Our name has within it the substance of what we want to accomplish as a church.

BLESS THE LORD

Bless the Lord, O my soul, 

and all that is within me,

bless His holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul

and forget not all his benefits. (Psalm 103:1,2)

The Hebrew word for "bless" can also mean to praise and adore. God is the audience of our worship.

The Scriptures tell us to "be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ..." (Ephesians 5:18-20).

  1. Worship is motivated/controlled by the Holy Spirit ("be filled with the Spirit").
  2. Worship is within the context of community ("addressing one another").
  3. Worship may take on various and appropriate styles of music ("psalms and hymns and spiritual songs").
  4. Worship it to be pleasing to the Lord ("making melody to the Lord in your heart").
  5. Worship is to show gratitude to God ("giving thanks always and for everything").
  6. Worship is to be Triune ("filled with the Spirit, ...to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.")

Worship is for and to Him. Do we benefit from worship? Of course, for it puts us in the right place as His creatures made in His image. We become like the God we worship. And as we sing the truths of who God is and what He has done for us in Christ we are grounded in truth. However, worship must never be man-centered. It is not "worshiptainment." It is not to appeal to the non-believer. But it is to please the Lord. Our worship is not to be motivated by a band (as good as they can be) or the style of music, but rather it is to be motivated by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18ff) and truth (John 4:23,24). And our worship must be grounded in the truth of who God is, what He has done, is doing, and will do (Ephesians 1:1-15).

BLESS ONE ANOTHER

The Hebrew word for "bless" can also mean to show favor, to invoke favor on someone, or to give life to someone. We are to be a life giving and life affirming community of believers.

We are to love one another (John 15:12). Honor one another (Romans 12:10). Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:16). Associate with one another (Romans 12:16). Accept one another as Christ accepted us (Romans 14). Welcome one another (Romans 15:7). Instruct one another (Romans 15:14). Care for one another (1 Corinthians 12:25). Comfort one another (2 Corinthians 13:11). Serve one another (Galatians 5:15). Bear with one another (Ephesians 4:2). Be kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32). Forgive one another (Ephesians 4:32). Submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21). Admonish one another (Colossians 3:16). Encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18). There are a number of other "one another's." But you get the point. Christian fellowship is not to be observational, but participatory.

This is one of the prime motivations for the micro church format. It is within this interactive format that participation can readily occur.

BLESS THE WORLD

We do this as we share the gospel of Christ and make disciples of the nations.

Our outreach process follows a simple plan related to how we can BLESS people in our community. Everyone knows someone who needs to experience the good news of Christ. This simple bookmark can help you think on a daily basis about the people you know, and what you can do to be a blessing in their lives. The Biblical basis for this approach is the Abrahamic promise found in Genesis 12. There Abraham's seed was to be a blessing to all nations. This first occurred in Christ, THE SEED of Abraham. But by of our faith we too are the children (seed) of Abraham, and we continue that mission to help others experience the blessings found in Christ (Galatians 3). In our fellowship we learn how to apply and actively engage these principles. Then together we are on mission to bring the gospel to the nations.