Dear Friends,
I know this is e-newsletter is arriving a day early this week. But that’s because tomorrow night is our Burger Bash. So I’ll be busy grilling your burgers instead of writing this email (oh, and maybe watching a basketball game later tomorrow night)!
Along with the inflatables for the kids and the gourmet burgers, we're setting up an outdoor pickleball court in the parking lot. Be sure to bring your racquet!
Speaking of the Burger Bash – plan to bring a few lawn chairs with you. And $10 to help defray the cost of the burgers for your family (have you seen the price of ground beef lately!).
Hope to see you tomorrow night!
I also want to pass along to you something I read this week that I found helpful. It’s written by Rich Penix. He’s a pastor in suburban Minneapolis. He wrote a series of articles (https://us.list-manage.com/GbbUqGLvsmA?e=fbb0a4052b&c2id=0759b7131ae0096a8daaedb620a7ee89) about corporate worship that were posted on the Nine Marks Website.
The last article (https://us.list-manage.com/19BdfIpsLTh?e=fbb0a4052b&c2id=0759b7131ae0096a8daaedb620a7ee89) in his series provided fifteen questions that are worth pondering as you think about your participation in corporate worship.
His questions fall into three broad categories: preparing for worship, participating in worship, and reflecting on worship.
Here’s his list of questions along with his thoughts about each one. Each of these questions is worth pondering as you think about your part in our corporate worship service each week.
Preparation for Worship
- Prior to Sunday morning, do I orient my heart and my schedule so that I am as prepared as possible—mentally, spiritually, emotionally—to worship with God’s people? True worship requires intentional recalibration. Preparation is not accidental; it is deliberate, reflecting love for God and his people.
- Do my Saturday evening activities compromise my ability to worship well on the Lord’s Day? Careless Saturday nights can lead to careless Sunday mornings. When it’s within our power, we should try to be rested and fully engaged on Sunday morning.
- Before Sunday, do I make an effort to read the sermon text, familiarize myself with the songs, and plan my giving so that my heart is prepared to worship? Being well acquainted with the sermon text, songs, and other elements of worship can help truths encountered in the service go deeper into our hearts and minds than they would otherwise.
- Do I pray for an undistracted mind and a focused heart in anticipation of corporate worship? Because we live in an age of distraction, intentional prayer is needed for our minds and hearts to stay focused on the Lord.
These questions expose an important reality: worship is not something we merely attend but something we must prepare for.
Participation in Worship
- As worship begins, do I listen attentively to the call to worship, recognizing the privilege of being summoned by God himself? Worship begins with God’s initiative, not ours. He calls us to listen to his voice and to respond in faith and obedience. Are we freshly amazed at such authority and mercy?
- Do I actively fight distraction by resisting intrusive thoughts about responsibilities, worries, and upcoming tasks? Attention to God and his Word is an act of love. May we give him the reverence and awe he deserves.
- Do I resist cultivating a critical spirit about things I find distracting, distasteful, or personally undesirable? A critical, judgmental spirit is a worship killer. We must labor to make sure small (non-essential) matters remain as small matters.
- During corporate prayers, do I track with the flow of thought, adding my “Amen” as I pray along with the person who is leading? Corporate prayer is not intended to be a performance by a single church leader. Rather, it is an invitation to every member to pray along with the church as a whole as together we enter into the joys, burdens, and petitions that are voiced.
- During congregational singing, do I offer a joyful noise to the Lord—even when I feel timid or self-conscious? Corporate prayer is not intended to be a performance by a single church leader. Rather, it is an invitation to every member to pray along with the church as a whole as together we enter into the joys, burdens, and petitions that are voiced.
- While singing, do I allow the beauty of the music to enhance truth without allowing it to overshadow the truth? Singing is not an optional extra; it is an act of obedience that provides mutual encouragement and instruction to your brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Do I resist judging those on the platform as “performing,” choosing instead to assume the best about their motives? Charity protects unity in worship.
