This morning we launched a new series at a2 titled, "I Heart a2." This series is all about the church, and why we love it...
Music from todays' worship experience included:
Where The Spirit of the Lord Is by Chris Tomlin and Christy Nockels
(Another great track from the Passion Awakening release...)
Let God Arise by Chris Tomlin
(The band always does an incredible job with this one...)
For Who You Are by Ricardo Sanchez and Free Chapel
(From Free Chapel's "The Power of the Cross" release...)
Now by Hillsong London
(This is the theme song for the new series... The band "brought it" on this one... We did it as an "item number" during the offering...)
Our God by Chris Tomlin
(This may be our church's favorite song right now... I loved hearing our church family sing this like crazy this morning...)
Here are the extended not from this morning's message...
I Heart God
I Heart a2 - Part 1
People With A Passion For The Church:
• Paul the Apostle
2 Corinthians 12:15 (ESV), I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.
• The Apostle Peter
1 Peter 5:1b-2 (NLT), As a fellow elder, this is my appeal to you: 2 Care for (shepherd / feed) the flock of God entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.
• The Household of Stephanas
1 Corinthians 16:15 (KJV), ...(you know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints)...
• Jesus
Ephesians 5:25-27 (ESV), Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.
• My Dad and Mom
God’s original blueprint for the church:
Acts 2:42-43 (NAS), They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
Acts 2:44-46a (NLT), And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. 45They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. 46They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
This Week's Core Value: Worship
Acts 2:46 (NLT), They worshiped together at the Temple each day…
Core Value of a2 Church
God First: We call it worship. It’s about expressing our love and devotion to God. It’s responding to all that God is with all that we are. We want to honor God in everything we do by worshipping passionately, praying intensely, living with integrity and always doing our best (Matt 22:36-37; Col 3:17, 23; Mal 1:6-14).
Psalm 100:1 (ESV), Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Why We Worship:
1. Worship gets my attention off of me.
Psalm 100:1-3 (ESV), Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Psalm 100:2-3 (ESV), Serve (worship – NIV, NLT) the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!
Psalm 100:3 (ESV), Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
2. Worship helps me cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
Psalm 100:4 (ESV), Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT), Always be joyful. 17 Never stop praying. 18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
3. Worship breaks the grip my problems, challenges and difficulties have to suck life and joy out of me.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 (NLT), Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength!
He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights.
4. God is mysteriously and powerfully present when we gather together with other believers to worship Him. Our worship not only connects us with God, but with God’s activity in the lives of other believers.
Psalm 100:4 (ESV), Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!
Psalm 22:3 (ESV), …you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.
Psalm 22:3 (KJV), But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV), Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:25 (CEV), Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.
“At home, in my own house, there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.” ~ Martin Luther, quoted by Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, page 164.
5. Authentic worship is the expression of a heart that is blown away by the greatness of God and extravagance of His love and grace revealed in Jesus Christ.
Revelation 2:4 (NIV), I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love.
Revelation 2:4 (MSG), …you walked away from your first love—why? What’s going on with you, anyway?
Matthew 22:37 (NIV), Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
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