Category Archives: 2024

Songs for Sunday, August 25, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming!

Jesus is coming!

It is so easy to look to the sadness and wickedness of the world (and even our own hearts) and be discouraged. Really, downtrodden is the word that comes to mind for me — like we are being walked over by so much evil, trampled by this fallen world and our own sin, weary under the burden of it all. But this is not a burden we can — or were meant — to carry.

Listen to the good news Jesus has for us in Matthew 11:28-30:

Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Jesus offers us the opportunity to lay our burdens on Him and be sustained by Him (Psalm 55:22). We can cast our anxieties on Him, and He will lift us up “because He cares for [us]” (1 Peter 5:6-7).

So as we approach Sunday, the first day of the week, the day when God’s people gather around the world in celebration of the resurrection of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, you may find yourself burdened and exhausted. You may feel that you have to paste on a smile to come and gather with His people in worship or that you have to do something to make yourself worthy or right.

No, no, no.

Heed Jesus’s words in Matthew 11:28-30 and come to Him. Bring your weariness and trouble to Him. Bring your downtrodden self to be lifted up by Him. Bring your sin to be forgiven by Him. Come to Him.

Your face my be pointed down by the troubles and trials of this world, but, as the psalmist said, lift your eyes to the hills and see from whence your help comes. Your “help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2). Lift your eyes and await Jesus, our coming King who will return to gather His Bride, His Church, to Himself as surely as He returned from death and the grave.

That’s good news!

And that’s the King we will be singing to and about tomorrow. That’s the great God and Savior we will be reading about and John will be preaching about.

Won’t you gather with us, and come to Him?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

Hear my prayer, O LORD; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In Your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with Your servant, for no one living is righteous before You.

For the enemy has pursued my soul; he has crushed my life to the ground; he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me; my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that You have done; I ponder the work of Your hands. I stretch out my hands to You; my soul thirsts for You like a parched land.
Selah

Answer me quickly, O LORD! My spirit fails! Hide not Your face from me, lest I be like those who go down to the pit. Let me hear in the morning of Your steadfast love, for in You I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.

Songs for Sunday, August 11, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited!

This week has been long and tough, and I am in need of time spent with my brothers and sisters in Christ in worship of Him — “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13).

While this week has been long and tough, that does not necessarily mean that it has been bad. This ain’t that kind of post. No, it’s been long and tough, ultimately, in a good way. I am as filled with joy as I am tired.

I have gotten to be back with my school kiddos from last semester, and it has been a joy to me. They have grown and matured over the summer and teaching them again fills my heart with joy (and makes my knees hurt, too). A part of me has switched back on that has been idle for a few months. A part of my heart has been opened, almost as if it were a room that has been vacant has been opened and its curtains pulled back to let in the light and the dust covers pulled free. My classroom is open for business.

I am relearning the balance of vocation and ministry as well as getting back into the swing of being husband and father through all of it. This is not complaining. Balance is tough, but it is good. To paraphrase Popeye, I am who I am, and who I am is just me — rough edges as well as smooth. It is a joy to balance because all of these areas are part of who God called me to be in Him, and as I am His, so I am in all of it.

In the midst of the joy, there has also been sorrowful joy. My friend and mentor — one who helped me learn how to rightly divide the Word of God and who instilled in me what it is to faithful break down the Word of God in preaching — passed away. Bro. David Miller was unique and special to many. He was a mentor and friend to hundreds of preachers over the years and wanted no fame or glory for it as he was a self-proclaimed Country Preacher At-Large. He fought battles for orthodox Christian belief and biblical teaching in Southern Baptist life that were of vital importance but found time to invest in young preachers (in experience not necessarily age) with study resources and education, of which I am the least. He gave example in his preaching of teaching the deep things of the Word with clarity and making sure that we take the time to break them down that they can be understood. His life was a testimony to the grace of Jesus.

I came across an interview he did with Todd Friel and Wretched Radio, and I would like to share with you the way he explained salvation (I am providing the biblical cross-references because I don’t want you to take Bro. David’s word for it but to see what God’s Word says):

“We must be exposed to the preaching of the the gospel of Christ (Romans 10:14-17, 1 Corinthians 1:18).

“We have no ability of our own to repent and believe (John 6:44, Ephesians 2:8-9). However, we can avail ourselves — if you are not a Christian in this room today you can avail yourself of the means of grace (Isaiah 55:6-7, Acts 17:30). You can bend your knee, and you can bow your heart (Philippians 2:10-11). And you can call upon the Lord (Romans 10:13). And you can beseech the the Lord for mercy, confess your sins, and trust Him to do a work of regeneration in your heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27, Titus 3:5, 1 John 1:9) — to give you, to infuse into you an inclination to turn from sin with godly sorrow and to believe the the gospel (2 Corinthians 7:10, Mark 1:15).

“That’s salvation.

“That gets you started.

“That’s salvation in the past tense (2 Timothy 1:9). This repenting and believing results in justification (Galatians 2:16). The Lord will clear you of guilt, declare you to be innocent, and give to you the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21). He’ll take the practical — not the intrinsic — the practical righteousness of Christ, His having fulfilled the Law as a substitute for sinners (Matthew 5:17, Romans 8:3-4), God will write that down on your account (Philippians 3:9). This will provide positional sanctification for you (1 Corinthians 1:30, Hebrews 10:10). When God looks upon you thereafter, He’ll see you as being in Christ, in possession in the righteousness of Christ (1 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 3:9). You’ll never have any righteousness of your own; your righteousness will come from Christ (Isaiah 61:10).”

What a beautiful picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ — that Jesus paid the price for our sins and made a way for us to be saved by grace through faith in Him! Jesus saves, not based on any ability to earn it, and that is good news as all we are able to earn is death and condemnation because of our sin.

This hits different knowing that the “pasts tense salvation” Bro. David talked about is present tense for him now. His faith has been made sight. He spent decades confined to a wheel chair in a body that failed him gradually since he was sixteen, but now he has a new body. More than that, the surpassing worth of knowing Christ is paid in full as he knelt before his Savior face-to-face.

Tomorrow at Christ Community, Lord willing, we are going to gather in worship of our resurrected King, Jesus Christ. We are going to rejoice in the truth of His gospel — that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again just as the Bible shows us (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). We are going to read His Word and hear His Word preached. We are going to lift our voices and sing to and about Him.

Jesus is the source of my joy, and I hope He is the source of yours as well. There is no pain He can not salve and no sinner He cannot save.

If you are not a Christian and reading this, seek Him while He may be found. Call upon Him to save you. Confess Him as Lord, believe He has risen, and He will save you. He promised He would for all who do so, and He who promised is faithful.