- During the sermon, do I listen carefully, asking the Spirit to help me obey while still thinking humbly and critically through the passage being preached? Preaching is not a one-dimensional exercise by a man who enjoys the sound of his own voice. Nor is application automatic; it must be purposefully pursued in humility before the Lord.
- During the Lord’s Supper, am I thinking only of my own experience, or am I also remembering that Christ died to create a people—the brothers and sisters beside me—who will one day share together in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb? Personal introspection at the Supper is necessary and important, but we must not forget that communion is a communal meal. Treasure the corporate nature of Christ’s command to proclaim the Lord’s death as a worshiping community.
These questions remind us that worship is active, not passive. As a kingdom of priests serving Christ Jesus amid his new covenant temple, God forms us as we participate in such priestly service—with mind, voice, body, and heart. Corporate worship is not, and must not become, a spectator event. Scripture calls believers to “offer a sacrifice of praise” (Heb. 13:15), “sing to the Lord” (Ps. 98:1), “attend to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Tim. 4:13), and “receive with meekness the implanted word” (Jas. 1:21).
Reflecting On Worship
- As the worship service concludes, do I receive the benediction as God sending me into the world to live out the truths I’ve received? Corporate worship is not complete when the final “Amen” is spoken. The benediction is a commissioning, not merely a closing remark. Scripture’s benedictions are not dismissals but sendings: God blesses his people and sends them out into the world to live as witnesses to the power of the gospel.
- As I depart, do I intentionally build up the body through purposeful fellowship, prayer, or words of encouragement? Avoid a speedy exit from corporate worship. Lingering with God’s people after a service can be a disciplined mark of sacrificial love for them.
LOVE LIKE YOU MEAN IT MARRIAGE CLASSOur Love Like You Mean It Marriage Class began last Sunday. But it’s not too late for you to join the others who are meeting on Sunday mornings for a marriage tune up.
(https://us.list-manage.com/GWvfWCRohN6?e=fbb0a4052b&c2id=0759b7131ae0096a8daaedb620a7ee89)This class will take you through the book and video series Love Like You Mean It, looking at the Bible’s definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13 and seeing how it applies to your marriage.
To learn more about the class or to sign up, click here (https://us.list-manage.com/17Pe2ZyXN4Y?e=fbb0a4052b&c2id=0759b7131ae0096a8daaedb620a7ee89).
MEN'S SUMMER FORGE GROUPS
Men – our summer Forge Groups are taking shape..
We have seven guys leading groups. Along with hanging out, each group will have a particular focus for the times together. Here are the group leaders for our Summer Forge Groups along with their focus.
Alex Brown – Courage
Chad Donley – Faith over fear
Mason Harper – Christ centered work
Mike Cantrell – Thoughts for young men (JC Ryle)
Kevin Wang – Finding the right hills to die on
Kip Weaver – Developing a servant’s heart
Matt Gurney – Humility Project for Men
Does one of those look interesting to you? Click this link (https://us.list-manage.com/6lQsPBwRn_o?e=fbb0a4052b&c2id=0759b7131ae0096a8daaedb620a7ee89) to find out more and to sign up. Once you’re signed up, your group leader will contact you to schedule meeting times that work for everyone in the group.
STREET REACH IN MEMPHISOur Roots Students are headed to Memphis again this summer for our Street Reach outreach to kids in the Brady Heights neighborhood. Students and parents can find out more about the trip and register to take part in this special week. Just click here (https://us.list-manage.com/12ChYQxFBz9?e=fbb0a4052b&c2id=0759b7131ae0096a8daaedb620a7ee89).READY FOR SUNDAY
Here is the preview (https://us.list-manage.com/DXdNk0qqvfs?e=fbb0a4052b&c2id=0759b7131ae0096a8daaedb620a7ee89) of the songs we’ll be singing together this weekend.
While the book of Judges gives us portraits of the men (and the woman) God raised up to protect His people in the years after they entered the promised land, it’s clear the true Deliverer was not the judges themselves, but the God who raised them up. We’ll see how God’s hand guided Deborah and Barak as we study Judges 4 and 5 this Sunday.
See you in church!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Bob
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