Jesus (Christology) – Page 27

Good News of Great Joy | December 8 — “Faith Comes by Hearing”

Luke 8 highlights the transformative power of God’s Word and the necessity of faith. Jesus shows His authority over nature, demons, sickness, and death, calling us to trust Him in all circumstances. As Advent draws near, let us cultivate hearts like good soil—ready to receive God’s Word, bear fruit, and live by faith. May this season remind us that Jesus brings hope, healing, and new life to all who believe.

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

📖 Revelation 3:7–13We’re back!After a few months off, The King is Coming returns in 2026 with one of the most encouraging letters in Revelation — Jesus’s message to the faithful church in Philadelphia. In a world filled with opposition and weakness, Jesus opens a door no one can shut.In this episode, Keith Harris and Jamie Harrison explore:✔️ Jesus’s identity as the Holy One, the True One — God Himself✔️ What the “key of David” means and how Jesus alone opens and shuts✔️ The debated phrase “I will keep you from the hour of trial” — and how to read it biblically✔️ Why “little power” doesn’t disqualify faithfulness✔️ How being kept through the trial glorifies Christ’s strength in us✔️ What it means to be a pillar in God’s presence foreverThis church had no rebuke — only encouragement. And Jesus’s call still stands today: “Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.” (Revelation 3:11, ESV)🔗 Missed earlier episodes in the series? You can click here to catch up and listen from the beginning.✍️ If you’d like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with footnotes and cross-references, you can find it here.

The Parable of the Sower and the Lamp (8:1-21)^[1]

¹Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, ²and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means.

⁴And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, ⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. ⁸And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ ¹¹Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. ¹²The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. ¹⁴And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ¹⁵As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

¹⁶“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

¹⁹Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” ²¹But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms the Storm (8:22-25)^[2]

²²One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out, ²³and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. ²⁴And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. ²⁵He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

The Healing of the Demoniac (8:26-39)^[3]

²⁶Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. ²⁷When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. ²⁸When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” ²⁹For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) ³⁰Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. ³¹And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. ³²Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. ³³Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

³⁴When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. ³⁵Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. ³⁶And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. ³⁷Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. ³⁸The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

The Healing of the Woman and Raising of Jairus’s Daughter (8:40-56)^[4]

⁴⁰Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. ⁴¹And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, ⁴²for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. ⁴³And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. ⁴⁴She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. ⁴⁵And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” ⁴⁶But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” ⁴⁷And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. ⁴⁸And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

⁴⁹While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” ⁵⁰But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” ⁵¹And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. ⁵²And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” ⁵³And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” ⁵⁵And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. ⁵⁶And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.

[1] Jesus teaches about the varied responses to God’s Word through the parable of the sower. The seed symbolizes God’s Word, and the soils represent different hearts: some reject it, others fall away under trials, and some are distracted by life’s worries. Only good soil—those who hear, retain, and obey the Word—bears fruit (v. 15). Jesus also compares His Word to a lamp, meant to shine and transform lives. He concludes that His true family are those who hear and obey the Word.

[2] While crossing the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, Jesus calms a fierce storm with a simple command, revealing His authority over nature. The disciples, amazed and fearful, ask, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?” (v. 25). This miracle shows Jesus as God, the Lord of Creation, as even the weather obeys Him.

[3] Jesus heals a man possessed by a legion of demons in the region of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes). The demons recognize Jesus as “Son of the Most High God” (v. 28) and beg not to be sent into the abyss and instead enter a herd of pigs, which rush into the sea and drown. The man, now healed and in his right mind, becomes a witness to Jesus’ power and grace. Despite this miracle, the townspeople, frightened by what has happened, ask Jesus to leave their region.

[4] A desperate father, Jairus, pleads with Jesus to heal his dying daughter. On the way, a woman suffering from a long-term illness touches the fringe of Jesus’ garment and is healed instantly. Jesus tells her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” (v. 48). Shortly after, Jairus’s daughter dies, but Jesus tells him, “Do not fear; only believe” (v. 50). His healing of the woman and raising of Jairus’s daughter demonstrates His power over both disease and death.

Good News of Great Joy | December 7 — “The Power and Compassion of Jesus”

In Luke 7, Jesus reveals His compassion, power, and authority. He heals, raises the dead, and forgives sins, affirming His identity as the Messiah. His reassurance to John the Baptist reminds us to trust God’s plan even in uncertain times. The sinful woman’s story shows that faith in Jesus transforms hearts and leads to love and worship. This Advent, may we open our hearts to His grace, trusting Him as our Savior and Redeemer.

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Healing the Centurion’s Servant (7:1-10)^[1]

¹After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. ²Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. ³When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, ⁵for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” ⁶And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. ⁷Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. ⁸For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” ⁹When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” ¹⁰And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Raising the Widow’s Son (7:11-17)^[2]

¹¹Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. ¹²As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. ¹³And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ¹⁴Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” ¹⁵And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. ¹⁶Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” ¹⁷And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.

The Question of John the Baptist (7:18-35)^[3]

¹⁸^tThe disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, ¹⁹calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” ²⁰And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ” ²¹In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. ²²And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. ²³And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

²⁴When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. ²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷This is he of whom it is written,

“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

²⁸I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” ²⁹(When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, ³⁰but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)

³¹“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’

³³For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ ³⁵Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”

The Sinful Woman Anoints Jesus (7:36-50)^[4]

³⁶One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table. ³⁷And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, ³⁸and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. ³⁹Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” ⁴⁰And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” ⁴¹“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴²When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ⁴³Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ⁴⁴Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. ⁴⁶You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. ⁴⁷Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ⁴⁸And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” ⁴⁹Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” ⁵⁰And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

[1] A Roman centurion sends Jewish elders to Jesus, asking for the healing of his servant. His faith is remarkable because he believes that Jesus can heal with just a word, showing a deep understanding of authority. Jesus praises his faith, saying, “Not even in Israel have I found such faith” (v. 9). The servant is healed at that moment, illustrating Jesus’ power to heal beyond physical proximity.

[2] As Jesus approaches the town of Nain, He encounters a funeral procession for a widow’s only son. Moved by compassion, Jesus touches the pall and commands the young man to rise, and he does! This miracle, which demonstrates Jesus’ authority over death, causes the people to glorify God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” (v. 16).

[3] John the Baptist, in prison for confronting King Herod’s sin, sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the promised Messiah. Jesus responds by pointing to His miracles—healing the sick and raising the dead—as evidence of His messianic role (Isaiah 35:5-6; 61:1). Jesus also critiques the religious leaders, comparing them to children who are never satisfied, whether they are called to joy or repentance. Despite their rejection, Jesus praises the faith of those who accept His message.

[4] A Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to dinner, where a woman known for her sinful life comes to anoint Jesus’ feet with perfume and tears. Simon criticizes Jesus for allowing such a woman to touch Him, but Jesus uses the moment to teach about forgiveness. He tells a parable about two people forgiven of debts, one larger than the other, and emphasizes that the one forgiven more will love more. Jesus forgives the woman’s sins, showing that faith in Him leads to salvation.