If you are a Christian and reading this, seek Him still. There is coming a day when all of the sad things of this earth will come untrue. The last tears will be dried by His nail-scarred hand, and there will be no more sorrow or mourning or pain because everything will be made new and we will dwell with our God forevermore.

Either way, YOU are INVITED to gather with us tomorrow and sing, read, and hear the gospel. YOU are INVITED to gather in worship of the King of kings. YOU are INVITED to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

YOU are INVITED!

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

1And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — 3among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — 6and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepares beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Songs for Sunday, August 4, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday, and I’m excited!

Sometimes in the busy-ness of life, it is easy to miss the why of Sunday worship by the way it fits into our schedules and plans. Our lives are so fast-paced and chock-full of events and obligations that everything, even rest or worship has to be fit into our schedules somewhere. It’s just the way of the world.

I find myself thinking about time often. Can I fit that in with my work and ministry schedule? If I fit __ in, do I have to not do __ this week — or can I do both? If I do __, will I have time for {insert family obligation or opportunity here}? I find myself having to schedule the most important things in my life so that I do not pack in lesser things that push important things to the gutters and fringes of my calendars.

I remember the first time that the idea of scheduling a date night came to mind after Candice and I had been married a while. I thought that was the most unromantic notion to have ever popped in my head. It never occurred to me that before Candice and I were married — before the busy-ness of careers, ministries, children, etc. were a thing — Friday nights were date nights. If someone came to me with an idea or opportunity that took place on a Friday night, it was a no-go if Candice couldn’t be with me. Date night took precedence. It was a set event. It was regular.

I remember church being the same way. It was not a question of whether we would go. Sunday mornings, there. Wednesday nights, there. But now we’re so busy. So many things are vying for our time.

How do we ensure that the important things in our lives get done? We plan it. And I am challenging you to make a plan for tomorrow to be with your church family (Christ Community would love for you to join us if you do not have one) and worship Jesus!

Yes, there are a lot of things you can be doing. Your yard needs mowing, family time or rest has been neglected, it’s been a hectic week and you just need a minute, and so on and so forth. I even said above: it’s just the way of the world. Well, twice in the proverbs — that’s right, two identical times — we see:

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

Proverb 14:12 & Proverb 16:23

Now, let me be clear before proceeding that I am not claiming that church attendance saves you or is necessary for salvation. Jesus saves, not church. I fully understand that being in a church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car. But much like that adage is and our garages are full of, there’s some junk there as well.

You do not have to go to church to be a Christian. You don’t even have to stay home or have date nights to be married. But if you stay gone too long, the relationship is affected!

It may seem right to us to fill our schedules and bank on an old relationship status between us and the Lord even though our time and intimacy together has waned, but know this: the Lord has not moved!

So, again I challenge you: make plans to gather with God’s people and worship Him tomorrow morning! Make those plans today. Move your lesser plans out of the way. Bring your family or spouse or whomever with you.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

1Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting. 2The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers the outcasts of Israel. 3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 4He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names. 5Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. 6The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked to the ground.

7Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! 8He covers the heavens with clouds; He prepares rain for the earth; He makes grass grow on the hills. 9He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. 10His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor HIs pleasure in the legs of a man, 11but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love.

12Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13For He strengthens the bars of your gates; He blesses your children within you. 14He makes peace in your borders; He fills you with the finest of the wheat. 15He sends out His command to the earth; His Word runs swiftly. 16He gives snow like wool; He scatters frost like ashes. 17He hurls down His crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before His cold? 18He sends out His Word, and melts them; He makes His wind blow and the waters flow. 19He declares His Word to Jacob, His statutes and rules to Israel. 20He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know His rules. Praise the LORD!

1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the Word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Songs for Sunday, July 28, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited!

Actually, I’ve been excited all week because we have been having VBS at Christ Community Church! The theme of the week has been “Start the Party: Celebrate the Good News” and has been filled with celebrations of Jesus inviting people to follow Him — to come to Him! He’s STILL inviting people to come to Him to be saved, and that’s good news worth celebrating!

What does it mean to be saved?

Imagine someone swimming who has gone out over their head and is drowning. They can’t swim their way out, so they cry out for a lifeguard or someone to help them. If, thankfully, the lifeguard hears them and is able to rush to their rescue and pull them to safety on the shore, that person has been saved from drowning.

That same principle could also apply to someone who is stuck in a burning building and has fallen unconscious from smoke inhalation. Firefighters are called to the building and find them laying there. The firefighters pick up this totally helpless person, carry them out of the building, and get them the medical attention they need. The firefighters and paramedics have saved this person from danger and death.

In that same way, God provided Jesus to save or rescue sinners who put their trust in Him. That’s what being saved is: sinners putting their faith (trust/belief) in Jesus and asking Him to save them. No matter what we have done or who we are, Jesus can save us.

The Bible describes this in John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Why do we need to be saved?

You might look at the illustration of the person drowning or trapped in a burning building and think that makes sense for them but not see yourself in any danger or in need of being saved. We need to be saved from the consequences of our sin, namely death (Romans 6:23). Sin is anything we think, say, or do that goes against God and what He has declared right.

The Bible teaches us that all of us have sinned (Romans 3:23), that “none is righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). The word used for sin in the Bible is an archery term that describes missing the bullseye, except it’s not quite that simple. God’s righteous standard is the bullseye, but we aren’t exactly aiming for the bullseye. In our sinfulness, we are aiming at whatever we want, thinking, saying, or doing whatever we want.

You see, sin is not an accidental miss of God’s bullseye because our aim is messed up with sin; no, our sin is us deciding we have a god-like ability to choose our own target or decide that what we want and the way we want to live is the bullseye. Imagine being at an archery tournament and, as the archers line up to take their shot, someone walks down the course, peels the target paper off of the designated holder, and walks over and just sticks it wherever they want. They could set it right in front of them a foot away or even tack it on to one of their competitors or simply take an arrow from their quiver and stick it straight through the middle. Would they win the competition? Absolutely not! You can’t have a moving target. And we do not get to decide what the standard is — what the bullseye is. God does.

That’s why the Bible describes all of us as sinners like this:

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….” (Romans 3:23).

The “glory of God” is His perfection, His holiness, and because of our sin, we miss the mark completely.

Romans 6:23 tells us that the “wages of sin is death”. This means that our sin earns us death and that there is nothing we can do to earn our way out of it. Thankfully, though, that is not the end of Romans 6:23! Check out the full verse:

“For the wages of sin is death, BUT the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

God has made a way for us! Just as we saw above in John 3:16, we see that Jesus paid the penalty for our sin by dying in our place and offers us life instead. That little word “but” in Romans 6:23 shows us that we do not have to get the death our sin earned us because we can trust in Jesus and confess Him as Lord and receive His free gift of eternal life instead! That’s good news!

How can you be saved?

The only way for us to be saved is to turn from our sins (and the punishment — death — we deserve because of it) to Jesus and put of faith and trust in Him. We turn from our sin because we realize we are in trouble and deserve death because of them. We turn to Jesus because we realize that, just like the illustration of the drowning person or the one trapped in the burning building, we cannot save ourselves. We need a Savior. The problem is, there aren’t people lined up to save sinners. Jesus is different. Look at the beautiful picture of God’s love in Jesus from Romans 5:8:

“God demonstrated His love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus saves sinners.

To put or faith and trust in Him means that we believe that Jesus fully paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross and raising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). It is trusting in what He has done for us, what He has earned. It is having faith that when He offers forgiveness, He means it and has paid the price to do it (Colossians 2:13-14)!

Here is how the Bible tells us we can be saved:

“if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)

To be saved, one must confess Him as Lord, meaning we give our lives over to Him, trusting that He knows best and acknowledge He is God, asking Him to take charge of our lives. We tell Him that we believe He is who the Bible says He is: the Savior who died for our sins and rose again!

If we do this, not just saying the words but genuinely believing in Him and seeking Him, the Bible tells us that we are saved (Romans 10:13)!

That’s good news!

So, in the spirit of our celebration of that good news this week at VBS, I would like to offer you an invitation to come to Jesus — to look at your life and your sin and put your hope in Jesus. He is not a moving target but a loving and living Savior who wants to save. He is able to save.

That good news, really that “great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13), is why we do what we do every Sunday at Christ Community. He is the subject and recipient of all we sing about. He through His Word is the substance of all of our preaching. We cannot offer social capital or monetary benefit, but we GET to point people to the God of the universe who is mighty to save!

Won’t you gather with us this Sunday?

And if you have read this and know you are not saved, I want to invite you to come and talk with us as we would love to introduce you to our great God and Savior!

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, 25to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

15The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. 16But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life. 17To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.

Songs for Sunday, July 21, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and we GET to gather with our faith family and worship our resurrected King, “our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:14)!

I had started writing this but something changed. It sounded, well, less than genuine. The truth is I am not always excited or upbeat (crazy, I know). This extends to looking forward to gatherings, even gatherings with my faith family. I imagine you identify with that idea, that sometimes you are weary or anxious or depressed. Sometimes we grieve. Sometimes we just feel melancholy and gloomy.

But that melancholy does not extinguish the JOY that comes from being in Christ. The good news of the gospel is still good when the bad news or tough realities of the world set in. You see, all things bad have a gospel expiration date because one day, as the Jesus Storybook Bible puts it, all the sad things will come untrue.

Isn’t that a beautiful thought? The sad and bad of this world will simply end when we find ourselves dwelling with God as His people and Him with us as our God (Revelation 21:3)! The last tear on our face will be wiped by His nail-scarred hand, and mourning, crying, pain, and death will be done with forever and ever (Revelation 21:4)!

For now, though, tears exist. Mourning exists. Pain exists. Death exists. But GOD….

There are two passages on my heart that hold promises that carry me when that melancholy sets in.

The first is John 16:33:

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

This is part of Jesus’s last conversation with His disciples on the night before He was crucified. He told them that the time He had prophesied — the time of His death — was at hand. He promised them the Holy Spirit would come and comfort them. He told them of the tribulation and hatred the world would bring upon His people because of Him. He told them one of them would betray Him and that another would deny Him. He washed their feet, ate with them, and prayed for them. In the context of John 16:33, He had just told them that all of the sorrow that was coming in the next twenty-four hours and for the rest of their lives (and ours until He returns) would turn to joy.

Jesus promises two things in John 16:33. The first promise is tribulation. As the disciples noted in John 16:29, Jesus was no longer using any “figurative speech” with them but telling them straight up: “you will have tribulation”. No one wants that, but that terror comes untrue in the second promise: those who are His can “have peace” — they can “take heart” because He has already “overcome the world”!

Trouble comes. Trials come. Tribulation is a reality for His people. But Jesus had already overcome the world before He even died on the cross! Now, He has died and has risen, just as He promised.

He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

The second is Hebrews 4:16:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus told His disciples to “take heart” on the night before His crucifixion. Here, we can see our resurrected Lord tell us to “take heart” in a different way. He has ascended and is on His throne, but He has not left us alone — lo, He is with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20)!

When troubles come and trials abound, even when melancholy clouds our joy, we can approach Jesus’s throne with the confidence that He has the grace we need — timely grace — and will mercifully help us in our time of need. We can run to Him with the same confidence of a little child scared in the night can approach their parents’ bed. No other king or leader is that approachable, but our King is!

So, even though my excitement wanes, my joy does not. My mood and my circumstances change, but my God does not (James 1:17)! The realities of the bad make the good news that much better.

We just have to remember in the midst of that that He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)!

That’s who we will be singing about and to this Sunday at Christ Community. We will have the opportunity to read from His Word and have His Word preached to us. We will GET to gather and hear our brothers and sisters lift their voices — not all happy but joyful nonetheless — and be lifted up and reminded of that glorious day when we stand before our King — our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ”, our “blessed hope” who “gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14)!.

And if we need to approach the throne of grace in prayer, there is time for that, too, and brothers or sisters who will approach with you because you are not alone!

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

15For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might 20that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

1O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens. 2Out of the mouth of babies and infants, You have established strength because of Your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.

3When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, 4what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

5Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Songs for Sunday, July 14, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming!

Have you ever heard someone ask: Do you want the good news or the bad news? Most of us have.

Sometimes people ask this question because there is simply just some good news and some bad news, and they want to offer folks the opportunity to choose which one they hear first. Most of the time, it offers the view that the good news could potentially cover up the bad news, almost like the perspective from the good news can lift us up from the bad news.

The news that “Sunday’s coming!” is kind of like that. We know that at the very least we are announcing that the day of the week when Jesus’s church gathers to celebrate His resurrection and worship Him, but part of that day of worship, part of meeting and worshiping together is to acknowledge that “the Day [of Jesus’s return is] drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25)! So, “Sunday’s coming!” for Christians is really an announcement that JESUS is COMING!

So, do you want the good news or the bad news?

This question has jogged my memory all the way back to when I was in third grade (an undisclosed amount of time ago). I, being the quirky and nerdy, geeky sort of guy that I am was of a similar sort back then, and it got me a certain amount of attention from larger stronger folks who thought that was weird. There was a certain amount of glasses-breaking beat-down sort of attention that happened fairly regularly, especially on the school bus. This garnered the attention of my principal at the time.

I remember one particular day after a rough and painful bus ride to school where I got called to the principal’s office. Naive as I was, I thought I was being called in to be given some relief — either to make the guys chill out on the beat downs for a while or to maybe at least put some distance between us for a beat down vacation. This wasn’t that. He wanted to know what I was doing to make these guys beat me down and wasn’t buying the story that my mere existence made them angry or that they found it entertaining to beat up on the littler guy.

He gave me a classic good news/bad news situation. He told me that he had called my daddy and that he was coming. It came as bad news that day because Daddy was working night shift and was not to be woken during the day. Waking him would surely mean trouble, especially since, as the principal told me, he had been called because he was sure I was stirring up trouble.

I remember being so scared that Daddy was currently on his way to the school. As the principal kept pressing for what he felt was the real untold story, he kept saying, “Your daddy is coming.” I was reminded of all of Daddy’s promises that getting in trouble at school would mean getting the same or worse trouble at home. I was reminded of all of the lessons on how to act and how to carry myself at school. My daddy loved me, and I had just about been convinced that his showing up at school that day was about the worst news I had heard at that point in my life.

Eventually, there was a knock on the office door, and the secretary ushered Daddy in. His facial expression was perturbed to say the least. He sat in the chair next to mine and the principal began his presentation of the facts as had been presented to me up to a point. Then, something unexpected happened. Daddy held up his hand, motioning for the principal to pause his tirade, and leaned over to me telling me, “Son, you can go back to class.”

That was unexpected. This wasn’t Daddy’s meeting. He had nearly absolute authority over me, but how would that work at school? Rather than waiting to find out, I swallowed the lump in my throat from fear and anxiety and walked out of the office into the hall and back toward class.

What happened next is seared into my memory — a core memory, if you will.

I heard my daddy’s characteristic whistle to get my attention. He was standing at the office door. He winked at me and waved.

You see, a wink was our thing. That wink came to mean many things over the years. It could be as simple as I-see-you or kind of an endearing look or, as it was in this case, everything’s going to be fine because daddy’s got you.

The bad news came untrue because “Your daddy’s coming!” (with the connotation of he’s going to get you) had turned to Daddy is here and he’s got you.

For some, JESUS is COMING could produce fear because they do not know Him. For those who are opposed to Him, the image is that of Revelation 19:11-21 — the rider on the white horse with a sword in His mouth ready to “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). He is coming in the full authority of “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16) and in power and judgment will defeat those who “gathered to make war against Him who was sitting on the horse and against His army” (Revelation 19:19). Those enemies are to be “slain by the sword that came from the mouth of Him who was sitting on the horse” (Revelation 19:21), or as Martin Luther put it in the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, felled with one “little word”.

That’s bad news.

It’s bad news unless you belong to Him, unless you are saved and given eternal life in Him (Romans 10:9-13, John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-5). To face down the Lamb, Jesus Christ, the rider on the white horse — King of kings and Lord of lords — is a fearful thing. No one in His army will have to fight, Himself included. When He says, “It is done!” (Revelation 21:6), it is simply that — done. None can stay His hand. None can war against Him. None can flaunt His authority.

That’s good news.

It’s good news if you are with Him.

So, do you want the good news or the bad news?

The good news is that Jesus has made a way for us (John 14:6). The King of kings has left His throne and come to earth — to dwell among us (John 1:14), living the life we cannot live while dying the death we deserve (2 Corinthians 5:21). He left the glory of heaven to come to earth and deliver “us from the domain of darkness” and transfer us to His Kingdom by redeeming us and forgiving our sins (Colossians 1:13-14). For those who see Him as King, confess Him as Lord, believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead shall be saved (Romans 10:9-10). Again, that’s good news!

For those whom He has saved, “Sunday’s coming!” means that He has come and is coming again! It is a celebration because not even death could stop Him, that when He promises everlasting life He can give it because He is the Life (John 14:6).

For those whom He has saved, it is better than a wink and a wave telling us everything will be okay — Jesus lives tells us that we can “take heart” because He has already “overcome the world” — everything is already okay because He has already won (John 16:33)!

And that’s what we will be singing about Sunday at Christ Community — that’s WHO we will be singing TO: Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords! The songs we sing and Scriptures we will read will be pointing us to Him and praising Him for who He is and all He has done, is doing, and will do. John will preach to us from God’s Word and preach Jesus!

Sunday’s coming! JESUS is coming!

Won’t you gather with us and worship Jesus?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

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.

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.

Songs for Sunday, June 30, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I look forward, Lord willing, to gathering with my faith family at Christ Community Church!

I guess you could say that I have been feeling a bit nostalgic lately, but throughout the day today, I have found one particular memory has been vividly on my mind. Maybe it is because the last Refresh & Restore Bible study was on the relationship between parents and children or just thinking about the way that my kids seem to be growing years and inches before my very eyes. Either way, I want to share this memory with you today.

In 2015, I quit ministry for what I thought was going to be forever, or at least a very long time. I had burned out. I needed a break. I needed to remember the love I had for Jesus — no, more than that, the love He had for me — and “repent, and do the works [I] did at first” (Revelation 2:4-5). It was hard though for many reasons, not the least of which was having to learn a new vocation and living with my parents until we could finish work on our house.

This particular memory was on a Wednesday. Xander was not quite a year old and was sick. Candice was exhausted from work and working on our house, too — honestly more so than me. And Keri would not drop the subject of whether or not we were going to church that night.

I had informed Candice and Keri as we left the school in Winona that we would not be returning for church that night because “Daddy needs a break”. With Xander being sick, one of us would have to stay with him, and we could just use the time for family. I can remember Candice silently taking it all in but watching me carefully and a little concerned.

Keri asked again if we were going, almost as if she didn’t understand what I thought I had communicated more than clearly enough. I told her to be quiet, which honestly is hard for five-year-olds under the best of circumstances. We picked Xander up from my in-laws and were headed home when Keri picked up the conversation again, this time getting louder. So I got louder as a response. “Daddy. Needs. A break.” I enunciated this time. And what Keri did next hit me like a ton of bricks.

Keri raised her voice: “You’re my daddy! You’re supposed to want to take me to church!”

I was embarrassed.

I was angry.

I looked over toward Candice to get some support — support for a break from the woman who had been caring for our sick baby before and after work — from the one who would be at my parents’ caring for him if I were to take Keri back to Winona for church (the one needing a break herself). She offered no support and only asked me what I was planning on doing now.

I sped to my parents’ house to drop off Candi and Xander, sped to Winona and walked Keri into the children’s class — late of all things. I crept around the building to slink in the front, hoping not to draw attention to myself and still more than a little bit angry and embarrassed by Keri’s question. As I opened the double doors to enter the worship center, Dr. Tim Mims was praying — more than that was praying for me (even though he didn’t know it at the time).

