The Gathering Worship Experience

God's glory and the deepest joy of human souls are one thing

2010-11-02T18:04:00.000-04:00

Here is the full list of points made by John Piper in his book "God's Passion for His own Glory: Living the Vision of Jonathan Edwards" that I mentioned in the sermon on Sunday. Blessings to you as you keep living for the glory of God. Soli Deo Gloria!

1. God’s passion for his own glory and his passion for my joy in him are not at odds.

2. Therefore, God is as committed to my eternal and ever-increasing joy in him as he is to his own glory.

3.The love of God for sinners is not his making much of them, but his graciously freeing and empowering them to enjoy making much of him.

4.All true virtue among human beings must aim at bringing people to rejoice in the glory of God.

5.It also follows that sin is the suicidal exchange of the glory of God for the broken cisterns of created things.

6.Heaven will be a never-ending, ever-increasing discovery of more and more of God’s glory with greater and ever-greater joy in him.

7.Hell is unspeakably real, conscious, horrible and eternal – the experience in which God vindicates the worth of his glory in holy wrath on those who would not delight in what is infinitely glorious.

8.Evangelism means depicting the beauty of Christ and his saving work with a heartfelt urgency of love that labors to help people find their satisfaction in him.

9.Similarly Christian preaching, as part of the corporate worship of Christ’s church, is an expository exultation over the glories of God in his word, designed to lure God’s people from the fleeting pleasures of sin into the sacrificial path of obedient satisfaction in him.

10.The essence of authentic, corporate worship is the collective experience of heartfelt satisfaction in the glory of God, or a trembling that we do not have it and a great longing for it.

11.World missions is a declaration of the glories of God among all the unreached peoples, with a view to gathering worshippers who magnify God through the gladness of radically obedient lives.

12.Prayer is calling on God for help so it is plain that he is gloriously resourceful and we are humbly and happily in need of grace.

13.The task of Christian scholarship is to study reality as a manifestation of God’s glory, to speak about it with accuracy, and to savor the beauty of God in it.

14.The way to magnify God in death is by meeting death as gain.

15."It is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can." (C. S. Lewis)

Elijah

2010-07-28T12:23:00.000-04:00

An angry king.
Devastating drought.
Epic opposition.
And one man who overcomes it all.
When the world around us is spinning out of control, where do we turn?
Join us as we learn from Elijah.

New series beginning this Sunday!!!

Changed

2010-07-06T13:54:00.000-04:00

He became a slave. Who became a fugitive. Who came to know Christ. And overcame it all. Hear the story of Onesimus, the slave who betrayed Philemon, and the passionate efforts of Paul to convince Philemon to change his mind about this truly changed man. Join us as we begin this new series and prepare to be changed!

Brazil Mission Team

2010-05-11T11:02:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone
Just a reminder to be praying for the team that we commissioned last week to go to Brazil. Be sure to check out their blog page at: http://hfcogbrazil2010.blogspot.com/
They have pictures, video, and updates on the work that they are doing.

The Easter Gathering

2010-03-30T23:39:00.000-04:00

Come out and join us this Sunday as we celebrate the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, conquering satan, sin, and death! We have a 'high octane' service planned in celebration of the day that changed human history forever! Plan to join us and invite your friends and family members who may have questions about Christianity or might not be inclined to attend church any other time of the year.

We also invite you to wake up early and come out to our Sunrise Service at 6:30 which will be led by Missio Dei, our student ministry.

I am totally pumped about this Sunday and I hope that you join in my excitement! I look forward to seeing you this resurrection day!

Creation

2010-02-23T23:41:00.005-05:00

Along with our study of creation from Sunday, I didn't have the time to mention much about evolution and it's development. While that wasn't the purpose of my message, as Christians, I believe that it's important for us to be aware of the alternative position so that we can dialouge with others who hold that position. As most of you know, the theory of evolution was largely influenced by the work of Charles Darwin. Darwin's "Origin of Species" changed the way in which scientists viewed the origin of the earth. Darwin was actually brought up in the Anglican church and was in training to become an Anglican Parson. He originally set out to prove that there was a divine designer behind all of nature, studying natural theology. It was during Darwin's 'Journey of the Beagle' where he began to have a shift of perspective. I will not go into detail here, but I have listed a number of online resources which you can check out if you're interested in learning more about Darwin and the theory of evolution. Also, something that may be of interest. There's a movie about the life of Darwin that is currently under limited release. I don't know if they are planning to expand it or not. Their website is down. The movie has gotten mixed reviews, but it may be something you'd be interested in looking into. Here's the trailer you can check out:

Here are the other resources:
http://darwin-online.org.uk/

http://www.charlesdarwin.org/

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/

This site gives a good discussion of the creationism/evolution debate:

http://www.windmillministries.org/frames/CH2A.htm

Enjoy!

