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 For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? –Psalm 90:7-11
This beautiful poetry reminds me of Ecclesiastes, yet its authorship is attributed to Moses; as the superscript reads, “a song of Moses, the man of God.” And like all men who call themselves by that name, this man knows the nature of life in the vale of shadows. It is in the midst of this life of faith, that he wrote this poem, a hauntingly beautiful picture of the reality of the life we live on earth. You might be tempted to glaze over it as “one of the sad ones,” but I’d like to persuade you to take a closer look and see and believe that even in sadness and death, God in His infinite goodness has provided hope for you.
Contrary to the overwhelming tide of popular opinion, the Christian life is not about your “best life now.” Moses, the man of God, knew this. He wrote here that since God sets our iniquities before Himself, exposes our sins to the light of His presence, “all our days pass away under God’s wrath.” Yikes. Moses says that this is the reason that even though we are living, we’re also dying. Ouch. And then, he hit us with this one: your days are soon gone and your entire life (that little dash between your birthdate and deathdate) are filled with toil and trouble.
I’m not really seeing this working with the worship band and the computer modulated worship lighting. Are you?
And trust me; if the mere mention of God being justly angry and wrathful when He considers your litany of sins and transgressions repulses you, you’re not alone. As a matter of fact, I think you’re in the popular majority, the self-justified.
But for those who upon considering the wrath of God and call Him right in His judgment, they will come to the end of themselves, to the end of their attempts to justify themselves and will throw their hands over their mouths and embrace what Job said, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes sees you; therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”
For these, hope is found in the One whose whole life was consumed with toil and trouble beyond compare. He is the One who felt the power of divine anger as it crushed Him to death. Christ is the One who sighed, “It is finished,” and who did not return to dust, but rose triumphant over the grave. Jesus is the One who will satisfy you in the morning with His steadfast love that you may rejoice and be glad all your days.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Come Christians, Join to Sing
Like a River Glorious
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past (Psalm 90)
SUNDAY SCHOOL
The adult Sunday school class will continue in 1 Peter 4. Audio of the Sunday school lessons is now being posted each week on the audio page of the church website.
The children’s Sunday school classes meet on the top floor (you can use the elevator by the chapel if necessary). The adult class is on the basement level (again, the elevator is available) in what is labeled the “Disciples Class.” Coffee and treats begin at 9:15 and class beings at 9:30 (or so).
Visitors are always welcome!
 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. –Psalm 23:1-3
I’ve met many people in the end stages of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, who can no longer speak or even recognize a spouse they’ve been married to for fifty years. But if I begin to recite a few passages of scripture, they can recite with me.
Psalm 23 is one that they often know. Christians tend to know this passage well, that is, “by heart.” I sometimes wonder though if there’s a difference between knowing it “by heart” and knowing it well. I think it’s a great thing to memorize Scripture, and I think we should do much more, but there is a drawback, too. Certain phrases that we don’t get turn into sort of “filler phrases.” For example, the phrase in verse three “for his name’s sake” tends to get lost in the sheep and shepherd shuffle.
When we think of a shepherd, we need to keep in mind that this man’s livelihood completely depends on the health of the sheep. He buys these sheep, and he spends the rest of his days insuring that these creatures are fed, protected, and peaceful. His whole happiness depends on the status of the flock of sheep he’s watching over.
When God created Adam and Eve and put them in His magnificent garden paradise, they sinned. God could have said, “Forget it. Never mind. You blew it.” He could have called on his angels and said, “Kill them. I’m starting over.” He didn’t. Instead He promised to redeem them. He intervened to save them.
God invested His glory and reputation for the sake of His sheep. He didn’t diversify His portfolio; buying a few sheep, and, you know, just in case the sheep didn’t work out, a few varieties of bunnies, too. No, He put it all on the line for the sheep and included His own irreplaceable investment: His Son, the perfect lamb of God.
