October 2009 Entries
October 30th, 2009
The Wikipedia entry for this says:
Lectio Divina is Latin for divine reading,
spiritual reading, or "holy reading," and represents a traditional
Christian practice of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote
communion with God and to increase in the knowledge of God's Word. It
is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder,
listen and, finally, pray and even sing and rejoice from God's Word,
within the soul.
There may be some other kooky things that I'm unaware of about this
teaching, and if so, I'm not advocating for that stuff. But if its only
what the paragraph above advocates, then
I'm absolutely all for it.
Meeting with God by hearing from Him in the Bible. Yes! I'm for that. As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I
was trying to promote in last week's sermon!
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October 30th, 2009
To man, Jesus is the visible invisible God -- "He is the radiance of God's glory" (Hebrews 1:3). To God, Jesus is exact holiness of heart -- "He is the exact represenation of God's nature" (Hebrews 1:3).
That's where we're headed in Sunday's sermon. Contained in these two
truths are the foundation of all that matters and all that truly helps.
Pray with all your might that God would meet us and work powerfully
among us this coming Lord's Day. Here's the best way you can be
preparing your heart:
"They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed." - Psalm 34:5
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October 28th, 2009
Many thanks to our brother Ben Bailey who recently made Grace's sermons available through podcast.
For those with nursery worker duty, the sermons are typically up for you to be able to listen well before your mid-week Grace Group application talks.
Click here for the podcast link. Or, click the logo in this post.
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October 28th, 2009
As
a compliment to our journey through Hebrews, I'm sharing a few of
Clyde's poems from time to time that fit with the truths we're
contemplating on Sunday's (Here's the first one I shared).
Here's the second installment, which has been
posted a few times previously. Make it your prayer. Enjoy!
"May the awareness of Thy love
So fill this trembling heart of mine,
That when I reach my home above,
No image may I bear but Thine."
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October 26th, 2009
If you are hungering to delve more into seeing Jesus in all the
Scriptures, the passages below would be a great place to begin spending
time in meditation/memory.
- Luke 24:13ff
- John 1:43-45
- Acts 2:25ff
- Acts 17:1-3
- Acts 28:23
- Romans 1:1-2
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
- 2 Timothy 3:14-16
- Hebrews 1:1-2
As you think and pray over what these texts have to say about Jesus
being revealed in all of Scripture, you will want to branch out into
cross-references...until you have included every verse in the Bible.
What other texts come to mind?
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October 23rd, 2009
Those who've been around Grace any length of time know that we're
not the biggest on "how to" sermons, although we pray that every sermon is immensely practical. Kent Hughes said it well, "Christ is the most practical thing on earth."
We're decidedly a verse-by-verse
kind of people. This week, however, will be sort of unique, though I
pray completely expositional.
Because we want to be "doers of the Word, not hearers only," we'll
be taking a dozen or so of our sermons throughout Hebrews to focus
primarly on life application.
Because the opening verses of the
Hebrews begins with the exclaimation, "God spoke," we will use this
Sunday's sermon to focus on "How to Hear from God." There's nothing
more important! As someone has said, "We need to hear from God more
than He needs to hear from us." The question is, are you hearing from
Him? If so, how? If not, why?
Einstein said, "I want to know God's thoughts...the rest are
details." If only Mr. Einstein would have peered into the pages of the
Bible with a repentant heart and a desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ!
Instead, he wrote:
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October 22nd, 2009
One of the most precious promises in all of Scripture is found in John 14:21. Jesus speaking:
"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one
who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I
will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
Looking to Jesus is the Christian's chief duty, and also his highest
delight. Better still, Jesus is more ready to make Himself known than
anyone is to find Him.
In the verse Christ gives two conditions which lead to one consequence, which is ultimately rewarded by the fulfillment of three magnificent promises...
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October 20th, 2009
Application Questions for Hebrews 1:1-3
- What is revealed of Christ in these verses that most stirs your affections to fix your gaze upon Him?
- Discuss the
sufficiency of Jesus for believers in His roles as Prophet, Priest, and Prince.
- How may we be certain that
we are hearing from God?
- What does it mean that God made the
world “through” Jesus? How will this inform how I see God, Jesus, and
the world?
- Discuss and apply the truth that the Son of God (Who is Heir of all, Creator, Sustainer, One who reveals God) is the very One Who sacrified Himself for our sins. In what ways will this truth stimulate us to look to Jesus for our every need?
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October 16th, 2009
One Person perfectly
communicates God to man. One Person will rightfully inherit all things. One Person sufficiently represents man before God. And all three
perfectly meet in One Person. His Name is Jesus!
That's the main message of the opening three verses of Hebrews, and will be our theme this Sunday at Grace.
Warm your heart in His presence by meditating on Who He is, and thanking Him for what He has done.
- As Prophet - Jesus speaks to men for God (1:1-2)
- As Prince - Jesus reigns as God forever (1:2-3)
- As Priest - Jesus speaks to God for men (1:3)
See you Sunday, Lord willing.
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October 15th, 2009
The Excellency of Christ
Having
considered several worthy options, the elders have agreed that this
year's Christmas sermon from yesteryear will once again come from the
pulpit of Jonathan Edwards, a message entitled, The Excellency of Christ...
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October 15th, 2009
My father in the faith & discipler, Clyde Cranford,
was riddled with serious illnesses, especially the last ten years of
his life. His struggle became a blessing to many in a variety of ways.
How so?
When Clyde couldn't sleep because of physical
discomfort, he would lie awake and pray, and think, and sometimes
write. In his final year on earth, really in a matter of a few months,
he wrote a collection of poems that he titled, In the Night Watches, because that's when they came to him.
As
a compliment to our journey through Hebrews, I'll share a few of
Clyde's poems from time to time that are fitting with the things we're
contemplating. Here's the first. Enjoy!
FULL, THE HEART THAT LOOKS ON JESUS
(Psalm 34:5)
Full, the heart that looks on Jesus
Shining from each gospel page.
There, no stately form of grandeur
Doth His lowliness betray.
He is all humility;
Yet we bow on bended knee,
When we see His face...
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October 9th, 2009
I absolutely love telling my kids that I love them, and do so several
dozen times per day (easily!), never having to make conscious effort to
remind myself to express this love.
Why do we love to love
Recently I was analyzing why it is that I gush out my expressions of
love so often on my children, and deeper, why I seem to get so much joy
out of it (you start doing that weird sort of thing about six weeks
deep in a sabbatical when you can't digest another line of another
commentary).
You love because you love to love
At the root, our expressions of love toward those we love is owing to the fact that it gives us great joy for them to know that we love them, and therefore it brings us great joy to remind them often of this love. We want them to know they are loved. Then we want them to know it again. Then, once more. Then, a few more times...
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October 8th, 2009
The plan is to overview the message of Hebrews this Sunday. In short that would be, "Look to Jesus."
As
a heart primer for Sunday, I would like to encoruage you to consider (maybe write
down) what it would practically look like to heed that counsel.
Meaning, what is the fleshing-out of "look to Christ"?
When it comes to marital challenges...
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October 6th, 2009
Matthew 28:18-20!
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October 1st, 2009
So, this week is going to be a little unique. Read through Hebrews at least once if you can. Show up with a ready heart.
See you Sunday, Lord willing.
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