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Our Sovereign Judge and Hope

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “God creates, not that there may be witnesses to render Him His due glory, but beings who shall rejoice in it as He rejoices in it Himself and who, participating in His being, participate at the same time in His beatitude. It is not therefore for Himself, but for us, that God seeks His glory; it is not to gain it, for He possesses it already, nor to increase it, for already it is perfect, but to communicate it to us.” ~Étienne Gilson (1884-1978), French philosopher and historian   “There is something which unites magic and applied science (technology) while separating them from the ‘wisdom’ of earlier ages. For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality, and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline, and virtue. For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man, and the solution is a technique.” ~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), writer and scholar   “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever.” ~Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), third U.S. President, inscription from the Jefferson Memorial   “God governs in the affairs of man. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this. I also believe that, without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.” ~Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), polymath and statesman   “…we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” ~John Adams (1735-1826), second U.S. President   “Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey cage.” ~H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), journalist, scholar, cultural critic and outspoken atheist   “It is fatal to let people suppose that Christianity is only a mode of feeling; it is vitally necessary to insist that it is first and foremost a rational explanation of the universe.” ~Dorothy L. Sayers (1893-1957), English novelist and playwright SERMON PASSAGE Psalm 33 (ESV) 1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!    Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song;    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright,    and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice;    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.   6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,    and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;    he puts the deeps in storehouses.   8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;    let all the inhabitants of the world   stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be;    he commanded, and it stood firm.   10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations   to nothing;    he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,    the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven;    he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out    on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all    and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army;    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,    and by its great might it cannot rescue.   18 Behold, the eye of the Lord   is on those who fear him,    on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death    and keep them alive in famine.   20 Our soul waits for the Lord;    he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him,    because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,    even as we hope in you.

Faithful & Sovereign

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “The faith of the church must be tried by God’s word, and not God’s word by the church….” ~Jane Grey (1537-1554), English noblewoman and contested Queen of England   Question 7: What are the decrees of God? Answer: The decrees of God are his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, by which, for his own glory, he has foreordained everything that ever happens. Question 8: How does God carry out his decrees? Answer: God carries out his decrees in the works of creation and providence. ~Westminster Shorter Catechism, Questions 7 & 8   “By investigating God’s majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.” ~Francis Collins, Director of Human Genome Research Institute   “...the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same…. Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment…. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” ~Robert Jastrow (1925-2008), first chairman of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Committee, professor at Dartmouth College (1981-1992), and director of Mount Wilson Observatory   “...how surprising it is that the laws of nature and the initial conditions of the universe should allow for the existence of beings who could observe it. Life as we know it would be impossible if any one of several physical quantities had slightly different values.” ~Steven Weinberg (1933-2021), theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate   “God creates, not that there may be witnesses to render Him His due glory, but beings who shall rejoice in it as He rejoices in it Himself and who, participating in His being, participate at the same time in His beatitude. It is not therefore for Himself, but for us, that God seeks His glory; it is not to gain it, for He possesses it already, nor to increase it, for already it is perfect, but to communicate it to us.” ~Étienne Gilson (1884-1978), French philosopher and historian   “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.” ~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), writer and critic SERMON PASSAGE Psalm 33 (ESV) 1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!    Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song;    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. 4 For the word of the Lord is upright,    and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice;    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.   6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,    and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;    he puts the deeps in storehouses.   8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be;    he commanded, and it stood firm.   10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;    he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,    the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven;    he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out    on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all    and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army;    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation,    and by its great might it cannot rescue.   18 Behold, the eye of the Lord   is on those who fear him,    on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death    and keep them alive in famine.   20 Our soul waits for the Lord;    he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him,    because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,    even as we hope in you.