Good News of Great Joy: Advent Readings from the Gospel of Luke

I believe that Luke’s words to Theophilus in the beginning of his gospel sum up what we are trying to do with this resource – to present to you “a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word have delivered to us” (Luke 1:1-2). There are twenty-four chapters in Luke’s narrative, and between December 1^st and 24^th (Christmas Eve), we have time to look at the full account of Jesus’s life.

We want to give you the opportunity to look at the whole Story of Jesus – not just the divine swaddled baby in the manger, but the young boy who taught the teachers in the temple, the man who served rather than being served, and the Savior who died and rose again “in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Luke addressed his gospel to Theophilus, a name combining the words Theos (God) and philos (love) to mean “lover of God”. Some speculate whether or not Theophilus was an individual or just Luke’s name for those who love God, but it is my hope that whether or not you begin this journey through Luke’s gospel a lover of God, you will find yourself on Christmas day enamored and enraptured in love, “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).

Won’t you join us?

Below, you can find audio for each day’s reading as well as brief commentary if needed for understanding, or you can download a pdf of the entire reading guide here:

Good News of Great Joy Download

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

December 1 | “The Dawn of Salvation” from Luke 1
December 2 | “Glory in the Highest” from Luke 2
December 3 | “Prepare the Way of for the Lord” from Luke 3 —
December 4 | “The Beginning of Jesus’s Ministry” from Luke 4 —
December 5 | “Jesus’s Authority and the Call of His Disciples” from Luke 5 —
December 6 | “Jesus Teaches About True Discipleship” from Luke 6 —
December 7 | “The Power and Compassion of Jesus” from Luke 7 —
December 8 | “Faith Comes by Hearing” from Luke 8 —
December 9 | “The Cost of Discipleship” from Luke 9 —
December 10 | “The Mission of Disciples & the Call to Love” from Luke 10 —
December 11 | “Power, Prayer, & True Cleansing” from Luke 11 —
December 12 | “Fear, Faith, & Faithfulness” from Luke 12 —
December 13 | “Repentance, Healing, & the Kingdom” from Luke 13 —
December 14 | “Lessons on Humility, Invitation, & Discipleship” from Luke 14 —
December 15 | “The Joy of God Over the Lost Being Found” from Luke 15 —
December 16 | “Faithful Stewardship & Eternal Perspectives” from Luke 16 —
December 17 | “Faith, Forgiveness, & Readiness for the Kingdom” from Luke 17 —
December 18 | “Persistence, Humility, & Faithfulness in Following Christ” from Luke 18 —
December 19 | “Salvation, Stewardship, & the King’s Coming” from Luke 19 —
December 20 | “The Authority of Jesus & the Kingdom of God” from Luke 20 —
December 21 | “The Son of Man & His Coming Kingdom” from Luke 21 —
December 22 | “The Path to the Cross” from Luke 22 —
December 23 | “The Crucifixion of Christ” from Luke 23 —
Christmas Eve, December 24 | “The Resurrection of Jesus: Joy to the World” from Luke 24 —
Christmas Devotional | “Good News of Great Joy (or The Weary World Rejoices)” —
Special Devotional Reading for Our Kiddos | “The Light of the World is Here!” —

I’m Thankful for the Blessed Hope of My Redeemer — Gratitude & Hope Challenge | November 18

I’m thankful for the blessed hope of my Redeemer.

I love that phrase that Paul uses to describe the second coming of Christ in Titus 2:13: “blessed hope”. It is unique and very clearly and carefully describes what those who are in Christ have in Him and how they are able to live in this world with the expectation of Him coming again.

First, to see why I am so thankful, we need to know what Paul meant by “hope”. That word in the original language meant being able to desire something good and expect to obtain it. This is different from the way the word “hope” is used in modern English where it operates closer to a wish. My school kiddos might say something like, “I hope I make a good grade on this test”, but if they stay up until the middle of the night on their phone, fall asleep in the middle of the test, and/or zone out while reading passages, their will fail it. They hoped or wished, maybe merely even wanted, to make a good grade, but there was no real expectation or reason to expect doing well.

Biblical hope is different from that, and primarily because it is not left up to us but left up to Jesus. We can desire His coming and expect to experience it because He has already come, meaning we can trust He will again. We can desire His coming and expect to experience it because He is “our great God and Savior” with the strength and wherewithal to make anything happen. In fact, everything that exists has happened because of Him. His track record is proven and proof.

Second, that word “blessed” adds a whole other level to “hope”. The word translated “blessed” here is the same word that we see in the beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12). People have been tempted to translate that word as happy, but happy in English has the connotation of good luck because hap- refers to circumstances. Think about the difference between happy and joyful. Happiness is fleeting and changes based on, well, circumstances. This word “blessed” is not circumstantial but Christ-produced. It is marked by God’s favor and that fullness/satisfaction that comes His Spirit within us.

Blessed hope, then, is the expectation of Jesus, our Redeemer, coming again that has been produced in our heart by God Himself. Blessed hope is saturated in the favor of God because it is a grace-gift to know that the One who redeemed us, purchased us by paying our sin debt with His blood on the cross, is coming to take possession of us. Blessed hope satisfies even in the not yet of life now because God’s very Spirit is already with us now, giving us more than a hypothetical happenstance because of His sure ever-presence.

I know that is a long and nerdy way of saying this, but “blessed hope” is really something else and only exists through Jesus. This world is constantly changing and getting worse the farther we get from the Fall, and if we’re not careful, we can fall into despondency and despair. We need the Holy Spirit reminder that this world is not all there is. We need to be able to trust in something and know that everything will be good eventually. But looking at the world gives us none of that, and the hypothetical hopes fail and hurt us.

We need something better than this world. We need something out of this world. We need Jesus. He’s coming. Our “blessed hope” is coming. And we are waiting for His appearance.

Lord, thank You for being our blessed hope and giving us reason to hope for the future. Thank You for being the God we can trust and know that Your promises will come to pass. Help us to be the people You are redeeming us to be. Help us to live as Your people. Help us to live in the expectation that Your coming will be soon. Amen.

All through the month of November, our Christ Community Church family is focusing on what we are thankful for and expressing our thanks to our “great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us” (Titus 2:13-14).

This, like the #DailyWisdomChallenge we went through in October, is a challenge from our pastor John Goldwater — the #GRATITUDEandHOPEchallenge — where we have the opportunity to post Bible passages that move us to thanksgiving or in which we find hope. May this lead you to be grateful and find your hope in Jesus!

I’m Thankful That We Can Trust God — Gratitude & Hope Challenge | November 5

I’m thankful that we can trust God!

So many are filled with anxiety right now as they watch the election results roll in. Honestly, I feel it, too. But there is One we can trust no matter the outcome of this election, or if He tarries, the outcomes of the next or the next. His name is Jesus, and He is truly trustworthy.

I chose this passage today because it is a good reminder of why we should trust the Lord rather than put our trust in worldly things.

To trust in “chariots” and “horses” was trusting in military prowess. Their might is contrasted with the “saving might” of God’s “right hand” in v. 6 and compared to the way His people can continue to stand when their worldly trusts “collapse and fall” in v. 8.

Psalm 20 is appropriate as it is a prayer for their nation’s king. As we pray tonight for the King of kings to grant us the president we need, we can stand in our trust of the Lord. If everything collapses, we can stand in our trust of Him. He won’t move. I’m reminded of the lyrics of the hymn: “Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus / how I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er.” The good news isn’t that we have proved Him but that He has proved Himself “o’er and o’er” and will again and again.

