Category Archives: 2024

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

This weekend was our youth’s CCNow – our very own D(isciple) Now weekend filled with service and worship and studying God’s Word. I love to get to watch these kiddos and their leaders worship and serve the Lord and to get to share in that with them.

The messages this weekend have been from the book of Daniel and looking at what God did in and through four young men who suffered much but worshiped God more! As John was preaching through Daniel 1 and in the young men’s small group after, emphasis was given to the fact that these young men were faithful in the small things before there was faithfulness in the big things — that their relationship with God did not begin in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3) or in the lion’s den (Daniel 6) but before Babylon and at the king’s buffet.

It is clear in the Bible that persecution and suffering have been historically and are still being “experienced by [the] brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9) and that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). What Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael went through was clear, too (Psalm 34:10, Isaiah 43:2). This can be a scary prospect — truthfully, it is a scary prospect. But here is the foundation of Daniel’s faithfulness, the foundation of the boldness to turn down the lavish buffet of forbidden food at the king’s table for vegetables and worship (Daniel 1:8-16), the boldness to respectfully refuse to bow to the king rather than God (Daniel 3:16-18), the boldness to walk freely into the burning fiery furnace with assurance in the worthiness of their God (Daniel 3:23-26), the boldness to kneel in prayer as he always had even though the powers-that-were decided to make it illegal (Daniel 6:10), the boldness to descend into the den of lions rather than kneel to forsake the God who had been faithful for decades and onward into eternity (Daniel 6:16-23): the foundation is God’s faithfulness. Those four young men could stand or kneel — whatever the need called for — because they could be sure that the LORD their GOD, “the Holy One of Israel”, their Savior had redeemed them (Isaiah 43:3). He alone is worthy of praise. He alone is worthy of service. He alone saves. He alone sustains. He alone strengthens.

These young women and men who follow Christ will indeed face persecution. The older women and men who are leading and discipling these younger ones will, too, and already are facing some. But the worship of Jesus in the little things – in the random Mondays and CCNow weekends and regular, everyday life – will lead to worship when the chips are down and the call to bow to false gods is raised and the furnace is stoked and the angry jaws of our adversary who is already prowling “around like a roaring lion, seeking” to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus is worthy now. He is already worthy for then. Let us desire Him and seek Him and serve Him. Let’s lift our hearts and bow our knees to Him now and remember – just as Daniel and his friends did – that “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

Hallelujah, and amen!

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | Psalm 34:1-10 —

1I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. 3Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together!

4I sought the LORD, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.

8Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! 9Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! 10The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

  • Song | Jesus Messiah —
    Scripture Inspiration: 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 2:8, Psalm 136:1, Acts 17:3, Luke 2:11, Philippians 2:9, Job 19:25, Isaiah 44:24, Matthew 1:23, Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 61:1, 1 Timothy 2:6, Philippians 2:10, Luke 22:19-20, Romans 5:5, Matthew 27:51, John 3:16, Romans 5:3-4, 1 Peter 1:3, Jude 25, John 8:12, Isaiah 59:1-2
  • Song | The King of My Heart —
    Scripture Inspiration: Isaiah 9:6, John 12:15, 1 Timothy 6:13-16, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:11-16, Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalm 3:3, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, John 4:10, John 7:37-39, Psalm 40:3, Psalm 91:1, Matthew 20:20-28, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 23:6, Lamentations 3:25, Nahum 1:7, Luke 18:19, Psalm 19:12-13, Psalm 139:1-4, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Acts 2:3-4, Romans 5:4-8, 2 Peter 3:9, Psalm 30:5
  • Scripture | Isaiah 43:1-3a —

1But now thus says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, you Savior.

  • Song | Forever Reign —
    Scripture Inspiration: Psalm 73:1, Nahum 1:7, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, 1 John 4:8, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, John 1:4-5, John 8:12, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 2:24, Deuteronomy 33:27, Luke 15:20, Ephesians 2:4-5, Proverbs 3:15, Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:6, Philippians 4:4, Habakkuk 3:18, Psalm 13:6, Job 23:11-12, Psalm 16:2, Romans 1:19-20, Colossians 2:9-10, Matthew 28:20, Psalm 138:1, Acts 4:12, Philippians 2:9-11
  • Song | King of Kings —
    Scripture Inspiration: Proverbs 4:19, John 3:19-21, Ephesians 2:1, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 5:17, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:31, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:7, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 8:1, John 1:14, Psalm 136:3, Matthew 28:18, Revelation 19:16, Matthew 13:24-52, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Isaiah 53, John 3:16, Romans 5:6-10, Galatians 3:13, Colossians 2:14, Titus 2:14, Acts 4:33, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Matthew 27:52-53, Luke 15:7, Acts 2:1-4, Matthew 24:35, Ephesians 1:7, Galatians 5:1, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11
  • Invitation | Battle Belongs —
    Scripture Inspiration: Romans 8:37, Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, Psalm 23:4, 1 John 4:18, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 27:1, 2 Corinthians 10:4, Ephesians 6:18, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 2:14, 1 John 5:4-5, Revelation 12:10-11, Romans 8:31, Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah 17:9, Isaiah 61:3, Galatians 2:19-20, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Corinthians 15:14-17, Ruth 2:12, 2 Samuel 22:3-4, Psalm 3:3, Nahum 1:7, Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4

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

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | John 15:12-17 —

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.

