Spurgeon said, ‘The most important daily habit we can possess is to remind ourselves of the Gospel.’ Why? Because we are forgetful people. Scripture is full of commands to ‘remember.’ And full of examples of those who forget – no sooner does Israel step foot out of 400 years of slavery do they long for the ‘comforts’ of their former bondage (Exodus 16). After Joshua dies, a whole generation is lost to idol worship because those older failed to pass along the works of the Lord (Judges 2). Paul reminds the church in Galatia not to submit to a yoke of slavery – because they had forgotten their true identity as children of God.

The Gospel – the good news of who Jesus is and what He has done demands a response: worship. So we want to use our liturgy to remind people of the Gospel. To rehearse the old old story – that God is the Author of CREATION, at the FALL we sinned and as a result all things were broken and distorted, but God promised REDEMPTION which is accomplished in and through the work of Christ on the cross, RESTORATION with God and one another is won for us in that completed work, and one day we will be fully GLORIFIED – perfected as we sing and celebrate the Gospel story in the very presence of God for all eternity.

There is nothing more essential, or of greater significance we can offer those we are leading and serving than to help tell the Gospel story. Over the last several months all of the people who have been putting set lists together have been using this Gospel pattern – Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration, Glorification in the structure and order of our songs. So as you practice, think and prepare for Sundays – rehearse the gospel again and again and again – because ‘…we never move on from the cross, only into a deeper understanding of it.’

Rehearsing and Remembering,