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March 2017 Worship

Church Family,

Hebrews 4:14-16 says, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then draw near to the throne of grace to help in time of need.”

This is my prayer for our Church family as we move into a new season of spring. I pray we could consider Christ, who He is, and the implications that His perfect, sinless life has on our lives. Jesus knows. Jesus understands our struggles. He understands our weaknesses. He understands our temptations. But Jesus, who was without sin, he is our Great High Priest. Because He is our Great High Priest, we can draw near to him at all times. In the good, in the bad, in the uncertainly, and in the valley, we can draw near to Him. We can draw near to him with confidence that he knows us, he understands us, and he loves us. It’s an honor to know Jesus, which we are unworthy of. And there’s power in being known by Him. As we move forward together, let’s lean into Jesus. Let’s depend on Him. Let’s learn from Him. And let’stake comfort in knowing that we are known by Him and loved by Him. Let’s worship with this truth deep in our hearts. On
Sundays, we’re singing to and worshipping to a God who knows us and loves us deeply. It doesn’t get much better than that.

On another note, as we move forward, there are few thing that I want you to be aware of. To begin, our next Kids Praise Saturday is on Saturday, March 17th. This is during our next Growth Initiative Weekend, and we want you and your children to be involved in both. So, if you are planning to come to The Growth Initiative that day, please bring your children so that they can be involved in worship. The children who come on Saturday will learn the worship set for Sunday, and on Sunday, they will lead our church in worship in our 2nd and 3rd services. Please plan to be a part!

Lastly, on Friday night, April 14th, we are having a Good Friday Night of Worship. I want to ask you and your family to make every effort to be a part of this. It will be a powerful evening as we come together and contemplate the Cross, Jesus’ death, and what that means for our lives. We will then follow up with a huge celebration on Easter Sunday, April 16th, in light of Jesus power of death, and his resurrection. What a great weekend it will be! Make plans to be present! I love you all, and I love worshiping with you every week. See you Sunday!

In Christ,
Jared

FEBRUARY 2017 WORSHIP

Church Family,

Let’s consider this question together. What motivates our worship? What  motivates your personal worship? There are a lot of ways in which our worship is motivated on Sunday mornings. It can be motivated by the type of morning we’ve had. Did you have a good, peaceful morning? If so, you might be motivated to sing and worship powerfully. Did you have a tired, restless morning? If so, you might not even feel like opening your mouth to sing. What else motivates our worship? Could it be the songs we’re singing? Could it be the worship lighting? Could it be the style of music? We have a tendency to let our
preferences and emotions motivate our worship. And these aren't necessarily bad things. It’s normal to have preferences in worship when it comes to style, songs, ect. We’re human, and we all have opinions. But our emotions and preferences cannot be the chief motivator of our worship. Worship is a response to who God is, and what He’s done for us. Therefore our worship should always be motivated by the greatness of God, and the truth that this great God saved sinners like us. This truth is driven by the word of God, and our worship should be driven by the Word of God, as it points to the greatness of God. This truly motivates our worship. We love the Bible, because it shows us the glory of God.

Bobby Jameison said, “ If you want your people to praise God, show them the greatness of God. If you want them to bring God glory, show them God’s glory.” We want to see the Glory of God together, through His word. And when we truly see God for who He is, our worship is no longer motivated by the songs we enjoy, the time of the day, or our personal emotions, but this all takes a back seat to the Glory of God, who is worthy of
worship, no matter the circumstances. Jameison goes on to say, “We stir up worship not by focusing on worship, but by filling the mind’s eye with a panoramic vision of the beauty and holiness of God.” We all enjoy certain songs, certain styles, certain worship settings, ect. But they are all just vehicles for our worship. They help take us to a place where we can passionately worship God.

Just a few weeks ago, Annaclaire and I went hiking up in Illinois. The hike was a beautiful hike, but the entire time, I kept commenting on the new hiking boots I had received for Christmas. The entire trek up the mountain, I kept annoying my wife with comments about my new boots. But when we got to the mountain top, and when I looked out and saw the view, I no longer cared about my new hiking boots. I could have been barefoot, and I wouldn't have noticed. The shoes may have brought me to the mountain top, but I was there for the view. In the same way, we have vehicles in worship that come in the form of songs, styles, and preferences. But these are vehicles that help get us to a place to see the greatness of God, and we can’t help but to respond in passionate worship. So as we come together on Sundays, let’s not forget that we are there to worship God because of who He is, and what He’s done for us, and our preferences won’t change that.