CCC Gainesville | Blog
Men.
Men.
Stephen Addcox and Todd Best just launched a new adult education class on work – The Six Day Worker: Grasping for Meaning in Work. This class is a seminar style reading group in which class participants will read selected essays and poems prior to class meetings on Sunday mornings. In an effort to effectively distribute the readings electronically, the leaders are curating a blog that will host the weekly selections. The blog will also make it possible for those who cannot attend but remain interested to read along at their own pace.
The blog can be found at: http://thesixdayworker.
Readings for this week:
- Jan. 22: Work Worth Pursuing
- Dorothy Sayers, “Why Work?” and Annie Dillard, “Living like Weasels”
We’ve got a big day planned this Sunday. Adult education kicks off what promise to be several great classes, and there’s a lunch for college students. The worship team worked on preparing some special music this week that I hope you’ll enjoy. We will be singing “Gather Round, Ye Children, Come”, a great song about the Christ child from Behold the Lamb of God, Andrew Peterson’s acclaimed Christmas tour-turned-album.
Peterson is a household name for some in our church, but his work will be new to lots of people. I really enjoy his style of song writing, and I think he crafts music that tells a story well. Behold the Lamb of God was written to tell the Christmas story. As Rob continues to dwell on Christ as a child, the lyrics from this song (written in 2004) began to play in my head. Hopefully it won’t be stuck in yours all next week.
Gather ’round, ye children, come
Listen to the old, old story
Of the pow’r of Death undone
By an infant born of glory
Son of God, Son of ManGather ’round, remember now
How creation held its breath
How it let out a sigh
And it filled up the sky with the angels
Son of God, Son of ManSo sing out with joy for the brave little boy
Who was God, but He made Himself nothing
He gave up His pride and He came here to die
Like a manTherefore God exalted Him
To the place of highest praises
And He gave Him a name above every name
That at the very name of Jesus, Son of GodSo in heav’n and earth and below
Every knee would bow in worship
And ev’ry tongue would proclaim
That Jesus, He reigns with the angels
See you Sunday.
Last week, we learned a new confession that will shape our services throughout Advent. Trisagion was written by Fernando Ortega, an accomplished song writer and worship director. Ortega is an Aglican minister and recently released a new album titled “Come Down, O Love Devine”. You can listen to some samples from this beautiful work here. We will sing these simple words together this Sunday:
Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy
Immortal One, have mercy, have mercy on us
The word Trisagion means “thrice holy” – we sing it to ackknowlege the holiness of our Triune God, just as we acknowlege our own unworthiness. As always, a corporate or private confession should point us to the cross, to the work of Christ that will make all things new. We are comforted by his word:
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
