Fluency

Quote from Tullian Tchividjian, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.

We, too, ought to experience God with the totality of our being in worship. Worship services ought to inform the mind intellectually, engage the heart emotionally, and bend the will volitionally. God wants thoughtful worshippers who believe, emotional worshippers who behold, and obedient worshippers who behave. God-centered worship produces people who think deeply about God, feel passionately for God, and live urgently in response to God. Therefore, when we meet God in worship, we should expect a combination of gravity and gladness, depth and delight, doctrine and devotion, precept and passion, truth and love.

Read the whole article, Worship is a Big Deal.

Tags: Worship

I was exposed to this hymn written by John Newton on the Challies blog.

Though I grew up in a tradition where hymns were the dominant form of congregational signing, I don’t think I had heard this one before.

Having read the words I was intriguer to hear it song.
I found it on the iGrace music online hymnal (for those who want the music they have the piano and guitar music available to print).
And a rendition on YouTube (below).

Before watching the video, ponder the words.

Approach, My Soul, the Mercy Seat

words by John Newton
based on Ps. 32:5-7

Chorus: Approach, my soul, the mercy seat,
Where Jesus answers prayer; 
There humbly fall before His feet, 
For none can perish there.

1. Thy promise is my only plea, 
With this I venture nigh; 
Thou callest burdened souls to Thee 
And such, O Lord, am I.

2. Bowed down beneath a load of sin, 
By Satan sorely pressed, 
By wars without and fears within,
I come to Thee for rest.

3. Be Thou my shield and hiding place, 
That, sheltered near Thy side,
I may my fierce accuser face, 
And tell him Thou hast died!

4. O wondrous love! To bleed and die, 
To bear the cross and shame,
That guilty sinners, such as I, 
Might plead Thy gracious name!

©1998 Kevin Twit Music.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Additional Verses
courtesy of Michael Lyman

5. “Poor tempest-toss-ed soul, be still;
My promised grace receive;
I’ll work in thee both power and will;
Thou shalt in me believe.”

Tags: Attributes, Mercy, Worship

(part 1)

Basic principles of stewardship and giving.

Paul laid out general principles of stewardship and giving in 1 Corinthians 16 and 2 Corinthians 8-9.

From 1 Corinthians 16

• Each believer responsible to give—”each of you” 16:2
• Planned and given regularly 16:2
• Proportional giving 16:2
• This process would prevent the need for an ineffective collection or for a “pressured” appeal to the givers. 16:4

From 2 Corinthians 8-9

8:1-5

• Sacrificial giving
  • Proportional—”according to their ability”
  • Sacrificial—”beyond their ability”
• Joyful giving
  • Their poverty no more impeded their generosity than their tribulation diminished their joy.
• Key—not the size of the gift but the attitude of the giver

• Summary
  • Generous beyond their means
  • Acted on their own initiative
  • Gave not only financially but gave themselves

8:9-12

• Willingness to give should be evidenced by actual giving
• Paul had challenged them to give in 1 Corinthians, they had stopped because of a conflict, now that the conflict was solved, it was time for them to finish what they started.
• When the giver is willing—heart attitude—than the proportional gift is acceptable.

9:5-15

• Give Generously 9:5-6
• Give freely (without compulsion) 9:7
• Give cheerfully 9:7
• Giving is an act of faith 9:8
  • God provides for the giver.  So give liberally, and live on what is left by God’s supply.
• Giving results in praise and thanksgiving to God 9:11-15
  • Their gift would supply the needs of the needy 9:12
  • Their gift would cause the recipient and others to praise God 9:11b, 12b, 13, 15
  • Notice that praise is offered less for the gift itself than for the spiritual virtues of the donors expressed in the gift.
• Giving is an acknowledgment that what we have is God 9:15

Key Point: The focus of New Testament giving is not on a percentage but proportional to income.

Summary

From Andy Stanley “Fields of Gold”

1. Priority giving – Giving to God before anything else
2. Percentage giving – 10% is a good start
3. Progressive giving – Keep growing as a giver
4. Prompted giving – Additional spontaneous giving as God leads
5. Purposeful giving – Giving to where it can make a difference

Tags: Giving, Stewardship

In a world driven by advertising–contentment seems to be increasingly a counter-cultural attitude.  But Scripture is clear about the benefit of and need for contentment.

1 Timothy 6:6–10 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (ESV)

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (ESV)

Tags: Giving, Stewardship

During the month of Ramadan is a good time to pray for God and Christian to impact the Muslim world through prayer.

You can download a wonderful resources from 30-Days of Prayer. There is even a wonderful resources for children.

Here is their promotional video.

Just added this to my iTunes library.

All Must Be Well

from the album, Watch the Rising Day.

By Matthew Smith

Through the love of God our Savior, all will be well
Free and changeless is His favor, all is well
Precious is the blood that healed us
Perfect is the grace that sealed us
Strong the hand stretched forth to shield us
All must be well

Though we pass through tribulation, all will be well
Ours is such a full salvation, all is well
Happy still in God confiding
Fruitful if in Christ abiding
Steadfast through the Spirit’s guiding
All must be well

We expect a bright tomorrow; all will be well
Faith can sing through days of sorrow, all is well
On our Father’s love relying
Jesus every need supplying
Yes in living or in dying
All must be well

Tags: Music

http://blog.ivman.com/attention-grabbers/

The world was no doubt made, that it might be a theatre of the divine glory.  John Calvin

God is glorious (adjective), reveals his glory (noun), and is to be glorified (verb).  Christopher W. Morgan

Read an interview with Christopher Morgan, about his new book, The Glory of God.

One brief exerpt

More particularly, the Bible speaks of the glory of God in several distinct senses:

1. Glory may designate God himself (2 Pet. 1:17).
2. Glory sometimes refers to an internal characteristic, attribute, or a summary of attributes of God. Scripture regularly depicts God as intrinsically glorious in the sense of fullness, sufficiency, majesty, beauty, and splendor.
3. Glory may refer to God’s presence (Exod. 3-4; 13–14; 16:7; 20; 24; 32-34; 40:34-38, etc.).
4. Glory may refer to the display of God’s attributes, perfections, or person. God glorifies himself in displaying himself. As he puts his works on display, he glorifies himself. His mercy, grace, justice, and wrath are all displayed in salvation and judgment (cf. Rom. 9:20–23; Eph. 2:4–10).
5. Glory may refer to the ultimate goal of the display of God’s attributes, perfections, or person. Exodus and Ezekiel, for example, are replete with passages that unfold God’s actions for the sake of his name, or in order that people will know he is the Lord. Paul points out that God chooses, adopts, redeems, and seals us “to the praise of the glory of his grace” (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). That is, in saving us, God displays his grace; and in displaying his grace, he brings glory to himself.
6. Glory sometimes connotes heaven, the heavenly, or the eschatological consummation of the full experience of the presence of God (cf. Heb. 2:10; Phil. 4:19; Rom. 2:7; 1 Tim. 3:16; etc.).
7. Giving glory to God also may refer to responding appropriately to God in the form of worship, exaltation, or exultation (cf. Psalm 29:2; Luke 2:9, 14, 20; doxologies; etc.).

 

 

Tags: Attributes, Glory

John Piper was asked, “If you could say one thing to the next generation of church leaders, what would it be?”

I think his answer is good for everyone.

Make the Bible the supreme intellectual and emotional authority in your life, for the sake of magnifying Christ in the fullness of his person and his work, so that generation after generation preserves the foundation and the capstone of the glory of God in Christ, and the grace that is the apex of that glory.

Tags: Bible, Wisdom

“God’s promises are like stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine.” David Nicholas