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)

Worship Music for Sunday, January 29th, 2017

From my soul, I will join the songs of thanksgiving;
I will sing and proclaim Your wonder and mystery.
Your house, home to Your glory, O Eternal One, radiates its light. 
I am fixed on this place and long to be nowhere else. (Psalm 26:7-8, The Voice)

     Last Sunday, we began our worship time together by singing these words: "There's no place I would rather be, than here in Your love." Is that true? Can we sing them with integrity before the Lord? Can we honestly sing with complete abandon, "God, there is nowhere else I would rather be than right here, gathered with Your people, in Your presence, praising You and singing to You"?

     If not, why not? Part of preparing to be in the presence of God is examining ourselves -- checking our heart to see if there are competing desires that displace God as the object of its devotion. That's why at the beginning of Psalm 26, David invites God to look into his heart:  

"Put me on trial and examine me, O Eternal One! Search me through and through -- from my deepest longings to every thought that crosses my mind." (Psalm 26:2, The Voice)

     If we cannot enter into worship in our gatherings on Sunday, it may be because we have not entered into worship throughout the week. David recognized that where he went, what he did while he was there, and who he did it with could expose his heart to competing desires: 

"My life is not wasted among liars; my days are not spent among cheaters. I despise every crowd intent on evil; I do not commune with the wicked." (Psalm 26:4-5, The Voice) 

We can't expect our hearts to be positioned for worship on Sunday if the rest of the week we have chosen to allow people who have no regard for God to be the chief influences in our lives through books, TV programs, movies, video games, popular music, talk radio, or just relationships at work or home or in the classroom.

     As you prepare yourself and your family for time in God's presence among His people this Sunday, ask yourself: "What am I doing with my time? What effect is it having on my heart and mind? Who am I allowing to influence the way I think and live, and what I desire in my heart ?" Make space to allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to be the primary -- better yet, the exclusive! -- influences of your heart and mind this week. Then, when you gather for worship with your church family, you will find yourself able to sing with all integrity, "There truly is no place I would rather be!"

Here are the songs we will be singing together in our worship gathering this Sunday...

1. Made to Worship by Chris Tomlin (1 Corinthians 10:31)

 

 

2. Holy Spirit by Francesca Battistelli (2 Corinthians 3:17)

3. Yes and Amen by Housefires (2 Corinthians 1:20)

 

 

4. Oh, How I Love You by Jesus Culture (Deuteronomy 6:5)

 

 

5. Scandal of Grace (I'd Be Lost) by Hillsong United (Philippians 2:5-11)

Worship Music for Sunday, January 22nd, 2017

"And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew." Exodus 2:24-25

God heard... God saw... God knew... and God remembered His promise. Such wonderful words of encouragement! God has not forgotten, forsaken, abandoned, or betrayed us -- no matter what it seems like from our earthly vantage point. We are in the middle of a Great Story. It's a love story to be sure, but it is set in the midst of a terrible and ferocious battle for the hearts and souls of people. The Author of this Story has already established its ending from the beginning. The ending He has panned is so beautiful and so breathtaking that it should not be considered an ending at all, but rather, a beginning of an even greater Story which, as C. S. Lewis writes, "no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before." (The Last Battle)

As we gather for worship this Sunday, remember that the Story isn't finished yet. Don't give up! There is a glorious future awaiting us, but it is not yet. To give up now is like closing a book in the middle and complaining that the plot hasn't resolved. Trust the Author and Finisher of our faith!

Here are the songs we are singing together at The Ridge this week:

1. Open Up the Heavens by Vertical Church Band (Isaiah 64:1)

 

 

2.  God is Able by Hillsong Live (Ephesians 3:20-21)

 

 

3. One Thing Remains by Passion (featuring Kristian Stanfill) (Lamentations 3:22)

 

 

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

 

 

5. None Like You by Vertical Church Band (1 Samuel 2:2)

 

 

Worship Music for Sunday, January 15th, 2017

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

1. Rise by Housefires (John 4:13-14; 7:37-38)

 

 

2. Finally Free by Rend Collective (John 8:36)

 

 

3. Your Love Never Fails by Jesus Culture (Romans 8:31-39)

 

 

4. Come As You Are by Crowder (Matthew 11:28-30)

 

 

5. It Is Well by Bethel Music (Psalm 16:8-9)  

 

 

Worship Music for Christmas Eve 2016

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!" (Luke 2:8-14)

It is especially interesting to me that the very first thing the angels did to herald the coming of the Christ was to sing. What is your response this Christmas to the announcement that the Lord is come? Gather with us this Saturday evening at 6:30 PM to sing His praise. Here are the songs we will sing together to celebrate the birth of Jesus:

1. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing by Jeremy Camp

 

 

2. Joy to the World (You Are My Joy) by Rend Collective

 

 

3. O Come, All Ye Faithful by Big Daddy Weave

 

 

4. All is Well by Northpoint Worship

 

 

5. Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus by Red Mountain Church

 

 

6. Silent Night (traditional)

Worship Music for Sunday, December 18th, 2016

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

1. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen by MercyMe

 

 

2. My Soul Magnifies the Lord by Chris Tomlin

 

 

3. God With Us by All Sons & Daughters

 

 

4. Anchor by Hillsong Worship

 

 

5. 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus by Andrew Greer & Lindsay McCaul

***There is no lyric video for this particular version of this song, however you can read the lyrics to this classic hymn here.

Worship Music for Sunday, December 11th, 2016

 

One of the Advent stories I love most is the story of Simeon in the Gospel of Matthew. We don;t hear about this one much around Christmas but it's a beautiful story of a faithful man who believed the promise that God would deliver Israel in his lifetime. God had promised Simeon that he would see the Savior with his own eyes before he died, and Simeon had been waiting a long time to see that promise fulfilled. Little did he know, that day when he walked into the temple to worship like so many days before, that his wait would finally come to an end...

 

And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation

that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

and for glory to your people Israel." (Matthew 9:27-32)

As we celebrate the Advent season together as a church, rest in the peace that comes from knowing we worship a faithful God who keeps His promises, even if it means waiting a lifetime to see it. And if He kept His promise to come the first time, we can know with all certainty that He will come again and make all things new in His Kingdom!

Here are the songs we will sing in worship to our faithful God this week:

1. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing by Jeremy Camp (Luke 2:8-14)

 

 

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

 

 

3. I Will Follow by Jon Guerra (Luke 9:23)

 

 

4. No Longer Slaves by Bethel Music (Romans 8:15-17)

 

 

5. Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus by Red Mountain Church Worship (Matthew 1:22-23)