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...
“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.
"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:
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...
"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:
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