As you watch the election coverage — or if you are reading this once the results have come in, don’t put your trust in donkeys or elephants. They will all collapse and fail you one way or another. Put your trust in the name of the LORD our God. His name is Jesus — the King of kings, Lord of lords, and the Potentate of presidents. He will never fall or fail.

Songs for Sunday, October 6, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday, and Lord willing, we will have the opportunity to gather and worship Him!

Let me say that again — we will have the OPPORTUNITY to worship Him, gathered with other believers and pointing to Him with all that we do.

Why?

God is worthy! Revelation 4:11 says, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

God is holy! Psalm 29:2 says, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.”

God is the mighty Creator! Psalm 95:6 says, “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, out Maker!”

God is good, steadfastly loving, and eternally faithful! Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thank to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations.”

God is great and powerful — worthy to be praised! Psalm 96:4-5 says, “For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens.”

God is worthy to be praised because He is the Savior! In Isaiah 43:11, He tells us, “I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.”

Our God — Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords — is worthy to receive worship and praise and honor because He is the Redeemer! In Titus 2:13-14, Paul tells us that we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.”

So, about that OPPORTUNITY tomorrow where, should the Lord let us wake, we GET to worship Him: what will you do with it?

We saw in the verses above that our God is not like the “worthless idols” of this earth — the vain things that charm us and distract us from Him. He is good and loving and sovereign and mighty, and He saves and redeems us. We can be sure that there are many frightening and concerning things going on around the world today, but none of them — NONE of them — frighten or concern our God because He has already won the victory and is undefeatable!

The words of Jesus’s words to His disciples at the end of John 16 when I think of the things that frighten me in the news and in my social media news feed of late — and these words move my heart to worship despite fear — they move me to comfort despite rising anxiety and unsurety. Listen to the words of our King:

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33

I feel those words in my soul — “take heart; I have overcome the world.”

That’s my God.

That’s my King.

He cares for us and has provided for us.

He has already — that’s right, past tense — “overcome the world”.

And tomorrow, we are going to celebrate Him and worship Him and praise Him and read His Word and preach His Word and make much of Him because He is God and He is worthy to be praised.

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

Scripture | Romans 6:4-8 —

⁴We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Song | Washed Clean —
Scripture Inspiration: 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 1:17-18, Matthew 11:28-30, Romans 8:2, John 8:34-36, Psalm 51:2, Psalm 51:7, Jeremiah 33:8, 1 John 1:9, Titus 3:4-5, Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 3:34, Ephesians 2:1-2, Acts 26:18-19

Song | Holy Water —
Scripture Inspiration: Romans 10:9-10, Romans 5:12-15, John 8:34, John 3:3-21, Matthew 3:11, Romans 6:1-11, Galatians 2:19-20, Proverbs 16:24, 1 Corinthians 13:1, Numbers 19:17, Romans 6:1-7, Matthew 11:28-30, Acts 3:19-21

Scripture | Romans 6:23 —

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Song | What He’s Done —
Scripture Inspiration: Matthew 7:33, Mark 15:22, Luke 23:33, John 19:7, Matthew 26:26, Colossians 1:19-20, 1 Peter 1:19, John 8:36, Isaiah 53, Psalm 147:3, John 3:16, John 15:13, Romans 8:5-8, 1 John 1:9-2:2, Acts 4:12, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, Hebrews 2:14, Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Corinthians 15:50-57, Revelation 4:1-11, 1 John 5:4, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 5:12, Philippians 4:8

Song | Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me) —
Scripture Inspiration: Daniel 7:13-14, Psalm 51:3-5, Isaiah 7:14, John 1:14, Romans 15:1-3, John 1:4-5, John 3:16, Romans 5:8, John 10:11, Romans 6:6-7, Psalm 103:12, Romans 3:21-26, Revelation 22:20, Luke 23:33-34, Colossians 2:13-14, Psalm 22:16, Isaiah 53:3-4, Isaiah 53:12, John 20:1, Matthew 28:7, 1 Corinthians 15:16-20, Acts 1:9-11, Acts 2:24, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Revelation 11:15-19, Matthew 24:27, Revelation 1:7

Invitation | Here Again —
Scripture Inspiration: Deuteronomy 31:6, Psalm 23:4, Psalm 46:1, Matthew 28:20, John 14:16-17, Romans 8:38-39, John 15:5, Romans 5:6-8, Exodus 20:3, Matthew 22:36-37, Luke 14:26-33, 1 John 4:18, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Hebrews 4:13, Ezekiel 37:1-14

Offertory | Joy to the World (King is Coming) —
Scripture Inspiration: Psalm 98:4-9, Malachi 3:1-2, Isaiah 9:6, Isaiah 11:10, John 12:15, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:11-16, Matthew 25:1-13, Genesis 3:14-24, Revelation 21:1-7, John 14:6, Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Psalm 145:8-9, Isaiah 60:1-22, Revelation 22:20

“The Excellency of Christ” from Hebrews 1:1-4 — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study w/David Miller

¹Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, ²but 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. ³He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴having become as much superior to angels as the name He has inherited is more excellent than theirs.^[1]

"Kept Through the Trial: Jesus's Letter to the Church at Philadelphia" (The KING is Coming) – Refresh & Restore | A JustKeithHarris.com Podcast

Greetings Sojourners!

It is my pleasure today to introduce you to David Miller. He went to be with the Lord last week, but thanks to recordings and videos, his sermons still proclaim the gospel after his death.

Bro. David called himself a “Country Preacher at Large” because, at his core, he felt that no matter how far God allowed him to travel to preach that a humble country preacher was what he was made to be. To those who knew him and were blessed to be discipled by him, well, we knew he was much more. I could go on and on about him – from the role he played in the Conservative Resurgence or in the shift of Southern Seminary to orthodoxy or the over 1,500 pastors like myself who were able to be taught by him, but I will leave that for now.

His ministry was called Line Upon Line, based off of Isaiah 28:10 – “For it is precept upon precept…, line upon line…”, which was a testament to how he preached, taking texts of Scripture and preaching them line by line and breaking down the precepts so that they can be understood. Because of his disability, peroneal muscular atrophy, he was in a wheelchair for decades even by the time I met him sixteen years ago. By that point, he could no longer hold a Bible or write out sermon notes – hadn’t been able to for a long time. What I called a disability, God used to strengthen his mind by giving Bro. David a gift for memorizing long passages of Scripture and sermon notes and a singular gifting to preach with clarity like no other I have ever met. And it is that preaching that I want to share with you.

What follows is a sermon Bro. David preached at the G3 conference several years back^[2] on Hebrews 1:1-4 on “The Excellency of Christ”. Just as he would not want himself proclaimed as excellent but to have people pointed to Christ, my effort here is to allow others to benefit from the preaching that has been so beneficial to my spirit.

So, with no further ado, let us be in awe of the excellent Christ, King Jesus, and dive deep into His Word today.

—————————————————————————

Turn please to the New Testament Book of Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews chapter one, beginning at verse one.

