GRACENOTES
June 2016
Equipping the Saints of Grace Bible Fellowship
Song Spotlight Salvation Hymn
Fighting for Joy at Work By Stephen Salinas
By Jesse Quesada
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ruth be told, I often struggle to find joy in my work. Even though I really do like my job, it’s not uncommon to find myself waking up on Monday morning and dreading going into the office. So, when I was asked to write an article about finding joy at work, I couldn’t help but see God’s hand of providence at play. Because finding joy in my work is something that I want to focus on more, I’m thankful for the opportunity to crystalize my thinking on the subject based on biblical principles. To begin with, it’s helpful to be reminded that God created work to be a good thing. As God’s image-bearers, we have the ability to be creative and productive for God’s glory and for our good. However, because we live in a post-Fall world, we sometimes forget that core truth and often incorrectly view work as a necessary evil. Perhaps one reason this happens is that we’ve all experienced the effects of the Joy at Home curse firsthand: our Traditions in the work can often be hard and unproductive. Christian Home
In This Issue
Science Spotlight More Glorious Than the Galaxies
The specific ways we encounter the effects of the curse on our work can manifest themselves in a variety of different forms. For Pastor Cliff example, some people would like to be workThe Problem of Evil ing, but can’t find jobs. Many are in jobs they don’t like and doing work they find unfulfilling. Others are in jobs that they do like, but still have to deal with organizational politics, harsh bosses, and difficult co-workers. Despite the fact that work has been corrupted by sin and the curse, we must remind ourselves that work is still something that can be used for God’s glory and our good. In fact, it’s something that we can and should find joy in, even if we have to fight for it. Continued on page 12
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“Sing to the LORD a new song… in the congregation” - Psalm 149:1
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hough the Scripture is closed, the hymnal is not. It is continually growing with every generation as the Church writes new songs in order to give fresh expression to its praise. Though most songs will never be a “Rock of Ages” or “It Is Well”—spanning centuries of usage in the Church—it is the joy and privilege of saints to write songs that give voice to our theology and experience. Out of a desire to continue in this tradition, the GBF Song Initiative was born. The GBF Song Initiative is a collaborative ministry focused on writing in-house songs for use in our times of worship through singing which can teach and admonish the Church (Col 3:16). It arose from conversations among Austin Thompson, Bryan Lee, and me about our shared desire to see theologically rich songs sung in the church, and the possibility of expanding the in-house writing Austin had already been working on. Since we began collaborating, our aim has been to write songs about God and His work of salvation, to adapt specific Scripture passages for song, and also to write songs where there might be topical gaps in hymnody. “Salvation Hymn” was written by Austin Thompson and myself. The idea for the song came directly from Romans 5 where Paul discusses Christ’s substitutionary work, our justification by faith, and our eternal reconciliation with God. Each verse begins with an ascription of praise to God and then details His work on our behalf. Beside each line will be the primary Scripture reference to which it refers. Praise Him, the One who took our place; We had no hope to claim. (Rom 5:6) Behold the mercy of our Lord, The Lamb, for sinners slain. (Rom 5:8) We languished ‘neath sin’s burden long – Guilt growing every hour. (Rom 5:20) Now reconciled by Jesus through (Rom 5:10) His blood’s eternal pow’r. (Rom 5:9) Continued on page 13
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