Songs for Sunday, June 29, 2025 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited!

Actually, excited is probably an understatement. I’m overjoyed, ecstatic, elated, exhilarated, thrilled, rejoicing, and grateful beyond words to be HOME after 18 days and 19 hours in the hospital and rehab. It has been so sweet to be with Candi and the kiddos and things that feel…normal. Now, I am looking forward to being with my faith family at Christ Community on Sunday.

I find myself a bit overwhelmed as I type this out because there is so much that I want to say. It was the same with praying about and picking the Scripture and music for Sunday; everything seemed right and good and appropriate. Thankfully, there’s just nothing better to sing about than Jesus’s finished work on the cross (Hebrews 10:12), His empty tomb (Luke 24:6-7), and His imminent return (Revelation 22:12, Acts 1:11) — about the living hope we have in Jesus (1 Peter 1:3)!

Concerning that living hope, there is a verse that has been on my heart and mind since I have been sick. It’s the verse I share with people who are going through trials to point them to Jesus, so as I preached to myself, it’s the verse I brought to mind to meditate on and remember. When I got to preach in the rehab unit last Sunday, it’s the verse that I shared with my fellow rehabbers to point them to Jesus. That verse is Nahum 1:7.

The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Nahum 1:7

Nahum 1:7 is good news.

“The LORD is good….” That’s who He is, not a mere adjective to describe His actions or tendencies. He cares for His people (1 Peter 5:7). He blesses those who trust in Him (Jeremiah 17:7). He has steadfast love toward His people (Psalm 103:11, Lamentations 3:22-23) and does good to them (Romans 8:28).

“The LORD [is] a stronghold in the day of trouble….” He is a fortress (Psalm 18:2). He is the protector of His people (Psalm 91:1-2). A fortress is a walled structure designed to protect. The specific type the original language references here is a like a mountain stronghold — not walls built out of bricks or blocks by men but the natural relentless strength God built into the mountains when He created them.

In the day of trouble, we can turn to the Lord and know that He’s got us and we are safe (Psalm 46:1). But here’s how strong our God is: He’s strong enough and big enough to keep us in the palm of His hand (John 10:28-29). And even though He’s so strong that no one could ever pluck us from the palm of His hands, He’s gentle and caring enough that by those same mighty hands, He will lift us up because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-7, Isaiah 40:11).

“The LORD…knows those who take refuge in Him.” Now, this is beautiful. If you were to be somewhere in Europe or somewhere where the remains (and sometimes ruins) of castles and fortresses exist, those fortresses would not know if you ran into them for refuge. They aren’t alive. And, as I said, some of them are ruins, meaning their ability to provide fortitude has an expiration date. The Lord is different. Those who put their faith and trust in Him are known by Him (2 Timothy 2:19, John 10:14). This is more than knowing about us or knowing who we are; this is intimate knowledge (Psalm 139:1-4). This is deep knowledge of who a person is. Our God is so good that He not only provides refuge but that the refuge provided in our times of deepest trouble comes with Him knowing who we are and comforting us by His very presence and salvation (Psalm 46:1, Psalm 34:18, Zephaniah 3:17, Isaiah 12:2).

This verse hit hard when we had church in the rehab last Sunday. Some were afraid that they’d never regain movement in their body because of a stroke. Some that their broken back might not heal fully or that another injury might mean paralysis. Others were there as caretakers and feeling inadequate about their ability to comfort their loved one while also feeling totally out of control and incapable to do anything to help. But it was good to know that there is a God who saves (Isaiah 45:21, Titus 3:4-6). There is a God who loved them enough to send His Son to die on their behalf (John 3:16, Romans 5:8) and raise from the dead to offer them new life in Him (Romans 6:4-5, 2 Corinthians 5:17).

It was good news to know that if God can save our souls, healing our bodies is small potatoes (Psalm 103:1-5).

It was good news to know that God is good (Psalm 100:5) and that in our times of darkest trials, He is still light (John 1:5, Psalm 27:1) and still God and still good to us in the midst of sorrow and tribulation (Romans 5:3-5, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, Psalm 34:18-19).

It was good news to know that God never leaves us or forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:5) even when we find ourselves more alone than ever before in our lives — that we can take refuge in Him right where we are and know that He knows us, our needs, and how to give us the strength and grace we need (Matthew 6:8, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Isaiah 40:29-31).

And it’s good news for all of us as well. If you have put your trust in God — confessed Jesus as Lord and believed God raised Him from the dead and are saved (Romans 10:9-10), He knows you and cares for you, too (John 10:14, 1 Peter 5:7).

I know I’ve said it at least a dozen times, but y’all, that’s good news! And it’s that good news — the good news of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ that we’re singing, reading, and preaching about Sunday.

So if you’re weary, hurting, searching, or could just use some good news — come. Not just to attend a church service, but to come to Jesus. He is the refuge we come to and the risen King who is our living hope. We’ll gather to worship Him, read and sing of His cross and resurrection, and have John remind us from God’s Word the good news — the gospel — of Jesus.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

Scripture | Colossians 1:13-20 —

¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Song | The Son of God Came Down —
Scripture Inspiration: Luke 2:7, John 1:1-5, John 1:14, John 1:34, Ephesians 2:14-16, Philippians 2:5-8

Song | At the Cross (Love Ran Red) —
Scripture Inspiration: John 4:14, Romans 5:21, 1 Timothy 1:16, Galatians 2:19-20, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Mark 10:29-30, John 3:15-17, John 5:24, John 5:39-40, John 6:27, John 6:40, John 10:28, John 17:3, John 20:31, Romans 6:22-23, Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Galatians 6:8, 1 Timothy 6:12, 2 Timothy 2:11, Hebrews 5:9, 1 Peter 5:10, 1 John 2:23-27, 1 John 5:10-13, 1 John 5:20, Jude 20-21, Revelation 3:5, Revelation 7:16-17, Revelation 21:3-4, Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, 1 Peter 2:24, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, Matthew 28:16-17, Revelation 5:6-10, Revelation 19:1-6

Scripture | 1 Peter 1:3-5 —

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.