music ministry
Thank you to all the men and women who participated in choir during August . During September , all the choirs WILL begin for the season .
Sanctuary Choir
( College – Adult ) No audition required – You must be able to carry a tune and read parts Wednesdays 6:30-8:30 p . m .
Youth Choir
( 6 th Grade – 1 2th ) College students are welcome , too Begins Sunday , September 10 4:00-5:00 p . m . This rehearsal will be boys only !!! Every boy interested in Youth Choir must be there ! Full rehearsal — boys and girls — begins September 17 , 4:00-5:00 p . m .
Chapel Choir ( 2 nd Grade – 5 th Grade ) Begins Sunday , September 10 7:00-7:45 p . m . Rehearsal and Ice Cream !
Handbell Choir Begins Wednesday , September 20 5:30-6:30 p . m . This Choir is by appointment only .
Advance Notice : Lessons and Carols Service December 10 Dress Rehearsal — December 11 Children MUST be attending rehearsals to participate .
Is serving in the Choir for you ? I hope you will prayerfully consider it .
In Christ ’ s Service , Kathryn Van Eck the apostles and the church from page 1
place that would promote their long-term spiritual well-being .
Jesus ’ church is also a rebuke to hypercollectivism . Authoritarian , unaccountable , autocratic church leaders cannot sustain the long-term spiritual well-being of believers . Apostles ( individual ) replace themselves with elders ( plural ) for the sake of the health and well-being of the churches and their members . The New Testament does not envision believers outside of the visible , institutional church .
Dynamic
The church , it must also be said , is more than a structure . It is more than an institution . It is a living organism , a body . The Apostles , especially Paul , use this metaphor to teach the mutual dependence , responsibility , and accountability of members for each other . The Apostle Paul develops these thoughts at length in Ephesians 4:11ff , 1 Corinthians 12:4- 31 and Romans 12:4-21 . The well-being of the church begins with gifted men ( pastors and teachers ) exercising their word gifts for the equipping of the saints and the building up of the body of Christ ( Eph 4:11-15 ). This done , each part works properly and the whole body is built up in love ( Eph 4:16 ). The point in the latter two passages is that gifts are distributed throughout the whole church body . We are all “ members of one another ” ( Rom 12:5 ). Our gifts are “ for the common good ” ( 1 Cor 12:7 ). God has “ arranged the members in the body ” and “ composed the body ” ( 1 Cor 12:18 , 24 ). None of us can say to another member , “ I have no need of you ,” any more than our eye can say that to our hand or our head to our feet ( 1 Cor 12:21 ). All the parts of the body are “ indispensable ” ( 1 Cor 12:22 ). This means that I cannot flourish spiritually apart from both the teaching of the gifted pastors and teachers , and a vital , living connection with other believers in the church . My spiritual health , growth , and very survival depends on it . The church is a living body in which all “ contribute to the needs of the church ” ( Rom 12:13 ). We cannot have fingers cut off without being hurt . Fingers cannot sever themselves from the whole body without withering and dying .
What is the church ? The church is both a living organism and an institution . The church as Jesus envisioned it and as the
Apostles constructed it , has structure , organization , authority , membership , standards of conduct and belief , discipline , means of inclusion and exclusion , officers , a Great Commission , ministry and sacraments . We repeat : the New Testament does not envision a believer outside of the church . Those who believe have baptism , the church ’ s rite of admission , administered to them , and they are “ added to the number ,” the roll , of the church ( Acts 2:38 , 47 ; 4:4 ). Is not “ in the church ” where Jesus wants us , and where we need to be ?
Still not convinced ? Let ’ s return to Jesus ’ relation to the church as expressed by the metaphors employed by the Apostles . Two of their favorites are the church as the “ body of Christ ” and as “ bride of Christ .” Try to harmonize these with churchless Christianity , with a healthy relationship with Jesus while rejecting the church . Can the head be severed from the body and the body still survive ? “ Christ is the head of the church , his body ” ( Eph . 5:23 ). Can one love the head and despise the body ? Of course it ’ s impossible . The head and the body are one , distinguishable but inseparable . How about separating Christ from His bride ? Jesus loves His bride . He shed His blood for her . He nourishes and cherishes her ( Eph 5:25-33 ). Can one love Christ and despise His bride ? Can one separate Christ from His bride , love Him and ignore her ? Imagine inviting a friend for dinner and urging him to leave his wife at home because , as you explain , you like him not her , and are interested in getting to know him better but can ’ t be bothered about her .
It ’ s Sunday morning . My wake-up routine has been completed . What am I now to do ? Do what the Scriptures require and what Christians have done for 2000 years . Go to the public assembly , gathered under the discipline of Christ ’ s appointed officers to be ministered to by the word read , preached , sung , prayed , and administered . Gather with those who with you compose the body and the bride of Christ in a given location . God ’ s people should consider no other alternative , nor desire any other option .
— TLJ
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