Singing in the Victory
Corporate worship plays an intimate role in the narrative of the Gospel as it plays out in the lives of God’s people. Worship is one of the key ways the church participates in the kingdom of God this side of eternity. The songs we sing within a worship service should be the songs written on our hearts throughout the week. If you’ve attended Redemption Arcadia in the last few weeks, you may have noticed that we have been singing a song called “Singing in the Victory” by Austin Stone Worship. This is a song that we will be singing for the next few months, and there is value in understanding why.
Lord willing, for the next nine months we will be studying the book of Ephesians as a congregation. Ephesians carries a recurring theme that is seen over and over again throughout scripture. The message of the Gospel is revealed and reiterated to people who, much like you and me, needed to be reminded of the good news of redemption and adoption in Christ. It begins with broken and lost souls, dead in sin with no purpose and direction. If it stopped at this part of the story, the song we would sing would be depressing and condemning. It’s so easy to stay stagnant in our sin, forgetting about the victory of the cross. Even though we know the truth of the Gospel, we struggle to truly embrace our identity apart from this world. It is by the grace of God that we don’t have to stop there.Now, as worshipers, we sing a song of redemption through the power and grace of a loving Father, who by this love chose to restore these lost souls to Himself. This song is personal, for we are called by name. This is the story being written through the lives of all of God’s people, even you and I.“Singing in the Victory” serves as a reminder of the power of this redemption, the authority of our adoption, and the peace found in knowing the Savior. It’s a call to embrace the victory that Jesus accomplished when He died for the sins of His people. The chorus says, “ I’m singing in the victory of the cross, resting in the shadow of your redeeming love.” What comfort we find when we place our trust and find our confidence in the promises and faithfulness of God instead of ourselves.There are so many distractions in this world that seek to pull us further and further from the cross. We tend to forget or minimize the wonder of our adoption into the family of God. We forget the victory we have in the cross. We live arbitrary lives that lead us away from the Gospel. Yet even when we have forgotten the fullness and personal nature of the grace of God, we are reminded of the power He displayed on the cross. We are reminded that the same God who created the universe predestined us for adoption and brought us from our sin to Himself. It is so important for us to continually be reminded that this is a personal matter; that we are called by name, chosen, adopted, redeemed, and united. What better way to be reminded of this than to sing of these truths each week while we continue to unravel them.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXH60qrJHus
Written by Malia Rogers, one of our worship interns