So, when God became a man, a sheep himself, it was as if He was signing His name on the dotted line. And you do know how God thinks about His name, don’t you? Scripture tells us, He is jealous for His name. When we recite the Ten Commandments together, we say, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” God doesn’t take His name lightly, folks, and He’s staking His name as the guarantee that He will lead you in paths of righteousness. What’s more, He guarantees you that because He has put you in the way of righteousness that you may live without want as you lie down to drink from the placid waters that restore your soul.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise
Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us
COMMUNITY LUNCH THIS SUNDAY!
The Community Lunch is this Sunday, January 22, following the worship service. It will be Italian themed. We are honoring our newlyweds Ruth and Jerry. These are always a great time together so plan now!
SUNDAY SCHOOL
The adult Sunday school class will continue in 1 Peter 3. Audio of the Sunday school lessons is now being posted each week on the audio page of the church website.
The children’s Sunday school classes meet on the top floor (you can use the elevator by the chapel if necessary). The adult class is on the basement level (again, the elevator is available) in what is labeled the “Disciples Class.” Coffee and treats begin at 9:15 and class beings at 9:30 (or so).
Visitors are always welcome!
 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. –Psalm 51:3-4
We should add this passage to the “Often Misunderstood” stack. Most everyone knows that David wrote this after getting caught in his sin with Bathsheba and confronted by Nathan the Prophet. So, it’s only natural to look at it and go, ‘Yeah, nice try, Buddy. You sinned against more than just God there!” What about Uriah? What about Bathsheba? What about all the in between people that were caught up in the lies and deception?
But if you look at his next statement, “so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment,” it starts to come into better focus. You see, David is confessing that he is wrong at every point without question or qualification and that God is right at every point without question or qualification.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (vv. 16-17)
Many Christians boil this down to something like, “God doesn’t want external sacrifices; he wants a right attitude of the heart.” Yeah, that’s kind of right.
Think about it though. Do you think you have ever been heartbroken or contrite enough? I mean that would involve actually being able to fathom the holiness of God and the absolute offense of our sin, right? Do you think we can conjure up that kind of a repentance? I know I can’t.
That’s why we take refuge in Christ who, “Himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” You see, there’s only one sacrifice that God does not despise. There’s only one sacrifice that God calls a pleasing aroma, and it is none other than the once-for-all-sacrifice of His perfect son, Jesus Christ.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing
Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine!
Jesus! What a Friend for Sinners
OUR NEXT COMMUNITY LUNCH
We will have our next Community Lunch following the service January 22. These are always a great time together so plan now!
SUNDAY SCHOOL
The adult Sunday school class will continue in 1 Peter 3. Audio of the Sunday school lessons is now being posted each week on the audio page of the church website.
The children’s Sunday school classes meet on the top floor (you can use the elevator by the chapel if necessary). The adult class is on the basement level (again, the elevator is available) in what is labeled the “Disciples Class.” Coffee and treats begin at 9:15 and class beings at 9:30 (or so).
Visitors are always welcome!
 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack! The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. –Psalm 34:9-11
I recently happened to hear Piers Morgan on CNN ask the actor Morgan Freeman, “Are you a God-fearing man?” Without hesitation Freeman answered, “No, I don’t fear anything. I’m God.”
Gulp.
But you know, there’s a part of me that appreciated his candor. He was concise and consistent. He answered in the way that any unbeliever should answer that question. He didn’t pretend or play it politically correct. He came right out with it. “I am my own god.”
The Psalmist connects those who fear the Lord as being His saints and those who lack nothing. Lions know what it’s like to go hungry, but those who fear the Lord don’t.
Oh no! Maybe we don’t fear the Lord? Or maybe we don’t fear the Lord right? The Psalmist intervenes with a Fear of the Lord 101. Ready for Lesson One?
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. (vv.13-16)
Wait a sec. I thought we were talking about fearing the Lord and how not to go hungry! Is he giving us an old bait and switch and trying to lecture us about controlling our tongues? It seems that way at first blush.
