Category Archives: Spiritual Disciplines

“Adorned with the Word: Praise” from Colossians 3:15-17 — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.[1]

Colossians 3:15-17

Greetings Sojourners!

I am hesitantly excited about today’s Bible study. Really, I am excited about it, just hesitant to publish it because of how divisive the subject can be among church folks. The subject of today’s Bible study is worshiping through singing.

Some people are almost militant in their divisiveness regarding the subject of singing in church. There are camps made and battle lines drawn. In some cases it is “traditional” v. “contemporary”. In others, it is we only sing this or that. There are Southern gospel camps. There are hymnal camps. Sometimes, these camps draw battle lines. Articles are written. Social media posts are lobbed out like grenades. Pastors are fired or hired. Churches split. The casualty is often the act of worship itself when the object of our worship, our resurrected King – Jesus Christ, is often far from the conversation.

I want to avoid camps and battle lines here today and help us see that while what we sing matters, why we sing and especially who we sing to matters, too, and perhaps matters more.

Why do we sing?

We sing because God ordained it. In Ephesians 4:19, we see most of the same wording as our passage today in Colossians 3:16, but we see the Holy Spirit add to the letter to the church at Ephesus the words “singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart”. He moves us to sing and inspires our song. If God had not wanted us to sing, He would not have told us so. He definitely would not have “breathed out” (2 Timothy 3:16) and inspired the longest and largest book of the Bible – the Psalms – to be a song book. God wants us to sing.

We sing because we have something (someOne) to sing about. In Exodus 15, we see Moses and the people of Israel standing on the far side of the Red Sea. God had divided the sea and brought them across on dry ground with walls of water on either side of them while they were being pursued by the Egyptian army (Exodus 14:22-23). Israel made it across, and God inhibited the Egyptian army – who were marching and riding across that same dry ground – from catching Israel or retreating from Him. The entire army was terrified and cried out in fear because “the Lord fights for [Israel]” (Exodus 14:25). God told Moses to stretch his hand out over the parted waters, and God crushed the Egyptian army (Exodus 14:16, 26-29). Israel “saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians” and “feared” and “believed in the Lord” (Exodus 14:31). Moses sang (Exodus 15, cf. Psalm 106:12). God wants us to sing to Him and about Him.

We sing because God sings. There is a beautiful verse penned by the prophet Zephaniah:

The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness;
He will quiet you by His love;
He will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

God is going to sing over us. Think about the comfort a parent’s singing gives to an infant or young child. Those children are not critics of the music or drawing battle lines over the choice of lullabies. They are soothed. The sound of parental love brings peace. Mama is there with them in the midst of discomfort. Daddy is near making it safe to close their eyes in darkness. For us, Abba (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6) is singing the good news of Who He is, all He has done, and everything that will be. God wants us to sing that over each other, too.

Hear me again: God wants us to sing! But as I mentioned above, He also gives us guidance on what to sing in our worship gatherings. Colossians 3 is one of the places He gives that guidance. Lord willing, I will avoid making this Bible study into a camp or drawing battle lines. I plan on being clear where Scripture is clear and gracious in clarity here. It is my intent to offer a Bible study that helps and does not unnecessarily divide. What follows is my feeble effort to point us to Christ in what we are to sing when we gather together.

What to Sing: The Word of Christ Dwelling Richly (v. 16)

Our last Bible study focused on how the Word of Christ – the Bible – is supposed to be the substance of our preaching. Looking at the context of Colossians 3:16, we see that it is not only focused on the preaching. The Bible is where we find all that can be known about God.[2] The Bible is where we learn of God and all He has done for us in Christ. Also, as mentioned above, the Bible contains an expansive resource of songs that were sung by those in the faith who have come before us – men and women who experienced the work of God and, like Moses, turned and expressed their worship and devotion and awe of God to Him in song.

If the Word of Christ is to dwell richly in our singing, our songs must be tested against the Word. This is important because what the church sings has historically “been one of the most powerful means by which a church is taught”.[3] This can be seen in the way that Wayne Grudem includes hymns and praise songs at the end of each chapter of his Systematic Theology; he believes that the study of theology “at its best will result in praise”.[4] The praise that results from studying Scripture and forming theology should exhibit that theology. An example of this is how an old hymn from my childhood formed the basis of how I understand the atonement of Christ: “There to my heart was the blood applied; glory to His name!” Another example comes from a modern hymn that shows God’s heart toward and power to save sinners who turn to Him: “My sins they are many; His mercy is more!”

This leads on to how we should look at the contents of what we sing in the same way as the preaching that we sit under. The example of the Bereans fits here, too. They were eager to hear, but that is not what set them apart. They were considered “more noble” because they did not let their eagerness take the place of “examining the Scriptures daily” to see if what Paul was teaching matched what God’s Word said (Acts 17:11). If our songs are going to teach us theology, we need to be careful that we are not willingly singing false teaching. There are resources that can help with this like The Berean Test, but you should dig into the Scriptures yourself. At Christ Community, we work through the songs we sing and provide lists of cross-references for every song we sing and provide access to them (almost) weekly through our “Songs for Sunday” posts, but none of that is any good if no one checks the Scripture to see if these things are so.

You might be asking why this even matters or if it really is a big deal. The short answer is yes. The long answer points us back to our passage.

What to Sing: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs

Here comes the controversial or at least the point where people typically begin to divide. It is the subject of a lot of conversation, more than a little bit of social media fodder, and is the basis for a lot of opinions that get shared on the subject. The issue for divisiveness here is largely due to opinion – along with tradition or preference. I have neither the interest nor the emotional bandwidth to wade through those issues here. What I am interested in is what Paul told the Colossian church. I am interested in how the content of our worship is meant to flow out of taking off the flesh and putting on Christ. I want to see praise as a response of our theology as well as seeing our theology ensuring that our praise is biblical.

Paul gives the church at Colossae – as well as the church at Ephesus (Ephesians 4:19), our local churches, and the Church from the writing of the New Testament until Christ’s return – three categories of songs for us to sing: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Now, no song is necessarily one of these categories but more likely a mixture. What I want to do here is, as I said above, to see what these terms given to us by the Holy Spirit through Paul mean and how we can use them to check the contents of our worship through singing.

Psalms

The psalms are the easiest to define because we recognize it as the name of the longest book of the Bible: Psalms. It is the collection of songs written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to exalt, praise, and worship the Lord for all He had done for Israel. The way the Biblical Theology Study Bible describes the book of Psalms is very helpful to us here:

“The book of Psalms (or the Psalter) has been the hymnbook and prayer book for countless generations of Jews and Christians over the centuries. It contains the entire range of human emotion, from the highest points of joy and thanksgiving to the lowest points of depression and loss and everything in between. The psalms are timeless—hence their popularity among believers in all times and all places. Their presence in the Bible instructs the faithful in the best ways to praise and thank God, and they model legitimate ways to grieve and to address God boldly and directly in the midst of pain and sorrow. The psalms are transparent, passionate, emotive, personal, and genuine, and they provide believers with language with which to express their own deepest emotions and passions.”[5]

The existence of the psalms gives us good guidelines for what our worship is to look like, whether it be learning to call out to God in times of distress and mourning, rejoicing when He has blessed us, crying out from a position of defeat or desperation, or worshipfully reflecting on who God is and all He has done.

The word here in Colossians 3:16 (Gr. psalmos) basically means “Songs”, while the title of the book in Hebrew (Tehillim) meant “Praises”. The Greek form of the word also carried with it the idea of singing being accompanied by music, specifically strings being plucked (like a harp) or played with a plectrum or pick (like a lyre or lute).[6]  But ultimately, what we need to understand for today is that the first (and arguably most important) category of songs for us is singing Scripture. This of course includes the 150 psalms we have in the Bible, but it also extends to New Testament passages like Colossians 1:15-20 or Philippians 2:5-11. This illustrates that, in order for the “word of Christ to dwell in you richly”, the contents of our singing is better to contain Scripture than to merely reflect or be inspired by it.

Hymns

This is going to be where some disagree because of the prevalence of hymnals, especially how important they were in churches for the last few centuries. However, there are many songs in hymnals that would fit the other categories as well; examples of this from the 2008 Baptist Hymnal include singing Scripture (psalms) like in Hymn #431 where it is the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13 to music, as well as a number of “spiritual songs” which we will get into in the next section. The word here in Colossians 3:16 (Gr. hymnos) means a “song…in honor of God” or a “direct address of praise and glory to God”.[7]

One might interpret hymns in the more modern context as songs that sing doctrine. If psalms is singing Scripture explicitly, hymns are inspired by Scripture or are used to explain what Scripture is saying. Both are important. But, hopefully, this helps us see why it is so important to sing songs that are faithful to Scripture and contain good, solid biblical theology. I will give an example of an older “hymn” and a newer song to illustrate this. The song “Just a Little Talk With Jesus” talks about a “prayer wheel”, which is Buddhist and has no ties to Christianity at any point in church history. That is dangerous. A more modern example can be seen from events recently in the meetings of the United Methodist Church where they not only abandoned clear biblical teachings on sexuality but joined together singing a “hymn” called “All Faiths Lead to God” which contradicts the Bible’s teaching that Jesus is the only Way to the Father (John 14:6).

Hymns can help us to put good biblical theology in our mouths and in our minds (or bad theology if we are not careful with some). Examples of solid hymns that come to my mind are “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation”, “It is Well”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy”, “In Christ Alone”, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, or “Before the Throne of God Above”. This is most definitely not an exhaustive list, but each of these songs is an ode to God’s might and power and points to Him. These songs contain gospel truths and clear doctrine. The age of the song matters not (the songs in the list above range from the 1400s to the early 2000s) because Jesus is eternal and there are nearly 2,000 years of the Church spread out on every continent, which is how it should be because the Church is bigger than just us in our local congregation.

Spiritual Songs

In this final category, we see an example that gets to be a bit more personal. The word in Colossians 3:16 (Gr. ode) is where we get the English word “ode” that describes poems or songs written about/to someone or something. In this case, ode refers to singing in honor of what God has done and might contain confessions of what we have done in sin or praise for what God has done in saving us. These are songs of testimony. For these “spiritual songs” sung in corporate worship, they are songs of shared testimony, singing and testifying things that are common to every believer.

These “spiritual songs” carry common themes like redemption, salvation, justification, the breaking of chains, the removal of sin, repentance, etc. Every Christian to ever be born again shares certain biblical similarities in their testimonies. All Christians were dead in their trespasses and sins, but God made us alive in Him. All Christians were lost until Jesus sought us out and found us. All Christians were slaves to sin but redeemed by God and adopted as His child. These are common themes that resound with all of us. Again, some of these overlap, take “How Great Thou Art” from the list of hymns in the previous section. It is clearly chock full of doctrine, especially in verse three, but that proclamation of doctrine is also a testimony: “And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die; I scare can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing; He bled and died to take away my sin!”

Another beautiful truth about “spiritual songs” is how they carry with them the idea of new songs.[8] In Revelation 5:9 and 14:3, the ode is used to talk about the “new song” sung to the Lamb and in Revelation 15:3 to describe the “song of the Lamb”. God is still saving people, giving them new life and a song of gratitude in their hearts, and people are still moved to write songs that make much of Jesus, like the descriptions of heaven in Revelation where crowns are being laid down, palm branches are being waved, and recognition of the singular worthiness of the Lamb is proclaimed constantly. This also agrees with Psalm 149:1-3 that commands God’s people to praise Him and that new songs should be sung because people are “glad” in their Maker, “making melody to Him” with instruments and voices.

So, to take the categories in Colossians 3:16 and simplify them, we are to sing Scripture, we are to sing doctrine as found in Scripture, and we are to sing as an ode to God and a testimony for all He has done and is doing for us.

Wrapping Up

Letting “the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” is no small task, especially as we gather together to worship with our local church. But no task worth doing or goal worth reaching is easy or simple. Making sure that our worship – through preaching, listening, reading the Word, or singing – is biblical is a difficult but necessary task. The result hinges on Him in whom we put our trust. Do we trust Him enough to do things His way, or will we rely too heavily on our own traditions or personal preferences? Are we willing to chuck out songs that are shallow or unbiblical just because that’s what we like or grew up on? These are hard questions, but, again, they are necessary.

It also needs to be said that writing on this does not mean that I have it all figured out or that I am not still changing and growing in this. I’m no longer a young man, and I find tradition and personal preference weighs more heavily in my mind and heart than in previous decades in my life. I find myself convicted when I realize that something I have sung or a song I have always loved and/or grew up on is not biblical.[9] But if I spend time in the Word and with the Word, Jesus, I am not satisfied with lesser songs. I need to worship God as He prescribes, not as I prefer. That is a lesson I am still learning and will likely continue to learn for the rest of my life, until I stand before Him on the throne and cast my preferences aside and all I can do is worship my Lord and King.

So, how do we apply this?

Well, most simply, we guard what we sing and test it according to the Word. In some cases, songs will need to be thrown out. In others, parts or lines can be rewritten to fit with Scripture. But, ultimately, we need to desire to worship the Lord and to have His Word “dwell in [us] richly”. We need to hunger for Him and realize that worship is all about Him and nothing of us (other than confessing our sinfulness and need for Him).

Jesus is worthy.

Jesus is Lord.

Jesus is God.

Let us make sure we worship Him for who He is and how He told us to in His Word.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:15–17.

[2] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 2004), 128–129.

[3] John Piper, Ask Pastor John: “When Worship Lyrics Miss the Mark”, Desiring God,  August 7, 2017, https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/when-worship-lyrics-miss-the-mark.

[4] Grudem, 42.

[5] D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 868.

[6] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).

[7] Zodhiates.

[8] Zodhiates.

[9]      I want to make a specific statement regarding some of the songs we sing, but it did not fit well in the exposition of Colossians 3:16. We need to be increasingly careful of the sources of our music. Some of the most popular songs today are from churches like Hillsong, Elevation, or Bethel. In many ways, these three churches have departed from orthodox Christian teachings in certain areas and in the case of Bethel have gone to underhanded lengths to simulate or fake the presence of the Holy Spirit. We need to be careful when drinking from tainted wells.
       At the same time, we need to be vigilant in checking all of our songs. Some older songs fit that bill as well. Do your research and see if songwriters or hymnwriters are part of a local church – whether or not they have accountability as a church member with pastors and people discipling them. We need to be vigilant regarding the Word content of the songs we let in our minds because, again, it helps form the theology coming out of our mouths. We raise our children with songs to warn of danger like “Be careful little ears what you hear”; may we warn ourselves with “Be careful little flock what you sing.”

Songs for Sunday, May 12, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

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

Our pastor, John Goldwater, has been leading us through the book of Matthew for about two years now, and we are moving quickly toward the culmination of that study.

Two weeks ago, we were in Matthew 27:32-50 and saw Jesus die for our sin on the cross. It really gives context and gravitas to “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16). It is one thing to say it; it is something else to grasp the reality of our need for Jesus to die in our place. The cross should have been ours — should have been mine. I am the sinner not Jesus. The wages of sin is death for each of us (Romans 6:23), but Jesus was innocent and worthy of worship not public execution and shame. He bore the wrath we deserve in order that we may receive the favor He deserves as well as adoption into His family and His Life (2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 4:4-5, John 3:16).

Last week, we were in Matthew 27:51-66 and saw the aftermath of His death. The veil that separated mankind from the Holy of Holies in the temple was torn from top to bottom in a feat that no man could accomplish. God made a way for us to be with Him through the death of His Son. The earth quaked and split. Dead walked out of their tombs alive. Centurions who presided over Jesus’s execution praised and exulted Him when they realized Who He was and what He had done.

It looked as if darkness had won that Friday afternoon. Jesus’s body was taken down from the cross and buried in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. A heavy stone covered the door because the powers-that-were found themselves worried that someone might try to make Jesus’s claims that He would raise from the dead on the third day a reality. It seems silly from a human perspective to think that people would be afraid of a dead man, but it is clear that those who presided over Jesus’s death knew He was more than they made out.

Thankfully, we know that there was hope that Friday — enough so that we now call it Good Friday. Why good when such terrible (and terrifying) things occurred? SUNDAY was coming!

You see, that FIRST first day of the week when Jesus rose from the dead set the standard for our worship. Sunday is not a religious memento or memorial. No, Jesus was alive that first Sunday and every one since and all that there will ever be and after — forevermore! Sunday is when His Church gathers to worship Him, celebrate all He has done/is doing, and look forward to His return.

Essentially, Sunday is coming — JESUS is coming again!

So, tomorrow, we are going to make much of Jesus. All that we do — as fickle and fallible an offering as it will be — is intended to point people to Jesus. We will not have it all together. We will not be polished, professional, or performing. We want people to see that Jesus is alive and well and coming again!

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.
16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because He has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

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. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.

Songs for Sunday, April 21 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday, and I’m excited!

Actually, excited might not be the best word to describe what I am feeling — just the best I have to offer. I’m a little drained. I’m a little weary. And I know that I need some of what Zephaniah (3:17) wrote about:

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

Man, what a beautiful picture. God is truly Emmanuel — God with us — and willing to be in our midst. He “became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). That life He took up, He willingly laid down for us in love (John 15:13, 1 John 4:9). But death did not keep Him away or stop Him because He rose from the dead (Acts 3:15); indeed, “it was not possible for Him to be held by [death]” (Acts 2:24)! And even today, millennia after He ascended back to heaven, His Spirit is with us and in us (John 14:16-17, Romans 8:9-11)!

The Holy Spirit is not some impersonal force. He is God. And if we are His, He is with us and in us.

He is mighty to save.

He rejoices over us in gladness.

And that last part of Zephaniah 3:17 is what I am excitedly — expectantly — rejoicing in today: He quiets us by His love and exults — sings — over us with loud singing. What a beautifully powerful image! It reminds me of singing to my kiddos when they were little.

There were times when they were restless, sick, or afraid and just wanted to be held. I would rock them or stand swaying with them in my arms, singing hymns like “Be Thou My Vision”, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, “It is Well”, or “In Christ Alone” — singing of the deep truths of the gospel, praying God would save them and order their steps, seeking for God to soothe their ills and discomfort and let them sleep.

There were times when they would be silly and playing, and I’d play my guitar and watch them dance and laugh. Both kids had such unique tastes in music, even at young ages, but I would rotate through whatever they would dance or play to, enjoying and finding joy in their enjoyment and joy.

It reminds me, too, of when Candice and I were first starting out. She was my muse from the beginning. I wrote songs to try and relay the deep feelings I had. I sang those songs over her, hoping she would hear and see the love I had and still have for her. I sang “Will you marry me?” instead of asking. And exulted when she said, “Yes”.

Those are poor and dim pictures of the great love with which God loves us (Ephesians 2:4, John 3:16, 1 John 4:9-10), but hopefully, they illustrate to you pictures of what it is for Him to quiet us in His love and sing over us.

Tomorrow at Christ Community, my brothers and sisters are going to sing the truth of Scripture and the gospel. I will get to stand and listen to them, singing along myself, and be quieted by God’s love. The weariness of my soul and body won’t magically be erased, but the presence of God and the power of His Word will simply be more than my weariness. God’s strength will be stronger than my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). And I will be reminded once more of my loving Father — the One who loves me more and better than I am capable of loving my own kiddos, which brings me to tears as I type this; I will be reminded once more of my loving Savior who died for His Bride, more than that who lives for her — a love and life more than I am capable of for my wife.

So, I am excited to have the words of the songs wash over me and point me to Christ. I am excited to have the Word read and preached wash over me tomorrow. I am excited that Jesus has washed me clean by His blood. Despite my weariness, I can find excitement in Christ and pray that you can, too.

Won’t you gather with us tomorrow and seek Him?

  • Scripture | Zechariah 14:6-9 —

6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.
8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.
9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

  • Scripture | John 7:37-38 —

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

  • Scripture | Revelation 21:1-6 —

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

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

Tomorrow is Sunday, and I’m excited.

This Sunday, I’m particularly excited about grace and mercy.

These are words that show up in Scripture a lot, and because of that, these words show up in the preaching and singing at Christ Community a lot. But just because they show up a lot doesn’t mean we know what they mean (or that it wouldn’t do us good to be reminded).

Grace means undeserved favor. Specifically, it is referencing God’s response to sinners who turn from their sin and trust Him as Savior and Lord. He offers His favor, not because they deserve it but because of who He is.

Mercy means compassionate forgiveness or an offer of help/aid despite one deserving the opposite. Specifically, it is referencing God giving love and grace and salvation despite the death and wrath due for sin.

These words are (and really can be) used kind of interchangeably in English. There are other words in Scripture that convey these ideas, too: lovingkindness, favor, pity, compassion, and steadfast love. These words paint such a beautiful picture picture of what God has done for us.

You see, because of our sin, we are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-2, Romans 6:23), and there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. But God. BUT. GOD. As a language nerd, I get hung up on words sometimes (if you can’t already tell that in today’s writing). But is a conjunction that takes everything that comes before it, cancelling it out in favor of what comes after it. So when the Bible gives us a BUT GOD (Ephesians 2:4-5, Titus 3:4), we see how God in Christ cancels out our former sin and the reality of our being and deserving death because of it and replaces it with His love — His grace and mercy!

By grace through faith in Jesus and because of the “great love with which He loved us”, we are made alive in Him (Ephesians 2:4-9)!

That’s good news!

By grace through faith in Jesus — not by our righteous deeds (Titus 3:4-7), God saves us from the wrath due our sin and gives us new life in Him!

That’s good news!

God in His mercy withholds the just punishment due our sin and gives us His undeserved grace.

I don’t know if you are seeing a theme here, but that’s good news!

