Draw Near To God

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. This is a fairly straight-forward statement from James 4:8 and it has been proving true for me this week. The past few days at Calvary with the Life Action team have been days of drawing near to God. For me personally, the act of coming to church services while not being responsible for the content of those services has provided an opportunity to stop and listen to God, to consider my walk with Christ, to look at how I am leading my family, to ponder how I do ministry. As I have drawn near to God and given time for His Word to soak into my life, I find that I am wanting in many areas.

Last evening we participated in an exercise where we used a tool called Put Off…Put On.  This simple sheet of paper lists 42 specific sins that are clearly named in Scripture and 42 alternative righteous acts. We were challenged to look back at the just last seven days of our life and consider whether we had committed any of these sins. We were then challenged to confess and repent of any sins we had committed. I have to say that when I heard the parameter of seven days placed on the timeline, I was feeling pretty good. That false comfort provided by self-righteousness quickly dissipated as I began working through the list. When I had finished, I was pretty certain that I had committed 31 of the 42 sins listed in the past seven days. I would have been at 40 had the time frame been just a little longer.

It was humbling to go before the Lord and confess all the things that He already knows to be true about my life. Although confessing sin is not a pleasurable activity by any measure, the resulting forgiveness brings joy beyond measure. Going into this week, I had sensing a significant lack of joy in my life, after working through the Put Off…Put On sheet, I understand why there hasn’t been joy. Unconfessed sin had robbed me of joy.  Years ago I heard someone say that confession without repentance is just bragging. I get that saying and my deepest desire is that my confession will be accompanied by lasting repentance in every area of my life.

Following Christ is not one time experience, but a day by day journey. Sanctification doesn’t happen overnight but over a lifetime. My journey today includes continuing to draw near to God through prayer, through the Word, and through simple obedience. Obedience in the little things this week has brought a new level of joy to my life. I have drawn near to God and He has drawn near to me. I am looking forward to the rest of this week at Calvary as we continue to apply Biblical truth to our lives.

If you are in the Holland area, whether you normally attend Calvary or not, I encourage you to join us for the next few days.  It may change your life. 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Trent

When God Shows Up

The next two Sundays and the week in between will be very special days at Calvary as we have a Thirst Conference with Life Action Ministries. I am anticipating a wonderful time of seeking the Lord together. Our Calvary Worship Arts team will not have any responsibilities during the conference as the Life Action team will be leading us in worship. I hope that each of you in Worship Arts will make attending the conference a priority.

I was first introduced to Life Action Ministries in 1994 and that was a life changing experience for me.Rather that use the blog this week to walk through the songs we will be singing on Sunday, I have decided to tell you what God did in my heart during a Life Action conference.


I grew up in a family that went to church and I knew the stories of the Bible at an early age. As a child, it was very important to me that I did what was right and that I met the expectations that others had of me. Outwardly, I was very compliant to all my authorities. As a teenager, I realized that the right thing to do was to walk down the aisle at church and pray with the pastor to receive Christ. So that is what I did. I did not come to Christ with any sense of need or of want in my life. I came to Christ because that is what I was supposed to do. In my pride I believed that God needed me.

I lived on the outside as though I had a relationship with Jesus Christ, but on the inside, life was empty. I had no relationship with Christ and I didn't even know it. God, in His great love and mercy, allowed me to be surrounded by devoted followers of Jesus Christ. I saw a clear difference between my life and theirs. Eventually I heard Tim St. Clair of Life Action Ministries preach a message on brokenness. I finally realized the truth of James 4:6 that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. I had not come to Christ humbly in need of a Savior. I had come proudly boasting of my works.

As my eyes were opened to my true condition, I realized what Christ had done for me in taking upon Himself the wrath that my sinful life deserved. I was saved by His sovereign grace. My sin debt was paid in full by Jesus Christ. God radically transformed my life 18 years ago and I have been on a journey to become more and more like Christ ever since.

Margie and I had the privilege of serving with Life Action Ministries as team members for two years and served for many more as musical consultants. I have seen God move through many churches in radical ways as people have chosen to become obedient to the Word of God. My prayer for Calvary coming into this week is that God would manifest His glory here and that we would never be the same. I am praying for a revival that is marked by repentance and reconciliation. I am praying for a revival that sees broken marriages and relationships restored. I am praying for a revival that sees men and women surrender their lives for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am praying it begins in me.

Soli Deo Gloria
Trent

Thanksgiving Praise

The Thanksgiving Praise Service has been a tradition at Calvary as far back as I can remember. Each year we make a shift from our normal course of study and worship to express gratitude to the Lord for all that He has done. The focus this year is on the actions of a grateful heart. Pastor Paul’s message will be woven throughout the service and mingled with song and testimonies, culminating with celebration of the Lord’s Table.

We begin Sunday with the congregation singing God Is Good All The Time. This will be followed by a time for us to express our thanks to God through our tithes and offerings. The Worship Choir will sing Sweet Aroma Of Praise while the ushers collect the offering.