Good Communication

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “Speech has power. Words do not fade.” ~Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), Polish-born American rabbi and theologian   “Words and ideas can change the world.” ~John Keating, fictional teacher in Dead Poets Society   “Words are loaded pistols.” ~Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980), French philosopher, novelist and activist   “Words are like eggs dropped from great heights; you can no more call them back than ignore the mess they leave when they fall.” ~Jodi Picoult, best-selling author   “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”  ~Proverbs 12:18   “Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad.” ~Proverbs 12:25   “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks…. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” ~Jesus in Matthew 12:34, 36-37   “With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” ~James 3:9-10   SERMON PASSAGE Ephesians 4:15-16, 25-32 (NIV) Ephesians 4 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work…. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26  “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.  29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 1 Corinthians 13 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.   Romans 3 10 As it is written:    “There is no one righteous, not even one…. 13 “Their throats are open graves;    their tongues practice deceit.”    “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”

A Compelling Prayer

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION   “Prayer is the way we work our way out of the comfortable but cramped world of self, and into the spacious world of God.” ~Eugene Peterson (1932-2018), American pastor, scholar, author   “Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God himself better. Our concern must be to enlarge our acquaintance, not simply with the doctrine of God’s attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are.”   “Knowing God is more than knowing about him; it is a matter of dealing with him as he opens up to you, and being dealt with by him as he takes knowledge of you.” ~J.I. Packer (1929-2020), a British-born Canadian writer, professor   “God doesn’t want me to play with religion. He doesn’t want me to dabble in church. He wants me—body and soul.” ~R.C. Sproul (1939-2017), American pastor, theologian and writer   “It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.” ~John Calvin (1509-1564), French theologian, pastor, writer   “The prayer preceding all prayers is ‘May it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou that I speak to.’”   “The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become – because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be… It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” ~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British scholar and writer   “Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” ~John 17:3 (NIV) SERMON PASSAGE Psalm 139 (NIV) 1 You have searched me, Lord,    and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise;    you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;    you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue    you, Lord, know it completely. 5  You hem me in behind and before,    and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,    too lofty for me to attain.   7 Where can I go from your Spirit?    Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,    if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me,    your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me    and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;    the night will shine like the day,    for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being;    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully   and wonderfully made;    your works are wonderful,    I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you    when I was made in the secret place,    when I was woven together    in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;    all the days ordained for me   were written in your book    before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God!    How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them,    they would outnumber the grains of sand—    when I awake, I am still with you.   19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! 20 They speak of you with evil intent;    your adversaries misuse your name. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them;    I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart;    test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Seeing with the Spirit

QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “You and all of your new perspective now Wish I could shut it in a closet And drag you back down.” ~Noah Kahan, “New Perspective”   “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” ~C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British scholar, writer, and Christian apologist, in “Is Theology Poetry?”   “All those who are ‘in the Messiah’ are covered, shielded, protected, like the Israelites sheltering under the blood of the Passover lamb. That’s Romans 3. They are declared to be Abraham’s true family, Romans 4. They are therefore the true humanity, Romans 5. And they set off on their journey through the Red Sea as newly-freed slaves, as in Romans 6; they find themselves at Mount Sinai in Romans 7, only to discover in Romans 8 that what the law could not do God has done in his Son and by his Spirit, and they are on the way home through the wilderness to their promised inheritance. This is the new Exodus.” ~N.T. Wright, New Testament scholar and Anglican bishop   “Here again [in Romans 8:15], it seems that Paul is describing the situation of his Christian readers in Rome by using exodus metaphors. They should not be afraid and desire to return to ‘the house of slavery,’ as did the Israelites in the desert. … Instead, they should continue to recognize the leading of the Spirit of God, which confirms their status as ‘sons,’ causes them to cry to God as Father, and shows the way to freedom.” ~Richard B. Hays, New Testament scholar, in “Pneumatology: The Spirit in Romans 8”   “When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, ‘Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: “Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians”? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.’    And Moses said to the people, ‘Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord.’” ~Exodus 14:10-13 (ESV) SERMON PASSAGE Romans 8:1-17 (ESV) Romans 8 (ESV) 1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. 12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 1 Corinthians 10 (NIV) 1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea…. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.   Exodus 16 (NIV) 2 In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” Numbers 13 (NIV) 30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” Exodus 14 (ESV) 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord”