Several years ago, I took a group from my church to a church in a northern Chicago suburb to be a part of the live recording of the new album from Vertical Church Band (now Vertical Worship).  It was a memorable experience, as there was something particularly exciting about being some of the first people to learn, sing, and even be recorded on a new album!  We had all been listening to the demo tracks for weeks in anticipation of the event, and there was a particular joy to raising our voices in worship using these songs – many of which would become a regular part of our church’s worship.

One of those songs is “This We Know.”  Songwriter Jason Ingram joined the band to lead us in this powerful song that reminds us that Jesus is trustworthy throughout whatever we go through in this life.  He is unchanging, He is our one hope, He is our one way, He keeps his promises, and He is working in ways we don’t always understand.  Often I’ll highlight songs on this blog that are richly saturated with deep theology expressed in sometimes complex lyrics.  One of the values of songs that aren’t so dense is the simple reminder that comes throughout our weeks as we remember what we’ve sung to one another as we’ve gathered.  There are times we need to simply say, over and over again that:

“We trust You, in all things we trust You, forever we trust You, for Your ways are Higher than our own.”
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One of the consistent messages in many of the songs from that album were that when we put our trust in God, it is trust well placed.  I’m including a link to the playlist below as well as a link to “This We Know.”  Give the album a listen this week and be encouraged!
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For His Glory,
-Pastor Zach 

Full Album Playlist:
​https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nFNdBw3lAXqVm4pD2YYlyMfHTffvshk6M

This post is part of our “THIS WE BELIEVE” series in conjunction with the “From the Desk” video bog.  You can see the latest entry at the end of the post.
 
Article 6: We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ.  He convicts the world of its guilt.  He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God.  He also indwells, illuminates, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
 
As we talked about on the “From the Desk” video blog earlier this week, the Holy Spirit is often under-emphasized in most churches today.  Not necessarily because of intentional oversight, but in part because one of the primary roles of the Spirit is to Glorify Jesus Christ.  As we look at how the songs we sing reflect the Statement of Faith, in this article in some ways when we are singing  about the person and work of Jesus, we are in fact doing so in line with the working of the Spirit.

Additionally, when we sing songs about our conviction of Sin, our desire to be rejuvenated, our plea to have the truths of Scripture revealed to us…all these things are part of the work of the Holy Spirit, as it is God the Holy Spirit that convicts us of sin and empowers us to understand the words of scripture and to live according to the truths therein!
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Two songs have come to mind as I’ve been thinking about how we reflect the work of the spirit this week.  The first is “This I Believe” from Hillsong, where as we declare as a creed that we the church believe each of the powerful statements found in the song it all points to the climactic phrase at the end of the chorus “For I believe in the Name of Jesus.”  The second song that came to mind was “Restore My Soul” from Vertical Worship.  Its simple lines are a prayer to God the Holy Spirit to convict us of our sins and to be restored and rejuvenated.  Give both of these a listen this week and comment below!

For His Glory,
-Pastor Zach

​This post is part of our “THIS WE BELIEVE” series in conjunction with the “From the Desk” video bog.  You can see the latest entry at the end of the post.
 
Article 5: The Work of Christ We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
 
To some degree, each of the articles of our statement of faith are cornerstones in the foundation of our faith.  Not one could be removed without weakening the whole.  That being said, when we get to the work of Christ, there is a particular power here.  Without the power of the Cross, we would be eternally struggling to pay a debt that we would never be able to pay.  Literally.
 
The wages of our sin is death, but moreover those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior endure eternal punishment.  It would be easy to forget this, as so much of our culture looks at Christianity and its practice here in the mundane world without fully considering the eternal implications.  Christians are “nice” for the culture (though increasingly this view is becoming unpopular), but nothing particularly more – the concern is for the here and now.
 
When we look at the work of Christ on the Cross, we realize that it wasn’t merely for a better life now – it was for eternity.  Jesus, as the only acceptable means to salvation has healed our broken relationship with God and restored us to an eternal place with Him.  The blood of Christ should be our greatest anthem, our highest prize, our most insistent message to the world around us.
As promised, I bring you not one but two songs this week that reflect the value we place on the Cross…and the importance of singing it to one another!  First, O the Blood from Gateway Worship.  We actually sang this last week during communion Sunday.  It’s simple lyrics remind us of what the work on the cross accomplished. 
Next, listen to Lamb of God from Vertical Worship.  The chorus in particular brings home the power of what Jesus did for us:


The Lamb of God in my place / Your blood poured out my sin erased
It was my death You died / I am raised to life
Hallelujah the Lamb of God!
 
My prayer for you, brothers and sisters, is that you are not only reminded of the work of the Cross today, but that you have an opportunity to share it with someone this week.  There is no better news to give than the GOSPEL, the Good News of Jesus Christ!
For His Glory,
-Pastor Zach
 

This post is part of our “THIS WE BELIEVE” series in conjunction with the “From the Desk” video bog.  You can see the latest entry at the end of the post.

Article 4. Jesus Christ  We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus-Israel’s promised Messiah-was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

There are no shortages of good songs for a church to sing that proclaims the name of Jesus.  More than any other “topic” that a song could address, glorifying the name of Jesus seems to be an inherent, natural thing for song writers to focus on.

That being said, when we are talking about the life of Jesus, there are some songs that definitely stand out.  One such song is a favorite (at least among the staff) here at First Evangelical Free Church from songwriters Matt Boswell and Matt Papa.  Within the lines of each song we have declared for all who hear the life of our Savior.  Each verse chronologically goes through his coming at Christmas, His sinless life lived as the “true and better adam,” His death on the cross as an atonement for our sin, and finally His glorious resurrection - signifying the Acceptable sacrifice of our LORD.  

So often we declare to one another our good love for Jesus, we need to often remind one another the wondrous mystery of our Lord’s life, death, and resurrection.  As I have with each one of these articles, I encourage you to listen and sing along with this excellent song of the faith!

For His Glory,
-Pastor Zach

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