He leads off with that pesky thing: the tongue. His admonishment: control it. Okay, put me down for “fail” on that one. Next, he moves on to seeking and pursuing peace. Um, better put me down for a fail on that one, too. Then, he tells us that the eyes of the Lord are toward those who do what the Lord commands. Wait, didn’t we just determine that we don’t do what the Lord commands? Then, he ices the cake with “the face of the Lord is against those who do evil”….you know, the ones that break his commands and don’t control their tongues, and don’t pursue peace. Oh yeah, us.
Well, we might as well start shredding our clothes and heaping ashes on our heads then, right? We’re evil and the face of the Lord is against us, right? Why is the psalmist even bringing this up? Is he out to make us feel guilty? Remember I told you he was going to give us a lesson in fearing the Lord. Do you see how he did it? By giving you the law, by convicting you of sin, and causing you to acknowledge your grievous and manifold sins.
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (vv. 17-18)
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
O Father, You Are Sovereign
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past
MEN’S PRAYER BREAKFAST/GODLY MANHOOD AND HUSBANDRY
Men’s Prayer Breakfast is this Saturday, January 7, at 8:30 downstairs in the Tuscan Café. Use the front chapel door for entry. The reading will be pages 67-89. We have more books available if you need one. Don’t miss it!
SUNDAY SCHOOL
The adult Sunday school class will resume on 1 Peter 3. Audio of the Sunday school lessons is now being posted each week on the audio page of the church website.
The children’s Sunday school classes meet on the top floor (you can use the elevator by the chapel if necessary). The adult class is on the basement level (again, the elevator is available) in what is labeled the “Disciples Class.” Coffee and treats begin at 9:15 and class beings at 9:30 (or so).
Visitors are always welcome!
 As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ, John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” So with many other exhortations he preached good news to the people. –Luke 3:15-18
In case the people listening to John’s preaching had any doubts as to whether John was The One, John tells them, “Look, Guys, The One who is coming? I’m not even worthy to bend over and unfasten his sandal!” He tells them that his baptism is just water, but the Christ will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
Throughout Scripture fire represents judgment and refinement. Jesus’s baptism judges you in the sense that you emerge refined and acceptable. He removes all your dross (everything foreign, base, and impure), and gives you His purity in exchange. When you by faith embrace Christ, you can be no purer.
When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply.
The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit purifies and empowers. The Spirit opens your eyes to the gospel and gives you the ability the to repent. If you’re like me, you want to do better. You want to live righteously. You want to do justice and mercy. Well, you want to want to, right? This is the good news for us: baptism by the Holy Spirit and with fire means you are changed from the inside out. It’s not your work. It’s His.
Sometimes I’m tempted to despair because I see my sinfulness. I know the emotional and relational baggage I carry around, and I think, “When? When is God going to change me?” Friends, it’s happening right now. NOW the ax is laid at the root. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and He is clearing the threshing floor. He is right now taking that big pitchfork, tossing the wheat up into the air, and letting the chaff blow away.
The winnowing fork that John is talking about is the same as the one in our day. It’s not some futuristic, final days tool He’s going to whip out later on after you and I are dead. The winnowing fork is the preaching of the Gospel. Whenever the gospel is preached, Christ is purifying you by the Holy Spirit.
When you sit in church on Sunday morning and you hear me entreat God to make my faltering words work on us, this is exactly what we are asking for. We are asking Him to use the good news of Christ to separate us from the impurities of our sin nature. We are asking Him to make us into people who call good what He calls good, to call true what He calls true, to want what He wants, to love what is lovely, and to hate what He hates.