Foundations

2010-02-08T23:57:00.000-05:00

This week we start our 'Foundations' series where we will look at some of the key doctrines of our faith. This would be a great opportunity for you to invite non-Christian friends who may have questions about or are exploring the claims of Christianity. We will follow the storyline of the biblical narrative and focus on one key theme each week. I am excited about this series and I'm really looking forward to teaching. I hope to see you this weekend for the kickoff!

Philippians 1: 19-30

2010-01-11T12:34:00.001-05:00

I would encourage everyone to read Philippians 1: 19-30 this week. We will not be looking at it on Sunday morning but I feel that it's an important section of scripture that continues the theme of suffering which we addressed yesterday. In this section, Paul is torn between his desire to die and go to be with Jesus and to remain on the earth continuing to proclaiming the gospel. He says that it would be 'far better' to be with Christ (which seems to be a bit of an understatement). But Paul recognizes that it's necessary for him to remain on the earth for a little longer so that he could continue to encourage the believers and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus. Paul is a man who has his sights fixed on heaven, which compels him to live life to the fullest on planet earth.

And I have to wonder if we, as followers of Jesus, sometimes become so fixated on the glory of heaven and our desire to evacuate earth, that we miss out on the call of Jesus upon our lives in the 'here and now'. For some of us, we are so discouraged by the condition of our culture and we're so jaded by the hurt and the pain and the failure that we have experienced in our lives that we just want to be done here on earth and go to be with Jesus. I don't believe this is a totally bad desire. Life in heaven will be far better than life on the earth. Human words cannot even properly describe the beauty and majesty of heaven. But when our desire to leave earth becomes so strong that we neglect the needs of the people in our lives or we neglect to take care of the earth which God has called us to 'steward' or when we neglect to become socially involved in our culture and care for the 'orphans and widows' then our motives for being with Jesus become selfish and self-centered and far from the heart of God.

Others of us go to the other extreme and we become so attached to this world and our toys and gadgets and relationships and possessions that we don't ever want to leave. When we embrace this kind of attitude we are essentially saying that our joy is in our stuff and not in Christ and that our treasure is here on earth and not in Jesus.

If we look at Hebrews 12, a great passage of scripture that I've mentioned a lot over the past couple of weeks, the writer calls us to 'look to Jesus'. Our sights should be set on Jesus. He should be our focus, He should be our compass, He should be our hope. The writer goes on to offer these words of encouragement 'Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.'

Returning to Philippians, Paul closes chapter one with these words to the Philippian believers: "Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel."

My hope for us as a faith community is that as we live our lives here on earth, our sights would be set upon Jesus and that because of our love and commitment to Jesus we would be motivated to live lives that are worthy of the gospel of Christ.

The Gathering - Kickoff

2010-01-03T20:23:00.001-05:00

Today, we finally started "The Gathering" worship experience. Take a look for yourself...

"New" Stuff

2010-01-01T02:09:00.000-05:00

With the dropping of the ball, another year is upon us. Off the top of my head I can think about several new things that await me in this new year- a new worship service, a new baby on the way, all the new people that I'll have the privilege of meeting. As human beings, we like new stuff and I have to wonder if it's because we are image-bearers of God who is all about new stuff. In I Cor. 5:17, the Apostle Paul writes "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation. The old has passed away, behold, the NEW has come." Jesus is a master at taking that which is old and making it new. For those who are His followers, He takes our old corrupt lives and transforms them into new lives. This means that we no longer have to be slaves to sin, but we can now be slaves to Christ- which is the pathway to true freedom!

