As we learned from 1 Pet. 1:1,2 this past Lord’s Day, there is great significance in Peter identifying his readers as “elect exiles.”  Peter is declaring that those who have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ belong uniquely to God (“elect”).  As a result, such believers no longer belong to the world (“exiles”, or “strangers”).  This powerful, and precious truth – of every believers’ identity in relation to God the world – sets the focus for Peter’s entire letter.  And all that God reveals through Peter is intended to help believers know how to live and persevere in the midst of a God-hating world.

One Puritan writer has summarized Peter’s letter this way:

“The heads of doctrine contained in it are many, but the main that are most insisted on, are these three, faith, obedience, and patience; to establish them (the “elect exiles”) in believing, to direct them in doing, and to comfort them in suffering.”  (Robert Leighton (1611-1684), A Practical Commentary Upon the First Epistle General of 1 Peter, 1799, pg. 16).

Yes…powerful and precious truth!  I’m looking forward to walking and growing in Christ with you through our time in 1 Peter!

Grace upon grace,

Greg

What a special Lord’s Day we shared at RCG this past weekend, celebrating Christ’s resurrection. We missed those of you who weren’t with us!

The fact of Jesus living and reigning at the right hand of the Father should deeply impact our prayers for one another, even as Paul exemplified in Ephesians 1:15-23 (ESV):

“15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

God wills for every people to be strengthened in trusting Christ, and to increasingly comprehend His incomprehensible love in Christ.  Paul’s prayer in Eph. 3:14-21 makes this clear.  Thus it is good and right to meditate much on God’s love in Christ, as revealed in His Word.

Along these lines, be encouraged by these helpful insights from John Owen, in his book Communion with the Triune God:

“So much as we see of the love of God, so much shall we delight in him, and no more. Every other discovery of God, without this, will but make the soul fly from him; but if the heart be once much taken up with this the eminency of the Father’s love, it cannot choose but be overpowered, conquered, and endeared unto him. This, if anything, will work upon us to make our abode with him. If the love of a father will not make a child delight in him, what will? Put, then, this to the venture: exercise your thoughts upon this very thing, the eternal, free, and fruitful love of the Father, and see if your hearts be not wrought upon to delight in him. I dare boldly say: believers will find it as thriving a course as ever they pitched on in their lives. Sit down a little at the fountain, and you will quickly have a further discovery of the sweetness of the streams. You who have run from him, will not be able, after a while, to keep at a distance for a moment.”

Learning to live “at the fountain” with you!

Greg

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.  (Jn. 21:25, ESV)

As most of you know, this past Lord’s Day I finished preaching through the Gospel of John, after about 7 ½ years, and some 215 sermons.  All praise to God alone!  I will undoubtedly be doing some occasional sermons from John here and there – I’m actually set to preach from Jn. 13:34,35 on March 11, with a message entitled “What’s Love Got to Do With It?”  But I’m planning to begin preaching through the book of First Peter in the very near future, which I’m eagerly and soberly anticipating.

One of the things I mentioned in last Sunday’s sermon was that while we have finished the exposition of John’s Gospel, we have only just begun to comprehend and digest the greatness of God’s glory in Jesus Christ therein revealed.  With that in mind, here are a couple of choice observations about John’s final words in Jn. 21:25, for your encouragement:

“Not only ought we to take into account the number of Christ’s works, but we ought also to consider their importance and magnitude. The majesty of Christ, which by its infinity swallowed up, if I may so speak, not only the senses of men, but heaven and earth, gave a miraculous display of its own splendor in those works. If the Evangelist, casting his eyes on that brightness, exclaims in astonishment, that even the whole world could not contain a full narrative, ought we to wonder at it? (John Calvin, Commentary on Jn. 21:25)

 

“It is fitting for us to bring our study of the Gospel to a close with the reminder of the limitations of our knowledge.  It is well for us to be appreciative of the knowledge we have and to show a due gratitude to God for what he has revealed.  But we should not exaggerate.  Our knowledge of the truth is at best partial.  The reader who appreciates the significance of these final words is kept humble.”  (Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, Eerdmans Publishing Company: 1995, pg. 777)

Striving by His grace to Behold, Believe, and Behave faithfully with you!

What follows is a bit longer than what I normally write, but please read!!

We had a rich and fruitful time at our Member Meeting this past Lord’s Day evening, and greatly missed those of you who were absent.  One of the items I mentioned is that I’ve been interacting with a man named Jonathan Leeman, and have now confirmed with him to come and teach a weekend conference for us at RCG.  Please mark these dates on your calendar:  Nov. 9-11 of this year.   Jonathan is an elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, and is on the staff of 9Marks Ministries (you can read Leeman’s postings on the 9Marks blog here ).