Let’s face it. We treat our participation in corporate worship cavalierly. The preacher stands in the pulpit and says that hearing the Gospel by faith will change our lives, and we wink at each other like someone just mentioned Santa Claus coming down the chimney. We’re hard core materialists who believe that acacia rigidula, Doctor Phil’s or Joel’s latest book, and a five day a week yoga plan will accomplish more change in our lives than Christ’s coming to baptize with the Spirit and with fire. But even in this, we are wrong. Even in this we need Christ to purify us and grant us faith to believe that what He has promised, He has accomplished on our behalf, and He is changing us now.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
As with Gladness Men of Old
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Good Christian Men, Rejoice
NEW YEAR’S DAY WORSHIP SERVICE
We will have worship at the usual time (10:30) on January 1, but there will be no Sunday school that day.
MEN’S PRAYER BREAKFAST/GODLY MANHOOD AND HUSBANDRY
The next Men’s Prayer Breakfast is Saturday, January 7. The reading will be pages 67-89. We have more books available if you need one.
Visitors are always welcome!
 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. –Luke 2:8-9
Whenever I think of God’s glory appearing to man I think of Moses’ face glowing as he descended from Mount Sinai. I think of Isaiah seeing the train of the Lord’s robe and the heavy words falling from his trembling mouth, “Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips,” and I know that the weight of God’s holiness would crush us if we were to be exposed to it in its entirety. When I think of Moses and Isaiah, men that God handpicked to deliver His people, I think that if these heroes of the faith were thus affected by their exposure to God’s glorious holiness, what would become of me?
That’s one of the reasons I love this passage in Luke. The glory of the Lord appeared to shepherds. Shepherds didn’t live in houses and keep the Mosaic Law. They were more than rough and tumble rednecks; they were considered ceremonially unclean. These men were not allowed to come to worship because of their chronic filth.
And here they are suddenly surrounded by the glory of the Lord.
It makes me laugh. Their fear must have bordered on horror. These poor men were watching their sheep on a dark night and suddenly, suddenly…their lives are completely transformed by the God they were not allowed to approach. And simultaneously, they’re also confronted with their humanity, their sinfulness, their utter unworthiness to be in the presence of divine holiness. Our God is a consuming fire, and they felt it in their very souls.
Yet the angel speaks to the shepherds (isn’t that great? An angel speaks to these lowly shepherds!) and tells them not to fear “for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.”
The Greek word there for “great” is mega. Mega joy. They are bringing the gospel of mega joy: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
The long-awaited and prophesied moment has arrived, and it’s almost as if it has arrived right on top of these shepherds’ heads. Isaiah, Micah, and all the prophets had looked for this day, and yet here it is on a scruffy bunch of shepherds. Make that a trembling, scruffy bunch of shepherds.
There should be no mistaking why the Father sent the heavenly host to shepherds. It announces what kind of king this Savior was. Would he be the kind to establish a beautiful palace and sit on a throne never touched or touching the lowly likes of you and me? No, He’s not that kind of savior. This Savior’s birth was first announced to shepherds as, “For unto you is born…” For you. For you shepherds.
For you who are so unclean that you are incapable of presenting yourselves before the Holy and Pure God, this Savior is born for you.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
(Christmas Eve)
Angels We Have Heard on High
What Child is This
The First Noel
Away in a Manger
Silent Night, Holy Night
(Christmas Day)
O Come, All Ye Faithful
Angels We Have Heard on High
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICE
The Christmas Eve service will be Saturday evening, December 24, at 6:00.
CHRISTMAS MORNING AND NEW YEAR’S DAY WORSHIP SERVICE
We will have worship at the usual time (10:30) on Sunday, December 25 and January 1, but there will be no Sunday school either day.
Visitors are always welcome!
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us;
–Luke 1:68-71
When Zechariah bursts into rejoicing his song brings together two promises God had given his people: God promised that Messiah would come and that He would provide a horn of salvation from the house of David.
