|
Call To Worship: “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” -Acts 7:30-33 The hymns have always held a significant place in my heart. I remember flipping through different hymn books as an adolescent, and I often found Herber’s Holy, Holy, Holy on the first hymn page. This always made sense to me because this hymn set a precedent of God’s holiness - to be set apart - for the rest of the hymn book. “...for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” As I reflect on our call to worship for this Sunday (October 11th) at Webster Bible Church, this phrase really speaks to me personally. God is so Holy - so set apart - Moses had to take off his shoes! This Sunday we will sing a contemporary version of this classic hymn in which an additional chorus and bridge are added. If I am being honest, I am typically a hymn purist; therefore, I am usually not in support of adding material to a hymn that otherwise is theologically sound. However, I believe these additions are acceptable in the case of this particular arrangement because it provides a very important context to the holiness of God. It is important to note that Moses was part of the old covenant; a covenant in which Moses’s own sin caused such a schism between him and God, he had to physically prepare himself to be in the midst God’s presence. Of course because of our sin, there is also a giant schism between God and each of us. But here is the good news: Because of the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed and our sins have been washed away when we choose to give up our lives and follow Him. As a result, we are already spiritually prepared to be in the midst of God’s presence through Jesus Christ! Thus, we can sing about the holiness of God reverently while giving praise with thanksgiving because we can now have a thorough relationship with Him through Jesus’ sacrifice! Holy, Holy, Holy (Jesus Reigns) captures this reality beautifully! Here are the other songs WBC will sing this Sunday. Let us prepare our hearts during the week - starting from Monday - so that Sunday can be the culmination of praise as we celebrate our restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ! Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me Solid Rock I Stand  |