Worship Music for Sunday, May 28th

"[Jesus] entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him... He said to the man with the withered hand, 'Get up and come forward!' ... He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored." (Mark 3:1-5, NASB)

Withered. What a compelling image that word conjures! Shriveled. Diminished. Weak. No longer able to be what it once was, or do what it was created to do. All around us in our gathering every Sunday are people who are withered. Withered lives, withered hope, withered souls, withered marriages, withered homes, withered futures. They sit all around us, blending in, not wishing to draw attention to themselves or to their withered-ness. Many have given up hope and have settled for a withered, shriveled, diminished existence.

Isn't it interesting that the Pharisees knew that Jesus would heal the man? They knew He couldn't resist it! That's just who Jesus is! Yet instead of watching to see if Jesus would bring renewed hope, healing, and restoration so they could glorify God and celebrate with the man, scripture says they watched "so that they might accuse Him." While the Pharisees merely watched passively as the man sat with his withered hand, week after week, Sabbath after Sabbath, Jesus actively did something to bring healing. He did what was in His power to do to bring restoration of what had been withered.

Watch Jesus as He calls the man forward. First, He requires the man to own the withered nature of his existence. "Come forward!" Never mind the onlookers who whisper and frown and crane their necks to see what you have tried to keep hidden, ashamed of how it looks compared to everyone else around you. But the man obeys the call of Christ to come. Jesus tell him to "stretch out your hand;" Offer to Me what has been withered by sin and brokenness. This will completely expose the man in front of all who are watching so intently, calling attention to the very thing he would rather keep hidden. But in the very act of obeying Jesus' command, something amazing happens: "his hand was restored." Restoration. The opposite of withered.

Jesus is the same today in our gathering as He was all those years ago in that synagogue. People had gathered for worship. Christ was in their midst. He called to the withered soul and offered restoration. Some watched looking to criticize, but that didn't stop the man from obeying His call to offer what sin has withered to Him to be restored. 

Ridgers, Jesus wants to restore what has withered this Sunday! Will you come? Will you hear His call? Will you obey His command? Will you let Him heal you? Or will you play the part of Pharisee, sitting back, disengaged, critical and suspicious of the work that Jesus is doing in our midst? Here's the crazy part: He lets you choose!

Here are the songs we will sing together in our gathering as we present our withered selves to Jesus to be restored by His touch:

1. Open Up the Heavens  by Vertical Church Band

 

 

2. Glorious Day by Passion (featuring Kristian Stanfill)

 

 

3. None Like You by Vertical Church Band

 

 

4. Called Me Higher by Vertical Church Band

 

 

5. Oh, How I Love You by Jesus Culture

Worship Music for Sunday, May 21st

God wants us to encourage each other to stay faithful and to warn each other not to stray from Him. One very effective way to do this is through music – singing psalms and spiritual songs that stir our affections to greater love for Christ. By singing these songs, we remind each other of all that He has done for us so that we will be thankful and filled with joy. He wants us to be so in love with Jesus that we care more for others than ourselves. (Ephesians 5:19-20 paraphrased)

Anybody remember Schoolhouse Rock? It was a series of animated videos from the 1970s that taught kids basic math, history, grammar, and science principles by embedding them into catchy, easy-to-sing-along-to songs. To this day, the only way I can say the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution is to sing it!

Music has a way of bypassing our normal defenses and taking matters directly into the heart and mind, where transformation takes place. When we sing together in corporate worship, we are reminding each other of the glorious truths of the gospel and embedding them into our lives through music. It's the way God designed it to work!

Here are the songs we will be singing together in worship this Sunday:

1. My Lighthouse by Rend Collective (John 8:12)

 

 

2. The Lord is My Light (Psalm 27) by the RidgeWorship Band (Psalm 27)

 NOTE: There is no officially recorded version of this song as of yet. Please pray that God would supply the funds needed to record the original worship songs He has blessed us with.

3. Rising Sun by All Sons & Daughters (Psalm 113:3)

 

 

4. Come Thou Fount (I Will Sing) by Chris Tomlin (John 7:37-38)

 

 

5. The Sound That Saved Us All by Anthony Skinner (Ephesians 2:8-9)