Celebration Sunday, September 1
Welcome to our Order of Service page and Celebration Sunday! Each week, a team of pastors and staff get together to collaborate on the liturgy, or order of service, for Sunday. Every element is prayerfully and carefully crafted so that the Gospel, God’s redemptive story to save a people for Himself in and through His Son Jesus Christ, would be clear and compelling. We hope you’ll enjoy following along with us as we present and rehearse the Gospel again this morning.
Order of Service
CALL TO CORPORATE WORSHIP
Pastor of Corporate Worship: Ryan Foglesong
Psalm 113; 115:1
ADORATION
Open the Eyes of My Heart
WELCOME & MISSION STATEMENT
Senior Pastor: David W. Hegg
PASTORAL PRAYER
Pastor of Spanish Ministries: David Cea
ASSURANCE OF PARDON
His Mercy is More
SONG OF TRUST & DEPENDENCE
My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62)
CORPORATE PRAYER
Pastor of Musical Worship: Peter Beers
BAPTISM & TESTIMONY
Joe Keller and his son, Noah
PASTORAL PRAYER FOR OFFERING
Chairman of the Elders: John Beck
OFFERTORY
You Refresh My Soul
PROCLAMATION
Trust in the Lord and Do Good | Psalm 37:1-4
Senior Pastor: David W. Hegg
THE LORD’S SUPPER
Pastor of Equipping: Aaron Miller
SONG OF RESPONSE
Great is Thy Faithfulness
COMMISSION & BENEDICTION
Executive Pastor: Joe Keller
Why do we have occasional bilingual services?
A bilingual service is one where two languages are spoken and sung. Here at Grace Baptist, we have a thriving Spanish Ministry representing 15 Spanish-speaking countries, which meets in the Conference Center on Sundays. So on this All Family Sunday, having one service only with Spanish speakers included, we have the opportunity to stretch our comfort zones and sing in both English and Spanish.
We do this not only to be inclusive of our Spanish-speaking congregation, to love and serve them, but also to rehearse for Heaven. We're not sure precisely what Heaven will look and sound like, but we do have this picture from the Apostle John in the Book of Revelation:
"After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" (Rev. 7:9–10 ESV)
The point of this passage isn't to highlight diversity for diversity's sake but to illustrate that God has united a people who look and sound different from one another by His Son's work and for His Son's worship. So then, a bilingual church service is a wonderful foretaste of what Heaven will be like and a good reminder that God is engaging and saving people in every nation and tribe through the gospel of Jesus Christ in their language. He alone is the object of our focus and the theme of our fellowship - "Let the glory of HIS name be the passion of the church!”