according to

This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 63:7

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD,

according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the

house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according

to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Oh, praise be to God who does not deal with us according to our merit!  Reread the verse and concentrate on the phrase "according to".

This introductory verse describes the intention of the prophet.  That to recount, which he does in Isaiah 63:7-14 how God, despite their rebellion, God carried them through the exodus all for His glory.

Isaiah 63:10a

But they rebelled

    and grieved his Holy Spirit;

 

Isaiah 63:14

Like livestock that go down into the valley,

    the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.

So you led your people,

    to make for yourself a glorious name.

Nothing they did merited His gracious compassion and love. 

granted

This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 63:7

I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD,

according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the

house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according

to the abundance of his steadfast love.

Here Isaiah is leading in prayer and announcing his intent to glorify the name of the LORD.

In the word "granted" (gāmal) there is no merit, but also no gift.  One commentator uses the idea that it is not a ladder to be climbed, but rather a window to be opened.

The opposite "hurts" (ʿāḵar) is found here. It active and unpreventable:

Proverbs 11:17
A man who is kind benefits himself,
    but a cruel man hurts himself.

Let us join with Isaiah in praising our Lord, that when we turn to Him He deals with us with compassion, abundance and love. 

light

This morning we begin worship with:

Hebrews 1:1-2

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the

prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he

appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

These are big statements, which the author of Hebrews does not leave unsupported.  A quick read of Hebrews 1 yields verse after verse of Old Testament quotations pointing to the Son and as the Son, the heir.  But for a moment though, let's concentrate on "spoken", that Jesus is the voice of God.

John agrees and begins his Gospel similarly and also points to Jesus Chris as creator:

John 1:1-5

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

 What was the first recorded thing spoken by the Word?  

Genesis 1:3
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

This was not simply a flashlight, it was the light that created all matter as Einstein eventually understood.  And it was not simply matter.  It was life itself.

Job 33:30

. . .  to bring back his soul from the pit,

    that he may be lighted with the light of life. 

John 1:4

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 

2 Timothy 1:10

. . . and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, . . . 

Sunglasses, anyone? 

peace

 This week we begin worship with:

John 20:21-22

Jesus said to [the disciples] again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit."

Locked in a room out of fear, Jesus miraculously appears among them.  He greeted them twice with "Peace be with you".  

This is not simply to calm them down.  This was to convey on them the peace of God.  His sacrifice was now complete.  Perfect and permanent atonement had been made.  They now had peace with God!

All the rituals repeated from their youth to make themselves ceremonially clean only to temporarily enter the temple were now unnecessary.  Through the righteousness of Christ they themselves were now suitable to be the dwelling place of God.

Then came the same breath that put life into lifeless man.

Genesis 2:7

. . . then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

The Fall has been undone.  We can now walk with God in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8) without shame.

Peace be with you.

oil

 This morning we begin worship with:

1 Samuel 16:1

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have

rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will

send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among

his sons.”

Why oil?  Nine times in the Old Testament oil was used to anoint someone for service.

But in the New Testament we find something different:

James 5:14
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Why then was oil used during healing?  When elders pray over someone who is sick, God may heal them supernaturally and immediately, heal them through the skills of the doctors and the design of the human body, or God may have decreed that this illness would be fatal.

In all cases, we are commanded to anoint them in faith for service.  Heaven will be another opportunity to serve our God.

wait

We start worship this morning with:

Psalm 130:5-8

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

    and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord

    more than watchmen for the morning,

    more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord!

    For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

    and with him is plentiful redemption.

And he will redeem Israel

    from all his iniquities.

Those on watch know the middle of the night is the most dangerous.  As the light of day breaks, the danger abates.  They would greet the cock crowing with delight.

The Psalmist was waiting for "redemption" (pᵊḏûṯ).  Job too was waiting:

Job 14:14-17

If a man dies, shall he live again?

    All the days of my service I would wait,

    till my renewal should come.

You would call, and I would answer you;

    you would long for the work of your hands.

For then you would number my steps;

    you would not keep watch over my sin;

my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,

    and you would cover over my iniquity.

But we don't have to wait!  

Isaiah 51:11

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

On this blessed Advent Sunday, let your dark sorrow flee away as with the dawn, for our Redeemer has come!

salvation

 This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 149:1, 4

Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song,

    his praise in the assembly of the godly!

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;

    he adorns the humble with salvation.

When we hear the command to "praise", we often don't look far enough for the reason why.  We receive praise at work or at home when we do something good.  In verse 4, the Psalmist declares the two reasons God should be praised.

Psalm 149:4a

For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;

The first reason, is what rescued Job from his depression:

Job 14:14-15

If a man dies, shall he live again?

    All the days of my service I would wait,

    till my renewal should come.

You would call, and I would answer you;

    you would long for the work of your hands. 

Job realized that God loves us.  That He longs (kāsap̄) for us.  That not even death would keep us apart.  That God would solve the problem even if Job could not.

Psalm 149:4b

    he adorns the humble with salvation.

The Psalmist calls us to praise because God wraps with salvation (yᵊšûʿâ).

STOP.  Go back and pronounce that Hebrew word!  Yes, you now know why we should be praising God:

Matthew 1:21

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

God solved that problem in Jesus, whose Advent is soon upon us.

joyful

 This week, the week we celebrate the Annunciation, we begin worship with:

Psalm 98:4

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth; 

break forth into joyous song and sing praises!

Recently, I laughed to myself uncharacteristically, and when questioned, I explained that some joy had slipped out.  Today of all days, we should let our joy slip out!

Jesus, the King and Head of the Church, 

the Prophet and Revealer of God,

our Creator and Sustainer, 

our Redeemer and Sanctifier,

our High Priest and Intercessor,

our Judge and Redeemer,

our Shepherd and Healer,

our Teacher and Advocate,

our Saviour, is coming!!!

 

watch

This Advent week we begin worship with:

Exodus 34:1-2

The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain.  

 

Exodus 34:11

“Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

 

Psalm 5:3

O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.

Imagine hearing the words ". . . which you broke . . .".  Let that fade into the background and hear the refrain that God then repeats "I will . . . ".

His only command is for us, when forgiven from the sin of yesterday, is to be ready.  Ready to receive his Word;  Ready to win the war;  Read to daily stand watch and defend the hard fought ground.

guard

This week we begin worship with:

2 Timothy 1:13–14

Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith

and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard

the good deposit entrusted to you.

Only Paul used the word “deposit” (parakatathēkē) and he only used it in his letters to Timothy. Not in any other letter.  It is what Paul entrusted to Timothy.  What he said and wrote. For that he would need the Holy Spirit:

John 14:26

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

But Paul did not simply mean the “faith”; he also instructed Timothy to guard the “love”.  It is the Holy Spirit that will prompt us to love, when we let our own guard down.

James 4:17

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

sake

This week we begin worship with:

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Sometimes Christians read this and are surprised.  Shouldn't the Christian life be perfect, if we are leading it the way God wants us to?  Sorry, but no.  This is not what Jesus promised.  Jesus described two requirements for the kingdom (the bookends for the Beatitudes):

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Matthew 5:10

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

It is our "weakness", our "poverty", that permits us entrance and it is for the "sake of Christ" that we bear any marks because of our confession.

What is "sake" (hyper)?  The Greek word means "above".  We must always hold up the name of Christ.  Just as we would leap to keep the American flag from falling to the ground, we must jump at the opportunity to lift high the name of Jesus.

Acts 21:13b

[Paul] “For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”