Why we Worship

PSALM 47

Clap your hands, all peoples!
  Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
  a great king over all the earth.
He subdued peoples under us,
  and nations under our feet.
He chose our heritage for us,
  the pride of Jacob whom he loves.

God has gone up with a shout,
  the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
  Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
For God is the King of all the earth;
  sing praises with a psalm!

Why Sing?

God reigns over the nations;
  God sits on his holy throne.
The princes of the peoples gather
  as the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
  he is highly exalted!


Why Scripture?



 
Depression
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; (Isaiah 53:3-4)


Recent Posts

God? Who Needs Him?
May 31, 2013
Self-sufficient humanism. Paul saw it coming – “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

Imago Dei
September 12, 2012
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Why Can't I Pray?
August 18, 2012
The bible gives us several reasons, but according to Jeremy Taylor, a deceitful heart is at the root of prayerlessness.

It's Not Rocket Science
July 23, 2012
To keep in step with the Spirit should be our daily quest. And if we are successful at that, all of life falls into place.

Theological Steak
April 10, 2012
These words by P. T. Forsythe on the magnificence of Christ's work are to theology what Ruth's Chris is to a good steak.

Describing the Indescribable
February 11, 2012
What we have in Christ will take all eternity to describe. But for one segment of one sermon, a great preacher made a mighty attempt.

Making Sense Of It All
January 30, 2012
Where are things headed? Is there rhyme and reason to the endless cycle of summer, fall, winter and spring? Is there a plan in place, or is randomness the explanation?

Suffering Saints

January 25, 2012

We get nervous thinking about it - suffering for the sake of Christ. How necessary is it, and what does it produce in us?


Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12–13

Jeremy Taylor preached a sermon on this text...

For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God. And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 1 Peter 4:17-18

Why suffering? Taylor takes a deep breath and gives it a whirl...

"...without the sufferings of saints, God should lose the glories

 1) of bringing good out of evil;

 2) of being with us in tribulation;

 3) of sustaining our infirmities;

 4) of triumphing over the malice His enemies.

 5) Without the suffering of saints where were the exaltation of the cross, the conformity of the members to Christ their head, the coronets of martyrs?

 6) Where were the trial of our faith?

 7) Or the exercise of long-suffering?

 8) Where were the opportunities to give God the greatest love, which cannot be but by dying and suffering for Him?

 9) How should that which the world calls folly prove the greatest wisdom;

 10) And God be glorified by events contrary to the probability and expectation of their causes?

 11) By the suffering of saints Christian religion is proved to be most excellent; while the iniquity and cruelty of the adversaries invites those onlookers to consider the secret excellencies of that religion for which and in which men are so willing to die; for that religion must needs be worth looking into, which so many wise and excellent men do so much value above their lives and fortunes.

 12) By our suffering we have a capacity of serving God beyond that of angels, who indeed can sing God's praise with a sweeter note, and obey Him with a more unabated will, and execute His commands with a swifter wing and a greater power; but they cannot die for God, they can lose no lands for Him; and He that did so for all us, and commanded us to do so for Him, is ascended far above all angels, and is heir of a greater glory.

 13) 'Do this and live' was the covenant of the law, but in the gospel it is 'suffer this and live. He that forsakes house and land, friends and life, for my sake, is my disciple.'

 14) By the suffering of saints, God chastises their follies and levities, keeping their errors from evolving into heresies, and stopping their infirmities from becoming crimes. 






When Fear Is Good

January 7, 2012

NO FEAR, we are told. And the point is well taken. But fear can be healthy, at least when it comes to eternal matters.


I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.

But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. Luke 12:4,5

Referring to Jeremiah in his book RUN WITH THE HORSES, Eugene Peterson says that Jeremiah was undeterred by the hostility around him and his message, for "the most important thing in his life was God - not comfort, not applause, not security, but the living God."

"What he did fear was worship without astonishment, religion without commitment. He feared getting what he wanted, and missing what God wanted. It is the only thing worthy of our fear."






When God Comes Close
May 19, 2010
Jacob had his dream, and knew that God had been there. Jonathan Edwards had that afternoon in the woods, as God poured out his love profoundly and personally. Paul had an experience with God that he could not put into words. And they were changed.

When God Relents
October 30, 2008
Ninevah was scheduled for demolition by God. It's end had been determined. That same God sent Jonah to warn it, so that they could repent and not be destroyed. What gives? Does God vacillate?

Tears In A Bottle
October 21, 2008
You list my tears on your scroll. Psalm 56:8 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. Isaiah 42:3

Detecting Slippage
October 21, 2008
This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66:2

The Light That Surprised William Cowper
July 8, 2008
The Lord said to Moses, "Who gave man his mouth?...is it not I, the Lord?" William Cowper stuggled with mental illness all his life, yet even so his "thorn in the flesh" enriched the Church. Just how did this happen?





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