Finally, in the book of Revelation, John gives us a glimpse into the heavenly kingdom. He writes: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more." There is coming a day when God will create a new heaven and a new earth and all of creation will be as it was originally intended to be. There will be no more weeping, there will be no more pain. There will be no more sickness or disease. There will be no more poverty or injustice. Everything will be perfect and the cancer of sin will no longer infect the world.

As we come into this new year and look forward to all the new experiences and opportunities that this year holds for us, might we remember our God who is all about new things and might our hearts be stirred in worship because we are His image-bearers called to put His grace on display.

Countdown to Kickoff

2009-12-30T12:50:00.000-05:00

Okay, so only 3 days, 22 hours, and 11 minutes until we launch The Gathering! I am so excited not just for the sake of starting a new service, but because it will give us, as a church, new opportunities to reach more people in the new year. Check back tomorrow where I'll have a post on "new" things. Keep praying for everything that still needs to be accomplished, pray for my sermon preparation (this is one of those weeks where my computer is inhabited by demons!) and ultimately, pray that God's glory will be top priority and that the gospel will ring in the hearts of everyone in attendance!

January Series

2009-12-23T00:41:00.000-05:00

As I begin to think about the first sermon series that I'll be preaching through in January, I am totally excited because we're going to be studying the New Testament book of Philippians. Philippians has always been one of my favorite books of the Bible and I'm really excited to teach through it. We're calling the series: 'Overwhelmed by Joy'. In the series, we'll be looking at the one theme that runs throughout the entire book- joy. Everyone in our culture is pursuing joy but very few people actually seem to find it. People turn to culture, religion, and medication in an attempt to find joy but the problem is that none of these solutions bring true and lasting joy. In this series, we'll see how true joy is found in Jesus. I hope you'll take the opportunity to invite friends, neighbors, co-workers, family members, and classmates to join you for this series. Only 11 days until launch!!!

Ernie Marcum

2009-12-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

Today I'd like to highlight our Communications Team Leader Ernie Marcum. Ernie has devoted a lot of time, energy and effort to The Gathering and brings a great deal of technical knowledge and wisdom to the team. I asked Ernie a series of questions and I've posted his responses below.

What is your favorite color? Yellow (like my bike)

What is your favorite band? Reilly

What are some of your hobbies? Motorcycles, photography, music

What instrument do you play? Soundboard

What is your favorite vacation spot? St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

What is your favorite sports team? University of Michigan football

Share one random fact about yourself: I DJ in my spare time!

Quote from Ernie: "The worship team has been a huge blessing to me. These gifted people have continuously grown and show me Christian love at its finest. I am proud to be a small part of their worship."

Progress

2009-12-08T09:29:00.000-05:00

I am really excited about how things are progressing for The Gathering! We had a volunteer meeting last night and nearly 20 people came out and there are still more who want to help but couldn't make it to the meeting. There's still a lot to be done, but God has it all figured out and things will fall into place. Please keep a couple of things in prayer leading up to the launch in January- 1. We need an accomplished pianist/keyboardist for the worship team. 2. We need to figure out timing/set up for the transition from the 9:30 to 11:00. I continue to be encouraged and greatly look forward to launching this new experience in January!

Katie Renee Bankert and Dan Bortz

2009-12-01T10:14:00.000-05:00

Today I'd like to highlight two members of our worship team- Katie Bankert and Dan Bortz.
We'll start with Katie...

What is your favorite color? Pink
What is your favorite band? Rush of Fools, Switchfoot, Skillet...basically everything!!!
What are some of your hobbies? Photography, cheerleading, camping, fishing, singing, hiking, biking, hanging out with friends, shopping.
What instrument(s) do you play? Vocals, learning guitar
What is your favorite vacation spot? Ocean City, MD; Cancun, Mexico
Who are your favorite sports teams? Ravens and Orioles
Tell us some random facts about yourself: I have one kidney, I love nature, I can't drive

Now for Dan...

What is your favorite color? Black

What is your favorite band? Skillet and Breaking Benjamin

What are some of your hobbies? Listening to and playing music, playing football, hunting, going to creation

What instrument do you play? Bass guitar

What is your favorite vacation spot? Colorado Springs, CO or Long Beach, NC

What is your favorite sports team? Pittsburgh Steelers

Share one random fact about yourself: I love the tv show 'The Office'

Sunday

2009-12-01T09:57:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday was awesome!!! The preview service went well and I think, created a lot of excitement for The Gathering. There were a number of people who volunteered to help out as well which is an answer to prayer.

