On That Day...

On That Day/CityAlight

 I believe in Christ, risen from the dead

   He now reigns victorious, His kingdom knows no end

   Through His resurrection death has lost its hold

   I know on that final day I’ll rise as Jesus rose

CHORUS

On that day we will see you shining brighter than the sun

On that day we will know you as we lift our voice as one

Till that day we will praise you for your never ending grace

And we will keep on singing on that glorious day

2. What a blessed hope, though now tired and worn

   We will spend eternity around our Saviour’s throne

   Though we grieve our losses we grieve not in vain

   For we know our crown of glory waits beyond the grave

BRIDGE

Hallelujah what a day it will be

For at home with you my joy is complete

As I run into your arms open wide I will see

My father who is waiting for me

Holy Saturday: Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

     O Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

    to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

 If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

    O Lord, who could stand?

 But with you there is forgiveness,

    that you may be feared.

 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

    and in his word I hope;

 my soul waits for the Lord

    more than watchmen for the morning,

    more than watchmen for the morning.

 O Israel, hope in the Lord!

    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

    and with him is plentiful redemption.

 And he will redeem Israel

    from all his iniquities.

-Psalm 130 

Jerusalem...Praise the One Who saved us!

 

Jerusalem/CityAlight

See Him in Jerusalem

Walking where the crowds are

Once these streets had sung to Him

Now they cry for murder

Such a frail and lonely Man

Holding up the heavy cross

See Him walking in Jerusalem

On the road to save us

2. See Him there upon the hill

Hear the scorn and laughter

Silent as a lamb He waits

Praying to the Father

See the King who made the sun

And the moon and shining stars

Let the soldiers hold and nail Him down

So that He could save them

3. See Him there upon the cross

Now no longer breathing

Dust that formed the watching crowds

Takes the blood of Jesus

Feel the earth is shaking now

See the veil is split in two

And He stood before the wrath of God

Shielding sinners with His blood

4. See the empty tomb today

Death could not contain Him

Once the Servant of the world

Now in vict'ry reigning

Lift your voices to the One

Who is seated on the throne

See Him in the New Jerusalem

Praise the One who saved us

Holy Thursday: Is It So?

Then He poureth water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. -John 13:5

 

The Lord Jesus loves his people so much, that every day he is still doing for them much that is analogous to washing their soiled feet. Their poorest actions he accepts; their deepest sorrow he feels; their slenderest wish he hears, and their every transgression he forgives. He is still their servant as well as their Friend and Master....humbly, patiently, he yet goes about among his people with the basin and the towel. He does this when he puts away from us day by day our constant infirmities and sins....It is a great act of eternal love when Christ once for all absolves the sinner, and puts him into the family of God; but what condescending patience there is when the Saviour with much long-suffering bears the oft recurring follies of his wayward disciple; day by day, and hour by hour, washing away the multiplied transgressions of his erring but yet beloved child!....While we find comfort and peace in our Lord’s daily cleansing, its legitimate influence upon us will be to increase our watchfulness, and quicken our desire for holiness. Is it so? ...CH Spurgeon Image

Your Will Be Done...

 

Your Will Be Done/CityAlight

1. As Jesus walked, so I shall walk

Held by Your same unchanging love

Be still my soul

Oh, lift your voice and pray

Father not my will but Yours be done

2. How in that garden he persisted

     I may never fully know

     The fearful weight of true obedience

     It was held by him alone

CHORUS

What wondrous faith, to bear that cross

To bear my sin, what wondrous love

My hope was sure

When there my Saviour prayed

Father not my will but Yours be done

3. When I am lost, when I am broken

     In the night of fear and doubt

     Still I will trust in my good Father

     Yes, to one great King I bow!

CHORUS

As Jesus rose, so I shall rise

In ransomed glory at the throne

My heart restored

With all your saints I sing

Father, not my will but Yours be done

4. As we go forth, our God and Father

     Lead us daily in the fight

     That all the world might see Your glory

     And Your Name be lifted high

CHORUS

And in this Name we overcome

For You shall see us safely home

Now as your church

We lift our voice and pray

Father, not my will but Yours be done

Sunday Message: Genesis 1

 

Sunday Message: Dr. Todd Williams 

March 17, 2024

Genesis 1

Sermon: Matthew 7:1-6

 

Pastor Rob Burns: Matthew 7:1-6 

 March 10, 2024

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

“Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn 

to attack you. -Matthew 7:1-6

Come Unto Jesus...

