Month: November 2023

JESUS! In Word and Song

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WEEK 1

ADVENT WEEK ONE – HOPE

“Happy New Year! The Christian year begins with the season of Advent.”1 “Advent anticipates the ‘coming of Christ’ from three different perspectives: the physical nativity in Bethlehem, the reception of Christ in the heart of the believer, and the eschatological Second Coming.”2

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jer 33:14 ESV).

The Christian story is essentially one of daring hope, and we proclaim it boldly during Advent. All our senses tell us that God is not here, that the world is encompassed in darkness, cold, and pain. Yet we proclaim during this darkest, coldest time that He is here, tangibly born in the flesh, present with us still today.3

If you read the Bible cover to cover, you will discover there is a lot of waiting done by God’s people. Even though God made them wait, He didn’t allow them to wait without hope. He made covenants, anointings, and promises with his people while they waited, which gave them hope.4

“Hope, in the Bible, exists as a secure assurance, a trust placed in a trustworthy God. God has not failed us in the past, and therefore, if he claims he will do something in the future, we can have a hope that he will fulfill that claim.”5

“We aren’t alone in hope for an improved political climate. The Jewish people living more than two thousand years ago were hoping for the arrival of the Messiah to rescue them and bring about a just and peaceful kingdom.”6

Revelations initial recipients were living in two overlapping realities: their assurance in the sovereign reign and glorious return of Christ; and their earthly, everyday experience of waiting and suffering. Some two thousand years later, we still live amid these overlapping realities. Here, between Christ’s first coming and his glorious return, our lives may also feel like a mix of kingdom and confidence alongside waiting and suffering.7

“In this day and age, where evil abounds and all seems lost, we can also hope that the prophecies about Jesus’ second arrival to earth will also be fulfilled.”8

“[W]ait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:7-8 ESV).

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ENDNOTES

(1) In Hope Assured

            1. “Hope is a Verb: Salt’s Lectionary Commentary for Advent Week One,” 27 November 2018, Salt, 9 March 2021 https://www.saltproject.org/progressive-christian-blog/advent-week-one-lectionary-commentary.

            2. “Advent,” Wikipedia, Wikipedia, 9 March 2021 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent.

            3. Catherine McNiel, “Advent Week One: A Hope Made Sure,” 2 December 2019, Awana, 9 March 2021 https://www.awana.org/2019/12/02/advent-week-one-a-hope-made-sure/.

            4. Dori, “Advent Week 1 Hope: Family Devotional,” 1 December 2018, This Full Life 5, 9 March 2021 https://thisfulllife5.com/week-1-advent-family-devotional/.

            5. Hope Bolinger, “What is the Candle of Hope for Advent? Week 1,” 6 December 2019, Christianity, 9 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-the-candle-of-hope-for-advent-week-1.html.

            6. Matt Tullos, “Advent Devotional (Week 1): Faith,” 25 November 2015, Lifeway, 9 March 2021 https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/devotions-christmas-advent-week-one-faith.

            7. Kelli B. Trujillo, “Advent Week 1: He Will Come Again in Glory,” 29 November 2020, Christianity Today, 9 March 2021 https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2020/november-web-only/advent-week-1-he-will-come-again-in-glory.html.

            8. Hope Bolinger, “What is the Candle of Hope for Advent? Week 1,” 6 December 2019, Christianity.com, 9 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/wiki/holidays/what-is-the-candle-of-hope-for-advent-week-1.html.

            9. Robb Redman, “What is Advent?” 17 December 2020, Worship Leader, 9 March 2021 https://worshipleader.com/calendar/advent-day-19-with-steve-angrisano/.

            10. “. . . Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees”  (Romans 8:24 ESV)?

            11. Justin Holcomb, “What is Advent?” 6 November 2020, Christianity.com 9 March 2021 https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/christmas/what-is-advent.html.

            12. Holcomb.

            13. Arthur S. Way, Letters of Paul, Hebrews and the Book of Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1926, 1981) 208.

            14. “Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come” (Mark 13:33 ESV).

            15. Mark 13:33.

            16. Charles Wesley and Henry T. Smart, “Jesus Comes with Clouds Descending,” 1758, Hymnary, 9 March 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/lo_he_comes_with_clouds_descending_once.