“Lord, I feel it in my spirit that you want me to pray for someone who just wants to give up — to quit. Lord, help this person….”

He continued to pray. I eased the door shut and crawled quietly up the stairs to the balcony, weeping. I spent the rest of that prayer meeting lying on my face and listening to the Word of God preached, listening to my pastor continuing to pray for myself and others. And all because my baby girl had not been willing to let me be anything other than what I had taught her daddies were supposed to be.

I had let church become a job — become an event. Now, gathering with my faith family was to regain the right place in my life. It would be where I GOT to go instead of something I had to do. The church did not need me, but rather, I needed it — and we need Jesus together!

There’s a verse that I mention in the “Songs for Sunday” posts often that is appropriate here:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)

As Sunday approaches, I ask you to consider your plans — whether you plan to gather with your faith family or not. This is not an effort to guilt or convince. This is a pastoral effort to have you consider some things (like I did all those years ago and again today).

What is the confession of your hope? Is it “Jesus is Lord” (Romans 10:9)?

How does it affect your life to know that “He who promised is faithful” — whether or not we are ourselves?

What does it mean to neglect meeting together “as is the habit of some”?

For me, I had lost sight of the confession of my hope and was more worried that the promises I had made to the Lord had fallen by the wayside. I was saying that it was only going to be one little Wednesday night — not even a Sunday, mind you, but honestly, I wanted out and away as much or as often as I could. You see, I was lying because I was blinded to the promises and plan of God — of His faithfulness despite my bout of faithlessness (2 Timothy 2:13).

Maybe you need to be reminded that we gather not to check off some religious box or to get anything out of it. No, we gather to worship Jesus. We gather to remember what He has done and all He has promised. We gather because He is risen! And we get to stir one another up to love and good works as we do.

I doubt I am as convincing as my five-year-old baby girl yelling from the back seat, but the Holy Spirit is closer than that.

Daddies, yes, you are supposed to want to take your babies to church, but more than that you get to. Mommies, yes, it’s the same. But hear me on this: there is grace for those who have faltered and lost sight. There is grace for those who have missed. There is grace.

So, I ask you as you read this — as an effort to stir you up to love and good works rather than mere church attendance — will you gather?

This Sunday at Christ Community Church, we are going to make much of Jesus. We are going to read about Him from His Word. We are going to sing about Him and to Him. John is going to preach to us from His Word — we get to hear from Jesus by the preaching of His Word and the power of His Spirit!

Won’t you gather with us?

Everyone is welcome!

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Lamentations 3:16-24 —

16He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes; 17my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is; 18so I say, “My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.

19Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! 20My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. 21But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:

22The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; 23they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 24“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.”

  • Song | Grace Wins —
    Scripture Inspiration: Romans 3:23, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 5:16-18, Romans 8:1, 1 Timothy 1:13-14, Ephesians 1:6-7, 2 Corinthians 9:8, John 1:16, Ephesians 2:7, Ezekiel 36:26, 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, Luke 15:11-32, John 4, Matthew 9:27-31, John 9, Luke 16:19-31
  • Song | His Mercy is More —
    Scripture Inspiration: Lamentations 3:22-23, James 2:13, Romans 5:20, Hebrews 8:12, Isaiah 40:28, Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 3:20, Micah 7:18-19, Exodus 34:6, Psalm 145:8-9, 1 Timothy 1:15, Luke 14:21, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Colossians 2:13-14, Psalm 107:9, Ephesians 3:20, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Galatians 2:20-21
  • Scripture | Romans 6:4-8 —

4We were buried therefore with Him in baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. 6We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

  • Song | Death Was Arrested —
    Scripture Inspiration: Ephesians 2:1-5, Romans 5:6-8, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 21:1-5, Galatians 2:19-20, 1 Peter 3:18, Romans 5:1-8, Romans 6:15-23, Colossians 2:13-14, John 19:28-30, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, Revelation 1:18, Luke 15:11-32
  • Song | Ain’t No Grave —
    Scripture Inspiration: John 8:34, Romans 6:6, 1 John 4:8, 1 Chronicles 28:20, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 1 Corinthians 15:50-56, John 8:44, 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:9, Genesis 3:15, Ephesians 6:11-18, Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 5:5, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
  • Invitation | Because He Lives —
    Scripture Inspiration: John 3:16, Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 2:14, Psalm 28:7-8, Isaiah 40:29-31, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, John 14:25-27, Romans 8:38-39, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 4:6-7, Revelation 21:4, 1 Corinthians 11:26

Songs for Sunday, June 23, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday is coming!

June 17, 2004, was a day that will forever stick out in my brain. I woke up that morning nervous and stayed that way for hours. My heart raced as I mentally rehearsed the words and melodies, fearing my fingers would betray me when it mattered most. I probably played my guitar practicing for later in the evening more than I had for any other single event. I had to make sure that my hands knew what they were supposed to do. As I headed out, my family wished me well.

I drove from my parents’ house to pick Candice up from where she was working in Charleston and drove her out to Grenada Lake. When we got there, everything was just perfect. The air was warm but not stifling, with a gentle breeze that kept the humidity at bay. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on our picnic table, creating a natural spotlight. I walked Candice to the table and ran back to the trunk and retrieved my guitar, making sure to have my pick and everything just so in my right hand.

Now, I had serenaded Candice before — this wasn’t that. This was different. I had poured my heart into writing the most important song of my life, every chord and lyric meticulously crafted for this moment. As I said, my memory is so vivid regarding this that it plays almost like a movie in my mind. I played. She smiled. I sang. She beamed. And then it was time for the big finale. Tucked tightly in my closed middle finger was a ring. With a swift, practiced motion, I swapped my guitar pick for the ring, dropped to one knee, and let my voice carry the most important question I could ask: “Will you marry me?”

In my memory, it is almost as if everything goes to slow motion. I can see her eyes, wide with surprise and filled with tears, glistening like the sunlit water behind her. The scent of grass and trees filled the air, mingling with the distant murmur of the spillway. I remember that moment between question and answer seemed to drag on forever.

There were tears from her and cheers from me as she said yes. And my life has not been the same since, life going from slow motion to what seems like sometimes as fast forward.

Now, I told you that story because 1) I have been reflecting on it all week as Candice and I have celebrated our anniversary and reminisced on the best of times, and 2) as I have been laying out the songs we will sing and Scriptures we will read together, there is a much more vivid picture of heaven in my mind that, if you can believe it, has me more excited than I was on that evening 20 years ago — for Sunday, yes — but even more for eternity to come!

The image in my mind comes from Revelation 7. Try and picture it with me.

There is a crowd bigger than any ever seen before on earth. As far as the eye can see from horizon to horizon, there is a “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and people and languages” (Revelation 7:9). All are wearing white robes, and they are all standing around something. A large and lofty throne. Zoom in, and you see that there on the throne is a Lamb, “standing, as though it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6).

