A Seattle church where you can grow in gospel-saturated relationships and see the difference Jesus makes in all of life
What we do on Sundays
We Sing the Gospel
Singing the gospel serves the soul by stirring and expressing affections for Jesus in response to all He has done, is doing, and will do. In addition to lifting our voices, participants often find themselves lifting their hands as an outward expression of our inward enjoyment of Jesus.
Moreover, when singing the gospel together, we share a unique moment when we are able to revel in and express the same truths concerning Jesus. No other moment throughout our reoccurring weeks is like the moment we sing the gospel together. In unison, we declare our shared appreciation for and dependence upon all that God is for us in Jesus.
Each week, our musicians skillyfully combine gospel lyrics with creative melodies so we can do just that!
We Speak the Gospel
Many people read the Bible to discover how to live life in this world, treating the Bible like a divine instruction manual on morality or a wise resource for cultivating productive life skills. The Bible’s perceived relevance rises or falls with the quality of practical tips found therein, often resulting in an exhausting, insecure hodgepodge of human striving.
The Bible’s ultimate purpose is to draw us into dynamic enjoyment of Jesus. Every passage on every page whispers the name of Jesus. That’s what we seek to hear every time we open our Bibles on Sundays.
Speaking the gospel from the Scriptures facilitates a spiritual encounter intended to seize and to re-seize our souls the beauty of Jesus!
We See the Gospel
The gospel is dramatized before our eyes each Sunday as we partake in the Lord’s Supper or celebrate Baptism.
The Lord’s Supper dramatizes the gospel as followers of Jesus partake of the bread and drink from the cup. The bread signifies the body of Jesus given for us while the the fruit of the vine in the cup signifies the blood Jesus shed for our forgiveness.
Baptism dramatizes the gospel as a person identifies with the crucified, buried, and risen Jesus by being immersed in water. As the person is lifted out of the water they are encouraged to now live out their new life with Jesus. And all witnesses celebrate the grace of Jesus once again!
ORDER OF WORSHIP
Something unique about our worship gatherings is that we design them to retell the story of Jesus every week. There is a rhythm to how we gather that moves us along the story line of redemption that is made up of four components: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Recreation.
Creation
We start our gatherings with an invitation to worship, which is the call of creation. God created us to know him. He invites us to draw near to him. We then sing a song exalting and celebrating who God is.
Fall
Then we move into a time of prayer where we confess sins or lament sufferings in light of what needs are exposed from the reading of God’s Law. As fallen people inhabing a fallen world, we express the fact that we are sinners and sufferers in need of God’s grace. We’ll then sing a song or prayer more prayers further expressing our needs.
Redemption
That moves us towards redemption. God’s Word is read and taught in such a way that draws our attention to what God has done for us in Christ. Followed by partaking in the Lord’s Supper. There the gospel is rehearsed time and time again.
Recreation
Our gatherings then swing upward as we consider recreation–the fact that Jesus is making all things new, even now. We sing songs of praise and, at times, invite participants to share words of encouragement designed to build our faith as we prepare to part ways from this place. As we do so, we ask for God to “give us grace that we may go in peace and be a blessing to the city of Seattle and beyond.”
We end our gatherings this way because not only are we a worshipful people who rally around Jesus on Sundays but also throughout the week as we go into our various realms of influence, daily work, education and relationships. We want to go with purpose, compelled by Jesus to live as His ambassadors.
After all, Jesus tells us, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.”
What about kids?
Kids are welcome and encouraged to worship with their guardians and the entire church on Sunday mornings and during the week in Missional Communities.
We also offer Kids Activity packs during our Sunday Worship Gatherings for those worshipping together with adults, and a Kids Ministry designed for babies-3rd grade. Youth 4th-8th grade have opportunities to gather for age-specific discipleship and fellowship at times outside of the Sunday morning worship gathering. For more info about Kids or Youth opportunities, email Jenny Kuester.