In Psalm 96 the writer begins with this: Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
The phrase “sing to the Lord a new song” appears a few times throughout the Psalms. We read over that phrase quickly because the book of Psalms is so long and full of similar language. But have you ever paused to think what could be meant by a new song?
In December of 2022, our White Oak Christian Church family began a new journey together. Our Shaken initiative began, and our church family has been challenged to take deeper steps of trust in God as it relates to our generosity. In Acts 4 the believers prayed. They acknowledged that everything was God’s. They asked God to do his powerful work in their community. They spoke those words and the Spirit moved so powerfully on them and through them that the place was shaken! Then God moved through them out into the city to speak boldly the name of Jesus. This is our primary goal for Shaken.
Our secondary goal is trusting God for $6.2. Our committed and expected gifts from our church family for the two years of Shaken is $5.8 million. God is moving in and through us. We want to make three bold moves through Shaken:
Bold Impact: We will fund two years of our general budget which impacts ministry for children, teens, and adults here in our city and around the world. This includes our locations in Cincinnati as well as our local and global mission partners. We want to connect everyone to full life in Jesus.
Bold Hope: We have begun to dream and plan for repurposing portions of our Colerain Twp. facility to be used for the good of the community. We want to bring the hope of Jesus into more lives by connecting with community partners to use our building for God’s glory.
Bold Stewardship: We have begun to pay down the debt of the Ross Twp. facility. We want to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us by paying down debt. This allows us to aim our resources at the places that God wants us to go next and do the things he’ll have us do for his Kingdom purposes. We will reach more people for Jesus.
We have exciting news. As of March 31, 2023, God has provided more than $1 million through our White Oak family’s generosity on this Shaken journey! God is providing in powerful ways! We have broken the $1 million mark toward our goal. This is something to celebrate! God is providing.
Sing to the Lord a new song. The Psalmist asks Israel to sing a new song to God for his provision and rescue from their enemies. They are to sing because of God’s deliverance of them. This new song is a song that boasts of God’s goodness and power. They are to sing it in the streets and from the rooftops so that everyone knows of God’s greatness. That’s their new song. God is up to something. He’s always doing new things. He’s always stretching his people to new places of trust and obedience. What old songs have you been singing? Where have you been stuck in the past or holding on to the comfortable and known things? What new thing have you resisted? As we continue on our Shaken journey, what old thing do you need to let go of so that you can embrace the new things of the Kingdom which God is doing among us?
I am so grateful to our church family and I’m excited for the praise-worthy things that are happening in and around us. We are only at the start of our Shaken journey. Certainly, God has much more to do in and through us.
Singing a new song,
Nathan
Nathan Hinkle
Lead Pastor
White Oak Christian Church