There is a sway to the crowd, and they have palm branches in their hands. The moving of their garments and the wind through the palm fronds is nearly thunderous as the numberless crowd moves. But then, they begin to cry out in unison. The chorus is beautiful and a brilliant tapestry of every accent and tone of voice ever created by God and cries out, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

There is an undercurrent of admiration and gratitude and worship as they cry out because every single person in this crowd has experienced persecution and tribulation for the sake of the Lamb and had their robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:13-14, 2 Timothy 3:12, 1 Peter 5:8-9). As I type, the beauty of the scene is almost overwhelming for me to try and take it in, as it must have been for the angels and elders standing near the throne, causing them to cry out, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:12)

And at the center of it all is the “Lamb of God, who [has taken] away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He looks as if He has been slain because He died for us (Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:3, Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:24)! He is standing because He is risen (1 Corinthians 15:4, Matthew 28:6, Revelation 2:8)!

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)

He is worthy because He was slain and by His blood He “ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” and has made them “a kingdom and priests to our God” to “reign on the earth” (Revelation 5:9-10)!

THIS is why I am excited about Sundays. JESUS is why. This is the day set aside to celebrate all He has done, especially His resurrection and imminent return. And in contemplating that, there is simply nothing on this earth that can compare or compete.

If you look at Sundays as a time of religious observance, it is easy to ignore and easier to desire to miss it. Religion is heavy and checking off attendance as part of religious observances is easier still. But gathering with your faith family, singing and crying out together to the Lamb is heavenly (Hebrews 10:25; Revelation 5:12-13). It is not religion but relationship (Galatians 4:3-7) — relationship and awe and desire as one has for the One who redeemed you from the bondage of sin (Romans 6:6), the One who raised you to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4) out of the wages of your sin (Romans 6:23), the One whose hands and feet were nailed to the cross you deserve (Colossians 2:14, 1 Peter 2:24), the One who walked out of the tomb you were destined for (1 Corinthians 15:4).

Once Jesus has saved you it changes everything.

Everything.

When I knelt in front of Candice at that picnic table all those years ago, I could not imagine how much of a core memory that would be, but I also could not imagine that there would be bigger moments. But other memories have joined it: the way I can still feel my heart skip a beat when picturing the doors of the church opening up for her to walk down the aisle to me on our wedding day, the day she told me I was a daddy, even to the glances we still share and the way I love her has deepened as it has from 20 years of love and sacrifice, and even through the difficult and trying times.

If you are in Christ, it should be similar for you. The relationship grows sweeter not because of ease but because of the shared journey. The fears and doubts give way to faith and devotion because Jesus has given all and sits on the throne. I know that my filthy righteousness has been traded for His and that my dirty self will be clothed in white one day and stand in a numberless crowd around His throne. I won’t care if I am up close or around the fringes. I will bask in His glow and lift my voice with the rest of the Church and cry out “Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb!”

And praise be to God, I’ll get to do that Sunday, too, because worship is not a far-off event but a close one.

So, Sunday we want to point you toward heaven — toward Jesus. From John preaching to the praise team leading to all of our voices joined together, everything we read or sing or preach will be in such an effort. Lord willing, the things of this world will dim and be outshone by longing to be with our Savior and to make much of Him.

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Proverbs 30:1-4 —

The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.

The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out. 2Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not the understanding of a man. 3I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. 4Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name? Surely you know!

  • Song | O Praise the Name (Anastasis*) —
    Scripture/Inspiration for the Song: 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, John 19:17, Isaiah 53, Romans 5:6-10, John 20:24-27, Galatians 3:13, Psalm 6:6-7, Matthew 27:57-61, Nehemiah 9:5, Psalm 30:12, Revelation 5:9-13, Luke 24:46, 1 Corinthians 15:55-56, Revelation 19:1-6, Revelation 19:12-14, Romans 6:1-5, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

    *Anastasis is the Greek word for “resurrection”.
  • Scripture | Revelation 7:9-17 —

9After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

15“Therefore they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence. 16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

  • Song | Worthy of It All —
    Scripture Inspiration: Revelation 4:10-11, Revelation 7:9-17, Isaiah 53:7, John 1:29, Revelation 5:6-13, Romans 11:36, Malachi 1:11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUjCBGwJHcE
  • Scripture | Revelation 21:1-5 —

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also He said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

  • Song | Revelation Song —
    Scripture Inspiration: Revelation 5:6-12, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 4:8, Romans 3:25, Hebrews 9:5, Revelation 5:13, Revelation 17:14, John 15:5, Psalm 33:8-9, Revelation 4:2-3, Revelation 4:5, Luke 5:17-26

Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace (Advent 2025) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Christ Has Come – Week 3Episode Title: The Promised King & His Gift of JoyLuke 1:39–56In this Advent episode of Christ Has Come, Keith Harris turns to Luke 1 and invites us to slow down and listen to the joy that begins stirring before Bethlehem. Long before angels sing to shepherds, joy breaks the silence in the hill country of Judea—through a Spirit-filled confession, a leaping child, and the worshipful song of a young woman who trusts the promises of God.Together, we explore:What biblical joy is—and what it isn’t, distinguishing it from fleeting happiness or emotional highs.How joy appears before the word is even spoken, as John the Baptist leaps for joy in Elizabeth’s womb at the presence of the unborn Messiah.Why Mary’s joy is rooted not in circumstances but in God’s mercy, as she magnifies the Lord and rejoices in God her Savior.The meaning and message of the Magnificat, a Scripture-saturated song that celebrates God’s great reversal—lifting the lowly, filling the hungry, and humbling the proud.How Mary’s joy points beyond herself to Jesus, the promised King who fulfills God’s covenant promises and secures lasting joy through His saving work.This episode reminds us that joy is not something we manufacture—it’s something we receive, and it grows wherever Jesus is trusted. Advent teaches us that true joy is found not in having life figured out, but in the presence of Christ and the mercy He brings.If you would like to see a written version of this study, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.
  1. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of Peace (Advent 2025)
  2. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of PEACE (Advent 2025)
  3. Christ Has Come: The Promised King & His Gift of HOPE (Advent 2025)
  4. Thankful: Learning to Number Our Days (Refresh & Restore)
  5. "Strengthen What Remains: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Sardis" (The KING is Coming)

Songs for Sunday, June 16, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited!

I have found myself thinking a lot about marriage over the past few weeks: the last Refresh & Restore Bible study was on Colossians 3:18-19 and what it is like for a marriage to be adorned in Christ, and Candice and I will celebrate 18 years of marriage next week.