The title for my sermon now is “The Excellency of Christ”. The writer in the book of Hebrews has for his theme the excellency – the superiority – of Jesus Christ. In this book, he tells us that Jesus is better than the Old Testament prophets, better than the Old Testament priests. He’s greater than the angels. And the new covenant in His blood is far superior to the Old Testament covenant.

He will argue his theme along two lines: 1) He will argue on the basis of Christ’s person – who He is, and 2) he will argue on the basis of Christ’s performance – the things that He has done. And the bottom line in the Book of Hebrews is this: there is no other one like Jesus and no other one has ever done the things that Christ has done. And these two items, the person, and the performances of Christ, will form the two items in my outline.

Have you found our text? Let’s begin at verse one.

¹God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, ²Hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; ³Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; ⁴Being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.^[3]

The Person of Christ

I call your attention to verse three first. Here, we have two statements regarding the person of Christ. He begins by telling us that Christ is the brightness of God’s glory. That is, He is the effulgence. He is the radiant splendor. He is the shining forth of the glory of God. Jesus is to God what the rays and the beams are to the sun; the rays and the beams are that by which the sun is seen and known. Its warmth, its beauty, its brightness are experienced through the rays and the beams. Now, in a far greater way, Jesus is the one in whom and through whom the glory of God is seen and known. He’s the brightness of God’s glory.

But not only that, He is the “express image” of the person of God. This phrase “express image” has in mind an engraver’s too, upon which there is an insignia and when placed down upon the wood and the wax it leaves there an exact duplication, a precise reproduction of the insignia. We get our English word character from this idea. Do you see what he’s telling us about Jesus? In His essential nature, Jesus Christ possesses the exact same character as deity. Here is a biblical affirmation of the deity of Christ.

What do you folks think about when you think about God? Do you think about the eternal, pre-existent one?

Well, I would remind you that before the sun had ever shone upon the face of the sea, before there was any gold in California, before there were any bulldogs in Georgia {congregation laughs}, before there were any razorbacks in Arkansas, before there was any coal in Kentucky, or any all in the Middle East, Jesus Christ was already living in eternity past dwelling in unapproachable light enjoying the fellowship of His Father.

What do you think about when you think about God?

Whatever characterizes the nature of God also characterizes the nature of Jesus. He is the express image of the person of God. Now put that aside. That’s the first half of my sermon.

What do you think? I expected resounding “Amen” to that question if for no other reason it was brief. However, if you thought that was half of the sermon chronologically, you have greatly erred in your judgment {congregation laughs}. That’s the first half of the sermon outline. Here’s the second half.

The Performance of Christ

I want you to see the excellence in His performances. There are four of these.

One, I want you to see the excellency of Christ as the inerrant revelator.

Now in verse one and the first half of verse two, we have four distinct ideas regarding God’s revelation of Himself to man.

He begins by speaking of the fragmentation of the Old Testament revelation. It, the Old Testament revelation, was at “sundry times.” It didn’t come all at once. It came in stages. It came in parts. And it was in “diverse manners.” God didn’t use the same method. He didn’t employ the same means every time He made Himself known in the Old Testament.

You will recall that on one occasion He spoke to Moses in a burning Bush on the backside of the desert (Exodus 3:1-6). Unless of course, you had read Dr. Roy Honeycutt’s commentary in the old Broadman commentary series on the Book of Exodus. There in Chapter 3, Dr. Honeycutt says there are three possible interpretations of this text. Number one, it could have been a burning bush. Imagine that. {congregation laughs} Number two, it could have been the sun reflecting upon the orange foliage, giving the appearance of burning. Or number three, it could have been an inner experience that only Moses had, and if you and I had been there, we would not have seen any burning Bush nor heard any audible voice. And then he adds, “For the present writer, the latter seems more probable.” Well, for the present country preacher, the former seems more probable. God spoke to Moses in the burning bush.

On another occasion, He spoke audibly to Moses on Mount Sinai as the mountain trembled and smoked (Exodus 19:18-19). Later, with His finger, God wrote the Ten Commandments on tables of stone (Exodus 31:18)….

He spoke through a donkey (Numbers 22:28-30). Do you remember that occasion? He spoke to Isaiah in a vision (Isaiah 6:1-4) – to Daniel in a dream (Daniel 7:1-2). The Old Testament scriptures did not come all at once, nor did they come in the same way (v. 1). It was a fragmented, incomplete revelation.
Now, I want you to see the fullness of the New Testament revelation in Christ. God hath spoken unto us by His son. I am addressing a highly privileged class of people this morning. You and I, who live on the post- side of the incarnation of Jesus, have a full revelation from God. We know more about faith than Abraham. We know more about the Law than Moses. We know more about salvation than Isaiah. We know more about the end time than Daniel. We know more about how and why to worship God than David We have a full revelation from God in Christ.
Number three, I want you to see the finality of the New Testament revelation in Christ. Listen to it: God hath in these last days, in these last days of revelation, God hath spoken fully and finally in His son Jesus Christ.

Now I don’t know about you folks, but it makes me nervous to be around these saints who seem to have a fresh word from God. They make me nervous. I sat in a midweek Bible study and prayer time in a Baptist Church in my hometown several years ago – make a note of this, it was more than three years ago. The pastor and some of the laymen were having a share time relating what all they had learned from a seminar on prophecy at the local charismatic church on Monday and Tuesday evening of that week. It seems that the leader of the seminar had received a vision from God. And in his vision, God had told him that there was going to be a nuclear explosion south of Heber Springs, about fifty miles, within the next three years. And our area up through Heber Springs was going to be a refugee camp for those who escaped the explosion. Now, immediately upon hearing such news, my attention piqued. I live there.

And one of the layman spoke up and said, “This corroborates what I’ve been telling the body,” and he reminded them how that a few weeks earlier he had had a dream and in his dream God had told him there was going to be a nuclear explosion south of Heber Springs in the near future. “But,” said he, “what I did not know until this week was that our area would be a refugee camp for those who escaped the explosion.”

“But,” said he, “that’s the way God speaks today. To one member of the body he gives a dream, to another member of the body a vision, to another, a word of knowledge, and the body of Christ comes together and each member shares what he or she has received from God and the church synthesizes – puts all of that together. And there you have God’s word to man today.”

What do you think?

Well, I sat there for an inordinately long period of time, being long-suffering and forbearing. But after a while, I said, “Brethren, since this is the share time, I’ve got something I’d like to share with you. I’d like to share with you that it makes me nervous to be around folks who have a fresh word from God that the rest of us don’t have, because we’re limited to just the Old and New Testaments.” That makes me nervous. And I, like the apostle Paul, I’m a premillennialist…. {congregation laughs} I’m keenly interested in the second coming of the Lord. I think it’s profitable for the Saints to get together and contemplate all of those complex and intricate details of the second coming of the Lord. However. I want to caution you. You must make a difference between the exposition of Holy Scripture on the one hand, and the supposition of some dude’s mind on the other hand. Those two things are not the same.