And it’s that good news — the gospel of Jesus Christ — that will be the focus of our singing and preaching tomorrow, just as it is every week.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Ephesians 2:1-10 —

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in 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— 3 among 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. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

  • Scripture | Titus 3:3-7 —

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Songs for Resurrection Sunday 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday — RESURRECTION SUNDAY, and I am excited.

Sometimes, there can be a temptation to try and make holiday Sundays bigger, brighter, and, well, just to try and make it seem special by pulling out all the stops. As John said last week, we celebrate Resurrection Sunday every Sunday because our hope comes from Jesus’s resurrection — dead Saviors can’t save!

Every god or holy man or people who put themselves out there to say they are saviors either has or will die. Muhammed is dead. Buddha is dead. All of the false prophets who have claimed to be the messiah, both before and after Jesus, have died or will die. This isn’t an attack on other religions; it’s a clarification that religion can’t save because their founders don’t last. Jesus is something else entirely.

No, at Christ Community tomorrow, we are going to do our best to do what we always strive do: point people to Jesus!

Look at how Paul pointed the church at Corinth to Jesus in 1 Corinthians 15 — a chapter that beautifully proclaims the gospel and the importance of Jesus’s resurrection:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures….

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Look at the language Paul used there to highlight the importance:

1. He wanted them to be reminded of the gospel (good news) that he had preached to them regarding Jesus and for them to hold fast to that truth (2 Timothy 1:13-14, Jude 3). Putting one’s faith in Jesus is not a one-time-thing but something that believers need to continually do. We trust in Him for salvation, but we continually trust in Him to continue to carry us (Hebrews 10:38-39). Those who believed were saved from the wrath of God toward sin, but as Paul says here, were “being saved” continually by their resurrected — their living — Savior who cares for them (Romans 5:9-10, 1 Corinthians 1:18)!

2. He made sure they knew that what he was preaching was “in accordance with the Scriptures” — something he says twice in v. 4. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not something that popped up new after he lived and died. His death, burial, and resurrection were foretold by the God’s prophets throughout the Old Testament (Luke 24:25-27). The gospel was not something new for someone like Paul who had studied it his whole life; no, it was the fulfillment of all he had studied (Acts 17:2-3).

2. He preached that gospel to them again: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, …He was buried, …He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures”. The gospel he preached came from the Scriptures and was all about Jesus, who He is and all He had done and is doing (Acts 26:22-23).

3. He understood that the gospel is of “first importance” because that is what he “also received”. This is not a hypothetical gospel for Paul. Jesus is his hope as well (John 12:32, Romans 15:13, 1 Peter 1:3). His Ph.D. in Judaism wasn’t going to save him. The warrant given to him by when he was Saul of Tarsus the Jerusalem elite to arrest and imprison Christians wasn’t going to save him. His claims as a “Hebrew of Hebrews” and a “Pharisee” weren’t going to save him (Philippians 3:4). No, Paul knew that all of his hope was in Jesus, the same Jesus whom he had previously persecuted, and because Jesus had saved him, he understood that everything that came before was “rubbish” unable to be compared to the “surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” as Lord (Philippians 3:7-8).

Tomorrow, we have the privilege, just as we do every Sunday, to remind ourselves and others of the good news of Jesus Christ and get to share His gospel through preaching, reading the Word, and singing in praise and worship of our resurrected King (Colossians 3:16-17). We will lift Him up “as of first importance” because we know that if we had not “also received” Him, we would have no hope.

Dead saviors can’t save, but our God is not dead — “He is risen as He said” (Matthew 28:6).

Won’t you gather with us as we worship Him?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Song | Ain’t No Grave —
    Scripture Inspiration: John 8:34, Romans 6:6, 1 John 4:8, 1 Chronicles 28:20, 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 1 Corinthians 15:50-56, John 8:44, 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:9, Genesis 3:15, Ephesians 6:11-18, Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 5:5, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
  • Scripture | 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 —

50I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

  • Song | Graves Into Gardens —
    Scripture Inspiration: Psalm 34:10, Isaiah 55:1-3, Psalm 53:1-3, Luke 15:11-24, Romans 6:23, John 6:26-35, Revelation 7:13-17, Matthew 11:28-30, 1 John 4:8, Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 24:7, Ezekiel 36:26, Romans 12:2, Psalm 37:4, Exodus 8:10, Deuteronomy 3:24, Jeremiah 10:6, 1 Samuel 2:2, Isaiah 40:18, Romans 5:6-8, Psalm 138:8-9, 1 Kings 8:39, 1 John 3:20, John 15:15, Psalm 139:7-12, Hebrews 4:13, Psalm 30:11, Isaiah 62:2, Galatians 2:19-20, John 14:6, 1 Corinthians 15:20-49, Ezekiel 37:1-14, Exodus 14:1-31
  • Song | Thank You Jesus for the Blood —
    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
  • 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 | 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
  • Song | Because He Lives —
    Scripture Inspiration: John 3:16, Isaiah 25:8, Hosea 13:14, 1 Corinthians 15:24-26, 1 Corinthians 15:55-57, 2 Timothy 1:10, Hebrews 2:14, Psalm 28:7-8, Isaiah 40:29-31, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, John 14:25-27, Romans 8:38-39, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 4:6-7, Revelation 21:4, 1 Corinthians 11:26
  • Invitation | In Christ Alone —
  • Offertory | Yet Not I But 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

A Chronological Reading from the Gospels on Good Friday

It has become a tradition for us to partake in a chronological reading of the events of Good Friday from the gospels. It is one of the most humbling and worshipful parts of Holy Week for me, and I hope it helps you to focus on Christ and what He did for us on the cross and when He walked out of His tomb.

John 18:1 –

            When He had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and He and His disciples went into it.[1]

Mark 14:32-45 –

            They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” He said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

            Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. “Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

            Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” He said to Peter, “are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

            Once more He went away and prayed the same thing. When He came back, He again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to Him.

            Returning the third time, He said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”

            Just as He was speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a crowed armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders.

            Now the betrayer had arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest Him and lead Him away under guard.” Going at once to Jesus, Judas said, “Rabbi!” and kissed Him.[2]

John 18:4-24 –

            Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

            “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

            “I am He,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

            Again He asked them, “Who is it you want?”

            And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

            “I told you that I am He,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words He had spoken  would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

            Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off His right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

            Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

            Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound Him and brought Him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.

            Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

            “You are not one of His disciples are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter.

            He replied, “I am not.”

            It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep war. Peter also was standing with them, warming Himself.

            Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about His disciples and His teaching.

            “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

            When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck Him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest? He demanded.

            “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” Then Annas sent Him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.[3]

Matthew 26:57-68 –

            Those who had arrested Jesus took Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the teachers of the law and the elders had assembled. But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. He entered and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.

            The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put Him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.

            Finally two came forward and declared, “This fellow said, ‘I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’”

            Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” But Jesus remained silent.

            The high priest said to Him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

            “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting and the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

            Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

            “He is worthy of death,” they answered.

            Then they spit in His face and struck Him with their fists. Others slapped Him and said, “Prophecy to us Christ. Who hit you?”[4]

Luke 22:54-62 –

            Then seizing Him, they led Him away and took Him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with Him.”

            But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know Him,” he said.

            A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are of them.”

            “Man, I am not!” Peter replied.

            About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”

            Peter replied, “Man I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight a Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.[5]

Mark 15:1 –

            Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate.[6]

John 18:29-38 –

So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

            “If He were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed Him over to you.”

            Pilate said, “Take Him yourselves and judge Him by your own law.”

            “But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death He was going to die would be fulfilled.

            Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked Him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

            “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

            “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

            Jesus said, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my Kingdom is from another place.”

            “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

            Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a King. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

            “What is truth? Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against Him….”[7]

Matthew 27:15-25 –

            Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed over Jesus to him.

            While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him a message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of Him.”

            But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

            “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

            “Barabbas,” they answered.

            “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.

            They all answered, “Crucify Him!”

            “Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate.

            But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”

            When Pilate saw that He was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, He took water and washed His hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

            All the people answered, “Let His blood be on us and on our children!”[8]

Luke 23:23-25 –

            But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that He be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.[9]

John 19:1-16 –

            Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head. They clothed Him in a purple robe and went up to Him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck Him in the face.

            Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am bringing Him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against Him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

            As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify, crucify!”

            But Pilate answered, “You take Him and crucify Him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

            The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law He must die, because He claimed to be the Son of God.”

            When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

            Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

            From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

            When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.

            “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

            But they shouted, “Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him!”

            “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

            “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

            Finally Pilate handed Him over to be crucified.[10]

Mark 15:21 –

            A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.[11]

Luke 23:32-43 –

            Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with Him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him, along with the criminals – one on His right, the other on His left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His clothes by casting lots.

            The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at Him. They said, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”

            The soldiers came up and mocked Him. They offered Him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

            There was a written notice above Him, which read: this is the king of the Jews.

            One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at Him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”

            But the other criminal rebuked Him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

            Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

            Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”[12]

John 19:25-27 –

            Near the cross of Jesus stood His mother, His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.[13]

Matthew 27:45-47 –

            From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?” – which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

            When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”[14]

John 19:28-30 –

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.[15]

Matthew 27:51-52 –

            At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of the many holy people who had died were raised to life.[16]

Luke 23:47-49 –

            The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” When all the people who had gathered to witness this saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew Him, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.[17]

John 19:31-37 –

            Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bring a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of His bones will be broken,” and, as another Scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”[18]

[1] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 18:1.

[2] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mk 14:32–45.

[3] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 18:4–24.

[4] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mt 26:57–68.

[5] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Lk 22:54–62.

[6] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mk 15:1.

[7] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 18:29–38.

[8] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mt 27:15–25.

[9] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Lk 23:23–25.

[10] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 19:1–16.

[11] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mk 15:21.

[12] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Lk 23:32–43.

[13] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 19:25–27.

[14] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mt 27:45–47.

[15] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 19:28–30.

[16] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Mt 27:51–52.

[17] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Lk 23:47–49.

[18] The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), Jn 19:31–37.

Songs for Sunday, March 24 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is the Lord’s Day, and I’m excited!

Nearly 2,000 years ago on that Sunday — the first day of the week before Passover, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt to cries of “Hosanna!” (Matthew 21:9, Mark 11:10, John 12:13) and “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38)

Over the past few weeks at Christ Community, we have been singing songs that mirror those cries, hoping to help us see Jesus as who He is — the King of kings, Emmanuel, our God who has come and is coming again. We lifted our voices together singing “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”, yearning for Jesus to return. We lifted our voices together singing the words of the songs from Revelation 4, 5 and 7, wanting to sing the songs of Heaven dedicated to the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb standing on the throne as though slain. And tomorrow, Lord willing, we will sing songs that mirror the cries heard along the streets of Jerusalem when the King came to town — as we also sing songs that look forward to the end of that week when Jesus was crucified and the beginning of the next when He rose from the grave!

One of the things I love about being able to sing these songs is that they are not merely commemorative. They are not icons pointing to a merely historic moment. They are not idols to a dead god. No, our God is alive and well — death could not keep Him! We sing these songs, and they are prophetic because Jesus has done all He promised and will coming again as He promised. We can sing “Hosanna!” (save us, O Lord — we praise You, O Lord) with the knowledge that He hears our praises just as He did the voices of those on that Jerusalem street! We can sing “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” because He is coming in the name of the Lord again!

These are not idle words (or idol words). Jesus IS King. Jesus IS alive. Jesus REALLY saves. He REALLY lives. All of this REALLY does MATTER!

Last week fired me up for Palm Sunday in a way I had not considered. Again, what we do in worship is not merely commemorative — it is active and prophetic and a present offer of praise to “our blessed hope…our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13)! You see, last week we lifted our voices together and read about a time when palm branches will be lifted in worship of the King (Revelation 7:9-12). 2,000 years ago, some of those voices lining the streets were sure to be some who also cried “Crucify Him!” a few days later. These voices in Revelation 7 will be those who have had their cries of “Hosanna!”, their cries for the Lord to save them and praising His name, those cries will have been answered. No, this lifting of palms will be from an uncountable “great multitude” of people saved by grace through faith in Jesus “from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”; they will be standing “before the throne” — standing “before the Lamb”! And with palm branches in their hands and white robes on their bodies, they will cry out at the top of their voices, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Let’s do that tomorrow!

Let’s gather in worship of the Lamb!

Let’s gather in anticipation of the coming of the King!

Let’s lift our voices and declare to our God who saves that He is worthy and acknowledge that salvation comes from Him alone!

Let’s gather and singing “Hosanna!” and “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Let’s sit under the teaching of His Word and have His Spirit move our hearts to worship Him all of our days and not just for an hour or so on Sunday.

Let’s proclaim to the world that we have a God that death could not keep down and that He offers life to all who call upon Him and confess Him as Lord!

Won’t you gather with us?

Here are our Scriptures and songs:

  • Scripture | Luke 19:28-40 —

28And when He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29When He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of His disciples 30saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.'” 32So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. 33And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35And they brought it to Jesus, throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36And as He rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 37As He was drawing near — already on the way down the Mount of Olives — the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

  • Scripture | Matthew 23:37-39 —

37″O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 38See, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.'”

  • Scripture | Psalm 118:25-26 —

25Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success!

26Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD!

Songs for Sunday, March 17, 2024 @ Christ Community Church

Sunday is coming, and I’m excited!

I know, I know: I say this or something similar almost every week. That’s because it’s true. Now, I don’t mean some saccharine, sugar-high sort of excitement. I mean more of an expectation of something good or a yearning for the Lord’s day — really a yearning to commune with the Lord Himself, to have His Spirit move in and among His people, to hear from His Word. If there is an emotion to it, it’s not a high coming from having my emotions stoked but a needful desire to hear from Him and be with His people and share Him with others — a desire to hear His gospel again and again not because I have forgotten but because I still need that same good news again after slogging through the bad news of the world and the Fall all week long.

This leads me to the same question I broached the last time we read the Scriptures in Revelation pointing to the worship occurring in Heaven surrounding the Lamb (“standing, as though it had been slain” — Amen!): what if all of this really mattered in really life?

Seriously, I ask that you consider this — really ponder and meditate on this. Except this time, let’s get a little more personal. Does all of this really matter in your real life? If we profess that Jesus has brought us from dead in sin to alive in Him through salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:1-8), are there vital signs pointing to the Life He gave (Ephesians 2:9-10, 4:20-24) or do we look like we are following “the course of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2)?

The reason I ask this is because it really does matter. And it matters whether or not this is a part of your real life.

Consider the way Paul talks about it in Ephesians 2:1-10 and 4:17-25. He describes the lives of all people who are not in Christ as “dead in [their] trespasses and sins”. The Bible is clear on this: the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Think about how death impacts someone’s life. It ends it. Effectively. There is no point in the week when the dead show signs of life. That’s one of the things medical examiners, doctors, and coroners check for. I don’t mean to be crass or speak lightly over the harsh truth that has affected every human being since Adam, but we need to understand that this is a harsh truth with eternal ramifications. In Ephesians 4:17-19, Paul describes the signs of this death: “futility of [the] mind”, “darkened in…understanding, “alienated from the life of God because of…ignorance…due to hardness of heart”, “callous”, “given…up to sensuality”, “greedy to practice every kind of impurity”.

I don’t want you to think that this is a means to make you feel guilty. I want you to know that I feel guilty when I read that list because all too often I still bear the marks of death in my life. BUT “that is not the way [I] learned Christ” (Ephesians 4:20)!

You see, I was dead in my trespasses and sins. All who have been saved were; that’s why Paul says “once walked” when talking about trespasses ands sins in Ephesians 2:2, “must no longer walk” in Ephesians 4:17, and the image of putting off the “old self, which belongs to [their] former manner of life” in Ephesians 4:22. Jesus, by the same power that He rose from the grave (Ephesians 1:19-20), makes those He saves alive — by grace through faith — because He is rich in mercy and loves with a great love (Ephesians 2:4-5)! Jesus is the difference. He is the difference between death and life. He makes a difference that affects the entire trajectory of one’s life.

Think about it: if you had died and been made alive, wouldn’t that change things? In John 11, Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from physical death after He had been dead four days, and it made such a difference that the chief priests — yes, those same priests that plotted and were responsible for Jesus’s arrest — “made plans to put Lazarus to death” (John 12:10). The physical change Jesus made in His life — the way that people reacted when a man who had been dead and buried walked out of his tomb alive — disrupted the status quo. Nothing was the same for Lazarus, and those around him could not operate as if everything remained business as usual. It is the same with those who are brought from dead in sin to alive in Christ. Business as usual is a thing of the past. Everyday life is disrupted. Trajectory is eternally changed. The status quo has to go.

Tomorrow at Christ Community, we are going to make much of Jesus. We are going to read the words of songs sung in heaven in worship of the Lamb; then, we are going to sing those words in worship ourselves.

We are going to read about a “great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'” (Revelation 7:9-10)

We are going to make much of Jesus in preaching and in praise and in every way we can. Can I ask that you do something? Prayerfully and seriously ask yourself if you have been born again — if you have been saved, made alive after being dead in sin. If you find that there is no real difference and no change, we would love to talk to you. Understand that we are not talking about religion or rule-keeping or perfection; I assure you none at Christ Community fit that bill. We have the opportunity for the work of Jesus to make a difference in lives and the world around us. It starts in our own hearts.

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Revelation 4:8-11 —

8And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

9And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

11“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.”

  • Scripture | Revelation 5:6-14 —

6And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7And He went and took the scroll from the right hand of Him who was seated on the throne. 8And when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10and You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

11Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

14And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

  • Scripture | Revelation 7:9-12 —

9After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Songs for Sunday, March 10 @ Christ Community Church

Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am excited!

There is something about the approach of Easter — of Resurrection Sunday — that stirs something within me. There is hope in the emptiness of the borrowed tomb that is unlike anything this world has to offer. Well, the world cannot exactly offer empty or borrowed tombs, can it?

I think about Israel around that time. They had experienced Babylonian (and Mede-Persian) exile because of their sin. Their return home never quite met the luster or glory of the former days. But there was a promise — a Promised One, in fact, who would come and rescue them. They sought rescue from worldly oppression and wicked rulers and regimes, but this Promised One would rescue them from the wicked idolatry and sin that reigned in their own hearts. They would just have to wait for that rescue.

And they waited.

And waited.

In the silence of no more “Thus saith the Lord”, they waited about 400 years for this Promised One. Empires changed. The Persians were displaced by the Greeks, the Greeks inevitably by the Romans. They waited until the silence was broken by the cry of an infant.

God had promised that the Messiah (Promised One/Anointed One/Greek: Christ) would come — that He Himself would come. Emmanuel, translated God-with-us, would be born of a virgin. This child, this Son, would be given to bring Light and rescue to God’s people. They were desperate. They were helpless. They had no way to save themselves.

It is not hard to empathize with that kind of desperation. The effects of the Fall, sin and death, are all around us. Wickedness is rampant. Death is rampant. Idolatry is rampant. Hope seems to be in small supply. But we do not have to wait in silence! Emmanuel has already come, and He is coming again! His Spirit is with His people! His Word has and is and will continue to speak hope of rescue and salvation — of grace and mercy — of the good news of Jesus!

That’s what we are singing about tomorrow.

We are going to pour out our hearts and long for the return of Emmanuel, God-with-us. We are going to praise God for the finished work of Jesus. We are going to praise God for His steadfast love. And we are going to cry out — through the pain and sorrow and fear and longing — “Come, Lord Jesus”!

Won’t you join us?

Here are our Scriptures & songs:

  • Scripture | Isaiah 9:2-7 —

2The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has Light shone.
3You have multiplied the nation; You have increased its joy; they rejoice before You as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.
4For the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian.
5For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
6For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

  • Scripture | 1 John 4:9-10 —

9In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

  • Song | How Deep the Father’s Love for Us —

***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!

https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m18!1m12!1m3!1d3317.466271738482!2d-89.81243442462547!3d33.74861503370235!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x8881ccec45cc3e69%3A0xf4738f6040973c36!2sChrist%20Community%20Church!5e0!3m2!1sen!2sus!4v1709943393515!5m2!1sen!2sus

“Adorned with the Word: Preaching” — a Refresh & Restore Bible Study

15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.[1]

Greetings Sojourners!

As I said in our last Bible study, this is a passage that I interact with regularly. It is a part of my life as a pastor. This leads us to look at something unique about interacting with God’s Word that is different from interacting with literature or other writings: God’s Word is “living and active” (Hebrews 4:12) and, most importantly, is interacting with us.

This is something that Christians sometimes take for granted. We do not have a holy book that merely contains rules and guidelines. No, we have a holy God who breathed out the words of Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16) – a God who rules and gives guidance Himself through His Spirit and written word!

This is different than mere literature. I interact with literature every day in my job as an English teacher, but the literature does not interact with me. There are aspects of good literature that affect my life. There may even be times where something that I read has a functional impact on how I live my life or show compassion or think about certain issues, but the author is not interacting with me – the text is just words. God’s Word is different. To illustrate this more clearly, look at how Paul David Tripp explains it:

“Not only do we have the gift of God’s Word, but we also have the gift of the Holy Spirit, who guides us, teaches us, and illumines the Word for us so that we can know, understand, confess, and repent. I not only need the content of God’s Word, but I also need the help of the Holy Spirit to enable me to understand it, to assist me to apply it, to empower me to live it, and to equip me to take its message to others. God rescues me from my foolishness not just by handing me a book, but also by giving me Himself to open the wisdom of that book to me. I don’t do this as an author. I write a book and move on. It is then up to the reader to make sense of what I have written. I don’t travel to reader after reader, sitting with them as long as it takes, shining light on the things I have written, making sure they understand, and helping them to apply the content of the book to their everyday lives. But that is exactly what God does. He goes everywhere His Word goes. He patiently sits with readers every time they open His book.”[2]

God’s Word is something else!

