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My hope and prayer for this blog each week is that God would use it to stir your affections for Him and for His Word, and to help you prepare for and eagerly anticipate what God will do through our time gathered together on Sunday. Here’s the first Preparing for Sunday post with a more in-depth explanation of why we do this.

PREPARING FOR SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4

This week we’re introducing a new song, “But God.” This song is taken right out of Ephesians 2:4-7:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

I want to encourage everyone to take some time and get familiar with this song this week. It’s full of rich, gospel truth. May this song and the truth that God, by his grace in and through Jesus, has saved us “even when we were dead in our trespasses” encourage our hearts this week.

I look forward to singing this song together with you all this Sunday!

SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER

Come to Me | [listen + lyrics]
by: Lizzie Akers, Jeff Capps, Michael Bleecker, Hunter Pecunia

Great Things | [listen]
by: Mack Brock, Chris Brown, Wade Joye

But God | [listen]
by: Michael Bleecker, Hunter Hall, Lauren Chandler

In Your Presence | [listen]
by: Mack Brock, Chris Brown, Steven Furtick, London Gatch, Jane Williams

SERMON TEXT

Matthew 5
READ

My hope and prayer for this blog each week is that God would use it to stir your affections for Him and for His Word, and to help you prepare for and eagerly anticipate what God will do through our time gathered together on Sunday. Here’s the first Preparing for Sunday post with a more in-depth explanation of why we do this.

PREPARING FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 28

SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER

Good Good Father | [listen]
by: Anthony Brown, Pat Barrett

Come Thou Fount | [listen + lyrics]
by: Robert Robinson (1758)

Unending Love |  [listen + lyrics]
by: Jill McCloghry, Sam Knock

Jesus Is Better |  [listen]
by: Aaron Ivey, Brett Land

Doxology | [listen | lyrics]
by: Thomas Ken (1674), David Crowder

SERMON TEXT

Acts 14:27
READ

My hope and prayer for this blog each week is that God would use it to stir your affections for Him and for His Word, and to help you prepare for and eagerly anticipate what God will do through our time gathered together on Sunday. Here’s the first Preparing for Sunday post with a more in-depth explanation of why we do this.

PREPARING FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 21

SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER

Keeper Of My Heart | [listen + lyrics]
by: Chris Tomlin, Jason Ingram, Kari Jobe.

How Deep The Father’s Love For Us  | [listen + lyrics]
by: Stuart Townend

Your Promises |  [listen + lyrics]
by: Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye.

Be Lifted High |  [listen]
by: Mack Brock, Chris Brown, Jess Cates, Wade Joye, Jane Williams.

SERMON TEXT

Philippians 4:6-7
READ

My hope and prayer for this blog each week is that God would use it to stir your affections for Him and for His Word, and to help you prepare for and eagerly anticipate what God will do through our time gathered together on Sunday. Here’s the first Preparing for Sunday post with a more in-depth explanation of why we do this.

PREPARING FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 14

SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER

Only King Forever | [listen + lyrics]
by: Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye.

Alive In Us | [listen + lyrics]
by: Reuben Morgan

Rock Of Ages | [listen + lyrics]
hymn by: Augustus M. Toplady (1776); music by: Thomas Hastings; arrangement by: Page CXVI, David Wilton.

O Praise The Name |  [listen + lyrics]
by: Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher, Marty Sampson.

Cornerstone |  [listen + lyrics]
by:Eric Liljero, Reuben Morgan, Edward Mote, Jonas Myrin.

SERMON TEXT

Philippians 3:10-16
READ

As Christians, we aren’t just individuals but a family (Ephesians 2:19-22), a people (1 Peter 2:9), and a body saved by Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:27), united to one another by our faith in Jesus Christ. That means that we are the church, God’s people, who worship Jesus together because He died for our sins and made us His.

The Bible describes several things that Christians are to do when they come together. We pray together (Acts 2:42), we sing together (Ephesians 5:19), we hear God’s Word preached together (2 Timothy 3:16), we take the Lord’s Supper together (1 Corinthians 11:26), and we celebrate baptisms together (Matthew 28:19).

“Preparing for Sunday” will focus on two of these aspects specifically — singing together and sitting under the preached Word together.

The aim of this blog is two-fold:

• To help us prepare for the time we gather together each Sunday.
• To encourage our worship of God throughout the week.

Each week we will send out the songs we will be singing together for the upcoming Sunday. It will include the song title/arrangement and links to the song and lyrics whenever possible. This will help us become more familiar with the songs we will sing together each week. And it will help us to learn any new songs or arrangements we will introduce. The point of our worship through song is to sing praises to God, to sing and encourage one another in the gospel, and to proclaim to a dying world that Jesus is the only hope.

Along with posting the songs, we will include the Scripture or topic for each week. The desire here is to encourage reading God’s Word and to spend time studying and meditating on the Scripture/topic prior to the sermon each week.

Here are several easy ways you could incorporate this prep into your weekly routines:

Listening to the songs:

• On your commute to and from work.
• To and from church each week.
• During work (if you are allowed and able).
• While folding laundry.
• During your family worship time.
• Cooking dinner.
• Cleaning up around the house.

Reading the text for each week:

• On your commute to and from work (if you don’t have to drive!).
• During work breaks/lunch breaks.
• During your family worship time.
• When you spend time in the Word each day.

My hope and prayer for this blog each week is that God would use it to stir your affections for Him and for His Word, and to help you prepare for and eagerly anticipate what God will do through our time gathered together on Sunday.

PREPARING FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 7

SONGS WE’LL BE SINGING TOGETHER

Your Promises
by Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye
WATCH AND LISTEN | LYRICS

Only King Forever
by Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Steven Furtick, Wade Joye
WATCH AND LISTEN | LYRICS

Come To Me
by Lizzie Akers (1902); additional lyrics: Jeff Capps, Michael Bleecker, Hunter Pecunia
WATCH AND LISTEN

O Praise The Name
by Benjamin Hastings, Dean Ussher, Marty Sampson
WATCH AND LISTEN (WITH LYRICS)

SERMON TEXT

2 Peter 3
READ