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Worship August 2016

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Church Family,

I hope you have all had a fantastic summer! I know these months have been busy, hectic, and HOT, but I pray your summer has been fruitful and encouraging. As the summer is winding down, I look forward to everything the Fall season will bring, not only in cooler weather (my favorite time of the year), but also is this next season of ministry in our Church. As we look towards the future, I believe God is going to move in mighty ways, as we worship and serve together.

There are a few things coming up in our music ministry that I want to let you in on: On Sunday Night, September 11th, we are planning a church-wide Night of Worship. This will be a night that brings us all together in one room, and will serve as a time of encouragement, hope, and renewal and we worship with our voices through song, and we come before God in prayer. I want to urge you and your family to be a part of this night. We have been planning, praying, and anticipating what God is going to do through this Night of Worship. Make plans to be there, I promise it will be worth your while!

Secondly, the schedule is drawing near to the most wonderful time of the year! Well, sort of. In the music ministry, we start Christmas time a little sooner than the rest, because we are getting ready for our Church-Wide Christmas Program! This year our Christmas Program will be featuring different elements of choir, a full instrumental band, and drama. We will be kicking rehearsals off in all of these areas in September, so if you are a part of any of these areas, be on the lookout for these dates very soon.

We have a lot coming up, and I love serving and leading along side each and every one of you. I am grateful to God everyday that I am allowed to be a part of what He is doing through our Church. I hope and pray that you would join us as we move forward. Don’t have a place to serve? Let us know, because we can assure you that there is a place for you. I love you all!

In Christ,
Jared

 

Posted by Jared Mitchell with

Spiritual Development August 2016

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An unfortunate way of thinking exists that says something newer should be preferred to something older. Now this logic does make sense in some regards. Do you really want to go back to the days when dial-up internet was the only option? Also, I don’t know about you, but I am thankful that our primary means of transportation no longer has to be hitched to a post. Aside from these and other technological exceptions, applying this preference for the new to other things can rob you of the riches of days gone by. As I think of how this mindset has affected the church in our culture, I can’t help but immediately think of music within the church. There is a danger within our contemporary, Christian culture of ignoring and glossing over hymns of the faith that have been around for centuries just because of their age. To some, they can seem antiquated and irrelevant to our current time. Let me say that I am glad that our church does not do this. I’m glad that we are a church that cherishes older hymns, as well as newer worship songs.

Some of my favorite songs are hymns that are hundreds of years old. But I also have songs that mean much to me that are less than a year old. My point behind this article is to point out that the age of a song should not be the determining factor of whether or not it should be used. Instead, the content of the song should determine this. Is it saturated in Scripture? Does it communicate orthodox theology? Is it a pleasure to sing? If not, throw it out.

Music is a primary tool that we use in order to worship God corporately as a church and personally throughout our day. One practice that I sometimes incorporate into my time with God, and one that I would commend to you as well, is that I will open a hymnal and reflect and meditate on the words of songs and hymns that are saturated with gospel truth. This can be a great supplement to daily quiet time and a way of carrying the truth of Scripture with you in the form of a song wherever you go.

One of my favorite hymns is “How Firm a Foundation”. This song emphasizes the strength and stability of God and the absolute trustworthiness of his character. It is based off of Isaiah 43:1-5 and is supplemented by other verses like 1 Cor. 3:11, Isaiah 41:10, Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 13:5, and Deuteronomy 31:6. The first two verses read:

How firm a foundation you saints of the Lord,

is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!

What more can he say than to you he has said,

to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

 

"Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed,

for I am your God, and will still give you aid;

I'll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to

stand, upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.”

Do you need assurance of faith? Do you feel alone and weak? Meditate on the truth of this song and sing it in worship to God. Feeling tempted to despair? Are you lacking hope? Be reminded of the character of God and praise him for his ability to sustain you and raise you up in Jesus’ victory. Songs should not become a substitute for the Scriptures themselves, but they are a tool to remind you of Truth through music.

If you want to enhance your worship of God at our Sunday morning gatherings, I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the songs that we sing from week to week. Search the Scriptures throughout the week to learn what passage a certain song is based
upon. This will increase your participation and appreciation of worshiping God through music. Music is a blessing and a gift from God. Let us use it to make much of God and remind ourselves of the firm foundation that we have in his excellent Word – Jesus Christ.

Suggested Resources

Hymns of Grace, The Master’s Seminary Press, 2015

www.hymnary.org

Speaking the Truth in Love,

 Nick Scott

Posted by Nick Scott with

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