            17. Wesley and Smart.

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WEEK 53

CHRIST THE KING DAY

“On the last Sunday of the liturgical year, Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. [T]his feast is designed to give special recognition to the dominion Christ our Lord has over all aspects of our lives.”1 “Even though it was created by a pope less than a hundred years ago, some Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians celebrate the feast.”2

“[T]his feast reminds us that whatever earth powers may do or ask of us, Christ is the true king that should reign in our hearts.”3

This feast is a fitting way to send us into Advent, the season of preparing our hearts to better recognize and receive God who comes to us in the person of Jesus. Jesus will come to us at the end of time to usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom, and it reminds us to recall that Jesus comes to us every day as well.4

“[T]he kingship of Christ overturns the systems of power, wealth, and force which rule over the world.”5 “[He] will return to take back the earth from the usurper and establish His kingdom.”6

“[W]hen the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,” (2 Thes 1:7-9 ESV).

“Christ, as Savior, is also the universal Judge, who will one day pass judgment on all people according to their deeds.”7 “God’s righteous judgment will be fully manifest when Jesus returns. At that time unbelievers will be condemned and believers will be saved.”8

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10 ESV).

“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,” (Joel 2:1 ESV).“[T]he ‘day’ refers to a final judgment upon the nations.”9 “God judges and ends this world system in its present form.”10

“CHRIST the King Day” is also called, “The Judgment Day” is some churches.  It is a perfect occasion to seriously evaluate where we will be in the next life.

The only thing that will deliver you from the eternal wrath of God is the eternal Gospel of God. God’s eternal and undiluted wrath was poured out on Christ at the cross. He drank the whole cup of the full fury of God’s justice against sin. If you trust in Jesus, he drank that cup for you. You will either trust in Christ or you will drink that cup for yourself.11

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ENDNOTES

(53) CHRIST the King

            1. D. D. Emmons, “The Solemnity of Christ the King,” Simply Catholic, 12 August 2021 https://simplycatholic.com/the-solemnity-of-christ-the-king/.

            2. ChurchPOP editor, “8 things You Didn’t Know About the Feast of Christ the King,” 23 November 2014, ChurchPOP, 12 August 2021 https://www.churchpop.com/2014/11/23/8-things-didnt-know-feast-christ-king/.

            3. ChurchPOP.

            4. “Feast of Christ the King,” FaithND, 12 August 2021 http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sid=1210&gid=609&pgid=38228.

            5. “Feast of Christ the King.”

            6. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 506.

            7. ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2001, ESV Text Edition: 2011) 2221.

            8. ESV Study Bible, 2315.

            9. ESV Study Bible, 1643.

            10. John MacArthur, One Perfect Life (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2012) 506.

            11. James Hamilton, Revelation, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012) 288.

            12. Charles Spurgeon, The Fullness of Joy (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997) 78.

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WEEK 52

JOYFUL SINGING

“His joy is my joy. My experience of joy must be emanating from His experience of joy.”1

Before the foundation of the world, our names were engraved on the Savior’s hands. In Christ, we have always been redeemed by His precious blood, always been preserved by the power of God, always been secure of the heritage given; therefore, let us always be grateful. If we are not always singing with our lips, let us always be singing with our hearts.2

Singing will often make the heart rise. The song, though at first it may appear to drag, will soon be fitted with wings that lift the spirit. Sing more and you will sing more still, for the more you sing, the more you will be able to sing the praises of God.3

The good tidings of great joy have reached us; as we, by His grace, have believed them, He has saved us from sin and death and hell. He has not simply promised to do it someday, but He has already done it. Sing to Him with a grateful heart, saying, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord.’4

‘Delight thyself also in the LORD’ (Psalm 37:4). This is His command, and is it not a lovely one? So greatly does God desire us to rejoice in Him that to the command is added a promise: ‘and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ [D]elight becomes a duty, to be happy is to be obedient to a command!5

“The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart.”6 John Piper

“[Y]ou always sing best when you are most spiritually focused. If you cannot sing artistically, never mind, you will be right enough if you sing from the heart and pay attention to it.”7

“It glorifies God when we delight in him, expressing the joy of knowing him and being known by him. [E]xpressions of delight point to God’s worth.”8 “The joy is ours. The glory is his.”9

“Only Jesus himself can bring us into God’s presence, and he has done it through a single sacrifice that will never be repeated—only joyfully recounted and trusted in.”10

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ENDNOTES

(52) Joyful Singing

            1. Doug Newton, Fresh Eyes on Famous Bible Sayings (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2018) 94-95.

            2. Charles Spurgeon, The Power of Praising God (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1998) 12.

            3. Spurgeon, 24.

            4. Charles Spurgeon, The Fullness of Joy (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997) 136-137.

            5. Spurgeon, 136.

            6. Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 65.

