“I will sing of your love and justice; to you, LORD, I will sing praise.” Psalm 101:1
Virtual Worship
If you are not able to be with us in person, we welcome you to worship with us online! Please click here to view current and previous live streamings of the services.
Music
Music gives us a unique and powerful glimpse into the Kingdom of God.
At FCC, we strive to use the gifts God has given us to bring glory to His name. If you have a talent that God has blessed you with, we strongly encourage you to find out how you can use it to bless His church! Contact our Worship Leader, Greg Boyle, to see how you can get involved – greg@fcclawrence.org
We have a team of instrumentalists and singers who help lead Sunday morning worship services. If you enjoy music and you sing, play guitar, piano, bass, drums, or just about anything else, we would love to hear from you! Scheduling is flexible and can be suited to your availability. Rehearsals are on Thursdays at 6:30 p.m.
The Chancel Choir is a family of people who love singing and having fun together! This SATB choir performs regularly for Sunday morning worship. Scheduling is flexible and can be suited to your availability. Rehearsals are on Thursdays at 7:00 PM. This choir takes summers off.
Soloists and Ensembles – FCC Has been blessed with a wide variety of talented singers and instrumentalists. If you are interested in performing for an offertory or special music, contact Greg Boyle to set up an audition – greg@fcclawrence.org
Baptism
At First Christian Church we strongly affirm that everyone who desires to confess Jesus as their Lord (Romans 10:9-10) should “repent and be baptized…in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And…receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). “Repentance” means turning away from your sinful past and deliberately pursuing a holy life as only found in faith in Jesus (e.g., 1 Peter 1:13-16).
Baptism is a public act by which the church proclaims God’s grace, as revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through the use of a visible sign of God’s gracious initiative and the human individual’s response in faith. With other Christians we affirm that baptism is at once a divine gift and a human response.
The meaning of baptism is grounded in God’s redemptive action in Christ, it incorporates the believer in the community in the body of Christ, and it anticipates life in the coming age when the powers of the old world will be overcome, and the purposes of God will triumph.
Just as the baptism represents the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it symbolizes the death and burial of the old self of the repentant believer, and the joyous birth of a brand new being in Christ (see Romans 6). Those who founded the Disciples movement taught baptism by immersion as the accepted form. (From “Word to the Church on Baptism,” Commission on Theology, 1987)
If you have more questions about becoming a disciple of Jesus, and are curious about being baptized, please contact the Church Office: office@fcclawrence.org
Communion
The most primitive traditions concerning the life of Jesus are what occurred in the final week of Jesus’s life. The earliest Christians celebrated a meal, called “Communion,” or the “Lord’s Supper,” because Jesus instituted such a meal the night before His death. Jesus said that the bread we eat in the meal is (like) His body that was crucified for our sin. The juice that we drink is (like) His blood that is poured out as a sacrificial offering on our behalf. Here is the earliest account of that Christian ritual from the Apostle Paul (ca. 55 AD).
For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26 NRSV)
The Lord’s Supper or Communion is celebrated in weekly worship. It is open to all who are followers of Jesus Christ. The practice of Holy Communion has become the central element of worship within the Disciples tradition. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the living Christ is met and received in the sharing of the bread and the cup, representative of the body and blood of Jesus. The presence of the living Lord is affirmed and he is proclaimed to be the dominant power in our lives.
The Disciples of Christ also uses the red Chalice in its denominational logo. The chalice symbolizes the central place of communion in worship for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The X-shaped cross of the disciple Andrew is a reminder of the ministry of each person and the importance of evangelism.