Picking a New Church in a New City (part 2)

“There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:4-5).

UNITED TO THE BODY

The church is the body of Christ. Thus, to be a Christian is to be united with other Christians under the Lordship of Christ.

So, when Teresa and I were choosing a new church in a new city, we were choosing to unite ourselves with a particular group of Christians. In America, we are currently blessed with the luxury of choices. Though not all churches are good, there are many good ones that preach and practice what the Bible gives us.

If you've been reading along, Teresa and I are describing our journey in becoming members of Covenant Fellowship Church. The previous entry was about our desire to commit ourselves to a single church for the entire duration of our time in seminary. This also meant doing our mentored ministry at this church.

SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP

One factor that led us to Covenant Fellowship was the Spirit-filled worship. One worship leader said that the goal of worship is to let the word of Christ fill our minds and hearts. We should be moved to praise, adoration, and thanksgiving by the reality of Christ and what He has done.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16)

Since worship should affect the entire person, we should worship with our emotions. However, some songs seem to appeal only to our emotions and say very little (or nothing) about God. For instance, if you can take a worship song and sing it to another human being, then it is probably missing some specific details about what makes our God so great and glorious. Though we can worship God with any song, our hearts long for deeper and more intimate knowledge of God.

Christ tells us that worship is done in "Spirit and truth" (John 4:24). Worship should be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit and the truth of God. We don't serve a God who is unreachable or vague. He is near us, His Spirit dwells in every believer, and He has made His power and glory clear to us.

We have found the worship at Covenant Fellowship to be Spirit-filled. The music has helped Teresa and I set our sights upon the crucified and risen Savior, the only hope that we have in this life and the life to come. The worship team is intentional about linking the blessings and promises of God to Christ and His work on the cross.

God reminds us every week of the sacrifice of Christ, which makes it possible for us to approach a holy God. Just as the Israelites had to slaughter animals before they could present themselves before God at the tabernacle, we have access to God only because He provided a sacrifice in Christ. If you go to church every week, you know that it can be easy to start taking the sacrifice of Christ for granted. We begin to assume that we can approach God at anytime on any terms. We can begin to assume that God owes us certain things, like life, health, or financial security.

When we go to church, we ought to be reminded that we owe God praise and thanksgiving. He doesn't owe us anything. God reminded Job of this reality: “Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine” (Job. 41:10)

It has been humbling and refreshing to sing phrases like:

• "Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied" (From “In Christ Alone”)
• "Because a sinless Savior died, My sinful soul is counted free" (From "Before the Throne of God Above")
  

There isn't much in lyrics like these that make me feel good, worthy, or confident. The worship music reminds me of my sin and God's wrath. And those things move me to praise God for Christ, who died to save sinners like me. I have come away renewed and awed by how good God is, how worthy Christ is, and what confidence I have in Christ to approach a holy God. I feel that my soul is fed and filled as I'm reminding myself of the gospel- the reality of God's grace, love, and forgiveness in Christ.

What a joy and privilege to be joined with other people who see their sinfulness and the great love of our Savior. What a privilege to celebrate the one hope we have because of the one faith in the one Lord and be united to His one body!