When we take today’s passage in its correct context, it is good that God’s Word is so special – so powerfully and providentially given to us – and alive. We are still in the portion of Colossians where Paul is teaching the Colossian church (and us in our churches today) to put on Christ, to be adorned by Him in our real lives.

If God’s Word is not living and active, we have merely memorized some facts or learned some literature. Trust me that, as one who has memorized a lot of facts and read/taught a lot of literature, facts and stories are not enough to change people’s lives. More is needed. And more is exactly what we are given in God’s Word. The Bible is more than a book. It contains everything that can be known about God. Look at how Wayne Grudem explains the necessity of Scripture for the Christian Life:

“It is not only true that all things necessary to become a Christian, live as a Christian, and grow as a Christian are clearly presented in the Bible. It is also true that without the Bible we could not know these things. The necessity of Scripture means that it is necessary to read the Bible or have someone tell us what is in the Bible if we are going to know God personally, have our sins forgiven, and know with certainty what God wants us to do.”[3]

I will say it again: God’s Word is something else!

So, let us dive into Colossians 3:16 and see what it means for our churches to be adorned – dressed in, wearing – the Word of God.

The Word of God is Foundational to Christian Worship (v. 16)

It should be able to go without saying that God’s Word is part of the foundation of our worship, but throughout the millennia that Christianity has existed – and the examples from the millennia of God’s people in the Old Testament hearing “Thus saith the Lord” – it is clear that people are foolish and often do the opposite of what they should. Sometimes, sinful people – even sinful pastors (or “pastors”) – just want to teach what they want to teach, whether it is in the Bible or not. Sometimes, ignorance of what the Bible says leads to teaching wrongly. One of those is malicious, and the other is woefully dangerous, but the fact of the matter is that stepping off the foundation of God’s Word leads to trouble. We get off track. Our following Jesus is replaced too easily by personal sin and idolatry. God’s Word illumined by God’s Spirit prevents that.

As we said in our last Bible study, Colossians 3:15-17 telling us what our local churches are to be adorned in – what they are to be wearing. Just as the attributes of sin listed in Colossians 3:5-9 are treated as filthy garments that need to be taken off and the attributes of faith listed in Colossians 3:10, 12-15 are treated as clean garments that should be worn, peace, gratitude, the Word of God, and praise are garments that should adorn our churches. One could say that, rather than worrying about what folks are wearing to church, we should be worried about what our churches are wearing. One should be able to see peace, gratitude, the Word of God, and praise so clearly that it marks us like camouflage fatigues do a soldier.

Paul tells the Colossian church to let “the Word of Christ dwell in you richly”. This goes deeper than merely being clothed in the Word; we are talking about being saturated with the Word. That word that the ESV translates as “richly” can be translated “richly furnished”, describing the way a house or a room is filled or covered. It can be translated “in large amount” or “in abundance” meaning that there is a fullness or surplus. It can be translated “in full measure” meaning that there is a certain measurement that is to be given and that all of it should be put out. The Word of God is not supposed to be a mere decoration or the prooftext of a talk or what the music we like is loosely based on; it is supposed to extravagantly and abundantly saturate our churches and worship gatherings to the point where it consumes all else.

Visitors should be able to leave our gatherings and say that we only want to talk, sing, and proclaim the Word of God, pointing them to Jesus. People who want to “play church” or merely masquerade as a Christian should be so disgusted by the reality presented in God’s Word that they have to take their ball and play elsewhere. The measure of God’s Word in our preaching and singing should be such that we leave hungering for no less in our daily walk with Christ. To paraphrase an old church joke, the Word of God should be so prominent in our worship – dwell in us so richly – that if a mosquito were to bite us in the parking lot after church, it would have to sing “There’s Power in the Blood”!

The Colossian church needed to hear this because they had false teachers coming in and trying to supplement God’s Word with what is “really” needed. In truth, they were trying to replace the Word with the supplement. The gospel was all their pastor Epaphras had to offer. False teachers cried for gospel+, but Paul is calling for the Colossians to understand that the gospel of Jesus Christ is sufficient on its own!

If false teaching is to have no more place in our gatherings than Epaphras or Paul wanted in the Colossian church, the Word must be central – and not just on Sundays or Wednesdays. It needs to be central in our daily lives. If we are to long for God as a deer, exhausted from being hunted, pants for streams of water (Psalm 42:1), we should desire to hear from Him, which is what happens when we seek Him in His Word. The Spirit takes the words He breathed out and penned through human hands and lights our path (Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 6:23), convicts our hearts (John 8:46, John 16:8-9), and declare the Word in our hearts and minds (John 16:13-15, Psalm 25:5).

But, just as the Ethiopian eunuch responded to Phillip’s question of whether he understood what he was reading (Acts 8:30-31), we must ask, “How can we unless someone guides us?” We should echo Paul’s question to the church in Rome, as well: How are we to hear unless someone preaches?

Let us look and see what God’s Word says about preaching so that we can ensure we are seeking to be adorned with God’s Word and dwell in it richly in our worship gatherings.

The Word of God Tells Us What Preaching is Supposed to Be

As we look at this, we need to understand that almost no church or Christian preacher (or “preacher”) is going to really come out and say that God’s Word is not enough. In fact, I encounter people posting on social media or putting out church-related content that calls for folks to get back to preaching the whole Bible and what they are calling for is how the Bible was preached when their generation was growing up or what their denomination stands/once stood for or Republican values or Democratic values or this or that. It is rare that any cry for returning to Bible preaching hails from the Bible (which should really tell us something). The question we must ask ourselves today is whether the Bible, being sufficient, shows within its pages what it is to have the Bible central in our worship gatherings – not just the preaching, but especially in the preaching – to have it dwell in us richly.

Good news, sojourner: the Bible does tell us. So, let us briefly look at a few passages of Scripture – Old Testament and New – that show us how to have the Bible central in our worship gatherings and preaching.

1 Timothy 4:13 – Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

This is something that challenged us a few years ago at Christ Community. The pastors were reading a book and diving into God’s Word together and found ourselves convicted by this command from Paul to a young pastor named Timothy. We planned and discussed how to get the practice of being devoted to “public reading” of Scripture to be something that was natural and did not seem weird or like some kind of religious exercise. We came up empty and prayed for God to make this clear for us. He did! One Sunday, we were going to read Psalm 51 as part of our musical worship. When we said, “Let’s read”, the congregation took us literally and all began reading the passage aloud together. It has become one of my favorite parts of our worship gathering, and we have seen people begin to be as excited – clapping hands and cheering, even – when we read powerful sections of Scripture that make much of Jesus!

All that to say, do not overthink this. If you want the Word to dwell in you richly, read it. Read it aloud in your worship gatherings. Have one person read it, or all read it together. I have been in some churches where they read from a Psalm or portion of a Psalm every week. It is beautiful. It is good for us. It points us away from the world and exalts God. Do it.

Nehemiah 8:8 – They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

This passage takes place after the Israelite exiles return from Babylon to a war-ravaged Jerusalem. The temple is gone with nothing but the foundations left. They have been gone for seventy years, and some of them had never heard the Word – in their case, the Law or the Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Ezra gathered up all the people and “opened the book in the sight of all the people” with them standing, and he blessed God and simply read it to them (Nehemiah 8:5-6). Listen to that again, he read them the first five books of the Bible with them standing there the whole time. Church folks would run a preacher out! But look at the hunger they had – the devotion! Wow! Not only did they read it, but Ezra and a number of others listed in Nehemiah 8:7 took the time and “helped the people understand the Law, while the people remained in their places”. Imagine a sermon on the first five books of the Bible. Again, church folks would run a preacher out (or would have already run out themselves)!

