Sooo…..why, as God’s people, should we sing? One of the many places this is answered is Scripture is Psalm 59:16-17
But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
May we ever trust the fullness of God’s strength and love, that we might ever sing aloud His praises every day!
Pastor Greg
One of God’s primary purposes in giving His people the Psalms is to teach us to “Sing to Him a new song…” (Ps. 33:3) And it’s clear that He intends us to sing these new songs in any and every circumstance He ordains for our lives. Consider just some of the contexts in which the songs of the Psalms are expressed:
· In pressure and distress from enemies, yet rejoicing in God’s protective care and lovingkindness – Ps. 5; Ps. 27; Ps. 59
· In sorrow and trouble, and yet rejoicing in God’s salvation – Ps. 13; Ps. 25
· In gratitude for God’s powerful deliverance and provision – Ps. 18; Ps. 34
· In grief and confession of sin in the hope of God’s mercy – Ps. 38; Ps. 51
· In remembrance of God’s abundant forgiveness in spite of sin and guilt – Ps. 32; Ps. 130
· In acute awareness of weakness and need, yet confident in God’s everlasting love and strength – Ps. 40; Ps. 86
· In discouragement and overwhelming despair, yet finding hope in God – Ps. 42; Ps. 43
· In fatigue and weariness, yet trusting the Lord for His reviving, sustaining help – Ps. 142; Ps. 143
· In grateful joy regarding God’s infinite glory and grace – Ps. 103; Ps. 145
As one pastor has said, “If we learned to sing and pray more Psalms, we’d have a lot less need for Christian counselors.” Sing to the Lord in faith, dear brothers and sisters – He is glorious and abundantly sufficient in all His grace in Jesus Christ!
Pastor Greg
Beloved, as we observed in corporate worship yesterday from Phil. 2:9-11, the reality of the exalted reign of our Lord Jesus Christ is the true Christian’s source of unspeakable joy, comfort, and motivation in all of life. Near the end of my sermon, I shared how this text profoundly impacted the young C.H. Spurgeon, in the wake of a devastating event he and his congregation experienced. I commend his sermon on this passage to you, entitled “The Exaltation of Christ”. To whet your appetite, here’s a brief quote:
“Believer, there is comfort for thee here, if thou wilt take it. If Christ was exalted through his degradation, so shall thou be. Count not thy steps to triumph by thy steps upward, but by those which are seemingly downward. The way to heaven is down-hill. He who would be honored for ever must sink in his own esteem, and often in that of his fellow-men. Oh! think not of yon fool who is mounting to heaven by his own light opinions of himself and by the flatteries of his fellows, that he shall safely reach Paradise; nay, that shall burst on which he rests, and he shall fall and be broken in pieces. But he who descends into the mines of suffering, shall find unbounded riches there; and he who dives into the depths of grief, shall find the pearl of everlasting life within its caverns.”
May God give us grace to humbly live ever more fully in the joy and comfort of Christ’s exaltation!
Pastor Greg
May God give us grace to individually and corporately follow David’s example in seeking Him, and may He answer this prayer among us over and over again!
(A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.)
O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips will praise You.
(Psalm 63:1-3)
Pastor Greg
Creatures of habit that we are, it is easy for us to lose sight of why we do many of the things we do. We can certainly be prone to this regarding why we gather for Corporate Worship each Lord’s Day.
The weekly pattern of gathering for corporate worship was established in the Old Covenant with the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11); was transformed in the New Covenant with the resurrection of Christ on the first day of the week – the Lord’s Day (Mark 16:9; John 20:19; Acts 20:7; Revelations 1:10); and will be eternally fulfilled in heaven as the entire family of God joins as one assembly to worship before His throne (Revelations 4 & 5.)
A helpful definition of corporate worship is put forth by J. Ligon Duncan, in a book he co-edited entitled Give Praise to God: “It (Corporate Worship) is a family meeting with God, it is the covenant community engaging with God, gathering with His people to seek the face of God, to glorify and enjoy Him, to hear His word, to revel in the glory of union and communion with Him, to respond to His word, to render praise back to Him, to give unto Him the glory due His name.” (p. 60)
This coming Lord’s Day, we’ll be looking more at what God’s Word says about what we are to do in Corporate Worship. I hope you’ll plan to be with us, as we deepen our understanding and application of what it means to worship God in spirit and in truth – for His glory in us and through us!
Pastor Greg
In view of the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami that have occurred in Japan, we need to be much in prayer for the Japanese people, and for God’s sovereign purposes in these events. RCG has connections with people in Japan, primarily through the ministries of the Kinjos and the O’Dells. Great needs abound both spiritually and physically, and these will abound for a long time to come.