When the choir has finished, Pastor Paul will begin his message declaring that a grateful heart serves unselfishly. We are going to have the opportunity to hear from some members of our New Jersey mission team as they share their experiences with us. We may even hear about a future mission opportunity to serve the people of Tuckerton, New Jersey.

After the mission team has shared, Pastor Paul will continue with the declaration that a grateful heart gives unselfishly. We will have the opportunity to practice unselfish giving as we have our special Thanksgiving offering. This offering is designated to repairing the house of the Lord. There are several areas of our church facility that are in desperate need of repair and we are going to use this offering to meet those needs so that our general offering can continue to be focused on our mission to passionately pursue Christ and to lovingly pursue others for Christ. The best example we have of an unselfish giver is Jesus Christ. We will declare that as we sing the Sovereign Grace song Jesus, Thank You. This modern worship song is deeply meaningful and will help us declare the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is the first verse:

                The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend

                The agonies of Calvary

                You the perfect holy One crushed Your Son

                Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

Pastor Paul will then declare that a grateful heart praises unselfishly. We have prepared a special Thanksgiving video and after it plays we will hear from the congregation as we give thanks through testimonies. That portion of the service will close with the congregation singing Great Is Thy Faithfulness.

The final part of Pastor Paul’s message is that a grateful heart remembers. We will remember the death of Jesus Christ through the celebration of the Lord’s Table. The congregation will sing Matt Redman’s 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) and then we will take communion. Finally we will close the service singing the Doxology.

                Praise God from Whom all blessings flow

                Praise Him all creatures here below

                Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts

                Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

                Amen

Soli Deo Gloria

No Longer Blind

This Sunday at Calvary will be very special as we have a number of parents coming to dedicate their children to the Lord. Three to four times a year we are privileged to stand along parents as they dedicate themselves to training their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. This is just one of many things that make our Calvary community a special place. We are also going to hear testimonies from families who have completed our membership process and are joining our church. It truly is a joy to hear how God has intervened in someone’s life and drawn them to Himself.

Pastor Paul will continue his series Journey Through John and will finish the passage from chapter 9 where Jesus heals the man born blind. Once again we have a new song from our Worship Arts team. This song, No Longer Blind, was primarily written by Scott Moe. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:

                Then by Your grace, You opened our eyes

                You took away the blindness

                That made our hearts so we could not see

                You threw the door wide open

                You’re the truth Who came to set us free

I know that this will be a blessing to you. Steve Koets will also be singing Witness To My Ways. This is the song that he wrote and we introduced last Sunday. Follow the YouTube link to hear this wonderful new song.

The other songs we will be singing as a congregation are Come Praise And Glorify from Sovereign Grace and How Deep The Father’s Love For Us. Jeremy Banks will be leading our worship team and church through these songs and I am excited to worship together this Sunday.

Coming Up:

Remember that we want a full choir on Sunday November 18^th to sing Sweet Aroma of Praise. Plan to be in the auditorium to rehearse at 9:45 a.m. that morning.

Calling all band and orchestra players; we want a full orchestra to play for our Christmas Carol Sing-A-Long on Sunday evening, December 9^th. Let me know if you can play!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Trent

Witness To My Ways

This Week

This Sunday at Calvary our Journey Through John takes us into chapter 9 where we see Jesus heal a man who was born blind. Some of our musicians began working through this passage several months ago with the intention of writing songs that we could utilize in our corporate worship. Witness To My Ways is one of the songs birthed through those efforts. The song written primarily by Stephen Koets is about coming to belief in Jesus Christ. I know that it will be a blessing to our congregation. Here is the text from the chorus:

                        And I believe, and it's changing how I see

                        It's your truth that sets us free, Lord Jesus

                        And I believe, my eyes are open now I see

                        the Son of God has come for me to live

We will open the service singing The Father’s Love from Sovereign Grace musician Joel Sczebel which is a wonderful declaration that the sinner has been forgiven, the rebel has been made clean, blind eyes have been made to see and orphans have been adopted because of the Father’s love.

After our time of offerings a testimonies, we will sing a song set that focuses our hearts on the grace of God utilizing the songs Your Grace Is Enough, Grace Greater Than Our Sin, and Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone). After the message we will close the service by reprising Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone).

Don’t forget that this Sunday is the day when we turn our clocks back and gain that extra hour of sleep. We should all be rested and ready to worship God at Calvary.

Coming Soon

November 11 – Child Dedication, Veteran Recognition

November 18 – Thanksgiving Praise Service: I would like to utilize a full choir for this Sunday. We will be singing Sweet Aroma Of Praise so join us at 9:45 a.m. on the 18^th to prepare our song for the service.

November 25 – December 2 – Thirst Conference with Life Action Ministries: Please set aside this week to seek the Lord together with our church family. This is perhaps the most important week in the life of our church for the entire year and I hope that everyone in Worship Arts will make it a priority.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Trent