Hereby shall you know a prophet if what he says comes to pass (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). That’s good, strong evidence that he’s spoken for God. However, that – even that – if what he says comes to pass, that is not proof-positive that he’s spoken for God. You want proof-positive? If what he says does not come to pass; that’s proof positive (Deuteronomy 18:22). Now, that’s been much longer than three years ago. And I know that I’m the last one to find out, but I believe if there had been a nuclear explosion south of Heber Springs – 50 miles or 500 miles – I would have heard about it by now. What does that tell us about the leader of the seminar? Beloved, that tells me that he must have heard a jackass braying and thought he had been called to preach. He was as bogus as a $3 bill. And the Baptist who went to the seminar and gave money deserved to lose every dime.

Beware, when a person says God told me. Oral Roberts once said, “God told me to raise $8 million, or he’s going to kill me.” I wondered why God didn’t kill him for saying that. {congregation laughs}

God hath spoken fully, and finally, in His son Jesus Christ.

Now, I want to show you a fourth thing. I want you to see the father of both revelations. Now this is audience participation time. Straighten yourself up. Now get your shoulders back, your chin up. Some of you are a little more comfortable than you ought to be in church. {congregation laughs} Here’s the question who was it? Who spoke in time, passed unto the fathers by the prophets? Who did that? {God did.} Now, who was it who had spoken unto us in these last days by His son? {God.}

This is an above average congregation. Now, sophisticated academic credentials are not required at this point. It doesn’t matter if you’re reading in the Old Testament, something the prophet said, or if you’re reading in the New Testament, something Jesus said, you are reading the Word of God. He is the Father of both revelations. No man ever spoke like Jesus, He is the inerrant revelator.

Now here’s the second item: I want you to see the excellency of His performance as the infallible regulator.

Now look at verse 2, the last statement: “by whom also He made the worlds”. Now look at verse three, the third statement: “and upholding all things by the word of His power.” Here we are told that Jesus Christ was the agent in creation. And He is currently involved in maintaining the order, the unity, and the balance in the created order. He governs it by the word of His power.

I appreciated the recitation from Colossians [1:15-20] earlier this morning. Didn’t you?

He is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature, for by Him were all things made that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things and by Him all things consist – they cohere – they are held together.

Do you have any idea how big the created order is? Let me illustrate it for you. If at the dawn of creation, you could have caught a light beam and put a saddle on it, mounted up and commenced to ride from one end of the Milky Way galaxy toward the opposite end. And you had been riding at the speed of light, 182-186,000 miles per second – that’s zipping right along – and you had been riding non-stop from the dawn of creation as we know it, this morning, you would only be about one-tenth of the way across the Milky Way galaxy. And yet the scientists tell us there are other galaxies, many of these larger than the Milky Way. I don’t know about you, but in my country-boy way of thinking, that is big time stuff. That’s Major League. And here the Bible affirms not only did Christ create the universe, He maintains the order and balance and unity of the universe by the word of His omnipotence.

Hallelujah!

I don’t think I’m out of line this morning if I tell you that you can bring the broken pieces of your life and lay them at the feet of Jesus in humble submission to His lordship, and have every confidence that He is able to put them together and make something beautiful out of your life. He’s the infallible regulator.

Do you want some peace? Do you want some tranquility? Do you want some order? Do you want some balance in your own existence? Come to Jesus, bend the knee, and bow the heart. He’s the great, infallible regulator.

Number three, I want you to see His performance as the incomparable redeemer.

When He had by Himself purged our sin, notice three things:

One, the sovereignty of the redeemer. He purged our sins (v. 3). Now to hear some of the brethren preach, you’d think the Lord had been morally obligated, bound by some solemn moral responsibility to leave heaven’s glory, condescend to Earth’s shame, and die a substitutionary, vicarious death on behalf of sinners. But let me ask you this: did God owe us anything? Why did He come? He came because in His heart there is grace and mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5). He came because he wanted to, not because He was obligated (John 10:18).
Notice the sufficiency of the redemption. He purged our sin (v. 3). Grammatically, it is a fact accomplished in the past, but having perfect and continuing result throughout the future (Hebrews 10:14). “’Tis done! ‘Tis done! The great transaction is done!” (John 19:30) There’s never going to be any more work done regarding our redemption (Hebrews 9:12).
Notice the singularity of the Redeemer when He had, by Himself, purged our sin. “Jesus paid it all. All to Him. I owe Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”

Now, item number four: I want you to see His performance as the indisputed ruler.

Look at verse three. Look at that last statement. Have you ever seen one verse that had more good stuff in it? When “He had by Himself purged our sin, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

You hear some of the brethren preach, you would think the Lord and the Devil were locked in the death throes of a spiritual battle out in space, and the outcome had not yet been determined. But listen: Jesus is not going to be Lord; He is Lord already! He’s not Lord because He’s risen from the dead; He was Lord before He ever died. He’s King Jesus!

There’s a line that’s been drawn through the ages, on that line stands an old rugged cross. On that cross, a battle is raging for the gain of man’s soul or its loss. On one side march the forces of evil – all the demons and the devils of Hell. On the other, the angels of glory, and they meet on Golgotha’s hill. The earth shakes with the force of that conflict, and the sun refuses to shine. For there hangs God’s son in the balance.

But then from the darkness He cries:

It is finished – the battle is over.
It is finished – there will be no more war.
It is finished – the end of the conflict.
It is finished, and Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!

^[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Heb 1:1–4.

^[2] He preached on “The Excellency of Christ” twice at G3 Conferences over the years. The one I have transcribed is from 2014. Here is the more recent version of the sermon from 2021.

^[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Heb 1.

Songs for Sunday, August 11, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming, and I’m excited!

This week has been long and tough, and I am in need of time spent with my brothers and sisters in Christ in worship of Him — “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13).

While this week has been long and tough, that does not necessarily mean that it has been bad. This ain’t that kind of post. No, it’s been long and tough, ultimately, in a good way. I am as filled with joy as I am tired.

I have gotten to be back with my school kiddos from last semester, and it has been a joy to me. They have grown and matured over the summer and teaching them again fills my heart with joy (and makes my knees hurt, too). A part of me has switched back on that has been idle for a few months. A part of my heart has been opened, almost as if it were a room that has been vacant has been opened and its curtains pulled back to let in the light and the dust covers pulled free. My classroom is open for business.

I am relearning the balance of vocation and ministry as well as getting back into the swing of being husband and father through all of it. This is not complaining. Balance is tough, but it is good. To paraphrase Popeye, I am who I am, and who I am is just me — rough edges as well as smooth. It is a joy to balance because all of these areas are part of who God called me to be in Him, and as I am His, so I am in all of it.

In the midst of the joy, there has also been sorrowful joy. My friend and mentor — one who helped me learn how to rightly divide the Word of God and who instilled in me what it is to faithful break down the Word of God in preaching — passed away. Bro. David Miller was unique and special to many. He was a mentor and friend to hundreds of preachers over the years and wanted no fame or glory for it as he was a self-proclaimed Country Preacher At-Large. He fought battles for orthodox Christian belief and biblical teaching in Southern Baptist life that were of vital importance but found time to invest in young preachers (in experience not necessarily age) with study resources and education, of which I am the least. He gave example in his preaching of teaching the deep things of the Word with clarity and making sure that we take the time to break them down that they can be understood. His life was a testimony to the grace of Jesus.

