Preparing for Worship: September 16th

This Sunday we have the opportunity to meet together to corporately worship our Sovereign Lord! This will hopefully be the grand culmination and climax of a week lived in the wondrous joy of his grace and mercy! Each morning that we've woken this week has been a gift that we wretched sinners do not deserve, but God allows us to breath, think, laugh, love, see, hear, touch, and also to cry, hurt, and mourn. Understanding that each moment is a gracious gift of God really puts those things in perspective, as we strive each day to know and worship our Creator better!

As you go about your daily tasks the remainder of this week, ask God to be preparing your heart to meet together to worship on Sunday. Ask that he would be molding and shaping your life, so that when you encounter your brothers and sisters of Crossroads, you would be equipped to edify them as you worship together, through your words and actions towards them.

This Sunday, Pastor Todd begins a study through the book of 1 Timothy. A GREAT way to prepare for worship is to READ THE BOOK. 1 Timothy is 6 chapters long, and you should be able to easily read the entire book before Sunday. Ask the Spirit to illuminate your heart to the truth of his word.

The beginning of the book is a call to hold fast to the truth of the gospel, and to beware of false teachings. Many of the songs that we'll sing together speak of this theme of knowing and clinging to the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, and we use these songs to preach the gospel continually to ourselves, so that we may savor it more fully!

We'll begin with the song "Holy Is The Lord" as a call to worship, and to focus our hearts on the character of God. Then we will worship through announcements as we seek ways to fellowship and serve those in our congregation. We will then sing "God Of Wonders," which helps us understand the holiness of God.

When we understand the holiness (or "set-apart-ness") of God, we then understand why He cannot tolerate sin, and that because we are fallen, sinful creatures, we are naturally doomed to experience the full wrath of a just and holy God!!

BUT

God planned, before the beginning of time, to send his son as a substitute for us! Through the blood sacrifice of Christ, we have the hope of being spared the horrible wrath of God, and of inheriting eternal life in his presence!

That's what the song "In Christ Alone" is all about, and hopefully you read the last blog entry to get to know the song a little bit! We'll sing this amazing song together, and then sing "We Fall Down" as a look forward to that glorious day when we'll bow before our God at the end of time and worship him in his presence forever more!

We'll then worship through the hearing of the powerful Word of God, and we ask the Lord to convict and encourage us by its truth, according to his Spirit's work in our lives.

We'll respond with "Once Again" which draws us back to the glorious cross of Christ, and end with "How Great Is Our God," appropriately closing our time together in adoration of his incomprehensible nature!

We look forward to worshiping with you, and we pray God would be preparing your hearts to meet with our brothers and sisters, and with our Lord!