Dr. Albert Mohler’s perspectives in his recent blog is When the Earth Moves: Pray for the People of Japan are very helpful. I encourage you to read his short reflections.
Even as we pray for the people of Japan, may we likewise heed the Lord’s exhortation to “…be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you…” (2 Peter 1:10) We are accountable to the One who shakes the earth and rolls the waves, and who will eternally judge all who rebel against Him. What hope, joy, peace, and security for those who are trusting Jesus Christ – He alone is the Rock of our salvation!
Pastor Greg
Thanks to all of you who were praying for the other RCG Elders and me as we met this past Saturday. We were together from 9 am – 4 pm, and had a fruitful time praying and talking together about how we can best fulfill our God-given mandate to “…shepherd the flock of God among you…” (1 Peter 5:2) Much of our interaction revolved around Dr. Timothy Z. Witmer’s recent book entitled The Shepherd Leader. The insights Dr. Witmer puts forth proved helpful in refining our understanding of the priority and responsibility of shepherding, as well sharpening our activity in the actual work of shepherding. We trust and pray the Lord will use all of these things to bear more fruit among us at RCG for His glory.
Foundational in all of this is the truth that Jesus Christ actively cares for the well-being and the fruit-bearing of His sheep! He does this according to His Word, in the power of His Spirit and through the particular men He has called in particular local churches to serve as under-shepherds. He also cares for His sheep as we all grow in loving one another as He has loved us (John 13:34,35).
With that in mind, Smokey, Steve, Chuck, Sean, Eric and I are grateful and humbled for the privilege of serving as under-shepherds among you. We look eagerly with you for that day when our glorious Chief Shepherd appears (1 Peter 5:4!)
Pastor Greg
In response to, and in the power of the word of Christ richly dwelling in us, believers are ever to be “…teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16) As we’ll be learning in weeks to come in our sermon series on “Worship in Spirit and Truth”, God has purposed for Christ-saturated singing to have a continually expressive, formative, and instructive effect in the lives of His people.
Thus as we grow in Christ, there should be deepening songs of gratitude in our hearts – melodies of praise that permeate our daily lives. And when we gather corporately each Lord’s Day, singing to the Lord and one another is a key part of our shared worship.
In light of this, we’re blessed at RCG with many gifted musicians and singers who help us all to sing to the Lord and one another. I want to particularly mention Corey Sparks, who has been giving leadership to our music ministry over the last few years. He has recently desired to take an indefinite break from this role, so please join me in thanking him and the Lord for his ministry among us. Corey, your “labor of love” with music is much appreciated!
In response to, and in the power of the word of Christ richly dwelling in us, believers are ever to be “…teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to God.” (Col. 3:16) As we’ll be learning in weeks to come in our sermon series on “Worship in Spirit and Truth”, God has purposed for Christ-saturated singing to have a continually expressive, formative, and instructive effect in the lives of His people.
Thus as we grow in Christ, there should be deepening songs of gratitude in our hearts – melodies of praise that permeate our daily lives. And when we gather corporately each Lord’s Day, singing to the Lord and one another is a key part of our shared worship.
In light of this, we’re blessed at RCG with many gifted musicians and singers who help us all to sing to the Lord and one another. I want to particularly mention Corey Sparks, who has been giving leadership to our music ministry over the last few years. He has recently desired to take an indefinite break from this role, so please join me in thanking him and the Lord for his ministry among us. Corey, your “labor of love” with music is much appreciated!
Over the last few years, the incredible truth of John 13:1 has increasingly been gripping and overwhelming me: “…Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.” The holy, persevering love of Jesus Christ for His own, which, wonder-of-wonders includes me, is the most important, amazing, relevant reality in the universe.
Reflecting upon this glorious truth, English pastor William Gadsby (1773-1844) wrote the following hymn, entitled “The Love of Christ.” An excellent version of this hymn is sung by Sandra McCracken. Be encouraged and strengthened in the love of God in Christ, beloved!
1. The love of Christ is rich and free;
Fixed on His own eternally;
Nor earth, nor hell, can it remove;
Long as He lives, His own He’ll love.
2. His loving heart engaged to be
Their everlasting Surety;
’Twas love that took their cause in hand,
And love maintains it to the end.
Chorus: Love cannot from its post withdraw;
Nor death, nor hell, nor sin, nor law,
Can turn the Surety’s heart away;
He’ll love His own to endless day.
3. Love has redeemed His sheep with blood;
And love will bring them safe to God;
Love calls them all from death to life;
And love will finish all their strife.
4. He loves through every changing scene,
Nor aught from Him can Zion wean;
Not all the wanderings of her heart
Can make His love for her depart.
5. At death, beyond the grave, He’ll love;
In endless bliss, His own shall prove
The blazing glory of that love
Which never could from them remove.
Pastor Greg