 

Come Unto Jesus (Acoustic Lyrics/Chords) 

- Laura Story, Jordan Kauflin, Keith & Kristyn Getty

Come unto Jesus, all you who are weary;

Come to the mercy seat, fervently kneel.

Here bring your wounded hearts, broken and needy;

Come unto Jesus, mighty to heal.

Joy of the comfortless, Light for the straying,

Hope of the penitent, Peace in our strife;

Here speaks the Comforter, tenderly saying:

"My yoke is easy, my burden is light." 

Come unto Jesus, 

Come unto Jesus.

Lay down your burdens, He is enough;

Come unto Jesus, rest in His love.

Come taste the Bread of Life, broken for sinners;

Drink from the cup of His promise made sure.

Feast at His table as sons and as daughters;

Grace overflowing is yours evermore.

Come unto Jesus, 

Come unto Jesus.

Lay down your burdens, He is enough;

Come unto Jesus, rest in His love.

Come now and follow Him, this life forsaking;   

All that was gain, count as nothing but loss.

Trade all this world for His kingdom unfading;

Come unto Jesus, take up your cross;

Come unto Jesus, take up your cross;

Life everlasting He offers to us.

Come unto Jesus, 

Come unto Jesus.

Lay down your burdens, He is enough;

Come unto Jesus, rest in His love.

Sermon: Matthew 6: 19-24

 

Pastor Rob Burns: Matthew 6:19-24 

 February 25, 2024

 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 

-Matthew 6:19-24

Words, Words, Words.... For Those Who Have Ears to Hear

Andrew Klavan

February 26, 2024

Excerpt:

But at the core of the Christian faith is the confirmation that the human experience reflects reality. It can be gotten right, and its truths can be spoken. When Moses saw the burning bush, he saw the universe in full, creation and destruction without end. From that eternal process, came the voice of God and his name: I AM. The dance of being emanated from a person, a person who could speak his name and his nature. Because of that, I AM could ultimately take human form and speak the truth about our lives.

The Word — and all the words, words, words with which he spoke of it — became flesh.

Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.   Read it all...

Philanthropy in the Desert...

First Things

by Hans Boersma

2/23/24

It is meet and right that Lent should start with Matthew 4. Its first sentence sums up not just Lent but the entire Christian life. “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matt. 4:1). We may apply this to ourselves: “Then was I led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Our brief span of life is the wilderness. The Spirit himself has led us here. His purpose is that we be tempted by the devil.

This sentence contains a great mystery: Why would God himself—the Holy Spirit—lead us into this world so that we might be tempted by the devil? I cannot solve this mystery, for God's mysteries are not like puzzles. They cannot be solved; they are meant to be lived instead.

When Jesus comes into the wilderness and the devil tempts him, he does not ask, “Why does the Spirit lead me here? What rational sense can I make of this?” What he does instead is fight the devil, with the Scriptures as his weapon. Read it all...

It Was Finished Upon That Cross...

 

 It Was Finished Upon That Cross: CityAlight

How I love the voice of Jesus

On the cross of Calvary

He declares his work is finished

He has spoken this hope to me

Though the sun had ceased its shining

Though the war appeared as lost

Christ had triumphed over evil

It was finished upon that cross.

Now the curse it has been broken

Jesus paid the price for me

Full, the pardon he has offered

Great, the welcome that I receive

Boldly I approach my Father

Clothed in Jesus’ righteousness

There is no more guilt to carry

It was finished upon that cross.

Death was once my great opponent

Fear once had a hold on me

But the Son who died to save us

Rose that we would be free indeed!

Death was once my great opponent

Fear once had a hold on me

But the Son who died to save us

Rose that we would be free indeed!

YES He Rose that we would be free indeed!

Free from every plan of darkness

Free to live and free to love

Death is dead and Christ is risen!

It was finished upon that cross.