  • Scripture | Colossians 1:13-20 —

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And 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. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

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

Why “Songs for Sundays”?

I am immensely thankful that God brought my family to Christ Community Church, and I count it a joy and a privilege to get to be one of the pastors. “Songs for Sunday” is part of that pastoral work.

Worship is not isolated to Sunday mornings. Yes, that is when we gather together to worship corporately, but our worship is not limited to an hour or so on Sunday mornings. “Songs for Sunday” is an effort to help you and yours prepare. It is an effort to help you and yours deepen that time of corporate worship — to help lift our hearts and minds to the Lord rather than going through the motions.

So, here are three reasons why I believe “Songs for Sunday” can be good for us:

  1. It matters what we sing. If you look below each song, you will find the Scriptures that are either sung verbatim or that have inspired the lyrics of the songs we sing. The apostle Paul told a young pastor named Timothy that he and his church should “devote [themselves] to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Timothy 4:13). We do that. It is one of the aspects of our worship gatherings at Christ Community I love the most. That extends to what we sing as well. Paul told Epaphras, the pastor of the church at Colossae, the important elements of worship; the first is to let “the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). Well, what we sing is a part of that.

    The songs we sing are sources of our theology. They stick in our minds better than other sources of information — the lyrics “dwell in you”. If we sing unbiblical songs, our theology is unbiblical. If we sing unbiblical songs, we have something other than the Word dwelling in us richly. Every song we sing at Christ Community is vetted Scripturally. The verses that inspired the lyrics — new song or old — are listed so that you can check it for yourself (which you should do).
  2. It really matters what we sing. The passage Paul wrote to the church at Colossae is important for Christian worship practice. Colossians 3:16 (see #1 above) tells us the importance of the Word in our worship. Colossians 3:17 applies that truth to the types of songs that we sing. Paul gives three types of songs that should be sung in our churches, which are ones he gave to the church at Ephesus, too (Ephesians 5:19): psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Here’s a simple breakdown of those three types of songs.

    Psalms are singing Scripture. Think about how important this must be if the longest book of the Bible is devoted to this category. We have 150 songs that God’s people sang. This also shows the importance of singing songs of the faith that are older, like in Psalm 137, to remember what God did and that our faith is historical with roots deeper than changing trends. It also shows the importance of continually being inspired to write and sing new songs, like in Psalm 150, to remind us that God is bigger than a musical movement in our favorite era.

    Hymns in this context are songs that sing doctrine — songs that teach us about the faith. Hymns, modern or older, are means by which we learn how to voice what we believe. Like I wrote above, the songs we sing stick with us. We want to sing songs that teach deep and beautiful biblical doctrines like salvation, atonement, redemption, justification, and many more. This puts these truths deep within us. Philippians 2:5-11 and Colossians 1:15-20 are examples of the earliest hymns of the Church. We should follow in that example.

    Spiritual songs are songs of testimony. These songs show what it is to have been saved by Jesus and follow Him. Those sung in our corporate worship gatherings share the aspects of faith that everyone who has been saved has experienced. When we hear the voices of our brothers and sisters singing this testimony along with us, it reminds us of what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives. We need to be reminded because we too easily forget.

    These three categories are not isolated but most likely blended in and through our songs. As you look through the songs below, think about how they sing the Scripture that inspired the lyrics (psalm), what they teach us about the faith (hymn), and how they testify to the work of the Lord in our lives (spiritual song).
  3. It can remove distractions and deepen our worship. If you were to be planning to go hunting, you would prepare. If you have something you need to bring to work, you lay it out. If you have something important, you carve out time and preparation specially because it’s important. Our worship is no different.

    You may have found yourself fumbling along with a new (or new-to-you) song that you don’t know yet. With “Songs for Sunday”, you can prepare ahead so that the new song is an asset to worship the Lord rather than a distraction. This can help you worry less about singing along to lyrics and focus more on Christ. Your brothers and sisters are needing to hear your voice proclaim these Scriptures and doctrines and testimonies to them.

Take some time and check it out below!

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | Psalm 30 —

1I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up and have not let my foes rejoice over me. 2O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. 3O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.

4Sing praises to the LORD, O you His saints, and give thanks to His holy name. 5For His anger is but for a moment, and His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.

6As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.” 7By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; You hid Your face; I was dismayed.

8To You, O LORD, I cry, and to the Lord I plead for mercy: 9“What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it tell of Your faithfulness? 10Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me! O LORD, be my helper!”

11You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, 12that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

  • Scripture | Colossians 2:11-15 —

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And 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, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.