March 24: Tuesday Refocus

‘To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in You I trust;

let me not be put to shame;

let not my enemies exult over me.

indeed, none who wait for You shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.'

In my waiting, I still behold the beauty and radiance of God. All those who look to Him are radiant (Ps 34:5)

'Make me to know Your ways, O LORD;

teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me,

for You are the God of my salvation;

for You I wait all the day long.'

When my face is set upon Him, I walk in His ways, follow His leading, and wait on Him.

'Remember Your mercy, O LORD, and Your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to Your steadfast love remember me,

for the sake of Your goodness, O LORD!'

PSALM 25:1-7

For His namesake, the same One who numbers my hairs and catches my tears chooses to remember not my sin.

Thank You, Father, that You are sovereign and You are good. Help us lift our eyes to You, set our trust in Your character and follow Your paths by the power of the Spirit, in Christ’s name, amen.

Looking to Him,

AB

March 10: Tuesday Refocus

‘Give us courage and largeness of heart that we may follow unafraid.’ – E. Stanley Jones

When I am afraid, it is often because I forget that I am following a Good Shepherd.  He leads me, He is with me, and His goodness and mercy follow me (Ps 23:2,4,6).  I do not have to clear my own path He leads me by the hand (Ps 139:10). 

I can follow His lead to the ends of the earth for He is with me to the end of the age (Matt 28:19-20).

Lord, will You overwhelm our hearts with the reality of Your kind shepherding.  Remind our hearts that You are near.  In Your name, amen.   

To remember,

AB

July 30: Tuesday Refocus

‘Let us desire nothing else,

let us want nothing else,

let nothing else please us and cause us delight except our Creator, Redeemer, and Savior,

the only true God,

Who is the fullness of good,

All good, every good, the true and supreme good,

Who alone is good,

Merciful, gentle, delightful, and sweet,

Who alone is holy,

Just, true, holy, and upright,

Who alone is kind, innocent, clean,

From whom, through whom, and in whom

Is all pardon, all grace, all glory

Of all penitents and just ones,

Of all the blessed rejoicing together in heaven.’ – St Francis of Assisi

There is no end to things we desire.  Some desires are God-given.  All desire has been warped by sin:

‘What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.  You do not have because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spent it on your passions.’ - James 4:1-3

In our sin-distorted desire we love to use Psalm 37:4 as a means to our selfish end: ‘Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.’

But it has never been money, sex or power that we truly desire – but God Himself.  The One who is good and does good (Ps 119:68).  The One who opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing (Ps 145:16).  He is our greatest desire, and this desire is never left unfulfilled because He gives us Himself (1 Tim 2:6).

Lord Jesus, let us desire nothing else, want nothing else, let nothing else please us, and cause us delight except You.  In your name, amen.

Desiring Him,

AB

June 18: Tuesday Refocus

‘Hiddenness turns dutiful workers into lovers of God.’ – Sara Hagerty

Sometimes the line can feel thin and blurry.

The line between working as unto the Lord (Col 3:23) and working to earn, prove and justify our existence.

But when we hide ourselves in His shadow, our frantic labor turns to the work of worship: ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God in whom I trust’ (Ps 91:1-2).  When we hide ourselves in His shadow, we see that we have nothing to offer that He did not first provide (1 Cor 4:7).  When we hide in His shadow we see it has always been grace, never works which saved us (Eph 2:8-9).

So we cease from striving (Ps 46:10, NASB) and choose the good portion (Lk 10:42).  We rest in the reality of His completed work (Jn 18:30).

Lord Jesus, help us choose the good portion today.  We want to be with You, not merely working for You.  We want to know You as fully as You know us.  Remind us that You have completed the work of salvation.  We have nothing to earn, and nothing to prove.  Help us rest in who You are, and what You have accomplished.  We love You, in Your name, amen.

In hiddenness,

AB

24 October: Tuesday Refocus

‘Grace is sufficient even though we huff and puff with all our might to try and find something or someone that it cannot cover.’  – Brennan Manning

‘For from His fullness we all received, grace upon grace (Jn 1:16).’  Our God lacks nothing.  He does not grow weary, He does not slumber, He does not sleep, He does not need to be replenished or refreshed (Is 40:28, Ps 50, Hag 2:8).  He is without beginning or end, and every aspect of His character flows perfectly, fully, overwhelmingly without end from eternity past into eternity (Rev 22:13).  And it is out of this fullness that we have received grace upon grace.

