See Part 1 and Part 2 in our series of quotes from Total Church:

“So being gospel-centered means being word-centered and being mission-centered. The church exists both through the gospel, and for the gospel….The problem is the gap between our rhetoric and the reality of our practice. The continual challenge for us is to apply this principle to church life and ministry without compromise.

…We sometimes ask people to imagine they are part of a church-planting team in a cross-cultural situation in some other part of the world:

• What criteria would you use to decide where you live?
• How would you approach secular employment?
• What standard of living would you expect as pioneer missionaries?
• What would you spend your time doing?
• What opportunities would you be looking for?
• What would your prayers be like?
• What would you be trying to do with your friends?
• What kind of team would you want around you?
• How would you conduct your meetings together?”

We find it easier to be radical in our thinking when we transplant ourselves outside our current situation. But we are as much missionaries here and now as we would be if we were part of a cross-cultural team in another part of the world. Mission is central to us wherever we are. These are the kinds of questions we should be asking wherever we are.”

See part 1 in the series of quotes from Total Church:

“Missions begins in our own hearts as the gospel word of Christ crucified is effectively applied by the Spirit. And it does not stop until the far corners of the world. It is a constant continuum because mission is what we might call the steady state of God’s people. The early church understood mission very well. Vinoth Ramachandra, the IFES Secretary for Dialogue and Social Engagement in Asia, says, “Missionary outreach, both to Jews and to pagans, was not an activity tagged on later to a faith that was basically ‘about’ something else; rather it flowed from the very logic of the death and resurrection of Jesus”.

(page 101)

In an ideal world, I’d like to give a preview of our worship on Friday or Saturday each week, but this week I’m posting after the fact as a testimony for what God did.  I’m also including this in Fred McKinnon’s Sunday Setlist carnival, where you can see what many different kinds of churches around the world are singing.

1. Here I Am to Worship by Tim Hughes was the opener for our musical worship.  The gathered church had already been vocally involved though as we preceded the song with a congregational reading of the 111th Psalm.  I always love to hear the church proclaim the truths of Scripture together, and as only our second Sunday in a new acoustic setting at Lincoln Street Elementary giving people a chance to hear themselves and each other prior to singing a word seemed to be a helpful exercise.

2. Thy Mercy, My God, which is an old Isaac Watts & John Stocker text with recently updated music by Sandra McCracken, followed another Scripture reading out of Matthew 23. I mentioned how the worship God hates is externally-based and seeks to exalt self while true worship is heart-based and points to God’s mercy & grace in Christ.

Without Thy sweet mercy, I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair
But through Thy free goodness, my spirit’s revived
And He that first made me still keeps me alive

3. The Precious Blood by Peter Gagnon (based on a Puritan prayer from The Valley of Vision) was sung after Mike Hanafee preached out of Ecclesiastes, From Religion to Resting in Jesus.  This song also served as our Worship of Giving, and everyone got involved by midway through the song.  This one isn’t overly familiar to all, but I know it has had a special ministry to many in our church.

A crown of thorns
Pierced hands and feet
A body bruised
And Mercy’s plea

4. In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty is a familiar song and one which our church sings well.  I also notice people are freshly affected by the message of the song each time we sing it, which to me is a good sign of the song’s enduring nature.  I’m not one to pronounce a song an “instant classic,” but I do think this might be one from our generation.  I was planning to mix it up a little bit with the timing/feel of the song, but our rehearsal was compressed so we just slowed the tempo a bit and used the chorus to “The Solid Rock” between the 3rd and 4th stanzas and again as a tag at the end.  This seemed to be very effective and was used by the Spirit to direct some closing remarks that Mike made at the end.

5. All I Have Is Christ by Jordan Kauflin has proven to be a difficult one for me to sing with dry eyes.  This is a powerful song of God’s redemptive working in lives, and one which I love to include in worship.  I can still hear the final chorus ringing unaccompanied in our “cafetorium”, and pray that its truths are resounding in lives for years to come:

Hallelujah!
All I have is Christ
Hallelujah!
Jesus is my life

I was greatly encouraged by what God did in my heart this week, and by what He appeared to be doing in others.  It is such an undeserved privilege to be able to lead the body of Christ (who He died for!) each week in gathered worship.  May God continue to give us the grace to worship Him in spirit & truth!

Have a great week resting in Christ,
-Josh