Our interest in hosting Jonathan for a conference revolves around one of the excellent books he’s written entitled The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love:  Rediscovering the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline (yes, a bit of a mouthful!).  Here’s the book’s description from Amazon:

When the world speaks of “love,” it often means unconditional acceptance. Many churches have adopted this mind-set in their practice of membership and discipline-if they have not done away with such structures entirely. “Yet God’s love and God’s gospel are different than what the world expects,” writes Jonathan Leeman.  They’re centered in his character, which draws a clear boundary between what is holy and what is not. It’s this line that the local church should represent in its member practices, because the careful exercise of such authority “is God’s means for guarding the gospel, marking off a people, and thereby defining his love for the world.”

Myself and the other elders see great benefit in having Jonathan come to unpack these truths more fully for all of us in the concentrated format of a weekend conference.  We believe this will be a timely opportunity to deepen our biblical understanding and zeal of God’s plan for His church, and be all the more protected against the countless misguided and unbiblical views of the church so rampant in our world today.  Again, please mark Nov. 9-11 on your calendar for this conference – more details will be forthcoming.

Certainly, I would encourage you to purchase and read Jonathan’s book.  But please note:  the book is pretty detailed and dense, coming in at just under 400 pages.  You might want to wait until two smaller separate books by Leeman, one on church membership, and one on church discipline, are scheduled to be published at the end of April.  Both of these will be under 150 pages each, and might be a bit more manageable.  Either way, you’ll be greatly blessed through what Jonathan’s written.

May God help us all to rightly love and cherish His Bride, the church (Eph. 5:25-27)!

Resources, resources!! As we all know, the internet provides access to an endless web of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Well, here is a great resource for your edification called Precept Austin. You can learn about the website and it’s curator for yourself, but I’ve found it to be an excellent, biblically solid (for the most part) resource. And particularly when it comes to Bible Commentaries, I’ve found this to be one of the most exhaustive collections of generally solid commentaries (and sermons), available on the web. The commentaries are easily accessible according to all 66 books of the Bible – quite voluminous!

I would encourage you to familiarize yourself with this very helpful website, and use it as a resource in your own Bible study and growth in Christ. Who knows – what you discover and benefit from here might even help you keep those preachers of yours on their toes!

Grace upon grace,

Greg

Oh how Jesus, our glorious, risen Shepherd, so perfectly cares for His own!  How richly is this truth revealed in Jn. 21, as Jesus powerfully feeds and leads His weak disciples.  What lessons there for us in learning to trust and follow our Master all the more fully!  With keen insight,  Alexander MacLaren offers these thoughts connected with John 21:1-14:

It teaches us that anything that interests us is not without interest to Christ. Anything that is big enough to occupy our thoughts and our efforts is large enough to be taken into His. All our ignoble toils, and all our petty anxieties, touch a chord that vibrates in that deep and tender heart. Though other sympathy may be unable to come down to the minutenesses of our little lives, and to wind itself into the narrow room in which our histories are prisoned, Christ’s sympathy can steal into the narrowest cranny. The risen Lord is interested in our poor fishing and our disappointments.

And not only that, here is a promise for us, a prophecy for us, of certain guidance and direction, if only we will come to Him and acknowledge our dependence upon Him. The question that was put to them, ‘Lads, have ye any meat?’ was meant to evoke the answer, ‘No!’ The consciousness of my failure is the pre-requisite to my appeal to Him to prosper my work. And just as before He would, on the other margin of that same shore, multiply the loaves and the fishes, He put to them the question, ‘How many have ye?’ that they might know clearly the inadequacy of their own resources for the hungry crowd, so here, in order to prepare their hearts for the reception of His guidance and His blessing, He provides that they be brought to catalogue and confess their failures. So He does with us all, beats the self-confidence out of us, blessed be His name! and makes us know ourselves to be empty in order that He may pour Himself into us, and flood us with the joy of His presence.

Learning to trust Him and follow Him with you!

1 Peter 4:12-19 (NASB)

¹² Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; ¹³ but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. ¹⁴ If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. ¹⁵ Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; ¹⁶ but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. ¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? ¹⁹ Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

As we have recently seen from Jn. 20:30,31, God is continually declaring throughout His Word:  “Behold My son…Believe My word…Be My children.”  The blessings of eternal life are abundantly given to all who believe in God as He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ His Son, the promised Messiah!