            7. Charles Spurgeon, The Fullness of Joy (New Kensington, PA: Whitaker House, 1997) 52.

            8. Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 66.

            9. Kauflin, 150.

            10. Kauflin, 74.

            11. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 159.

            12. Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008) 161.

            13. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 161.

            14. “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall” (Malachi 4:2 ESV).

            15. Andrew Murray, Abide in Christ (Springdale, PA: Whitaker House, 1979) 160.

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WEEK 51

JESUS – MEEKNESS AND MAJESTY

“For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] ‘Yes’” (2 Cor 1:20 AMP).

“One shows one’s greatness not by being at an extremity but by being simultaneously at two extremities and filling all the space between.”1 C.S. Lewis

“In the Person of Christ we see infinite majesty and transcendent meekness come together.”2

JESUS is the most incomparable Person—One who deserves our constant praise.

“[T]he glory of Christ is his combining of attributes that would seem to be utterly incompatible in one Person. The worth and beauty of the Son come not just from his majesty, nor just from his meekness, but from the way these mingle in perfect proportion.3

One of the sermons of Jonathan Edwards that God used to kindle the Great Awakening in New England in 1734-1735 was titled ‘The Excellency of Christ.’ In it Edwards unfolds the glory of God’s Son by describing the ‘admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Christ.’4

Christ, as he is God, is infinitely great and high above all. He is so high, that he is infinitely above any needs of us; above our reach, that we cannot be profitable to him; and above our conceptions, that we cannot comprehend him. And yet he is one of infinite condescension. [H]is condescension is sufficient to take a gracious notice of the most unworthy, sinful creatures to become their friend, to become their companion, to unite their souls to him in spiritual marriage, to take their nature upon him, to become one of them, that he may be one with them.5

Some of us may have a strong sense of the transcendent glory of Jesus—as vital an aspect of who he is as any. We tremble at the thought of him. His resplendent greatness looms over our daily consciousness. We approach him with reverence and awe. As we should. But he who is both Lion and Lamb is both transcendent and immanent, both far and near, both great and good—both King and Friend.6

Even in Christ’s present state of exaltation in heaven, we see the attributes of both the lion and the lamb! In his exalted state, he most eminently appears in strength of a great lion, but he still appears as a lamb. Though Christ be now at the right hand of God, exalted as King of Heaven, and Lord of the universe, yet as he is still in the human nature, he still excels in humility! [H]e is a lamb still, even amidst the throne of his exaltation, and he that is Shepherd of the whole flock is

himself a Lamb.7

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ENDNOTES

(51) Shout to the LORD

            1. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 35.

            2. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” 16 March 2016, Monergism, 08 April 2021 https://www.monergism.com/blog/jonathan-edwards-excellency-christ.

            3. John Piper, The Pleasures of GOD (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1991) 29-30.

            4. Piper, 30.

            5. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.

            6. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 27.

            7. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.

            8. Edwards.

            9. Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021) 32.

            10. Jonathan Edwards, “The Excellency of Christ,” leaderu, 08 April 2021 http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/edwards/excellency.html.

            11. Edward Perronet, “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name,” 1780, Hymnary, 08 April 2021 https://hymnary.org/text/all_hail_the_power_of_jesus_name_let.

            12. Perronet.

            13. “Praise the LORD . . . praise him in his mighty heavens” (Psalm 150:1 ESV)!

            14. “The LORD will reign forever . . .” (Psalm 146:10 ESV).

            15. “Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD . . .” (Psalm 112:1 ESV).

            16. “For great is his steadfast love toward us . . .” (Psalm 117:2 ESV).