Context with Clayton: For August 8th
Hey Church! Welcome to Context with Clayton!
This is a way for me to communicate with you about what songs we are singing this week, why we are singing them and some ideas that really emphasize what we are going to be learning about this through our scripture this week. I want to use this space to say what I wish we had time to say on Sunday mornings.
Scriptures this week – Psalm 71:1-6, Jeremiah 1:4-8
Rest On Us – Maverick City Music [ Feat. Brandon Lake]
This song is the opener and I love this song for so many reasons. It gets me absolutely focused on the Spirit of God inside me. I believe it has the same power to draw that up in us. That absolute awareness and acknowledgement that the spirit is present, among us, and flowing through us. In this time during the service we are gathering and just proclaiming that we desire more than anything in this moment that we receive the Spirit and Word of God in a way that changes our thought process, our perspective, and our misconceptions. That we would encounter God in a way that moves us so close to Him that we have no choice but to act as Jesus did on this earth by loving God and others.
Promises – Maverick City Music
This song is a reminder that God is faithful and always present in our lives. We sing together that no matter what happens that God is with us. As we see in our scripture reading this week, we are called because we are His. That is it – the only requirement, to be God’s child.
In this moment during the service we proclaim together that God’s faithfulness is greater than anything we can imagine. All the time, everyday, and always He is faithful. Whatever He calls us to, He is there before, during, and after. We can rest in that faithfulness and be found in the promise that no matter what we go through, HE IS WITH US.
Firm Foundation (He Won’t) – Maverick City Music [Feat. Cody Carnes]
This is a new song this week and I cannot stop listening to it. It is incredible at giving the Church a song that just acknowledges the fact that we are to build our life, on the foundation that is the Son of God. We get to sing over and over again to our Lord and say “Christ is our firm foundation, the rock on which I stand. When everything around me is shaking, I have never been more glad. That I put my faith in Jesus, He has never let me down. He is faithful through generations. Why would He fail now?… He won’t!”
The verse is my favorite
“I’ve still got joy in chaos I’ve got peace that makes no sense I won’t be going under I’m not held by my own strength ‘Cause I’ve built my life on Jesus He’s never let me down He’s faithful in every season So why would He fail now”
This is so encouraging. Being able to sing these words together and believe in the radical change that can take place in us if we truly stand on the foundation that is Jesus. Not us, but Jesus.
Listen to the song this week and get ready to sing this one loud on Sunday!
Fall Afresh – Jeremey Riddle
This song is one of my favorites to sing during my own quiet time. Similar to Rest on Us, I selected it this week because it centers the heart on the Spirit of God and opens our hearts to receive the Spirit in a new way. I want us to truly pray these words during the offering moment. This is not a financial offering moment – it is a spiritual one. In this song we sing “Awaken my soul, come awake, to hunger, to seek, to thirst.” What would it look like for us to offer our daily lives and every breath we take with this perspective? To be hungry for the Lord, so thirsty that we seek Him in every move we make?
I love the chorus and bridge of this song because they are a prayer born from the desire to know God deeper.
I challenge you to pray the chorus and bridge throughout the week and then see what God can use in your life to glorify Him and raise the Kingdom up in ways that you never would have suspected.
Chorus:
Spirit of the Living God come fall afresh on me Come awake me from my sleep Blow through the caverns of my soul Pour in me to overflow,
Bridge: Come and fill this place Let Your glory now invade Spirit come and fill this place Let Your glory now invade
I Am Not Alone – Kari Jobe
This song is a powerful, yet simple moment of reflection: as we come together to pray and be in the presence of the Lord, we sing that we are not alone. God is there, God is here, God is in us and around us. No matter the storm, the trials, or even the victories; God is always present. It is up to us to stay close to Him.
Closing Thoughts:
Thanks for sticking around this week! It is a joy to serve here with you on a weekly basis. This week I want our focus to be about God’s faithfulness through the ages and through our lives. We are in this together and we are unstoppable when we put our faith in Jesus. When we build our life on Christ we are assured that we are operating within His Will. This means we are free to act and be disciple makers through every encounter and every interaction because of the love and faithfulness Jesus showed on the cross.
Grace and Peace,
Clayton