Preparing for Sunday, 12/9/12

Our Christmas celebration as a local church continues tomorrow morning. Jordan will be preaching on 1 Corinthians 9:15-23, entitled "The Sweet Surrender of Our Rights." We'll continue talking about how our freedoms from the Law and legalism in Christ is never for our own selfish benefit, but for the sake of giving up our preferences and traditions for the sake of relationships with others, in and out of the Church. We are crucified with Christ, as Paul says in Galations 2, and often God reminds his people of that as we are confronted with opportunities to abandon our preferences for the sake of winning the heart of another person to the non-negotiables of the Gospel. Try to read the passage for tomorrow ahead of time, to prepare.

We also have one of our new "Missions Moments" during the first segment of the service tomorrow - make sure you're there on-time to catch this!

We'll sing the following songs of Christmas worship tomorrow. Pay particular attention to the version of "Hallelujah What A Savior" - this is a fresh take on a classic hymn. Aaron Ivey, a church music leader from a church called The Austin Stone in Austin, TX, wrote Christmas-themed verses to the hymn, and added a chorus. The essence and melody of the original are there, with verses that put the central repeated line "Hallalujah, what a Savior" into the specific story of Christmas and Christ's incarnation. It's a wonderful re-working of a hymn. Get ready to sing that one out with us tomorrow.

1. Joy to the World (Unspeakeable Joy)
2. The First Noel
3. Hallalujah What A Savior (Christmas version by Aaron Ivey)
4. O Holy Night