A horn of salvation? What kind of horn is this? Is it something that you blow on? No, not that kind. In Psalm 92 and various other places the word horn refers to the kind you would find on the head of an ox, a charging ox; one that’s rushing forward to gore the enemies of God to death. Whatever gets in the way of God’s chosen people will become intimately acquainted with the brass hooves and bronze horns of this ox. So, when David says, “You are the horn of my salvation,” he identifies and praises the One who saves him from his enemies.
Zechariah bridges the gap in their understanding of God’s revelation. They knew they were promised a Messiah. They knew that God had promised a horn of salvation. So it is here that Zechariah announces a beautiful reality: the horn of salvation raised up from the house of David is the same One who crushes the enemies of God.
You ask who that may be,
Christ Jesus, it is he!
Lord Sabaoth his name,
from age to age the same,
and he must what?
Win the battle.
Jesus is the horn of salvation. He is the one who will defeat all of his and our enemies.
Do you have enemies? I don’t mean people who disagree with you or people you don’t like. I mean people who try to destroy, kill, or ruin you. That’s bad enough, but there’s more. Our greatest enemy is sin itself.
It is sin that ruins our relationships with family. It is sin that plagues our friendships. It is sin that contaminates every thought that runs through your head and mine. It is sin that causes us want the wrong things and hate the good things. Oh, time would fail us if we tried to list all the ways that sin proves itself to be our truest enemy.
But here is the good news: Christ crushed sin and its power when He was crushed on the cross. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, your sin was nailed to the cross. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, your guilt was nailed to the cross. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, your death was nailed to the cross. And when Jesus died, your sin and guilt and death died with Him. And when he rose in his body, your life rose with him.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Joy to the World! The Lord is Come
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICE
The Christmas Eve service will be Saturday evening, December 24, at 6:00.
CHRISTMAS MORNING AND NEW YEAR’S DAY WORSHIP SERVICE
We will have worship at the usual time (10:30) on Sunday, December 25 and January 1, but there will be no Sunday school either day.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday school for children (in Joshua) and adults (in 1 Peter) continues. Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15.
Visitors are always welcome!
 But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man. –Luke 21:34-36
I was walking through Dillard’s recently and felt myself humming along to O Holy Night being piped out of the loudspeakers. When they got to “Long lay the world in sin and error pining,” I snickered to myself convinced that if it weren’t for the sentimentality of the tune, they wouldn’t play this song about how our souls need Christ to save us from our sin sick ways (“’til He appeared and the soul felt its worth”). I don’t know about you, but thinking about my depravity and the fallenness of the world doesn’t really get me in the mood to go out and spend money!
It’s good to remember during this Advent time that when Jesus walked on the earth, the Scriptures we call the New Testament didn’t exist. So, when the prophets wrote in the “Old Testament” about the coming Messiah, they were looking forward to and prophesying about the coming of the Messiah, not a second and final coming like people today like to insinuate and preach. For them, the coming of Jesus was one singular event with a beginning and an end. They imagined “the day of the Lord” bringing a man, the Messiah, who would come to redeem his people from the curse and set up his kingdom. You can see why the crude beginning in a stable manger celebrated by a scraggly group of stinky shepherds would trip them up a bit.
They expected glory; they got humility. They wanted victory; He appeared defeated. They wanted immediate satisfaction; He said it would be like leaven working its way through a lump of dough.
When Luke wrote these words above, he was following in the footsteps of Old Testament prophets who wanted to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted with the truth to be revealed. In both cases, they would tell what God has done in the past, and that depending on who you are, the day of the Lord would be wonderful or terrible for you. The point was to shake you from the hypnotizing stupor of the world’s sights and sounds.
So, hear these words as you think of how long our collective souls have been erring and pining and fall on your knees in worship of the Son of Man. For if you stand in your own strength, you will surely fall. But for those who believe, they shall stand in the strength of Christ and never face the fear of sin or death again.
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending
Amazing Grace
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE BALTHROPS’
The annual Christmas party at the Balthrops’ will be this Saturday evening, December 10 from 6:00-8:00. Everyone at Redeemer is invited. We’ll have food, fellowship, and some carol singing. Please plan to attend!
