Worship Music for Sunday, February 26th, 2017

"Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation." (Psalm 111:1)

Have you ever heard someone say, "I don't need to go to church to worship God; I can worship God just as well by myself at home"? There's a Greek word for that: hogwash! Not only is corporate worship commanded over and over in scripture, it is part of the design of our hearts. We long to belong to a community, a family. We are relational creatures by nature because we bear the image of our relational God. He has existed for all eternity as Three-In-One, the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all living in perfect, loving communion with each other. It's in our DNA! You cannot worship  as well alone as you can "in the company of the upright, in the congregation," regardless of what you may think or feel. Won't you join us this Sunday for worship as we gather to "give thanks to the Lord with our whole hearts"?

Here are the songs we will be singing together in our gathering this week: 

1. Lay Me Down by Chris Tomlin (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

 

 

2. Christ is Enough by Hillsong Live (Psalm 145:16)

 

 

3. Even So Come by Passion (Revelation 22:20)

 

 

4. Come Thou Fount (I Will Sing) by Chris Tomlin (Psalm 104:33)

 

 

5. Scandal of Grace by Hillsong United (Philippians 2:5-11)

Worship Music for Sunday, February 19th, 2017

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

Music is a big part of the life of a church. And it as meant to be done together -- to the glory of God and for the building up of the Body. Songs not only express worship to God, but they "teach and admonish" (that means "to warn") each other. And where does it originate? "With thankfulness in your hearts to God"!

As you begin to prepare yourself and your family to gather with the saints at The Ridge this Sunday, remind yourself of all you have to be thankful for. Let your mind dwell on the goodness of God, even if your circumstances are not ideal. We have a sign that hangs over the entrance to our family room in our house that says, "There is ALWAYS something to be thankful for." Let that gratitude stir your hearts to greater affection for Jesus and bring that "thanks-full" heart to church with you Sunday and let it explode with joyful adoration to our great God and Savior!

Here is the soundtrack to your thankfulness this week...

1. Here For You by Chris Tomlin (Colossians 3:16)

 

 

2. Forever Reign by Hillsong Live (Psalm 145:13)

 

 

3. O Praise the Name (Anastasis) by Hillsong Worship (Romans 5:8)

 

 

4. Christ the Rock by Kim Walker-Smith (Deuteronomy 32:4)

 

 

5. Anchor by Hillsong Worship  (Hebrews 6:17-20)

 

 

Worship Music for Sunday, February 12th, 2017

  “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
    “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;     
and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
    and he relents over disaster. 
 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
    and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
    for the Lord your God? (Joel 2:12-14)

The Israelites in Joel's day were experiencing the judgment of God because they had forsaken His ways and disregarded His Word. They loved their comfort more than His presence. So He gave them exactly what they wanted -- and they were suffering for it. God gave them over to their enemies and allowed their land and crops and vineyards and cities to be trampled and destroyed. They could not even bring grain and drink offerings for proper worship as the Lord prescribed because they had nothing left to bring. "Yet even now.." God invited them back into His presence; even though they had completely abandoned Him, He was ready to restore them if they returned and repented. 

God is calling us to return to Him, Ridgers. He is calling us out of complacency and comfort, out of rebellion and idol worship, back into His presence. He wants to restore a heart of worship to Church at The Ridge. This week as we sing together, we are calling out to Him to restore us to repentance and for a fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit. God is on the move and up to something big at The Ridge! Are you ready to meet with Him this week?

Here are the songs we will sing together Sunday morning. Please take the time to listen, learn, and pray as you sing them in your own worship time, alone and with your family. Read the scriptures attached to each song. Ask God to move in your own heart, then ask Him to move on the hearts of our church this weekend.

1. I Offer Myself by The RidgeWorship Band (Romans 12:1-2)

 

 

2. Awesome is the Lord Most High by Chris Tomlin (Psalm 47:1-2)

 

 

3. Always by Passion (featuring Kristian Stanfill) (Psalm 121:1-2)

 

 

4. No Longer Slaves by Bethel Music (Romans 8:15)

 

 

5. Great Are You, Lord by All Sons & Daughters (Ezekiel 37:4-10)

 

 

Worship Music for Sunday, February 5th, 2017

"Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!" (Psalm 149:3) 

Do you value gathering for corporate praise and worship? Do you value the community and the unity that comes from singing praises to God with other believers? Now, here's the tough question... are you ready?

Do you value live praise and worship music played skillfully by musicians and singers who love the Lord and have consecrated their gifts, talents, and instruments to Him? And do you value joyful, exuberant, enthusiastic worship, even if it's loud (tambourines and lyres are really just drums and guitars) and people might actually (gulp) dance?!

Apparently, God does or He would not have expressed it in scripture in the form of a command. The challenge for the modern believer in a culture that elevates its own comfort and preferences over the glory of God is to set aside what we think and expect and instead embrace what scripture says about how we worship.

At The Ridge we value vertical worship. Vertical as opposed to horizontal. Vertical, meaning that our only concern is praising God in direct proportion to His greatness. Scripture says, "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable." (Psalm 145:3) That looks like a lot of different things to a lot of different people. So don't look at people. Look at the Lord. Let your sole focus be on His greatness, and let nothing else distract you from that focus.

Here are the songs we will be singing together in our worship gathering this week:

1. This is Amazing Grace by Bethel Music (Ephesians 1:7-8) 

 

 

2. Our God by Chris Tomlin (Psalm 147:5)

 

 

3. The Rock Won't Move by Vertical Church Band (Psalm 62:2)

 

 

4. Waiting Here For You by Jesus Culture (featuring Martin Smith) (Psalm 37:7)

 

 

5. O Praise the Name (Anastasis) by Hillsong Worship (Romans 5:8)