Rock of Ages (chord chart)

Pretty awesome song. We used as an intro. Thumping bass line.

Rock of ages, cleft for me
let me hide myself in You
let the water and the blood
from Your wounded side which flowed
be of sin the double cure
save from wrath and make me pure

should my tears forever flow
should my zeal no faintness know
these for sin could not atone
You must save and You alone
in my hand no price i bring
simply to Your cross i cling

while i draw this fleeting breath
when my eyes shall close in death
when i rise to worlds unknown
and behold You on Your throne

Rock of ages, cleft for me
let me hide myself in You
let the water and the blood
save me, save me, make me Yours

in my hand no price i bring
simply to Your cross i cling

Jesus, Conqueror (chord chart)

This one will be a favorite soon at Harmony. Great chorus and melody.

Jesus, the Conqueror reigns
in glorious strength arrayed
His kingdom over all maintains
and bids the earth be glad

you sons of men rejoice
in Jesus’ mighty love
lift up your heart, lift up your voice
to Him who rules above

Chorus
Jesus reigns, He reigns forever
He’s the firstborn of all creation
Christ, the fullness of God
Jesus reigns, He reigns forever
the image of the invisible God
invisible God

extol His kingly power
worship the exalted Son
who died and lives to die no more
high on His Father’s throne

our Advocate with God
He undertakes our cause
and spreads through all the earth abroad
the victory of His cross

Chorus

• Food
• Rest
• Word
• Work

Hope you can come out and join us for what should be a great teaching series on living our lives with intentionality. Tipsy Teapot, Sundays at 10:10am!

A Theology of Worship (PDF)

Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. So they gave a dinner for Him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with Him at the table. Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Do you see the same thing I see? How about the words you so often read over: “therefore” & “so”.  Check out the the second verse: So they gave a dinner for Him there. Why did they give Him a dinner? The first verse answers it: because Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. The same reason continues to verse 3: Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair.

Often times we focus on the latter part of the story (Judas’ response to Mary’s act of worship) rather than looking at the beginning of the story: why she is worshiping to begin with.

Simply put, Mary is worshiping because of what Jesus did in Lazarus’ life.Worship arises out of resurrection.

Because of what Jesus did in Lazarus’ life, not only can Lazarus celebrate, but the people who love him can as well. In fact, they throw a party because of it. That being said, we should (and do) worship Christ because He has made us alive even when we were dead (Ephesians 2:4-5).  It is in response to our spiritual resurrection that we worship Him.

The ultimate result? The surrounding culture is changed. The fragrance of Mary’s act of worship filled the entire house. How is your environment changed by your acts of worship? Is it at all?

The Most Important Thing

There are two basic principles of Bible interpretation, that when fully followed, will ultimately lead to a correct interpretation of any text (though perhaps not on the first go-around, for soon to obvious reasons). Anytime we open the Scriptures, we should read the text with two things in mind:

1. The text we’re reading should line up with the rest of Scripture. This is much more difficult than it sounds because we don’t instantly know and remember all of Scripture. We could interpret a text one way, and then later read something that contradicts our interpretation. This requires that we review our opinion of the texts at hand. Something that really helps with this is to take good notes during in-depth study, and refer to them constantly. If two different sections of Scripture disagree, it’s not the text that is incorrect, it’s our awareness of how they dovetail together to provide the fullest picture of what’s going on. The Bible is a gloriously beautiful document, given to us by a sovereign and providential God, and we should approach it as such, with reverence, and a respect because it reveals God to us! What a marvelous thing.
2. The text we’re reading should reveal something of Jesus with respect to the Gospel. This is what 2 Timothy 3:16-17 talks about:we don’t read the Bible for information, we read the Bible fortransformation. Every time we open the Scriptures, they should speak to our souls, filling in a brighter picture of Christ, that we may know the Man we should be imitating. Every bit of Scripture should reveal something about Christ, that we may look more like Him and that we may have a greater appreciation for His redemptive work on Earth and throughout history.

Class Notes

You can download the PDF of the Class Notes here. It’s been adapted from our GCM document, which is a document I’m putting together to form our Membership class.

YouVersion

For those of you out there who are tech-savvy, I’d recommend YouVersion, which is an online Bible application allowing you access the Bible (and your notes, along with the notes of others) from pretty much anywhere you have internet access. I would also recommend installing the mobile app to youriPhone, Blackberry, or Android phone. Also, you can access YouVersion from a web-enable phone, netbook, or computer as well.  We use YouVersion Liveat Harmony Church to provide an interactive experience at our Sunday am gatherings, which includes having the text, my notes, a giving online button, prayer requests, Twitter, and polls right there at your fingertips…in the middle of our gathering.  I would suggest joining the Harmony Church Youversion Group to keep up with our gatherings!

Logos

I’ve recently converted to Bible software that I absolutely adore (that’s hard for me). It’s called Logos, it’s relatively expensive (but worth it, and they allow for payment plans), and it’s amazing. For any serious student, I’d highly recommend it. I’ll end up doing a full-blown review soon on it, but you can check it out here. If you decide to get any version of Logos, shoot me an email first (derek -at – harmonydc.com), and we can both get goodies through a refer-a-friend process. They also have a sweet iPhone client (check it out).

