Friday, May 30, 2008

Preparing For Worship: June 1st

Wow, Sunday June 1st, we're nearly ready to move into our new building! Speaking of that, if some of you buff, burly men want to come help us move our offices tomorrow morning (Sat. 5-31) at 9:00, we'd really appreciate it!

As we prepare for Sunday morning, we read in Ecclesiastes 6 a "part two" of sorts from last week's passage. King Solomon continues to reflect on the vanity, or pointlessness, of having "stuff." This "Myth of more," as Pastor Todd named it last week, deceives us into pursuing material possessions in this life, thinking that the objects themselves will bring us fulfillment.

It is God who alone is fulfilling, and who alone enables us to enjoy the delights of life. We must be careful to remember that everything we enjoy is a gift from God, and it must be enjoyed in light of his graciousness and goodness, and not unto themselves.

This Sunday we will join our hearts together as we corporately declare to God that we want to know him more by singing "In The Secret" as our call to worship. Then Darren Utley will share some important announcements of various things going on within our church body.

We'll have a special time of prayer and commissioning for some of our people who are going out to various places to minister this summer in a variety of ways, including Erin Axline, John Book and family, Mallory Smith, Holly Stark, and Andy Toy. Please join us as we send them off to do God's work in the places they are going!

We'll continue worshiping as we sing our new song "Everlasting God," and then "Mighty To Save" which both remind us of the calling we have to live faithful lives that are pleasing to God, that he might be glorified in us, and that the world would see that we are "singing for glory of the risen King, Jesus!"

Pastor Todd will then teach us from God's Word as we worship by humbly submitting to its authority in our lives, and seeking to apply its truth in a practical way.

We'll transition to a time of communion and remembering Christ's death on the cross, during which we'll sing "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross" and then be dismissed as we sing "We Trust Your Will" declaring to God (and to ourselves) that we recognize and trust in his sovereignty in all things, and echo the apostle Paul's words to the Roman church: "If God be for us, who can be against us?"

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