I came across an interview he did with Todd Friel and Wretched Radio, and I would like to share with you the way he explained salvation (I am providing the biblical cross-references because I don’t want you to take Bro. David’s word for it but to see what God’s Word says):

“We must be exposed to the preaching of the the gospel of Christ (Romans 10:14-17, 1 Corinthians 1:18).

“We have no ability of our own to repent and believe (John 6:44, Ephesians 2:8-9). However, we can avail ourselves — if you are not a Christian in this room today you can avail yourself of the means of grace (Isaiah 55:6-7, Acts 17:30). You can bend your knee, and you can bow your heart (Philippians 2:10-11). And you can call upon the Lord (Romans 10:13). And you can beseech the the Lord for mercy, confess your sins, and trust Him to do a work of regeneration in your heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27, Titus 3:5, 1 John 1:9) — to give you, to infuse into you an inclination to turn from sin with godly sorrow and to believe the the gospel (2 Corinthians 7:10, Mark 1:15).

“That’s salvation.

“That gets you started.

“That’s salvation in the past tense (2 Timothy 1:9). This repenting and believing results in justification (Galatians 2:16). The Lord will clear you of guilt, declare you to be innocent, and give to you the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:21). He’ll take the practical — not the intrinsic — the practical righteousness of Christ, His having fulfilled the Law as a substitute for sinners (Matthew 5:17, Romans 8:3-4), God will write that down on your account (Philippians 3:9). This will provide positional sanctification for you (1 Corinthians 1:30, Hebrews 10:10). When God looks upon you thereafter, He’ll see you as being in Christ, in possession in the righteousness of Christ (1 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 3:9). You’ll never have any righteousness of your own; your righteousness will come from Christ (Isaiah 61:10).”

What a beautiful picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ — that Jesus paid the price for our sins and made a way for us to be saved by grace through faith in Him! Jesus saves, not based on any ability to earn it, and that is good news as all we are able to earn is death and condemnation because of our sin.

This hits different knowing that the “pasts tense salvation” Bro. David talked about is present tense for him now. His faith has been made sight. He spent decades confined to a wheel chair in a body that failed him gradually since he was sixteen, but now he has a new body. More than that, the surpassing worth of knowing Christ is paid in full as he knelt before his Savior face-to-face.

Tomorrow at Christ Community, Lord willing, we are going to gather in worship of our resurrected King, Jesus Christ. We are going to rejoice in the truth of His gospel — that He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again just as the Bible shows us (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). We are going to read His Word and hear His Word preached. We are going to lift our voices and sing to and about Him.

Jesus is the source of my joy, and I hope He is the source of yours as well. There is no pain He can not salve and no sinner He cannot save.

If you are not a Christian and reading this, seek Him while He may be found. Call upon Him to save you. Confess Him as Lord, believe He has risen, and He will save you. He promised He would for all who do so, and He who promised is faithful.

If you are a Christian and reading this, seek Him still. There is coming a day when all of the sad things of this earth will come untrue. The last tears will be dried by His nail-scarred hand, and there will be no more sorrow or mourning or pain because everything will be made new and we will dwell with our God forevermore.

Either way, YOU are INVITED to gather with us tomorrow and sing, read, and hear the gospel. YOU are INVITED to gather in worship of the King of kings. YOU are INVITED to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.

YOU are INVITED!

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

Scripture | Ephesians 2:1-7 —

¹And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ²in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience — ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — ⁶and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Song | His Mercy is More —
Scripture Inspiration: Lamentations 3:22-23, James 2:13, Romans 5:20, Hebrews 8:12, Isaiah 40:28, Hebrews 4:13, 1 John 3:20, Micah 7:18-19, Exodus 34:6, Psalm 145:8-9, 1 Timothy 1:15, Luke 14:21, 2 Corinthians 8:9, Colossians 2:13-14, Psalm 107:9, Ephesians 3:20, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Galatians 2:20-21

Song | Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) —
Scripture Inspiration: Romans 3:21-24, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 8:1-4, Jeremiah 17:9, Luke 15, John 9:25-29, Psalm 112:1, Psalm 31:5, Ephesians 2:4, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 John 4:18, Matthew 13:44-46, John 8:31-36, Psalm 23:6, Philippians 1:6, Psalm 119:49, Psalm 119:81, Psalm 119:114, 2 Samuel 22:3, Lamentations 3:24, 2 Peter 3:10, Joel 2:31, Revelation 21:3

Scripture | Ephesians 2:8-10 —

⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepares beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Song | I Got Saved —
Scripture Inspiration: Psalm 46:1-4, Zechariah 13:1, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Psalm 36:9, Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 61:10, Matthew 26:28, Ephesians 2:4-5, 1 John 1:5-10, Psalm 103:12, Psalm 51:9, Psalm 32:5, Psalm 107:10-16, Nahum 1:13, Isaiah 6:5, James 2:13, Zechariah 7:9, Hebrews 9:5, 1 Peter 2:10, Psalm 25:7, Psalm 31:19, Psalm 85:4, Acts 3:21, Galatians 2:16-17, Romans 5:8-9, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Hebrews 6:5, Colossians 2:13-15, Psalm 25:11, Numbers 4:19, Romans 8:28-30, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 3:10-13

Song | In Christ Alone —
Scripture Inspiration: John 14:6, Ephesians 5:8, Psalm 28:7-8, Psalm 40:3, Ephesians 2:19-22, Matthew 7:24-27, Romans 5:1-8, Joshua 1:9, 2 Timothy 1:7, 2 Corinthians 5:15, Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7, 1 Corinthians 15:28, Philippians 2:16, John 19:38-42, John 8:12, John 3:19-20, Acts 3:15, Acts 4:33, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Romans 6:15-23, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, Galatians 3:13, Revelation 21:3, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Romans 8:1-2, Romans 1:16, Deuteronomy 4:39, Psalm 115:3, Isaiah 43:13, Daniel 4:35, Ephesians 1:11, Matthew 16:17-19, Romans 8:35-39, John 10:28-30, Psalm 115:18, Revelation 5:9-13, Luke 9:23-26, Philippians 2:5-11

Invitation | Though You Slay Me —
Scripture Inspiration: cf. Job 13:15; James 1:14-15, Psalm 147:3, Hebrews 12:4-11, John 3:16-17, Romans 5:6-8, Philippians 3:7-11, Job 1:20-22, Psalm 30:1, Psalm 46:1-3, Psalm 73:26, Hebrews 12:2, John 1:29, Revelation 5:12, Genesis 50:20, Matthew 26:39-42, Numbers 18:20, Deuteronomy 10:9, Deuteronomy 18:2, Joshua 13:33, Psalm 16:5, Psalm 23:5, Psalm 73:26, Psalm 142:5, Psalm 119:57, Psalm 142:5, Lamentations 3:24, Ezekiel 44:28

Offertory | Nothing Without You —
Scripture Inspiration: cf. Philippians 4:10-20, Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 28:2, Lamentations 3:41, Psalm 51:5, Colossians 3:16, Psalm 36:7, Psalm 63:3, Romans 8:39, 1 John 4:9-10, Romans 12:1, Philippians 2:17, Psalm 39:4, James 4:14, Colossians 3:23-24

Songs for Sunday, July 14, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday’s coming!