All of this thinking about marriage has had me thinking a lot about the gospel. Paul, in Ephesians 5:32, says that marriage (which He refers to here as a “mystery” or symbol) “refers to Christ and the church”. Marriage, the love of a husband for His wife/a wife to her husband, is meant to be a picture of the gospel.

Why?

Well, the gospel is a picture of love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The gospel is a picture of the King of kings leaving His throne, coming to earth in pursuit of His bride — to redeem her from her sin and death, bringing her home with Him.

This can be seen in the Bible through the marriage of a prophet named Hosea and his wife, Gomer. Now, the gospel gives us imagery for the Love Story of all love stories, but it is not necessarily nice and neat nor is it always fitting for the Hallmark channel. There’s death and blood and gore and sacrifice. There’s sadness and heartbreak. There’s…well, let’s look at Hosea and Gomer’s love story, or at least the PG-est version I can give you.

God told Hosea that his marriage would be a picture of the way that Israel had committed adultery against Him. So, Hosea was told to go and take a wife like Israel — a wife who would no doubt forsake Hosea and commit adultery against Him like Israel had forsaken the Lord (Hosea 1:2). And that’s exactly what Hosea did, and that’s the beginning of his story with Gomer (Hosea 1:3). They had a rough go at it, but God had a plan in the midst of what looks like a terrible calling.

Hosea and Gomer had a baby. God told him to name the child Jezreel so that when people heard the name of the child Hosea could tell them that the Lord was going to punish Israel for the bloodshed by the hands of Jehu (2 Kings 10:11 will give you the context). Imagine someone coming up to you and asking the name of your child. What would normally be a happy or at least a generically positive conversation would be: meet my son Jezreel; we named him that because God is angry over our nation’s sin and is about to lay down judgment for it.

Hosea and Gomer had two more children, although the language in Hosea 1:6 and 1:8 differ from the birth announcement of Jezreel (Hosea 1:3), meaning that Gomer was doing exactly what was prophesied of her — she had conceived their other two children outside of their marriage. These two kiddos had interesting names, too, as well as messages for Israel (Hosea 1:6-9). The first was a daughter named Lo-ruhama (No Mercy). The second was a son named Lo-ammi (Not My People). When people learned those names, they were to be told that, because Israel had forsaken the Lord — in the same manner in which Gomer had forsaken Hosea — that they were no longer to receive God’s mercy, no longer to be called God’s people, and that God would no longer be their God.

This is a truly terrifying message.

Mercy is God withholding the punishment deserved in favor of grace. Now, it was time for judgment. At face value, it appears that hope was lost for Israel because they had forsaken their hope — their Husband (Hosea 2:16) — all because their own desires were greater than their love for Him. This coincided with the fact that Gomer had left Hosea and had been sold into another man’s harem (Hosea 3:1-2). Hosea and Gomer’s marriage was to be a picture of God’s relationship with Israel, so if things are taken on the face of the terrible news, Hosea should just unmercifully cast Gomer aside and gave her a good riddance and so on. That’s what we would do today. Moses even allowed for such an instance (Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Matthew 19:7-9).

But GOD….

Look at the language of Hosea 2:14-15:

14“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. 15And there I will give her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

God would pursue His people and woo (“allure”, “speak tenderly”) them back to Him. There would be times of trouble (“wilderness”) and it would take time, but His people would repent and turn back to Him. He would no longer call them Lo-ruhama (No Mercy) or Lo-ammi (Not My People) because He would once again show them mercy and gather them to Himself as His people.

What about Hosea? God told him to go and get his wife, even though she was “loved by another man” (Hosea 3:1). Hosea went to that man and BOUGHT (literally, redeemed) his wife for “fifteen shekels of silver” and some barley (Hosea 3:2). In the same way, God has sought us out in the midst of our unfaithfulness to Him (James 4:4) and “demonstrates His love in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Hosea paid a little money and grain, but Jesus paid for His Bride “not with perishable things such as silver or gold”, but with His “precious blood”, “like that of a lamb without blemish or spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). He loves us despite our sin and death and offers us love and life in Him alone. Knowing full well the depth of our sin, Jesus came to earth and, again, BOUGHT (literally, redeemed) us from slavery to sin and makes us His own forevermore.

What a love!

What a Love Story! And it is not over yet.

Revelation 21 gives us a window into heaven when Jesus’s Bride, the Church, will finally come home to Him. Look at the language here and how it fits with Hosea’s story. From the throne of God we hear these words:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes….” (Revelation 21:3-4)

Oh, what a day that will be when we stand before our King and with nail-scarred hand He reaches up to wipe away the last tear His bride will ever cry. The pinnacle of His mercy will be reached when His Bride comes home and dwells with Him in His house forever!

Now, I know that this is pretty heavy for a “Songs for Sunday”, but oh, how beautiful it is! It would be so easy to look at this and say, woe is Hosea, but we have all been Gomer. Yet the King of kings left His throne, “took on flesh, and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus, “emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men”, was “found in human form”, and “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

And that is what we are singing about this Sunday.

We are singing and praising God because He has made us clean before Him by His precious blood. He paid our sin debt and offers His righteousness in exchange. And just like one of the songs says, “I’m undone at the mercy of Jesus! I’m undone by the goodness of the Lord!”

It doesn’t matter whether you deem yourself far off from God or close to Him, it is good for us to get to gather and make much of Him — to sing His praises and know that He is in the business of saving and His love casts out all fear and can cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

It is good for us to get to gather and point each other to Him. It is all we have to offer at Christ Community because for many of us, we remember what it is like to be loved like Gomer.

What about you?

If you are in or around Grenada, MS this Sunday, we would love to invite you to gather with us. It’s Father’s Day — bring dad, too.

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

4But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

  • Song | Washed Clean —
    Scripture Inspiration: 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:17-18, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 8:2, John 8:34-36, Psalm 51:2, Psalm 51:7, Jeremiah 33:8, 1 John 1:9, Titus 3:4-5, Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 3:34, Ephesians 2:1-2, Acts 26:18-19

3He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.

