Sunday Mornings with New City
If you're new to New City, you may have noticed something a little bit out of the norm. Maybe you’re a freshmen here in Macon for college. Or maybe you’ve been visiting for a couple of weeks. Or maybe you’ve been a Partner for a while now and this can serve as a good reminder. Whatever the case, as you have gathered with us you may be asking yourself…”Why in the world do they talk so much between songs?”
No matter who you are, everyone can agree that life is difficult. Work is hard and stressful. Students are filled with pressure to make the best grades and be a part of every organization in attempt to fill every portion of their resume. Raising children takes time, patience, and grace, all of which seem to be riding close to that “E” on your gas tank. Every room in the house is a constant reminder of what you haven’t done and still need to do. Ads and pressure about who you should vote for in the upcoming election. Oh yeah, and on top of all that, we are living in a pandemic.
Talk about EXHAUSTING!!!
Each week New City Church gathers for worship. We gather to express our worship of God, celebrating who He is and what He has done for us. We also gather to encourage and be encouraged. As believers we gather to be reminded of the gospel and how the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus changes everything for us. We’re reminded of why life is difficult but also remember who God is and what He has done for us. Mixed in with the church gathering are those who don’t know or don’t believe the good news of Jesus. We have an awesome opportunity to introduce them to Jesus and to show them how good the good news really is! Our services each week are thoughtfully planned out to accomplish all of this—to express our gratitude to a good and gracious sovereign King, to encourage those present or online who are tired and weary, and to help followers of Jesus and not yet followers of Jesus see how wonderful and amazing the good news is and how it transforms every part of our lives.
The songs we sing are a beautiful proclamation of the truth we have received and a heartfelt response. But wait a second, it’s a response. Response to what? A response is an action that is performed after some information given or a revelation if you will. So what is the revelation?…God’s great story of a loving Creator who redeems fallen man through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus —the story of Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. Our liturgy (the things we do, say, sing, preach) is put together to proclaim the gospel from start to finish each and every week. The words that are written and shared between songs help guide us through that story. They express a crucial part of the Gospel. They help us remember why we would ever sing this song in the first place. And the songs are our response to this glorious revelation.
As you gather with us this week, whether in person or online, pay close attention to the words that are spoken and the songs that are sung. I know you will hear the story of the gospel being told and hopefully you will see why the gospel is worth singing and celebrating!
We’ve previously written a series of blogs unpacking each element of the gospel story and how it relates to our liturgy and gatherings on Sunday mornings. Here are the links below: