This post is part of our “THIS WE BELIEVE” series in conjunction with the “From the Desk” video blog.  You can see the latest entry at the end of this post.
 
Article 3: The Human Condition We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
 
As we talked about in the first Article, the Gospel story begins with our creator-God as the origin of all things.  Out of nothing he spoke all things into being, and as that originator he defines what is Good, what is Righteous, and what is not.
 
Sin means to miss the mark.  God set the target, the goal, and when we miss it we Sin.  Paul clearly showed us that all have sinned and fallen short of God’s defined righteousness (Romans 3:23).  None of us have avoided this action, and none of us can avoid the consequence of that sin.  FEFC’s statement of faith reminds us we are all sinners both by nature and by choice; we are none blameless, not one, and rightly have earned the consequence of that Sin.  Separation from God and ultimately an eternity under the just wrath of the righteous God.
 
Thank God that as great as the reality of our sin and the enormity of the consequence, His mercy is More.  Through Jesus’ saving work on the cross, our earned punishment was transferred to one who did not deserve it.  Through His suffering, we are reconciled to a God we had been immeasurably distanced from and called a Child of God.  Through His resurrection we can be confident that we, too have put to death our old rebellious self and are renewed into Christ’s likeness.
 
Perhaps that is why I love the song “His Mercy is More” from Matt Boswell and Matt Papa.  Introduced earlier this year, it reminds us of who God is and the enormity of our sin while simultaneously declaring to one another that  “Our sins they are many / His mercy is more.”  We cannot talk about the good new of the Gospel without recognizing our sin, but we should also remind ourselves continually that God’s mercy and grace completely surpass our own failing.  PRAISE GOD!

For His Glory,
-Pastor Zach​

​This post is part of our “THIS WE BELIEVE” series in conjunction with the “From the Desk” video blog.  You can see the latest entry at the end of this post.
 
Article 2:  We believe that God has spoken through the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors.  As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.  Therefore it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
 
In some ways, one could argue that every song that we sing as a church should at the very least correlate with this article of our Statement of Faith.  Every lyric, every emotion that is communicated within a song is subject to the authority of God’s written word.
 
Of all the songs we have done in the past few years, the one that instantly leaps out as reflecting this authority of God’s word over our worship and, honestly, our entire lives is “Speak O Lord” from Keith and Kristyn Getty.  Each verse opens with that prayer that as we approach God’s word, both in our own private devotions and corporately on Sundays, we would be affected by the truth and power of the word.  This song is one of those that while somewhat “me” focused, it is centered on the earnest desire to be sanctified…to be changed by the Word of God. 
 
Cause our faith to rise Cause our eyes to see / Your majestic love and authority / Words of power that can never fail / let the truth prevail over unbelief
 
Many of the songs we sing tend to be either Vertical (directed toward God in both focus and text) or Horizontal (directed to each other as we remind and encourage).  This song fits squarely in the middle, and what is more… it should be our own intense prayer for our walk.
 
My prayer for you, brothers and sisters, is that this week you don’t merely go through the motions of your faithful devotions but that you are still, aware of how God is calling you to be more like His Son through the power of His Word.
 
For His Glory,
-Pastor Zach

This post is part of our “THIS WE BELIEVE” series in conjunction with the “From the Desk” video blog.  This week's video is embedded after the article.
 
Article 1: GOD
    We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
 
When we talk about Worship songs, we have to begin with understanding that WORSHIP is the act of ascribing worth and giving honor to God.  It is an intentional process that is reflected in our whole lives, not just in the songs we sing (see Romans 12:1-2) and is our primary purpose, or as the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts it:
 
“The chief end of man is to Glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.”
 
When we look at the songs we sing that reflect this first article from the FEFC statement of faith, we look at how we rightly describe His nature.  The songs that we sing should serve as reminders as we gather of the nature and character of God now and throughout time.  One such song that is like that here at First Free is “He is our God” from Sovereign Grace Music.
 
In Verse One, we see how God is the creator-God of the universe
In Verse Two, we remind each other that He is sovereign over all earthly powers
In Verse Three, we declare to one another that He is the author of our salvation, in spite of our sin.
In the Chorus, we acknowledge that God is Holy, Worthy, unlike all others, and the only true object of our worship.
In the Bridge, we sing that He is still on His throne, He is eternal, and that He is the source of our salvation.
 
No one song will succinctly summarize all of what we believe regarding any of these articles.  That being said, the point of this series is to show how the songs we sing reflect what we believe.  Next week, we’ll talk about our second article of the faith regarding the Word of God.  On Tuesday you can watch the video on our YouTube page (with a link on Facebook) and on Thursday we will be back with another song that reflects THIS WE BELIEVE.
 
For His Glory,
-Pastor Zach