Everything we feel and experience in worship comes from Him. "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy Cross I cling" is a picture of us. Even our repentence is a gift from Him.
The music was especially good -- the offertory was an amazing arrangement of My Jesus, I Love Thee with Virginia at the piano and Trish at the organ. I turned to Patrice and Kelly and asked: Is it just me or is this whole service aglow with the Holy Spirit? They agreed.
Then the choir sang a sort of musical medley featuring songs about God's Almighty Power and Holiness: Part of it included Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise...and Holy, Holy, Holy...
I wanted to cheer and clap -- we did the clapping OK but I am hesitant to cheer. I think God would love it if we cheered! I guess we need more practice at that part of our worship --
Bro Mike's sermon was on John the Baptist and how he had periods of doubt. When he first saw Christ he was confident and energetic in his acceptance of the Messiah. He must increase and I must decrease, he declared. After being in prison a while, though, he had some doubts and disappointments.
Bro Mike talked about disappointments: Disapointments come when we realize that God's plans are different from our plans.
(1) Disappointment is always tied to expectations -- (sure is for me)
(2) Expectations are dangerous when they are based on false assumptions
(3) Disappointments can result in an appointment with God -- (And that's an appointment we sure don't want to miss!)
The whole service was so packed with meaning -- with challenge, with inspiration, with yearning for more of God.
Anyway, we also sang Standing on the Promises...and that reminded me of Psalm 1 and what I have been learning this week:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor stands in the path of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of the scornful. (Psalm 1:1).
And here's the way our ancestors sang it (from the Bay Psalm Book):
O blessed man, that in the advice
Of wicked man doth not walk
Nor stand in sinners' way nor sit
In chairs of scornful folk.
We don't know for certain what tune they used, but it sort of fits I Love To Tell The Story...sort of....
And here is my own (mis)intepretation of how we as Christians should walk, stand and sit:
Blessed is the Christian who will walk in the light, as He is in the light...and so have fellowship with one another... (I John 1:7)
and who will put on the full armor of God, so that he may stand against the devil's schemes.... (Ephesians 6:11)....
and then after all of that He will raise us up together to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).
And that's when we can sing more joyfully than ever: If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus tis now and that will be the first day of the rest of our lives!
P.S. I did have to go back and reread the words to Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise....every verse is perfect and splendid in its adoration of God's perfect holiness....and the fourth verse is impossible to forget:
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
Thine angels adore Thee, all veiling their sight;
All praise we would render, O help us to see
'Tis only the splendor of light hideth thee!
The whole hymn sparkles with brightness. And that brightness is so brilliant and celestial that we can't even see God's face for it. Someday we will be able to.
When I was a child my father gave me special glass to use when looking at solar eclipses. "You must use this glass," he commanded me, "Or you will hurt your eyes and go blind!"
And you know what? I still have that glass plate--and someday I won't even need it!
No comments:
Post a Comment