Preparing For Worship August 17th, 2008

Hey everyone! I'm glad to be back with you this week!

Jess and I had a great time visiting family in Kentucky, and we got unseasonably nice weather, and a lot of time to rest and relax.

Thanks again to my brother, Donny, for leading worship for me last Sunday. He gets one Sunday off every month from playing the drums at his church, and he's always gracious enough to offer to help out with whatever I need (drums, bass, you-name-it).

This Sunday we take off into our study in the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7. Take some time to read through this important passage, and interact with your Bible as you do (take notes, circle, underline, whatever helps you!). It will make our corporate study all the more beneficial.

We're going to start the service with a set of songs that all have the word "how." In English, we use the word "how" in two ways:

One way is to start off a question, such as "How much is that Aston Martin DB9?"

The second is to reinforce, or declare something we already know to be true, such as "How expensive that Aston Martin DB9 is!"

We're going to sing songs that use "how" in that second sense; to reinforce and declare that which we already know to be true! In our case we will be declaring "How Good And Pleasant" it is when we dwell together in unity and praise the Lord! We'll also declare to God "How Great Thou Art," as we focus on his majesty in creation and the plan of the cross.

Next we'll learn a new song written by our own Linda Gray, and if you received a copy of her CD "Paradox of Power," then you already have it in your possession. It's called "[How] Fortunate" (the word "how" isn't actually in the title, but it worked so well with my theme!!), and you can find the lyrics, and download the song for free HERE if you don't already have it. Thanks Linda!

After we recount the many great blessings found in Linda's song, we'll take some time to respond to our greatest blessing: the Savior. We'll lay our hearts before the throne of God, and declare "Here I Am To Worship."

Darren Utley is preaching this Sunday, and he will then come and introduce us to the Sermon on the mount. He'll give us some important background and insight into what this "Sermon of sermons" is all about.

After this, we'll take some time to meditate on the high calling that Jesus places on us through the Sermon on the Mount. We'll recall that it's only by God's grace, and the power of the Holy Spirit, that we can live the kind of life Jesus talks about in this passage. "O Great God" is based on a Puritan prayer called "Regeneration" and it expresses this desire and dependence. We'll end acknowledging that all of our hope is indeed found "In Christ Alone" and his work on the cross.

Happy preparation!