Thank you for joining us for our corporate worship gathering this Sunday! Corporate worship is designed to lift our eyes and hearts off things of this earth and focus them on the things that are above. Its a reorientation of our values; a re-centering of our lives on the one who gives life. Colossians 3:1-3 says:

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

What a wonderful reminder this is for us as we gather on this Lord’s day. As we sing, pray, and open God’s Word, let’s seek and ask God for the knowledge and wisdom that comes from Christ alone.

Today, we take a short break from our “Practical Christianity” sermon series and turn to Psalm 130. Martin Luther once called this text a “Pauline Psalm”. Of course, the Apostle Paul did not write this Psalm. Nonetheless, it is one of the best expositions of the way of salvation by grace on the basis of Christ’s atonement that can be found in the Old Testament. As we go through this text, I hope we are enraptured by the glory of God and the love of the Father through the redemption accomplished by the Son.

Our Community Carnival is quickly approaching! I certainly hope and pray that September 18th is blocked off on your calendars because we need every hand on deck! In the foyer, there is a board where you can sign-up to work the carnival games in hourly shifts; and so we certainly ask you to fill up those slots as soon as possible. Before you leave today, be sure to sign up. But even outside of that, we need you present that day. We want to love our community well on that day;  we want to bless our community well on that day; and so we need to be fully engaged and present with and in our community on that day.

As Pastor Mike wrote last week, please pray for this opportunity. The community carnival will inevitably lead to other opportunities by which we can bless and be visible in our community. Indeed, it is a lot of work but Jesus is worth it!

Also, pray for all of our Wednesday night ministry leaders! Within the student ministry, we are doing on a series on “Gospel Foundations”. Students will see that the gospel is the central message of the Bible and the primary word of Christianity. In very basic terms, it involves human sin, divine grace, and the work of Jesus. During this semester, students will be looking at these essential building blocks of the gospel, but perhaps just as important, work on their ability to articulate the gospel to their friends and family.

If you are visiting us today, you’ve come to the right place. This is an amazing church family and I’d love to meet you after (or before!) the service!