  • Song | Man of Sorrows —
    Scripture Inspiration: cf. Isaiah 53 and John 1:11, 29; also Galatians 3:13, 21; 1 Peter 2:24; Mark 14:16-62; Matthew 26:39-44, 26:67-68, 27:26-30; John 3:16; Romans 5:6-10; Psalm 145:3; Revelation 4:11; Philippians 2:5-8; Matthew 20:28; Titus 2:13-14; Colossians 2:13-15; Romans 6:23; John 8:36; John 20:1-7; Matthew 28:1-20; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
  • Song | Jesus Paid It All (O Praise the One) —
    Scripture Inspiration: Matthew 11:28-30, John 19:30, Colossians 2:13-14, 2 Corinthians 4:15, Hebrews 12:28-29, Isaiah 1:18, Jeremiah 13:23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ezekiel 11:19, Revelation 4:10-11, Romans 6:4, Revelation 5:9-10

8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

  • Song | I Got Saved —
    Scripture Inspiration: Psalm 46:1-4, Zechariah 13:1, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Psalm 36:9, Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 26:28, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 103:12, Psalm 51:9, Psalm 32:5, Psalm 107:10-16, Nahum 1:13, Isaiah 6:5, James 2:13, Zechariah 7:9, Hebrews 9:5, 1 Peter 2:10, Psalm 25:7, Psalm 31:19, Psalm 85:4, Acts 3:21, Galatians 2:16-17, Romans 5:8-9, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Hebrews 6:5, Colossians 2:13-15, Psalm 25:11, Numbers 4:19, Romans 8:28-30, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:10-13
  • Invitation | What He’s Done —
    Scripture Inspiration: Matthew 7:33, Mark 15:22, Luke 23:33, John 19:7, Matthew 26:26, Colossians 1:19-20, 1 Peter 1:19, John 8:36, Isaiah 53, Psalm 147:3, John 3:16, John 15:13, Romans 8:5-8, 1 John 1:9-2:2, Acts 4:12, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, Hebrews 2:14, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Corinthians 15:50-57, Revelation 4:1-11, 1 John 5:4, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 5:12, Philippians 4:8
  • Offertory | Good, Good Father —
    Scripture Inspiration: John 5:25, Revelation 3:20, Matthew 25:23, Hebrews 13:5, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 119:68, Nahum 1:7, Psalm 68:5, Psalm 36:5-7, John 3:16, John 15:13, Romans 5:6-8, Ephesians 2:4-5, Colossians 2:6-8, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 139:4, Matthew 5:48, Romans 11:33, Ephesians 3:8, 1 John 4:7-11

Songs for Sunday, June 9, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday is coming!

I can remember times in my life when what I thought and felt about Sundays varied. If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to share a bit of my testimony.

As a kid, I can remember being excited about church coming up and a lazy afternoon afterward. I loved Sunday School where we would get equal amounts of Bible story time and puzzles, coloring, crafts, or playdough. The singing was a big hit for me — go figure. I remember getting excited when the preacher got excited. I remember the excitement of being home in the afternoon with no work to do or chores to accomplish — just time together playing or relaxing, just togetherness. And once I got saved, all of that just multiplied more and more because I had a gratitude and awe to Jesus that wasn’t there before.

As a teenager and young adult things shifted a bit as I started to serve and lead more, especially after being called into ministry. There were times when the joy I felt conflicted with my work ethic and desire to accomplish something or check off boxes. Sunday hit different with a job description, and when ministry became my bread-winning vocation, it shifted to something sad. In my foolishness and latent adolescent zealousness, my weeks culminated in Sundays meaning all of the work Monday-Saturday produced the worship gathering on Sunday morning and night. I found myself mired in a spiral of fearful work rather than worship in the fear of God. I feared committees and potential of lost pay rather and lost the joy of gathering with my faith family I had when I was a kid.

Then…I quit.

I found myself burned out and empty. I had long since put my hope in my work ethic and abilities and lost sight of what I was doing — WHO I was serving. Thankfully, I had a teaching license and our house had not sold when we had moved away, so I tucked tail, moved back home, and tried to start anew.

That first Sunday back was one of the most terrifying and convicting of my life. I had never been a visitor to a church other than coming in view of a call or visiting preacher. Now, I found myself in a new church where nearly everyone there knew I had been a pastor and had questions as to why I was coming to sit a pew and fade into the background. Through the whispers and the questions, I wanted to sink through the floor and disappear. I had hoped that some of the feelings from my childhood would return — that being able to be more of a part of the congregation would awaken something in me, but that is not how things work. The idolatry of work over worship took years to accomplish and would not be undone by an awkward day in a pew.

Eventually, something happened in me. The desire for God that I felt in the beginning began to return. I can’t tell you how many mornings I spent in the Word (at least a year and a half) hoping for some spark or feeling to return. I can’t tell you the number of prayers prayed where I found myself hoping He would listen to a shameful quitter, or worse one who had made a vocation of serving Him all about what I could do or accomplish. Just like it was in my marriage, laziness in a relationship would not be undone by a few sincere acts or gestures. BUT GOD.

In the seeking and searching, He was there. He had never moved. It was me who had moved. I think David described it better than I can in Psalm 40:1-3:

1I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. 2He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

I was mired down in the swamp of my sinful idolatry and foolishness and could not get out under my own strength. My legs had pumped and climbed and were spent in exhaustion. The solidity of the shore was too far away, BUT GOD reached out, plucked me from the clay, and moved me all the way to the solid foundation of the ROCK, Jesus. Just like one would a toddler who had fallen, He held me and made sure I had my feet under me and on Him. The voice I could barely lift to Him in prayer began to croak out a new song, voice crackling out of unuse but the melody, the “song of praise”, began in my heart and eventually made it out of my lips.

Sunday regained its significance. It is the day we celebrate Jesus’s resurrection. He died for our sins, yes, but more than that, He rose! He is in the business of making dead things live. He is in the business of protecting His children, His sheep, from danger, even if that danger is their own stupidity and wandering. Those He has made alive will never die.

I look forward to Sunday because when “I waited patiently for the LORD”, He answered me and “heard my cry”.

I look forward to Sunday because when I was through with His work, He was not through with me.

I look forward to Sunday because it is not about my feelings but about His faithfulness (even though God has given me more joy now than in worshiping Him and serving Him than ever before).

I look forward to Sunday not because of vocation or religious devotion. I look forward to Sunday because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and the magnificent truth that He walked out of the grave I deserve.

What about you?

Is Sunday a religious experience for you? Does it tick some kind of box on your righteous-living or to-do list? Has it been a while since you have gathered? Are you afraid that He knows your heart and might somehow abandon you?

HE hasn’t moved.

This Sunday at Christ Community, we will point you to the One who hears your cry and can pluck you out of whatever is miring you — whether it be the grave or the swampy ground of your sin. The songs will point to the finished work of Jesus on the cross and the vacancy in His borrowed tomb all the way to when His people will dwell with Him in heaven. The preaching will point you to Jesus by His Spirit and through His Word.

Maybe today is a good day to quit the exhausting clamber out of of the mire and reach your hands out to the One who has already reached out for you.

Peter, one whose testimony includes betraying and abandoning Jesus, said it well: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). His mighty hand is reached out to you. Grab hold of Him because He cares for you.

Sunday is coming.

I look forward to gathering with my brothers and sisters — all of which have a testimony of hopelessness and helplessness BUT GOD.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

22“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

13And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

11Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”
13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”