I just finished helping some piano movers deliver a 7-ft grand piano into our worship center! It's a beautiful walnut-brown color, and it sounds amazing. I'll be attempting to play this beast on Sunday and although it's about 15 times the size of any of my guitars, I'll still feel a little naked and underequipped. In order to graduate with a Bachelor of Music degree, I did have to pass a "piano proficiency" exam, but it was the type of situation where I did what I had to do and then forgot about it. Plus, the music faculty knew that I thought in guitar, and so they cut me a little slack, knowing the piano wouldn't be a significant part of my ministry. So we'll see if I can play half as good as this piano looks!
I'm flying in a friend of mine with whom I went to college to play with me as well. She is a fantastic cellist, and will really take the sound we're going for to the next level! She also played with me back in June at the Resolved conference, and I really enjoy playing with her. Her name is Meghan Zeikle, so be sure to come up and meet her on Sunday!
Here are the songs we'll be celebrating with on Sunday:
We'll start with "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty" which is literally a call to worship for our very souls. Numerous times within the song, we address our souls directly, reminding them of God's character and greatness. We'll flow right into "You Alone" as we declare the sufficiency of God in Christ Jesus for salvation and eternal joy. If we were to be stripped of everything in this world as Job was, we would still be eternally secure and safe in the arms of our Savior!
Next we'll have a short announcement for our new season of Men's Ministry, including a video preview of the new 7-week course we'll be studying by James MacDonald called "Gripped by the Greatness of God." Pastor Todd will direct us to say a quick "top o' the mornin' to ya" (at least that's what Al Harris will say!) to each other, and then we'll jump back in to singing. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking of how it will sound to be standing with our fellow believers and singing along with the two beautiful instruments we'll be hearing; it's gonna be so cool!
We'll sing "How Deep the Father's Love For Us" as we spend time thanking God for the grace and mercy he showed us as, out of a love for us lost sinners, he crushed his son for us on that cross. We'll move into "Before the Throne of God Above" which continues the story of the cross up into heaven where the risen Christ ever stands before God the Father, interceding and presenting our (through Christ) perfect righteousness before him that we might be certain of our adoption as his sons and daughters.
Then Pastor Todd will come and preach the word to us from Joshua chapter 23 where Joshua addresses the Israelites shortly before his death and encourages them to develop Godly instincts as they continue to live in the land God gave them. CLICK HERE to read the passage.
After the sermon, we'll sing the new song we learned last week, "Completely Done," as we respond to the exhortations of God's Word. We remind ourselves that no matter what temptations we face in life, and no matter how many times we fail in fully honoring God with our lives, that our "sins have been paid in full; there's no condemnation here!" So we can leave our fears behind, and live boldly as children of the King.
We'll finish with "Here I Am to Worship" and respond accordingly as we declare God's authority, beauty, and worth, especially proclaimed in the redeeming work of Jesus.
That's what's going on; come prepared to worship!
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