Category Archives: 2026

You are Invited to Celebrate RESURRECTION SUNDAY at Christ Community Church!

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited!

But about 1,993 years ago today, the outlook seemed bleak.

For those living through the original Holy Week in the time depicted in the gospels, Saturday morning must have been a sad and scary time. They had lived through Jesus’s arrest – they had seen Him taken away, beaten, mocked, scourged (Matthew 26:47-68, 27:26-31). I can’t imagine how terrible the cries of “Crucify Him!” and “Behold your king!” had been (Luke 23:21, John 19:14-15).

Then, all of the times that Jesus had prophesied His death had come true (Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34). He had walked out of Pilate’s compound carrying His cross (John 19:16-17), a crown of thorns ripping into His scalp and forehead (John 19:2-3), bloody and bowed while struggling under the weight. Imagine seeing Him walk the road to the place of the Skull (Luke 23:26, 33), laying the cross down and being laid down on it.

Could they watch as His arms were stretched wide and the nails were hammered into His hands and feet? Could they look upon Him as He was pierced for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5) – as the cross was lifted and plunked in a hole as it was stood up?

He had told them all of this time and again. Didn’t He tell them of His conversation with Nicodemus when He said that He would be lifted up so that all who look upon Him may believe in Him and have eternal life (John 3:14-15)? Oh, how that prophesy must’ve seemed thin at that moment as His life drew to an end.

But Sunday was coming….

The spectators of His crucifixion would have heard Him cry out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). It must have sure seemed so to see His body taken down, carried to the cemetery, and laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb (Matthew 27:57-60). Think of the finality of the heavy stone rolled by multiple men into place (Matthew 27:60).

So, as Saturday dawned the next day, I don’t imagine it was a scene of celebration. The Bible doesn’t tell Saturday’s story, but we know that the powers-that-be who were used of Satan thought they had won. They had sealed the tomb and set a guard because they thought Jesus’s followers would try to steal the body (Matthew 27:62-66). But His followers were not a political or religious movement. His followers were His friends – those whose lives had been changed by Him, those who had believed and received life in His name (John 1:12). They were in mourning because the Teacher was dead. They were in mourning that they had doubted or denied Him (Luke 22:61-62). They were afraid because, if the powers-that-be had been able to kill Him, there’s no limit to what could be done to them (John 20:19). So, they huddled in the upper room with the table where they had their last supper with Him (Luke 22:14-20, John 20:19).

But Sunday was coming.

I cannot begin to explain what happened – that’s above my pay grade, so to speak, but think of all we know of life and death: it came untrue! The lifeless body of Jesus, truly dead and laid in the tomb, began to live again! The decay of His corpse reversed. Synapses in His brain fired. His bloodless heart pumped fresh. The torn and ripped skin on His back healed. The lungs that breathed the breath of life into Adam filled once more. The Lamb of God, looking as if He had been slain – because He had, stood of His own power (Revelation 5:6, John 10:18). The nail pierced hands took the grave clothes, folded them carefully, and laid them at the foot of the bier (John 20:6-7). Then, the maker of the stone willed it to move aside, needing no help because He was no mere mortal man. God who put on flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) – who had died in our place (1 Peter 2:24) – rose again in power (Romans 6:9, Acts 2:24), putting off mortality so that those who put their faith in Him could put on His immortality (1 Corinthians 15:53-54).

It was Sunday, and Jesus had risen as He had said (Matthew 28:6).

The stone rolled away, light blinded and incapacitated the feeble guards keeping watch over His tomb (Matthew 28:2-4). The Author of Life and inventor of humanity could not be held by death because it wasn’t for Him (Acts 3:15, 2:24). The Lion of Judah had laid down His life as the Lamb of God (Revelation 5:5-6, John 1:29), and now walks forth in victory, every step announcing defeat – defeat of death and hell and putting Satan to open shame because His work was finished (Colossians 2:15, Hebrews 2:14).

Sunday came!

For the last 1,993 years, every Sunday has been a celebration and reminder that the tomb is empty and Jesus is alive. Every, single Sunday His followers have gathered in worship of Him, looking for His return (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2). In that sense, Sunday is coming again because we have the hope that He who came to save us by dying for our sin in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) is He who could not be held by death. And if He can’t be stopped by death, He must surely be able to return as He has said (Acts 1:11). He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).

That’s why we gather. That’s why we celebrate.

So, tomorrow, we will lift our voices in worship because He is risen as He said. John will open the Scriptures and point us to Jesus – who He is and what He has done. We have the opportunity to celebrate that He who is alive offers life eternal to those who trust in Him (John 11:25-26). And YOU are invited to gather with us.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 —

3For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….

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.”

51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Songs for Palm Sunday, March 29, 2026 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited. And on this Palm Sunday, we remember our King.

Psalm 118:19-29 gives us the language of a people longing for salvation and rejoicing in the One who brings it: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!” (Psalm 118:26). It’s a song/psalm of victory, rescue, and the steadfast love of God that endures forever.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem the Sunday before His death and resurrection (Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-10, Luke 19:29-38), the crowds picked up on how it fits with Psalm 118.

The people cried out “Hosanna!” to Jesus, which is the Hebrew word used in Psalm 118:25 that is translated, “Save us, we pray”. In the time between Psalm 118 being written and Jesus’s Triumphal Entry, “hosanna” had shifted from “Save us, we pray” to a cry of praise to the Lord who had saved them time and again and whose track record led them to believe He would and could save them in their time of need.