If grace is sufficient to save you, grace is more than sufficient to keep you, and sustain you (2 Cor 12:9).  Serve from this past, present and future grace that carries you along.  Do not serve from your fullness that changes moment-to-moment, serve from His fullness that never ends.

From grace,

AB

GLORIFICATION: Gospel Song Liturgy

The final movement of the Gospel Story Liturgy is Glorification.

Glorification is the ultimate consummation of Christ and the Church being united together for all eternity (Rev 19:6-9).

Glorification will be the place where we see face-to-face, that which is perfectly seen in the face of Christ.  It will be the place where we see free from the veil of sin.  It will be the place where we know fully those things we have only known in part.  It will be the place where we perfectly reflect God’s glory back to God, to one another and out into the world (1 Cor 13:12, 2 Cor 4:6, 2 Cor 3:18).

In the glorious presence of God, in glorified bodies, before a glorified Saviour we will live fully, perfectly, completely to the glory of God alone (Ps 145:5, Phil 3:20-21, Ps 86:12).

So as we lead ourselves, pray that God would open our eyes to His glory.  Then we serve our people praying that the Holy Spirit would open their eyes the glory of God.  And from God’s revelation of Himself, we respond by holding up the mirrors of our lives to reflect God’s glory back to Him, and to the world. 

Now in part.  Then in full.  Always for His glory, forever.

AB

RESTORATION: Gospel Song Liturgy

The fourth movement of the Gospel Story Liturgy is Restoration.

The redemptive work of Christ has restored and secured right relationship between God and man.   When we are united with Christ, we are clothed in His righteousness and it is His perfect sacrifice that allows us to come boldly before the throne of grace crying, ‘Abba!’ [1 Tim 2:5, Col 2:11-12, 2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:16, Rom 8:15]

Christ has also restored and reconciled us one to another in the family of God.  He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility and made a people – a family – from strangers, foreigners, enemies, representing languages, cultures, ages, understandings, backgrounds of men and women, boys and girls. [Eph 2:14-18, 1 Pet 2:9-10]

And he will one day restore all creation – which even now groans under the weight of sin and death and decay. [Rom 8:19, Rev 21]

So we sing with joy knowing that we have been restored. 

And we sing with hope, longing and expectation when together face to face with the Father, side by side with our brothers and sisters, and in the new heavens and new earth we will fully realize our restoration for all eternity.

Remembering Restoration,

AB

REDEMPTION: Gospel Song Liturgy

If our Sunday services only acknowledged the reality of our broken Genesis 3 lives (The Fall), and did not continue on to speak the whole story, we would be without hope.  But it is exactly there – in Genesis 3 – where God promises Redemption.

Redemption that has been accomplished by perfect life and perfect sacrifice of God’s perfect Son, Jesus Christ.  ‘It is finished (Jn 19:30),’ is the victory cry of our redemption.  ‘It is finished,’ is the deathblow to the consequences of our sin, which is death (Rom 6:23).

So we want our songs, order, and services to allow people to look at their own sin – which is their death – and look at the death of Christ – which is their life.

‘And He will swallow up death forever; and the lord God will wipe away tears from all faces. And the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.’ Isaiah 25:8

Remembering Redemption,

AB

FALL: Gospel Song Liturgy

The second movement of the Gospel story liturgy is ‘The Fall.’

Sin has distorted, warped and broken everything and everyone.  As we gather God’s people, some enter acutely aware of this reality – addiction, illness, suffering, death, fractured relationships, fears, the list is endless.  Those people need to be reminded that they are not alone in their sin – here we are as a family of the wounded walking looking to our Suffering Servant King (Isaiah 53).

As we gather, some enter believing like the Pharisee’s that outward law keeping, rule following, a polished perfect life shakes free the stain of sin and makes us right with God. As we gather, some enter with an awareness of sin lying dormant, waiting to be awoken by the Holy Spirit. 

It is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance, and repentance only comes with the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (Rom 2:4).  So we do not run from the reality of sin and brokenness in our world and in our lives as we gather.  In fact, as we trust the kindness of God to reveal the beauty and perfection of Christ, we will come face to face with the depth of depravity that is the human heart… thankfully this is not where the story ends.

Set List - June 4

Welcome/Call to Worship: Isaiah 6:1-5

Corporate Confession: 

Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. 
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. [Worship Sourcebook]

• I LOVE YOU LORD
• ALWAYS
• YOUR GRACE [new song]
• I STAND AMAZED (HOW MARVELOUS) [chorus tag]

SERMON

COMMUNION

• HERE IS LOVE

Romans 8:35-39

• RAISE UP THE CROWN (ALL HAIL THE POWER)