First Church of God

This weekend we closed our weekend services with the Tim Hughes song "God of Justice (We Must Go)."  From the first day that I heard this song, I believed that the subtitle was a much better title for the song, as it encourages us to get out and make a difference reaching people for Christ both on a physical and spiritual level.  Here are the lyrics to that song:

We must go live to feed the hungry
Stand beside the broken
We must go
Stepping forward keep us from just singing
Move us into action
We must go

Often times in the church we make the mistake of only seeing the ministry of Jesus, which we continue, in only one of two ways: either only physical or only spiritual. When we move forward to reach the world we must feed the physically and spiritually hungry. We must stand beside the physically and spiritually broken. 

The most powerful line in this songs reminds us that we must step forward and be engaged in ministry. We must not just come into the worship space, sing some songs, and go home as if nothing has happened to us through that worship experience.  The experience of worship is multifaceted.  One of those pieces is what worship results in: evangelism.  The theologian, Gil Stafford, said, "not only are services of Christian worship times of communion with the Lord; they are times of empowerment for mission."  In our text from this weekend, Acts 1:1-14, Jesus foreshadows the Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Both the mission that was given to the disciples, and the empowered by the Holy Spirit continue this day. The Body of Christ, the church, which consists of all of those who have received Christ and entered into a relationship with Him, all have the Holy Spirit indwelling in their lives.  However, we must open ourselves up daily to the movement, direction, and conviction of the Holy Spirit on our lives.  We must live dangerously as the church, not the building or organizational structure, but as the people of God as individuals who as a corporate unit recognize our oneness in the mission of God. 

The song "We Are the Body of Christ" reminds us of our oneness and our mission to have a vision for the work of God and to gather together to see God exalted among those who do not know the salvation story of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Here are the lyrics to that song:

One heart one spirit
One voice to praise You
We are the body of Christ
One goal one vision
To see You exalted
We are the body of Christ

And to this we give our lives
To see You glorified

This week be reminded of your connection to others in the church, the Body of Christ.  Recognize that when we engage in worship, we are being prepared to go forward in the mission of God, to exalt His name throughout the earth.  And, let's recognize that "throughout the earth" isn't a concept only left to global missions, but that that means reaching people in our county, our cities, and next door.  Let's be the Body of Christ: on mission, not just singing about Him, but living for Him. 

You can find the mp3 for "God of Justice (We Must Go)" below:

amazon.com: God of Justice (We Must Go)