SERIES: Romans

DATE: May 19, 2013

DESCRIPTION: Where is your confidence? Is it in money? That can be lost. Is it in your own mental, physical, or professional abilities? Injuries can take those away. Is it in other people and our relationships? People fail us, often. Is it in God’s love? Paul tells us here that not only can we never lose it, but it will never fail us. We can trust and put our confidence in God’s love because it justifies us, protects us from condemnation, sustains us through suffering, and nothing can separate us from it. But why suffering? There is no experience that displays the sufficiency of God’s love for us than when all of other provisions and hopes have been stripped away and we have nothing, but Him.

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SERIES: Romans

DATE: May 19, 2013

DESCRIPTION: What then shall we say to these things? What do we say to our undeserved justification, our unearned sanctification, and our yet incomplete glorification? God loves us. How do we know? Christ died and rose again. God provides for us. God withheld no suffering from Christ on the cross, how will withhold any of His love from those Christ has saved? God protects us. Christ intercedes on our behalf; there is no condemnation. God is passionate for us. Literally nothing can separate us from the love that God has for us. Nothing.

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::LITURGY::
The following scripture text is what we will be using as our “Call to Worship” this week. We begin each gathering with a call to worship because it reminds us of the fact that we often worship many other things in our lives besides God. We have been created to worship God and what better way to refocus our hearts on the Lord then to turn to His word. This passage from 1 Chronicles is filled with vivid truths about God and is an excellent reminder of His great and surpassing worth!

Let the whole earth sing to the Lord! Each day proclaim the good news that He saves. Declare His glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things He does. Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens! Honor and majesty surround Him; strength and joy fill His dwelling. O nations of the world, recognize the Lord, recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory He deserves! Bring your offering and come into His presence. Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before Him. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken.
—1 Chronicles 16:23-30

::MUSIC::
Here are a few songs we will be singing together this week:

- “Come Thou Fount”, a very popular hymn that is saturated with gospel truths

- “All Creatures of Our God and King”, a hymn written by St. Francis of Assisi calling all of creation to worship the Lord

- “Oh God”, a song from the band Citizens at Mars Hill Church. This song was inspired by part of our sermon text this week. Check out this link about the story behind this song—you won’t regret reading it!

- “I Have to Believe”, a great song that calls our souls to believe in God and His Gospel, which brings us life

Here is a link to a Spotify playlist.

Even though our arrangements might be slightly different, listen through these songs and see the great truths that they speak about our God and then come prepared to sing them out loudly and joyfully as a gathered church.

See you Sunday!

Below are the songs and liturgy readings from our gathering. We pray that this would encourage you and point you to the gospel as we continue in worship as a scattered community on mission.

Song: ”I Sing the Mighty Power of God” by Isaac Watts

Reading: Call to Worship

Scripture says this about the work of Jesus on our behalf:

L: This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance:
C: That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
L: There is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
C: He was manifested in the flesh, born in a lowly stable, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, and taken up in glory.
L: He humbly gave Himself as a ransom for all, that we might have peace with God. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of salvation!
C: To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
—Based on 1 Timothy 1:15-17; 2:5-6; 3:16

The greatest blessing that God has given to us is his son, Jesus Christ! Lets praise God together as sing and worship him!

Song: “Doxology” by Louis Bourgeois and Thomas Ken

Reading: Confession

Even though we recognize that God is worthy of praise, at times, the circumstances of our lives seem to crush our joy and make us feel like we don’t have the words or energy to worship God. Our struggles often cause us to doubt His goodness. The Bible gives us words for those frustrating times. Listen to the Psalmist lament in times of trouble:

L: As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration. Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad?
—Psalm 42:1-5

L: Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.
—Psalm 42:6,8

As we continue to sing out to our faithful God who hears our praise and our frustration, lets confess to him our frustration and doubt, our sin in unbelief and lets rejoice in his goodness, provision and love!

Passing of the Peace: 

Lets take just a few moments to demonstrate the peace we have through the Gospel as we greet each other!

Our Sermon this week was from Pastor Nick Nye from Romans 8: 28-30

Listen to the sermon online here.

Song: ”When I Survey” by  Fred C. Mallory and Lowell Mason

Song: “Here Is Love” by William Edwards, Robert S. Lowry, and William Rees

Reading: Commitment

L: This is the good news that we have received, in which we stand, and by which we are saved; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised to life on the third day,
C: We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He is our Lord and our God.
L: We rejoice that the Spirit of God is transforming our hearts and lives through the Gospel of Jesus, as He is waking and empowering us to see our place in this world.
C: Go forth in us, Spirit of God, that we may be the unified church; as we live out the Gospel in loving community, display the Gospel as active servants, understand the Gospel by being learners of God’s Word and proclaim the Gospel as we purposefully relate to others.

Song: “Hail The King” by Citizens- Mars Hill

::  At this point in our gathering we took a moment to recognize and pray for all of the mothers at Veritas and to show them how thankful we are for all that they do! ::

Benediction:

Hear this benediction as we go:
Go in peace knowing that the Father has forever known you and predestined to make you more like Christ and go in confidence knowing that the Father has called you to himself, has justified you, and has glorified you through his son Jesus Christ. 

L: Peace be with you. 
C: And also with you.

SERIES: Romans

DATE: May 12, 2013

DESCRIPTION: It’s really easy to read verse 28. We memorize it, write it down in journals, and print it on bookmarks. Verses 29 and 30 tend to get skipped. They seem a bit messier. But the whole section together makes such a beautiful and comforting truth! God is working all things for the good of those He loves. But what is that good? It’s far greater than our health or wealth and it’s far greater than any job or relationship. God works all things to make us more like His Son, a plan that has been in the works since before foundation of the world. And that is good…very, very good.

