Worship & Music
Worship & Music Ministry Director: Todd Ernster (763) 271-4346
Worship and Music is the VOICE of God's city lifted up in praise, prayer and adoration, drawing together and transforming the children of God through celebration, to glorify His Name.
April/May Sunday Worship Themes 2008
“Pathways to GROW in Faith: For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free!”
The Letter to the Galatians
Our Sunday Worship series for April and May will walk us through the entire book of Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. We will grow in our knowledge of the Word of God in the texts we examine. We will grow in our knowledge of what God intends for the Christian life to look like and what it is not. Primarily expository messages will unpack the texts for the people to help us ‘GROW’ in knowledge and faith and improve our Christian walk of faith.
April 6 “Holding On for Dear Life!” Text: Galatians 1:1-10
Description: Like God is determined to hold on to His children and the Good Shepherd is tenacious to hold on to His Sheep, the Apostle Paul seeks to hold on to his churches and implores them to hold on to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us never let go of the truth of the Gospel. The Good News is ‘to die for’, it is the ‘pearl of great price’, the ‘treasure hidden in a field’ worth giving everything to get and sacrificing anything to keep.
April 13 “Standing Tall!” Text: Galatians 1:11-2:10
(Special Notes for the day = New Member Class/1000 Hours of Service Starts)
Description: The Apostle Paul ‘stands tall’ for the Lord, for his ‘calling’ to bring the Good News to the Gentiles. We too must step forward into our ‘calling’ and ‘stand tall’ to be God’s messengers of His love and will for the world. Confident and bold witness is what we are called to live out daily.
April 20 “Extreme Makeover, a Whole New Me!” Text: Galatians 2:11-3:14
(Special Notes for the day = Bloodmobile)
Description: Struggling with who you have become? Are there parts of you that you would like to be rid of? “Crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me!” Life in Christ means the promise of a whole new look that goes beyond skin deep. We are free to see a whole new me in our life in Christ Jesus. As the baptized we are identified with Jesus, free from our old sinful identity. We are free to celebrate starting with a whole new makeover each & every day.
April 27 “Law and Gospel, a Well Balanced Diet!” Text: Galatians 3:15-29
(Special Notes for the day = New Members Received/Belize Mission Offering)
Description: As our physical bodies need a well balanced diet to be healthy, our spiritual diet must also be well balanced for us to be healthy. We need God’s law and Gospel, we need God’s truth and grace, we need God’s justice and mercy. Gospel without the truth of righteousness is ‘cheap grace’ and life without boundaries that leads to death. Law without the grace of the Gospel is guilt and death.
May 4 “Something Special: The Blessings of Intimacy with God!” Text: Galatians 4:1-20
Description: In verse 6 we hear “because we are God’s children, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father”.” We are so intimately connected with God in Christ Jesus by His Spirit that we can take joy in knowing the love of God is so sure for us that we can assume a ‘familiarity’ with God that is characterized by loving names like ‘papa’, ‘daddy’, and ‘pop’. In Christ, by His Spirit, we are really tight with a loving God!
May 11 “For Freedom Christ Has Set Us Free!” Text: Galatians 4:21-5:1
(Special Notes for the day = Pentecost and Mother’s Day)
Description: What part will we play in the drama of life? Paul calls upon the Galatians to ‘stay in character’, to play the role of Isaac as children of the promise. Freedom from the burdens of law, sin, and death come to us through Christ Jesus. To submit to any kind of slavery means abandoning the role God wants us to play. We honor God when we celebrate our freedoms by living faithfully in them.
May 18 “Just Say, NO! Just Say, YES!” Text: Galatians 5:1-26
(Special Notes for the day = 12:30 PM Blessings of Bikers and HS Senior’s Graduation Celebration)
Description: In Christ we are free to say ‘no’ to the works of the flesh and ‘yes’ to the fruits of the Spirit. Living by the Spirit means saying ‘no’ to sexual sin, idolatry, enmity, envy, and drunkenness and saying ‘yes’ to love, kindness, generosity, and self-control. Let us live by the Spirit, guided by the Spirit!
May 25 “Opportunity Knocking: Free to Live and Care for Others!” Text: Galatians 6:1-18
Description: Our lives are not merely our own, free to live as we please for ourselves. As Christians we are freed in Christ to the responsibility of looking for the opportunities God is presenting to us each day to live for God and others. Gently correcting others when they stray, walking with others through their burdens, carrying our share of the loads life brings. Let us labor for the glory of God, the blessing of others, and joy of new creation living.