Have you ever heard someone ask: Do you want the good news or the bad news? Most of us have.

Sometimes people ask this question because there is simply just some good news and some bad news, and they want to offer folks the opportunity to choose which one they hear first. Most of the time, it offers the view that the good news could potentially cover up the bad news, almost like the perspective from the good news can lift us up from the bad news.

The news that “Sunday’s coming!” is kind of like that. We know that at the very least we are announcing that the day of the week when Jesus’s church gathers to celebrate His resurrection and worship Him, but part of that day of worship, part of meeting and worshiping together is to acknowledge that “the Day [of Jesus’s return is] drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25)! So, “Sunday’s coming!” for Christians is really an announcement that JESUS is COMING!

So, do you want the good news or the bad news?

This question has jogged my memory all the way back to when I was in third grade (an undisclosed amount of time ago). I, being the quirky and nerdy, geeky sort of guy that I am was of a similar sort back then, and it got me a certain amount of attention from larger stronger folks who thought that was weird. There was a certain amount of glasses-breaking beat-down sort of attention that happened fairly regularly, especially on the school bus. This garnered the attention of my principal at the time.

I remember one particular day after a rough and painful bus ride to school where I got called to the principal’s office. Naive as I was, I thought I was being called in to be given some relief — either to make the guys chill out on the beat downs for a while or to maybe at least put some distance between us for a beat down vacation. This wasn’t that. He wanted to know what I was doing to make these guys beat me down and wasn’t buying the story that my mere existence made them angry or that they found it entertaining to beat up on the littler guy.

He gave me a classic good news/bad news situation. He told me that he had called my daddy and that he was coming. It came as bad news that day because Daddy was working night shift and was not to be woken during the day. Waking him would surely mean trouble, especially since, as the principal told me, he had been called because he was sure I was stirring up trouble.

I remember being so scared that Daddy was currently on his way to the school. As the principal kept pressing for what he felt was the real untold story, he kept saying, “Your daddy is coming.” I was reminded of all of Daddy’s promises that getting in trouble at school would mean getting the same or worse trouble at home. I was reminded of all of the lessons on how to act and how to carry myself at school. My daddy loved me, and I had just about been convinced that his showing up at school that day was about the worst news I had heard at that point in my life.

Eventually, there was a knock on the office door, and the secretary ushered Daddy in. His facial expression was perturbed to say the least. He sat in the chair next to mine and the principal began his presentation of the facts as had been presented to me up to a point. Then, something unexpected happened. Daddy held up his hand, motioning for the principal to pause his tirade, and leaned over to me telling me, “Son, you can go back to class.”

That was unexpected. This wasn’t Daddy’s meeting. He had nearly absolute authority over me, but how would that work at school? Rather than waiting to find out, I swallowed the lump in my throat from fear and anxiety and walked out of the office into the hall and back toward class.

What happened next is seared into my memory — a core memory, if you will.

I heard my daddy’s characteristic whistle to get my attention. He was standing at the office door. He winked at me and waved.

You see, a wink was our thing. That wink came to mean many things over the years. It could be as simple as I-see-you or kind of an endearing look or, as it was in this case, everything’s going to be fine because daddy’s got you.

The bad news came untrue because “Your daddy’s coming!” (with the connotation of he’s going to get you) had turned to Daddy is here and he’s got you.

For some, JESUS is COMING could produce fear because they do not know Him. For those who are opposed to Him, the image is that of Revelation 19:11-21 — the rider on the white horse with a sword in His mouth ready to “tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). He is coming in the full authority of “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16) and in power and judgment will defeat those who “gathered to make war against Him who was sitting on the horse and against His army” (Revelation 19:19). Those enemies are to be “slain by the sword that came from the mouth of Him who was sitting on the horse” (Revelation 19:21), or as Martin Luther put it in the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, felled with one “little word”.

That’s bad news.

It’s bad news unless you belong to Him, unless you are saved and given eternal life in Him (Romans 10:9-13, John 3:16, Ephesians 2:4-5). To face down the Lamb, Jesus Christ, the rider on the white horse — King of kings and Lord of lords — is a fearful thing. No one in His army will have to fight, Himself included. When He says, “It is done!” (Revelation 21:6), it is simply that — done. None can stay His hand. None can war against Him. None can flaunt His authority.

That’s good news.

It’s good news if you are with Him.

So, do you want the good news or the bad news?

The good news is that Jesus has made a way for us (John 14:6). The King of kings has left His throne and come to earth — to dwell among us (John 1:14), living the life we cannot live while dying the death we deserve (2 Corinthians 5:21). He left the glory of heaven to come to earth and deliver “us from the domain of darkness” and transfer us to His Kingdom by redeeming us and forgiving our sins (Colossians 1:13-14). For those who see Him as King, confess Him as Lord, believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead shall be saved (Romans 10:9-10). Again, that’s good news!

For those whom He has saved, “Sunday’s coming!” means that He has come and is coming again! It is a celebration because not even death could stop Him, that when He promises everlasting life He can give it because He is the Life (John 14:6).

For those whom He has saved, it is better than a wink and a wave telling us everything will be okay — Jesus lives tells us that we can “take heart” because He has already “overcome the world” — everything is already okay because He has already won (John 16:33)!

And that’s what we will be singing about Sunday at Christ Community — that’s WHO we will be singing TO: Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords! The songs we sing and Scriptures we will read will be pointing us to Him and praising Him for who He is and all He has done, is doing, and will do. John will preach to us from God’s Word and preach Jesus!

Sunday’s coming! JESUS is coming!

Won’t you gather with us and worship Jesus?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

Scripture | Colossians 1:13-20 —

¹³He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
¹⁵He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Song | King of Kings —
Scripture Inspiration: Proverbs 4:19, John 3:19-21, Ephesians 2:1, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 5:17, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:31, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:7, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 8:1, John 1:14, Psalm 136:3, Matthew 28:18, Revelation 19:16, Matthew 13:24-52, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Isaiah 53, John 3:16, Romans 5:6-10, Galatians 3:13, Colossians 2:14, Titus 2:14, Acts 4:33, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Matthew 27:52-53, Luke 15:7, Acts 2:1-4, Matthew 24:35, Ephesians 1:7, Galatians 5:1, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11

Song | The Son of God Came Down —
Scripture Inspiration: Luke 2:7, John 1:1-5, John 1:14, John 1:34, Ephesians 2:14-16, Philippians 2:5-8

Scripture | 1 Peter 1:3-5 —

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Song | How Deep the Father’s Love for Us —
Scripture Inspiration: John 3:16, Romans 5:6-8, Matthew 27:46, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Romans 8:17, Isaiah 53, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 3:13, Colossians 2:14, 1 Peter 2:24, John 19:30, Galatians 2:19-20, Galatians 6:14, Psalm 8:4, 1 Timothy 1:15-16

Song | Living Hope —
Scripture Inspiration: Acts 4:8-12, 1 Corinthians 15:3-11, 1 Peter 1:3, Philippians 2:5-8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 9:22, John 1:12-13, Hebrews 9:15, John 8:36, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, Galatians 5:1, Psalm 107:14-15, John 14:6, Acts 3:15, Revelation 5:5, 1 Peter 1:4-5