Tomorrow

2009-11-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

I am totally excited for the 'preview' service tomorrow! The band sounded great at practice today and I can't wait to hear them tomorrow as they lead us in worship. Keep spreading the word about The Gathering- we want as many people as possible to encounter and experience Jesus through this!

Juli Devita and Joey M. Ahrens

2009-11-23T17:33:00.000-05:00

Today you get a double shot! Since I was away all weekend, I didn't get to post any profiles. So today, I thought I'd catch up on lost time and highlight two members of the worship team- Juli Devita and Joey Ahrens.

I'll start with Juli.

What is your favorite color? Green
What is your favorite band? Skillet or Owl City
What are some of your hobbies? Singing and dancing
What instrument do you play? Vocals
What is your favorite vacation spot? Ocean City, NJ
What is your favorite sports team? The Steelers!
What are some random facts you'd like to share about yourself? Psychology interests me. I was once absent from school for 7 months straight and I still passed!!!

Now for Joey!

What is your favorite color? Any color that makes people happy.

What is your favorite band? I like heavy metal.

What are some of your hobbies? Football, Dodgeball, Guitar

What instrument do you play? Lead Guitar

What is your favorite vacation spot? Anywhere I can chill away from home.

What is your favorite sports team? Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins

Share one random fact about yourself: I want to go far with my God-given talent of guitar.

Great Weekend!

2009-11-23T17:22:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a great weekend at the Alive middle school conference in Ocean City, MD. As I took everything in, it hit me that The Gathering begins in just over a month! There are still a lot of things that need to happen and still a lot of positions we still need to fill, but I trust that God's got it all worked out and everything will fall into place in His timing! This weekend, The Gathering worship band plays at the 9:30 service and I'm totally pumped for that! Keep spreading the word about this blog and the new experience coming up in January!
Peace

Rachel Katherine Grim

2009-11-19T08:40:00.000-05:00

Today I'd like to highlight our worship leader Rachel Grim. Rachel brings energy and life to the team and somehow always seems to be having a good day. I asked Rachel a few questions which are posted below.

What is your favorite color? Yellow
What is your favorite band? Skillet and Jack Johnson
What are some of your hobbies? Music (singing and playing guitar), Student Council and other school activities, art
What instrument(s) do you play? Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
What is your favorite vacation spot? Emerald Isle, North Carolina
What is your favorite sports team? I have no interest in sports
Share one random fact about yourself: I want to make a difference in the world for Christ. Psalm 34:18

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Rachel today. Check back again tomorrow for another member.

Tony Devita

2009-11-18T17:05:00.000-05:00

Today I'd like to start by highlighting Tony Devita. Tony has worked hard to organize the team and put them together. He's also a 'rock star' drummer, but he'll never tell you that because he's an incredibly humble guy. I asked Tony a series of questions which I posted below as well as Tony's answers.

What is your favorite color? Hunter Green
What is your favorite band? Genesis
What are your hobbies? Drums, Gourmet Cooking, Eating, Sleeping
What instrument do you play? Drums
What is your favorite vacation spot? Ocean City, Maryland
What is your favorite sports team? (no-brainer) Pittsburgh Steelers
What is one random fact that you'd like to share about yourself? I love music

I hope you enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Tony. Check back tomorrow for another member of the team!

Meet the Team

2009-11-17T08:45:00.000-05:00

Throughout the course of this week, I want to highlight members of The Gathering worship team. This is a great group of skilled musicians and vocalists who will lead us into the presence of God each Sunday morning. The team will be playing at the 9:30 worship service on Nov. 29, so come check them out!

January's Coming!!!

2009-11-09T23:34:00.000-05:00

So this is the first blog post for The Gathering Worship Experience. My hope is that we can use this as a way to connect virtually during the course of the week and discuss the message and other things that we've been learning through scripture. Over the next month I'll be posting about the progress of the service as well as giving some more info. about The Gathering. Please, please, please be in prayer for this new experience- pray that people will step up and get involved, pray that things will come together before January, and ultimately, pray that God will be glorified through this!

Jeff