In the City

We love our city and its people. We don’t judge, we don’t point fingers. We meet in restaurants, bars, cultural centers, and we take part in all that the city has to offer. We appreciate the good things, and just like everyone else, disdain the bad things about our city. We are citizens of Greenville, just like you.

For the City

We are not just in the city, but we are also for the city. We love Greenville to the point that one of the reasons that Harmony exists is to make Greenville a better, safer, more likable city. We promote culture, address social justice needs, and love the people unconditionally because we love this city, and want to see it flourish. We do this because, though we are citizens of Greenville, we are more accurately citizens of Heaven, of which Greenville should be a picture.

As the people of Jesus, we want to see Greenville paint the most accurate picture possible of Heaven. Feel free to join us on our mission, Sundays at Tipsy Teapot at 10:10am.

The atonement is central to the Christian identity. It is what makes Christianity unique among all other worldviews. The idea of a loving God who sends Himself in the flesh to earth in order to ultimately satisfy His own wrath is the mind-blowing message of Christianity that saves people from their sin. It is the reality that, once we place our faith in it, changes everything. But how? Here’s 6 ways:

1. The atonement provides a Savior that isn’t you. Stop trying to save yourself from God by your religious acts and outward piety. It doesn’t accomplish anything but add to your guilt when you stumble and your pride when you succeed! Rest in the finished work of Christ, not the ongoing weariness-bringing work of your own feeble efforts.

2. It releases us of guilt. God has been done because of what Jesus has done. Like I said before, we don’t have to feel guilty when we falter (whether in rebellion or in religion), because the saving work of Christ on the Cross has freed us: not our rebellion or religion.

3. Because God has been propitiated (satisfied), we now live for Him out of delight, not duty. Our lives and gifts and abilities and resources are poured out before God not as an offering of duty to appease Him, but out of delight in what He’s done already through the atoning work of Jesus. This is wildly freeing and provides us with radical independence from religious duty, and allows us to rest in joy of the Cross.

4. We no longer live in fear of God’s wrath, but in faith of God’s faithfulness. When we fall short of the glory of God and sin, we do not have to worry about His reaction, but rather place our trust in the fact that what He has begun in us through the propitiation, He will bring to completion through sanctification! We have been saved at the Cross, we are being saved by the Spirit’s work in us, and we will be saved by the glorification of our bodies when Christ returns.

5. Because we are not alone in being redeemed, we can gather with others to enjoy our state before God. Sunday morning church gatherings are not our duty before God, but our privilege before Him: it is our time to publicly celebrate the finished work of Christ!

6. We now long for others to place faith in the same reality, so we live on mission and preach the Gospel with our mouths and deeds. This is evangelism as a lifestyle: it is us, out of desiring for others to see Christ for who He is and what He’s done, living our lives with intentionality and purpose: to make Christ known.

• I Want to Be Ready (Ben Harper): Ben Harper wrote this song as a spiritual outpouring of his desires when it comes time for him to move on from this world. We sang it this morning as an introduction song, to reset our minds and to focus them on Christ.
• Let Us Sing Again (Pablo Mazariegos): This song is a retooling of an old hymn by our own Pablo Mazariegos. We used it to open the worship set, as well as to facilitate and ground us during Communion.
• Sweetly Broken (Jeremy Riddle): This is quickly becoming a favorite here at Harmony. It’s extremely Gospel-centered, and has a melody that brings out the best of our emotions as well. It speaks to our desperate need before Him, and reminds us of our need for and awe-inspiring nature of the Gospel.
• Nothing But the Blood (Matt Redman): This is Redman’s version of the classic hymn. Great way to wrap up the worship set and center us on the blood of Christ as we moved into the text for the morning.

Next Week: Jesus is old, and knows something that we don’t.

• Beg (Shane & Shane) – This song, used as an introduction and welcoming song, spoke to both the rebellious and religious, focusing on our need for Jesus and His Spirit in our everyday lives.
• Into the Arms of Jesus (Thad Cockrell) – Written by Vintage21 worship leader and Nashville rising star Thad Cockrell, this song opened our worship set by laying out practical ways and reasons to trust Jesus, even when things aren’t always perfect around us.
• Chainbreaker (Charlie Hall) - This upbeat song reminded us that we are indeed freed by Christ, instead of bound by our idols and own desires: He has set us free from those things indeed!
• Jesus Paid It All (Elvina Hall) – After a reflection from Hebrews 10, we realized that all of our sins’ debt had been paid by Christ on the Cross. In response to Hebrews 10 and the sacrifice once for all, we sang this old hymn rejoicing in what has been paid on our behalf.
• In the Shadow of the Glorious Cross (Brooks Ritter) – This song written by Sojourn Community Church in Louisville, KY provided our Communion song, and was a wonderful reflection on why, how, and for whom we live. What wonderful lyrics!

Next Week: Jesus talks about the religous people’s mothers. Should be interesting.