Invitation | Trust in God —
Scripture Inspiration: John 15:1-11, Acts 17:27, Romans 8:15, Romans 11:16-24, Daniel 3:25, John 3:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Peter 1:2, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Genesis 15:6, Psalm 32:1-2, Romans 3:1-24, Romans 4:3-8, Galatians 2:19-21, Ephesians 2:4-9, Titus 2:11, 2 Corinthians 1:24, Philippians 1:27, Colossians 1:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Isaiah 45:21-22, Hosea 13:4, Romans 4:21, Hebrews 10:23, 2 Peter 3:9, Psalm 14:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Job 15:14, Isaiah 53:10, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Psalm 95:6-11, Matthew 11:28-30, Revelation 21:3-4, Psalm 34:4

Offertory | Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me —
Scripture Inspiration: Genesis 15:6, Psalm 32:1-2, Romans 3:21-24, Romans 5:6-10, Ephesians 2:4-9, Titus 2:11, Isaiah 9:6, Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-255, John 3:15-16, 1 Thessalonians 1:6, Hebrews 12:2, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Psalm 119:45, Romans 8:1-4, Psalm 17:7, Psalm 36:5-7, Titus 3:4, 1 John 4:8, John 14:27, Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:14-15, Acts 4:10-12, John 14:6, Galatians 2:20, Romans 8:9-11, Galatians 4:6, Psalm 107:10-16, Psalm 118:7, Hebrews 13:5-6, 2 Corinthians 12:9, John 10:11-18, 2 Samuel 22:3-4, Nahum 1:7, 1 John 5:18, Psalm 23:4, Matthew 20:28, John 1:29, Acts 20:28, Colossians 2:14, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 John 2:1-2, Revelation 5:9-13, Acts 4:33, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 21:3-4, Hebrews 13:6, Psalm 116:16, Romans 6:20, Galatians 5:1, Luke 21:33, Revelation 6:14, Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 36:26, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Philippians 1:9-11, John 10:30

Songs for Sunday, June 2, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am excited to gather with my faith family in worship of our resurrected King, Jesus Christ!

The last few weeks — the whole month of May, really — have been sort of a whirlwind for me. This is not to say they have been bad, just to say that it has been a lot, one thing right after another or multiple things all at once. One passage has come up time and again throughout the business: Ephesians 4:17-24, especially verse 20.

Here’s what that passage says:

¹⁷Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. ¹⁹They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰But that is not the way you learned Christ!— ²¹assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²²to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, ²³and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Like I said, verse 20 — “But that is not the way you learned Christ!” — has been on my mind; really, it has been convicting me. Years ago, that would be my go-to verse to lob at others whose holy living needed a good kick in the rear, but the more I seek to know Christ and to put Him on (Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:12-14), the more I find myself giving the kick to my own rear. This has increased more as I have been studying and writing the last few sections of the Refresh & Restore Bible study on Colossians. I cannot write about what God wants for His people to do or to live like without realizing first that it is what He has called me to do and live like.

There is a quote from the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Colossians that has stuck with me: “It is difficult to see how Christianity can have any positive affect on society if it cannot transform its own homes.” Essentially, if we profess that our dead hearts have been made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5, Colossians 2:13-14), then our lives are to be being transformed by Christ, too. If not, that is “not the way [we] learned Christ…assuming [we] have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:20-21).

My hope for Christ Community Church tomorrow and for all time is set fully in Jesus — in His transforming and saving work and ability. I pray that the preached Word will penetrate hearts and illuminate truth by the power of His Holy Spirit. We don’t have programs or gifting that can convince people to no longer live in futility and ignorance and sin or to move them any closer to God than they are (Ephesians 4:17-18). No, only Jesus can do that. Jesus can take those who are walking in the “futility of their minds” (Ephesians 4:17) and renew the “spirit of their minds” (Ephesians 4:23). Jesus can put away our “old self” and give us a “new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24). And it is Jesus we will point people to tomorrow.

We will sing to and about Jesus.

The subject of our preaching will be Jesus as revealed in His Word.

The substance of our hope is this Jesus whom His Spirit will testify in our hearts.

So, tomorrow, you are invited to hear about Jesus, to be taught in Him, “as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). We have no other move, no other hope. There is nothing that can compare or substitute.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

Scripture | Psalm 23 —

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ²He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. ³He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.

⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Song | Goodness of God —
Scripture Inspiration: Deuteronomy 6:5, Lamentations 3:22-23, Isaiah 64:8, Psalm 139:16, Deuteronomy 6:7, Psalm 113:3, 2 Timothy 2:13, Psalm 27:13, Psalm 31:19, Psalm 145:9, Psalm 150:6, Psalm 107:1, 1 Kings 19:11-12, Hebrews 1:3, Isaiah 43:1-3, Jeremiah 23:23-24, John 15:14-15, Psalm 23:6, Luke 9:23-24

Song | Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) —
Scripture Inspiration: Romans 3:21-24, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 8:1-4, Jeremiah 17:9, Luke 15, John 9:25-29, Psalm 112:1, Psalm 31:5, Ephesians 2:4, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 John 4:18, Matthew 13:44-46, John 8:31-36, Psalm 23:6, Philippians 1:6, Psalm 119:49, Psalm 119:81, Psalm 119:114, 2 Samuel 22:3, Lamentations 3:24, 2 Peter 3:10, Joel 2:31, Revelation 21:3

Scripture | Psalm 33:20-22 —

²⁰Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. ²¹For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy Name. ²²Let Your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in You.

Song | ~~Reckless~~ Steadfast Love —
Scripture References / Inspiration: Zephaniah 3:17, Psalm 13:6, Psalm 23:6, Psalm 100:5, Psalm 145:9, Matthew 7:11, Luke 11:13, Romans 2:4, Philippians 1:6, 1 Peter 2:1-3, Psalm 139:13-16, Isaiah 44:24, Jeremiah 1:5, Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 17:7, Psalm 36:5-7, John 3:16, John 13:34, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 8:37-39, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:4-5, Ephesians 5:25, Titus 3:4, 1 John 4:8, 1 John 4:16-19, Luke 15, Matthew 18:1-14, Philippians 2:6-11, Hebrews 2:5-8, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, 2 Corinthians 3:5, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 53, Hebrews 9:22, Titus 2:11-14, 1 John 3:16, Revelation 5:9, Leviticus 17:11, Matthew 20:28, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 1:7-2:2, Romans 8:38-39

***NOTE: We are revising the lyrics of this song to better reflect the love of God — that which we read about all through Scripture, that which was “made manifest” as we read in the verses above. Many might be familiar with the Greek word agape that describes the unique love of God; the Hebrew word for that type of never-ending, never-failing, never-stopping, never-giving-up love is chesed. It is often translated “steadfast love” in the Old Testament. This is a word God uses to describe Him and His love over 500 times!

This is an opportunity for the theology of what we sing to more specifically reflect the Scriptures, and therefore more accurately reflect the love of God as He shares it with us in His Word. The word “reckless” in the original lyrics was meant to show that God lavishly pours out His love for us. He does! He has poured out His love on us and made it manifest through the gift of Jesus Christ for our sins. Let’s praise God for and sing about His steadfast love!