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICE
The Christmas Eve service will be Saturday evening, December 24, at 6:00.
CHRISTMAS MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE
We will have worship at the usual time (10:30) on Sunday, December 25, but there will be no Sunday school that day.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday school for children (in Joshua) and adults (in 1 Peter) continues. Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15.
Visitors are always welcome!
 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. –Psalm 8:1-2
We think we can conceive of God’s glory. At the very least we get that our minds can’t adequately conceive it, and so we use bigger words and wrap them in our most positive thoughts. We think about how no one could be stronger, wiser, or greater. We squint our eyes really hard and conjure up our loftiest theological words: grandeur, excellence, holiness, majesty, sovereignty. Phew. Look at us. That’s what comes of being such smart adults.
But wait! This verse says that God establishes His strength from the mouths of babies and infants. Babies and infants? Come again? They don’t know big multi-syllable words like we do. They don’t have our wisdom or our knowledge. How can they defeat the enemies of God?
What a strange thought! We’re talking about the majestic God of the universe who could simply cease speaking His enemies into existence, and they’d be gone. He could muster an army. He could send angels. And yet, our God defeats His enemies with babies?
This should only amplify our joy in God’s majesty, for this dimension of His character demonstrates that not only does He welcome children and infants, but that He makes them the means of His Triumphs. Our God conquers His and our foes through the absolute weakness of the weak.
When you hum along with Wesley’s hymn this season remember that the chasm that existed between sinful you and your Perfect Creator has been spanned by the mercy mild of a newborn baby.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
Lift High the Cross
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
MEN’S PRAYER BREAKFAST/GODLY MANHOOD AND HUSBANDRY
Men’s Prayer Breakfast is this Saturday, December 3, at 8:30 downstairs in the Tuscan Café. Use the front chapel door for entry. The reading will be pages 48-69. We have more books available if you need one. Don’t miss it!
CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICE
The Christmas Eve service will be Saturday evening, December 24, at 6:00.
CHRISTMAS MORNING WORSHIP SERVICE
We will have worship at the usual time (10:30) on Sunday, December 25, but there will be no Sunday school that day.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday school for children (in Joshua) and adults (in 1 Peter) continues. Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15.
Visitors are always welcome!
 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”—Psalm 2:1-6
It seems like there are only gatherings. The church is a gathering which is the flock of saved sheep. Sheep separated from the flock are in more danger than they know. Jesus’ action in salvation in ingathering, not checking to make sure the lone sheep who have “asked Jesus into their heart” are okay out there by themselves. He brings them into the fold, which should arrest those who smugly claim, “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.” Hebrews 10:25 speaks specifically on this.
But that is one kind of gathering, and this Psalm speaks of another kind. This is a tower of Babel kind of gathering where people “take counsel together” and rage and plot as nations and people. Their claim is freedom from the oppression of God’s law and truth. They are shockingly diverse yet utterly unified against the Lord and his Anointed.
When you think of God, do you ever think of him laughing? We sometimes like to think that he laughs with us or lovingly at the goofy things we do, but the Psalm says he laughs at them in derision. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and this is the laughter of opposition. It is insulting and completely right. Imagine the horror: God laughs at you!
But take heart, Believers, he will speak to that great assembly in his wrath and terrify them in his fury with something. What is it? What terrifying thing does he tell them? Oh, the gospel. Yes, he tells them that He has set his King on Zion to reign. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 1 that the gospel “was promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead.”
And that’s the gospel! Come hear it preached and enacted in the supper with Jesus this Sunday.
The related hymns we’ll sing are:
We Gather Together
Let All Things Now Living
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday school for children (in Joshua) and adults (in 1 Peter) continues. Coffee and other treats are served at 9:15, teaching begins at 9:30, and we break to get ready for worship at 10:15.
Visitors are always welcome!
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