Pastor C.H. Spurgeon, preaching in the late 1800’s, concludes his sermon on Jn. 20:30,31 with these encouraging words:

“I come back to my beginning and there I close—the one thing, the main thing, the only thing is that we hold on to Jesus Christ through thick and thin, through foul and fair, up hill and down dale, in the night and in the day, in life and in death, in time and in eternity—that we steadfastly believe that Jesus of Nazareth, who died upon the Cross, is the Messiah of God, yes, the Son of God, sent to cleanse away iniquity and bring in perfect righteousness! Whether we see Him on His Cross or on His Throne, all our hope, all our trust must be fixed in Him and so we shall live when time shall be no more!  Stay there, O true Believers, and let none entice you from your steadfastness!”

Amen!

What grace the Lord gives to His people as we sing to one another from hearts filled with thankfulness!  The great exhortation of Colossians 3:16 continues to stir my heart and mind:

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

 One song, among many, that has recently been gripping me is entitled To the Cross I Cling.  You can find the song and listen to a short portion of it on the album God of Victory.  The song is based on a prayer from The Valley of Vision called The Broken Heart, and the key line proclaims:

 “All things in me call for my rejection, all things in You plead my acceptance.” 

 Beloved, this is the hope and wonder of the Gospel in 15 short words!!  May your soul be strengthened by faith in the glories of Christ and the power of the cross!

 Sing on!

Pastor Greg

Beloved, in connection with the “richly indwelling Word of Christ” we’ve been considering from Colossians 3:16,  let me encourage you to prayerfully meditate on and live in this great passage from 1 Peter 1:22 – 2:3

²² Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, ²³ since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; ²⁴ for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, ²⁵ but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you. ^2:1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

 Longing for and tasting the goodness of the Lord with you!

 Pastor Greg

As we saw yesterday in corporate worship, there is a blessed mandate for believers to “Let the word of Christ (about Christ – the Gospel!) richly dwell within you…” (Colossians 3:16).  How do we grow in having our lives, individually and corporately, more and more consumed and saturated with the glorious wonder of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

One essential, practical point of application is to cherish and actively participate in the rich blessings of corporate worship and fellowship on the Lord’s Day.  While we are to trust, worship, and obey God every moment of every day, He has given us one day in seven to be uniquely set apart for the refreshment, strengthening, and reviving of our souls through His Word.  Through hearing His Word read and preached, singing, praying, sharing in the ordinances, and fellowshipping with one another, the Lord powerfully works to multiply the hope, power, and riches of the Gospel in and through our lives.

As someone else has rightly said, the Lord’s Day is indeed the best day of the week.  Moreover, wherever God’s people gather on that day as a local church, in the joy of the Gospel, is indeed the happiest place on earth.

I can’t wait to be with you all again this coming Lord’s Day!

Pastor Greg

As we saw yesterday in corporate worship, there is a blessed mandate for believers to “Let the word of Christ (about Christ – the Gospel!) richly dwell within you…” (Colossians 3:16).  How do we grow in having our lives, individually and corporately, more and more consumed and saturated with the glorious wonder of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

One essential, practical point of application is to cherish and actively participate in the rich blessings of corporate worship and fellowship on the Lord’s Day.  While we are to trust, worship, and obey God every moment of every day, He has given us one day in seven to be uniquely set apart for the refreshment, strengthening, and reviving of our souls through His Word.  Through hearing His Word read and preached, singing, praying, sharing in the ordinances, and fellowshipping with one another, the Lord powerfully works to multiply the hope, power, and riches of the Gospel in and through our lives.

As someone else has rightly said, the Lord’s Day is indeed the best day of the week.  Moreover, wherever God’s people gather on that day as a local church, in the joy of the Gospel, is indeed the happiest place on earth.

I can’t wait to be with you all again this coming Lord’s Day!

Pastor Greg

With our preaching series on “Biblical Worship” drawing to a close, we thought it would be timely to have a “Question & Answer” time.  We’re planning on doing this during our Evening Gathering this coming Lord’s Day, June 12.  If you have particular questions regarding Biblical Worship,  please either email them to me ahead of time (greg@rivercitygrace.org), or just bring questions when you come.

Beloved, we are the blood-bought people of God, and have been called by Him to proclaim His excellencies (1 Peter 2:9,10.)  It’s a great privilege, blessing, and responsibility for us to gather weekly as His people in corporate worship.  As we grow in seeking Him together through His Word, beholding His greatness and glory in Jesus Christ, may He continually transform us together into His likeness (2 Corinthisan 3:18.)

 All to the praise of His glorious grace in Christ!

 Pastor Greg

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