Onward to eternal glory

To my Saviour and my God

I rejoice in Jesus’ victory

It was finished upon that cross.

Sermon: Matthew 6:5-15 Part 2

 

Pastor Rob Burns: Matthew 6:5-15 Part 2 

 February 11, 2024

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.  Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

    on earth as it is in heaven.

 Give us this day our daily bread,

 and forgive us our debts,

    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

 And lead us not into temptation,

    but deliver us from evil.

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Love Among the Ashes...

  

February 14 this year brings the rare convergence of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day. Rarer still is that it will happen in 2029 as well, twice in one decade. The two observances will not meet again until 2170. That rarity highlights an apparent disparity: “sackcloth and ashes” seem uneasy neighbors with roses and chocolates. What does penitential fasting have in common with romantic indulgence? When we look a little deeper, the coincidence of these holidays unveils a surprising complementarity, as each can bring out the true meaning of the other. Read it all...

Sermon: Matthew 6:5-8

 

Pastor Rob Burns: Matthew 6:5-15 Part 1 

February 4, 2024

 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. -Matthew 6:5-8

A Moment in History Pregnant with Purpose...

Excerpt: 

Do you question that God’s hand is sculpting the challenges we face today?  If so, it is never too late to “awaken” to God’s truth and, through His truth, to find implacable strength.  As one of the most popular Christian hymns ever written ebulliently declares: “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me! / I once was lost, but now am found; / Was blind, but now I see.”  John Newton, an English slave-trader turned evangelical cleric and abolitionist, wrote that stanza, coincidentally enough, around the same time that Americans were declaring their independence from Great Britain.  Throughout history, spiritual awakenings have consistently provided the timely foundations for every great struggle for human liberty.  Ours is not at all different.

Enlightenments are messy.  Social and political revolutions are fraught with unpleasant moments.  Every quest for human emancipation is filled with heartaches, setbacks, and miseries.  Yet it is what we do with the obstacles before us that changes the course of history.  We are not expected to pick up the weight of history, heave it over our shoulders, and carry it to the place it belongs.  We are nudgers.  We push and pull at the current and help shape its path.  You feel that impulse in your soul, don’t you?  That’s because God is nudging each one of us, too.  Read it all!

Sermon: Matthew 6:1-4

 

Pastor Rob Burns: Matthew 6:1-4 

January 25, 2024

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  -Matthew 6:1-4

Jesus, lover of my soul...

Jesus, lover of my soul,

Let me to Thy bosom fly,

While the nearer waters roll,

While the tempest still is high:

Hide me, O my Savior, hide,

Till the storm of life is past;

Safe into the haven guide;

O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none,

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, oh, leave me not alone,

Still support and comfort me.

All my trust on Thee is stayed,

All my help from Thee I bring;

Cover my defenseless head

With the shadow of Thy wing.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want;

More than all in Thee I find;

Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,

Heal the sick and lead the blind.

Just and holy is Thy name,

I am all unrighteousness;

Vile and full of sin I am,

Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found,

Grace to cover all my sin;

Let the healing streams abound;

Make and keep me pure within.

Thou of life the fountain art,

Freely let me take of Thee;

Spring Thou up within my heart,

Rise to all eternity.

-Charles Wesley

In the Cross is salvation...

In the Cross is salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross is excellence of virtue; in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross. Take up the Cross-, therefore, and follow Jesus, and go forward into eternal life. Christ has gone before you, bearing His Cross; He died for you on the Cross, that you also may bear your cross, and desire to die on the cross with Him. For if you die with Him, you will also live with Him. And if you share His sufferings, you will also share His glory. -Thomas a Kempis

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,

till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

and exchange it some day for a crown.

-George Bennard

New Year 2024...Lord, make all things new!

Come, Holy Spirit,

Spirit of the Risen Christ, be with us today and always.

Be our Light, our Guide, and our Comforter.

Be our Strength, our Courage, and our Sanctifier.

May this new year be a time of deep spiritual growth for us,

A time of welcoming your graces and gifts,

A time for forgiving freely and unconditionally,

A time for growing in virtue and goodness.

Come, Holy Spirit,

Be with us today and always.

- Author Unknown

A happy and blessed New Year to all!