Preparing For Worship: March 9th

Well it's that time again: time to prepare ourselves to come together with the body of Christ and worship Him corporately!

I hope your week has been filled with God's goodness, and that you've had opportunities to trust him, and trust in his sovereign plan.

We're still a couple weeks away from Easter, but I want us to start thinking about it now, as the magnitude of what happened that day cannot be grasped in one Sunday morning service! Think of how 2,000 years ago, Christ was drawing near to the time of his death. He knew he had come to die, and he knew it was getting close. We see his human fear and anguish when he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane on that night he was betrayed, and yet we see his humble submission to the Father's will. What an example, and what a servant was our Jesus!

The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:
...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Have you ever heard a Christian, or some other religious person say that "even if my faith turns out to be false, I'm still better off for living a life of religion and morality?" I have, and it sounds convincing, but God's Word says otherwise. Paul says if our hope is in this life only, we (Christians) are of all people most to be pitied!! We would have devoted ourselves to a Lord who died the same as we did!

This is the thing that sets Christianity apart from world religions: that Jesus Christ not only was a "good teacher"(like Buddha) or a "prophet"(like Mohamed), but he conquered death and rose from the grave by the power of God! God placed the entirety of his righteous wrath (which we rightly deserved) onto the Savior, and he payed the price for our sins, but didn't stay dead! Because of Christ's resurrection, we have the hope of our own resurrection at the end of days, to rise from the grave, and ascend with the Lord into heaven to enjoy the fullness of God's presence for the rest of eternity!

Whew, so yeah, start thinking about Easter. :-)

This Sunday we'll begin the service with "How Good And Pleasant," reminding ourselves of the joy of worshiping together. Then we'll have a short time of announcements, including our Easter services, Pastor's Coffee, and our need for extra children's ministry volunteers for Easter. That last one is a great way to worship through serving, so if you have the time, consider watching the kids during one of the Easter services.

We'll continue singing praises with the new song we did last week "Let God Arise," and "God Of Wonders" which remind us of God's power, greatness, and holiness. Then we'll consider how this omnipotent God saw fit to redeem us from the bondage of sin by sending his Son to die in our stead with "The Wonderful Cross." This will also help prepare us for Pastor Todd's message, which is the first of a series on the last words of Christ; "Father Forgive Them."

After Todd's message, we'll corporately respond in song to the forgiveness of God that is so freely given to us because of Christ's work on the cross, with "Majesty," and then we'll end our time with a corporate song of commitment and asking God to consume us "From The Inside Out" that we might bring him praise with everything we do, including forgiving others.

That's about it for this week. Next week is our Giving Sunday for our building project, so if you haven't thought about how God might lead you to contribute, take a moment and seek his will on the matter. After the service next week, we'll all go over to our new building and enjoy In-N-Out burgers together, and see the place we'll call home for the next few years!