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SERIES: Romans

DATE: May 12, 2013

DESCRIPTION: Everyone seems to know and love verse 28 (which is great), but what does it actually mean? Yes, God works all things for good, but for whom? What is that “good” that He works everything toward? Scripture clarifies this astounding claim with a beautiful chain of events from God, using words that have a ton of baggage lumped in with them. Stripping away our misconceptions and idols, we can see that what God is working all things toward is not only good, but that it far outweighs all of the other “goods” we try to put in its place.

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::LITURGY::
As part of our time of confession this week we will be reading a portion of Psalm 42.  So often we find ourselves in places of despair and depression because we have chased after idols instead of Christ.  We encourage you to read through this text and reflect on how often you are blinded from seeing that your ultimate satisfaction is in Jesus. Do this with great hope, however, because God the Father has justified us through the cross of Christ.

 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.
I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him?
Day and night I have only tears for food, while my enemies continually taunt me, saying, “Where is this God of yours?” My heart is breaking as I remember how it used to be: I walked among the crowds of worshipers, leading a great procession to the house of God, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration. Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? Now I am deeply discouraged, but I will remember you—each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me and through each night I sing his songs, praying to God who gives me life.
– Psalm 42:1-6, 8

::MUSIC::
A couple of the songs that we’ll be singing this week are:

- “Hail To The King”, a new song by Mars Hill band called Citizens

- “When I Survey”, a Veritas arrangement of a beautiful old hymn that reminds us of Christ’s cross

- “Here is Love”, an older song by Matt Redman that reminds us so well of God’s love for us!

- “Doxology”, a familiar hymn filled with rich theology about the triune God

Here is a link to a Spotify playlist.
Even though our arrangements might be slightly different, listen through these songs and see the great truths that they speak about our God and then come prepared to sing them out loudly and joyfully as a gathered church.

See you Sunday!

Below are the songs and liturgy readings from our gathering. We pray that this would encourage you and point you to the gospel as we continue in worship as a scattered community on mission.

Song: ”Hail The King” by Citizens – Mars Hill

Reading: Call to Worship

We gather this morning, as the song we just sang says – to “rejoice in the glory of God!” This morning is not about us. Our focus, our end, our goal is the glory of God! To see it, to respond to it, to experience it and to have our lives shaped and changed by it! And the glory of God has been revealed to us in the person and work of Jesus Christ – that is why our celebration and gathering centers on the Gospel. So lets hear this call to worship and join with me in responding to a Holy and Great God!

L: Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
C: For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.
L: In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
C: Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!
—Psalm 95:1-6

Song: “Our Great God” by by Fernando Ortega and Mac Powell

Reading: Confession/Assurance:

This great God that we sing about is the One who gives us every good gift and created us to worship Him. But we distort those gifts and pervert them into what God has not intended and in that, we turn and worship anything and everything around us instead of God! Let’s cry out to the Lord for forgiveness as we rejoice in the grace that he has shown us!

L: O God, we can do nothing for ourselves—let the work of Jesus alone stand for us. We are full of sin. Our will is completely wrong. Our very nature is polluted. Our minds are full of perverse images; We fall into sin after sin. Without you, our imagination works against us, exploring the darkest places of our fallen nature.
C: Save us from the love of the world and the pride of life. Save us from our sinful lusts and desires. Give us new hearts that long for you and your Word. And let Christ’s nature be seen in us day by day. Amen.
- Adapted from the Valley of Vision

Lets sing together this prayer of confession, recognizing that nothing we do, good or bad, can earn us salvation, only the work of Jesus!

Passing of the Peace: 

We sing “HALLELUJAH” because of this good news:

L: We were once far away from God. We were his enemies, separated from Him by our evil thoughts and actions. Yet now He has reconciled us to Himself through the death of Christ in his physical body.
C: As a result, He has brought us into his own presence, and we are holy and blameless as we stand before Him without a single fault.
-adapted from Colossians 1:21-22

We have so much to be thankful for. In a spirit of gratitude and grace, let’s welcome each other today.

Our Sermon this week was from Pastor Nick Nye from Romans 8: 18-27

Listen to the sermon online here.

Song: ”The Solid Rock” by William Batchelder Bradbury and Edward Mote

Song: “O Fount of Love” by Matt Boswell and Matt Papa

Reading: Commitment

Amen! Lets continue celebrating as we sing about the future hope of glory that we have to look forward to, the redemption of our bodies, life eternal with our Savior! The book of Philippians tells us this:

L: We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.
C: All Glory to God our Father forever and ever. Amen!
– Based on Philippians 3:20-21

Song: “Absent From Flesh” by Jamie Barnes

Benediction:

Hear this benediction as we go:
May the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life bring you all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope. Go in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

L: Peace be with you. C: And also with you.

SERIES: Romans

DATE: May 5, 2013

DESCRIPTION: We all know that there is something terribly wrong with the world and this passage confirms that. We suffer, creation is just spinning its wheel futilely, and it is only getting worse. But in the midst of the pain, suffering, and frustration, there is a hope. It would be tragic to think of this as a trite kind of hope that gives us a small comfort. This is the only hope that can sustain us through the dark nights of our souls. It isn’t just that better days are ahead, but there have never been, in all of history, better days than the ones ahead. There is a glory waiting for us: a glory longed for by Creation, the Church, and God Himself.

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SERIES: Romans

DATE: May 5, 2013

DESCRIPTION: At the end of verse 17, Paul hints at the suffering that we can expect being heirs with Christ. Now Paul gives us the perspective of that suffering as the birth pains leading to our future glory in and with Jesus. Creation longs for the glory of Christ that will set it free from its futility. The church longs and groans for the glory that will finish our redemption as sons of God. The Spirit, God Himself, longs and groans for us, giving Himself to us and interceding for us.

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