Ezra and company did more here than simply translate the Hebrew Scripture for people who spoke Aramaic or to relay what the book said; they broke it down for them. They made an “exposition or explanation of the meaning”.[4] This reflected Ezra’s heart and commitment to not only be impacted by the Scriptures himself (Ezra 7:10) but to share the Word with the people he had been called to serve.

This is a beautiful picture of what preaching – at its most simple and pure center – should be: a model for all who teach and preach the Word of God”.[5] We should read the Word – as much or as little as the Spirit prompts. We should read it clearly. If God lays a chapter on the pastor’s heart, he should not rush through it. It is the centerpiece. It is the meat at the meal. And he should give the sense. The sermon should seek to help people understand what is read and see Jesus in it! Understand that I am not talking about a lecture or a mere lesson. This is not a class – it is the Christ! There should be a passionate plea for people to look to Christ. There should be a fire inside the bones of the preacher (Jeremiah 20:9) to point people to the Lord!

Luke 24:25-27 – And He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

If there was ever a sermon I wished I could have been present for, this is it. Jesus, after His resurrection, met some men who were walking to Emmaus. They had no idea He was the Christ, and they were telling Him about what had just happened to Him on the cross. He sharply rebuked them, but what He did next is a beautiful picture of grace and the importance of Scripture. Jesus took the time with these guys and went through the Law and the Prophets to show them Him. Imagine having the Word interpret the Word for you! Remember: that is what the Spirit still does for us today!

If we want the Word to dwell richly in us, we must be content to soak in the Word – to have it drench our worship, both personal and corporate.

2 Timothy 2:15 – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

As you know, I am a high school English teacher as well as a pastor. I can assure you that no one truly enjoys studying, at least not all the time. But think about this differently. When a young man begins courting his love, does he not study her? Does he not spend time getting to know her likes and dislikes? Does he not try to learn the desires of her heart, especially as they pertain to him? Now, think about how the level of study goes down once he passes the test and wins his bride. He should still study, but the yearning and desire has waned. It should not be so for those called to handle the Word of truth.

Study should be done to ensure that the preacher has been faithful to the Word – that it has been read clearly and the sense clearly given. Care should be taken so that God’s intentions are carried out and not man’s. To clarify, rightly handling the word of truth is to handle it correctly and straightforwardly, “not in a way that is shifty or shady” but in such a way that upholds the truth it contains.[6]

Acts 17:10-11 – The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the Word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

Studying God’s Word is not limited to preachers and pastors. The Berean Christians set an example that was sorely needed during that time so that they could weed out the false teachers. It is needed even more today. TikTok theology and Facebook farces masquerading as preaching need to be evaluated by the Word of God. We need to be testing all preaching we hear by the Word – not because we should not be able to trust our pastors, but because we know God is trustworthy and infallible. You should be testing what you read in our Bible studies here.

Is this work? Yes. Is it worth it? He is worth it. Jesus is worth it. Just as we could judge the lazy husbands in the illustration above for waning in their wooing of their wives once they won them, we should take steps to ensure that our love for Christ, the bridegroom of the Church, is not waning, too! The way that Luke described the Bereans makes it clear that their interest was not waning. They were enthusiastic in receiving the Word. They simply were not going to let their enthusiasm get the better of them. The Spirit gives this example of “searching the Scriptures as a pattern for all believers” and supports the “idea that the Bible can be understood rightly, not only by scholars but also by ordinary people who read it eagerly and diligently, with conscious dependence on God for help”![7]

Wrapping Up

There was a time when God’s Word was kept out of reach for everyday people. Before the printing press, it was almost impossible for people to have or to even contemplate affording a copy of God’s Word for themselves. Hand copied scrolls in the Old Testament era and copies of letters in the era of the New Testament were accessible in major areas, but not to be held in one’s own hands outside of a synagogue, church, or library. Then, there were those throughout the medieval period who sought to keep the Word of God even out of people’s mouths. Whereas Ezra made sure a clear sense was given, priests preached in Latin and were able to make the sense whatever they wanted. But there were those, men like Jon Huss and John Wycliffe, who put their lives on the line to get the Word of God in Bohemian or English so that their flock could have access to the Scriptures.

Why is it that in the times and places where God’s Word is forbidden that people are willing to risk life and limb to have the Word dwell richly in them? Why is it that in 2024 the Word dwells more richly in churches in countries where, if the powers-that-be find them with even a page or section of Scripture (which may be all they have), believers face jail or death?

Well, firstly, we who think we are serving Christ in peacetime are fools. There is no peacetime. The war is waging all around the world (1 Peter 5:8-10, Ephesians 6:10-20). We are all too distracted by the symptoms of the Fall than in Him who has come and is going to crush the head of the ruler of this world (Genesis 3:15). And do you know why we are distracted? Sadly, it is because we do not allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly. It does not affect the way we teach and admonish one another. Thankfully, there is time for repentance to begin – “time for judgment to begin at the household of God” (1 Peter 4:17).

So, just as we illustrated what the Word dwelling richly in our churches with Scripture. We close with three passages.

Isaiah 28:13a – And the Word of the Lord will be to them precept upon precept…, line upon line….

Acts 20:27 – …for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

2 Timothy 3:16-4:4 – All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His Kingdom; preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Dear sojourner, let it be that we find ourselves part of a local church that longs to have the Word dwell richly. Let it be that we find ourselves part of a local church that makes much of Jesus by preaching His Word faithfully. The world and the sinful bent of our idol-producing hearts gives us a longing to have our feelings and egos caressed rather than having God’s Word lay us out bare before a holy God (Hebrews 4:13), but God has more for us.

Find a church that is committed to preaching the whole counsel of God – literally, not just saying it but taking it “line upon line” and “precept upon precept”. You will not have to worry about worldly relevance because we are not made for this world. It is not our home (Philippians 3:20). God’s Word shows us His Kingdom and His ways. Our sinful heart’s desire to have someone make us feel better, but what we need is for Christ give us new life. We do not need our hearts lifted; we need them replaced with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26)!

And when we get in the Word together and see the world for what it is, may the Lord grant us repentance and get us busy in His Kingdom agenda rather than distracted by the world. May He give us the noble mind of the Bereans and the passion of Ezra to see our communities reached with the gospel. Oh, that our local churches would have the Word dwell so richly in them that it spills out into our streets, communities, towns, states, nation, and the world. Because, praise be to God, when the “gospel of the Kingdom” is “proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14) – then, our King will come!

If you find yourself in a local church that does not center on Jesus and His Word – or if you are not in a local church at all, it is my prayer that God will move upon your heart and move you to a place where much is made of Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, and that He would help His Word to dwell in you richly and not to be satisfied with less. May we be adorned with God’s Word. May it take the lion’s share of our worship gatherings. May it abundantly, extravagantly, and in full measure be our focus and our driving force. May it point us to our King!

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:15–17.

[2] Paul David Tripp, Do You Believe? 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021), 37-38.

[3] Wayne A. Grudem, Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know, ed. Elliot Grudem (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005), 17.

[4] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ne 8:8.

[5] D. A. Carson, ed., NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 779.

[6] Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2181.

[7] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2121.