While they were crying out “Hosanna”, they also quoted Psalm 118:26: “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” They laid down palm branches and their own cloaks as they cried out to Jesus with joy, welcoming Him as King. What Psalm 118 anticipated, Jesus was fulfilling right before their eyes (Luke 24:44).

But something even greater was happening.

Psalm 118 speaks of the festal sacrifice being bound with cords to the horns of the altar (Psalm 118:27). Yet when Jesus came, He wasn’t bound or forced. He came willingly, submitting to His Father’s redemptive plan. He is the true and better sacrifice — the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), the propitiation, atoning sacrifice, to bear the wrath of God on behalf of those He saves (1 John 2:1-2, Romans 3:25). The King they proclaimed was riding into Jerusalem to be the Savior they needed on the cross (Luke 19:10).

Essentially, this is why we gather in worship — not just to remember or commemorate a moment but to respond to Jesus (Romans 12:1). He came to seek and save the lost, to bear our sin, and to make a way for us who are far off to be brought near (1 Peter 2:24, Ephesians 2:13). We get to fix our eyes on our King (Hebrews 12:2) and cry out “Hosanna!”, praising God for saving us by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9)! Palm Sunday is not a mere holiday (or holy day) but a reminder of who Jesus is, what He has done, and call us to faith in Him (John 20:31).

That’s also why these “Songs of Sunday” posts exist — to help us prepare our hearts to gather in worship. As we read, reflect, and sing ahead of time, we’re asking the Lord to ready our hearts to worship, to receive His Word, and to respond with faith and joy.

Sunday’s coming.

Jesus is coming again.

Let’s be ready to welcome our King, not just with our lips but with our lives, trusting, rejoicing, and worshiping.

Come and gather with us. Lift your voice and sing out to the Lord. Listen as John points us to Jesus in the Word. Let’s make much of Jesus together.

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. 20 This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. 21 I thank you that You have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the Cornerstone. 23 This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save us, we pray, O LORD! O Lord, we pray, give us success!

26 Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. 27 The LORD is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

28 You are my God, and I will give thanks to You; You are my God; I will extol You. 29 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever!

32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Songs for Sunday, January 18, 2026 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday is the Lord’s day — and it’s good to prepare our hearts to gather to worship Jesus.

Psalm 96, one of the passages we’ll read from Sunday morning, lifts our eyes to the greatness of God, reminding us that “great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised” (Psalm 96:4). He alone stands above every false god and idol because He is the One who made the heavens, the One before whom “splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary” (Psalm 96:5–6).

That theme of the greatness of God carries through the songs we’ll sing (Psalm 145:3). We’ll declare that there is nothing and no one greater than God (Isaiah 40:25, Psalm 86:8) and that He alone turns graves into gardens (Ezekiel 37:12-14, Romans 8:11). There is nothing better than our blessed hope, our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ — no rival, no replacement, no greater treasure (Titus 2:13, Philippians 3:8, Colossians 2:3).

To say and sing that God is great is one thing, but to begin to perceive and begin to grasp the magnitude of His greatness is another. Consider the words of the hymn “How Great Thou Art”:

And when I think, that God — His Son not sparing — sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin.

This beautiful gospel truth magnifies His greatness (Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 1:18). God didn’t spare His own Son, but sent Him to the cross (Romans 8:32, John 3:16). Jesus, God in flesh, willingly bore our sin, laying down His life and taking away our sin by His blood (John 1:14, Isaiah 53:5-6, John 10:17-18, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:18-19). The greatness of God is most clearly seen in the saving work of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

That’s why these “Songs for Sunday” posts exist — not to merely list songs, but to help us prepare. We have the opportunity to read God’s Word and reflect ahead of time, asking the Lord to ready our hearts and our homes so that when we sit under the preaching of God’s Word, it falls on good soil — received, applied, and bearing fruit in our lives. This helps us come not as consumers, sitting in an audience for a concert or seeking to be entertained or educated when John opens God’s Word. It helps us come as worshipers, seeking Christ — and preparing our hearts to meet Him.

Sunday’s coming, y’all. Let’s come ready to worship the great God, to rejoice in our great Savior, and to gather together declaring that there truly is nothing and no one better than Jesus!

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | Psalm 96:1-6 —

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! 2 Sing to the LORD, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day. 3 Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples! 4 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

  • Scripture | Philippians 2:5-11 —

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Songs for Sunday, January 4, 2026 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday — and I’m grateful to start 2026 gathered with my faith family at Christ Community Church.

Hebrews 10:23-25 reminds us why we gather. We come to “hold fast the confession of our hope” — that Jesus is Lord — and be encouraged by others who have been saved by the same grace. We gather to “stir up one another to love and good works”, not as spectators but as participants in what God is doing among us. We gather often, because the Lord has given us a church family and lovingly warns us against “neglecting to meet together”. We gather to “encourage one another”, lifting weary hearts with the reminder that this broken, fallen world isn’t all there is. And every time we gather, we are being prepared for a greater gathering that is coming — shaped week by week into a people ready for the presence of the Lord — the day Revelation 7:9-10 describes when a numberless multitude stands before the throne of God, praising and glorifying the Lamb.

That’s also why we do these “Songs for Sunday” posts. They are a simple invitation to prepare — to read the Scriptures we’ll read aloud in worship, to sing or listen to the songs we’ll sing together, and to come ready to worship with full hearts and clear hope. Preparation doesn’t replace worship; in this case, it deepens tomorrow’s worship it because the preparation itself is worshiping Jesus today.

Sunday’s coming. Let’s come ready to hold fast, encourage one another, and make much of Jesus — together.

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

17For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our 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.”

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.