Sermon Title – “Christian Unity and the Pastoral Ministry #1”
Sermon Text – Ephesians 4:7-16
Preacher – Pastor Larry Vincent

In Jesus Christ we have our Head
Our slain and living King
He bled and died, the Church to save
Our feeble praise we bring
As Head our Lord has gifted us
By Grace the Church is made
We’ve gifts to build and edify
The Bride who Jesus saved

Our King has conquered sin and death
And ground our stony hearts
He fights against our enemies
His grace to us imparts
Our bruised and broken Potentate
Our Groom of love and grace
Has won our hearts, securing life
Our hope in Christ is placed

The gifts we have, the lives we live
Are from and for our Lord
So we can glorify our King
Our Kind, Eternal Word
Through blood we’re cleansed, by death we live
We’re ragamuffins all
Yet Jesus gifts the Church, His Bride
We Stand, men of the Fall

In Christ we strive to honor God
Because we’re saved by Grace
To follow Him in Word and Deed
In Christ we run our race
We run as one, the Bride of Christ
In Jesus unified
We’re called to run and love and live
The Body justified

In Christ we’ve men who preach the Word
Equipping saints to serve
By heralds’ voice the Word is told
The Words of Christ are heard
The gifts of Christ are ours to use
With liberality
The Body lives, the Body serves
In Christ the Bride is free

In unity we all obey
Our Christ, our living Head
And to each other we submit
In praise to He who bled
We’ve gifts to build the Bride of Christ
To glorify our King
We live and love, rejoicing Christ
As One, His praise we sing

Sermon Poetry, 11 October 2009
Sermon Title: “Resurrected and Reconciled to Worship”
Sermon Text: Ephesians 2:19-22
Preacher: Pastor Larry Vincent

I once was dead, I’m now a saint
In Christ I’m made alive
No growth exists where death is king
In Christ does life now thrive

In Christ, the Jew and Pagan live
His Grace is large and wide
So all who do believe in him
Might live in Jesus Christ

In Christ the Gentile and the Jew
Are saved and made as one
We are the Church, the Bride of Christ
The Body of the Son

Of every tribe and race and tongue
Are men and women saved
To glorify our God above
And worship all our days

United are the Father’s Own
In Christ our hearts remade
To join the worship of the Lamb
By Him our souls are saved

Sermon Poetry – “Salvation’s Found Alone in Christ”
Preacher – Dr. Tom Ascol

Come look what God has done in Christ
He sent His Son to live and die
He died for us, so you and I,
Can praise His Holy Name

Salvation’s found alone in Christ
The Bleeding Savior from on High
Be covered by His sacrifice
And love the Son of God

Because of Christ I strive to be
A vessel so that men might see
How Jesus Christ has love for me
Sweet Jesus, give me strength!

The Doctrines that I hold as true
Are false without my Savior who
Came to this earth for me and you
I praise His Holy Name

Sermon Poetry, 13  September 2009
Sermon Title – “Christian Liberty #3 – The Nature of Evil”
Sermon Text – Romans 14
Preacher – Steve Garrick

Much evil dwells
Within my heart
Oh, who can know my sin

My wickedness
Is black and foul
There dwells no good within

I take what’s good
Expressing sin
Engaging wickedness

What God has made
I take and use
I foul what God has blessed

I judge the one
Who’s bought by Christ
I am a hypocrite

Ignoring specks
I’m seeing logs
I’m blinded to the light

I am so weak
Lord make me strong
To battle sin within

Lord, teach me to
Your armor use
In Christ, the battle win

I set the sword,
The Scripture’s point
So I might fall on it

My sin’s exposed
My heart is pierced
That black and stinking pit

A sinner great
Is what I am
God’s love I cannot earn

Because of sin
I do deserve
In hell to scream and burn

But thank the Lord
He does not look
To me to save my life

He sent His Son
The perfect One
The bloodied spotless Christ

In Christ I’m saved
I’m covered with
His holy righteousness

I’m favored by
The Lord above
In Christ by God I’m blessed

In Christ I live
To do the will
Of God, Creator King

Although I sin
Christ prays for me
My song God’s glory sings

I thank the Lord
For sending Christ
So sinners might be saved

God does forgive
My sin within
In Christ my heart’s remade

“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about the conquer the highest peak. As he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

- Dr. Robert Jastrow (from “God and the Astronomers“, quoted from Grace and Truth to You)

“You see, in the room will be future pastors and missionaries and counselors and women’s ministry leaders. They’ve been called out by God to minister to people they’ve not met yet. And that’s what theology is about. It’s not about quarreling about words, or setting up partisan divisions. Theology is helping a shellshocked widow clean up after a suicide. Theology is about crying with a teenage boy who’s body is shaking with crystal meth. Theology drives you to rock orphans in India, singing “Jesus Loves Me” while you pray they learn what that means. Theology is hugging an animist African’s neck while you tell him Jesus can protect him from the spirits he fears…or hugging a self-righteous Southern Baptist American’s neck while you tell him he doesn’t fear those demonic spirits nearly enough.”

- Russell D. Moore (“Will the Devil Be in My Classroom Today?“)

There is a certain sadness in feeling
And an associated pain
To be all reason is to protect oneself from hurt
While denying your God-given humanity

There is a certain joy in feeling
And a marvelous sense of rest
To be able to feel is to live life to the full
While praising God in all things

There is a certain risk in feeling
And a victory maybe won
To lay it all on the line takes much courage
That only comes from our gracious God

There is a certain peace in feeling
And a place to relax one’s heart
To be content to feel as we’ve been designed
When life says much otherwise

There is a certain mourning in feeling
And an all too-fragile heart
To get close to friends and family, and see them hurt
While praying for God to be made known through it

There is a certain comfort in feeling
When a weakened heart needs tender care
To be willing to have one’s open wounds soothed
While praying that healing will come

There is a certain richness in feeling
In living as a human being
To be able to feel and think about all things
While all the time praising Him

There is a very real Purpose in feeling
In being like God designed
To be able to Praise Him with thoughts and sensibilities
And bringing Glory to His Name

Sermon Title – “The Church in Pergamus: Discernment and Discipline”
Text – Revelation 2:12-17
Preacher – Jarrett Downs

In Christ I move from death to life
I’m saved to follow Him
I have the freedom to obey
To flee away from sin
I worship Christ, the Son of God
The only God there is
And as I’m free I can enjoy
The life the Father gives

Yet still I live where Satan roams
With idols all about
My flesh I fight and still I sin
Still fighting in the bout
The people round about me all
Will worship idols false
They wish me to engage their sin
And dine in devils’ halls

Sometimes I want to join the play
Temptations growing strong
Yet then again I hate our sin
I know its wicked wrong
Some whisper I have freedom to
Enjoin the sins enjoyed
Yet in my heart and by His Grace
I’ll worship Christ my Lord

Lord, give me discipline to fight
The sins that will destroy
Discernment to perceive the wrong
Deceptions men employ
Lord, help me use my liberty
I have by Jesus’ Grace
To glorify Your Holy Name
And sing Your Righteous Praise

When waves come crashing, smashing down onto the sandy shore
When winds come ripping, slashing in and blow a little more
When homes are thrown and torn in two and some are left to stand
When lives are changed for good or ill, we know we’re in God’s Hands

When little boys get very sick, so that they might soon die
When parents see their children ill, and watch their young ones cry
When tests are done, and bad news comes, with surgeries galore
When hope seems lost, and death seems near, we know we serve our Lord

When dearest friends go through life’s throws and find it hard to stand
When Christian sons and daughters true are weak in God’s strong Hand
When our good God does see it fit to give and take away
The solemn cry “Blessed be His Name” is what our hearts must say

When life goes up and then comes down, when side by side it flies
When all the future once so sure just seems to up and die
When we don’t know what life next holds, when nothing is real sure
When we despair and question God, we see the One Who’s Pure

When God’s Good Will just seems so vague, and it is hard to trust
When we lose faith and hope seems lost, into His arms we’re thrust
For God protects and holds His own, the Children of the Lamb
The Unknown has now been made Known, because God is I AM

We do not need to know what comes today or in the morn
We trust in Christ who loves His sheep, He has His Grace well shown
We do not need to fret the things that in this life seem hard
For all are in our God’s Strong Hands, His Grace He does impart

So when we want to doubt and fret about all things unknown
We must remember that we serve the God Who’s on His Throne
He Rules and Reigns, and knows all things, for He’s our Sovereign Lord
We know the Unknown is made Known, His Grace is on us poured

(set to the tune of “There is a Fountain”)

Lord when it’s hard to live for Christ
And when it’s hard to stand
Help us to fix our Gaze above
To our Eternal Land
To our Eternal Land, to our Eternal Land
Help us to fix our Gaze above
To our Eternal Land

Lord God it’s by Your grace alone
That we are justified
Please give us comfort in Your Blood
The Love in which You died
The Love in which You died, the Love in which You died
Please give us comfort in Your Blood
The Love in which You died

Lord give us grace to know Your Truth
You’ve given us Your Word
By it we know of Jesus Christ
By it we call You Lord!
By it we call You Lord, by it we call You Lord
By it we know of Jesus Christ
By it we call You Lord

Lord give us hope in Who You are
Our Maker and our Friend
Our Sovereign King, and Savior Sweet
Whose Mercy has no end
Whose Mercy has no end, whose mercy has no end
Our Sovereign King, and Savior Sweet
Whose Mercy has no end!

In light of the interesting discussions going on with regards to Derek Webb‘s latest album, Stockolm Snydrome, this is rather enlightening.  I took this video last night (10 July 2009) at the Blood Water Benefit Concert in Red Oak, Texas at The Oaks Fellowship.  You can judge for yourself where Webb’s mind and heart is.

From “I’ll Be Honest”