my favorite "newer" church songs. This song continues the flow of thought from the first one, exalting our God as "awesome in beauty" and "greatly to be praised."
This is a great number written by Fernando Ortega. It says that "the Lord our God, He is strong to save," even through times of dark trials and doubts. This song says some wonderfully important things for us to sing together as we look ahead to the new year!
We need to focus in on the Gospel at some point in all of our singing, because we can only praise God as His church because He has bought us by the blood of His Son.
