Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested:
Tag Archives: Peace
The Lord’s Day Sermon Manuscript for July 28, 2024
Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested:
The Lord’s Day Sermon Manuscript for June 2, 2024
Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested:
The Lord’s Day Sermon Manuscript for May 5, 2024
Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested:
Daily Encouragement
It seems I notice more and more our faith in Christ becoming visible through gladly obeying Christ’s commands each time I read the Scriptures. Today, John chapter 13 ends in that way.
John 13:34-35
[34] A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. [35] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
As you might know, Jesus is beginning his farewell to his disciples. Obviously everything Jesus says is important but this is the first thing he says which gives it an added emphasis.
To circle back to what he said might bring up a question—what’s new about the commandment? If we compare this commandment with loving your neighbor as yourself then we can easily spot the difference. Jesus has raised the standard of love to say—love each other the way I have loved you. These disciples have seen how he loved them and others for nearly 3 years.
His ultimate display of love is wrapped up in the farewell. He knows that he is about to lay down his life for them. He asks his disciples to do the same for each other. Why? Well, the way we know Jesus loved us was clearly displayed on the cross. So too if we lay down our lives for each other then ALL MEN will know that we are Christ’s disciples.
Of course laying down your life for each other will not likely mean physical death though it’s possible. But it most certainly means that we are dying to self. It means we are gladly serving others and their needs not just ourselves.
This extraordinary love has massive implications in the world. To make Jesus known comes not only through word but also deed. When we focus on and believe in how Christ has loved us—his enemies who are tax collectors and sinners—then we should not find it so difficult to love each other.
Go make Jesus known! Know him and make him known!
Thanksgiving Day
What is giving thanks?
—it’s a response to someone who gave things to you. And the things given were not earned. (For example, our paycheck is something you shouldn’t give thanks for because you worked for it).
—the response is vocalized which should be accompanied by a particular disposition toward the person who gave to you.
—the response of thanksgiving does not require that the person who gave to you be superior to you. Most certainly God is worthy of our thanksgivings everyday but other people who have given to you ought to receive a thankful response too.
—thankfulness requires that you notice these things. You must be aware of what you have been given was undeserved.
—because to be generous here, we can possibly forget. An opposite response to someone who gave is to forget the response of thanksgiving. This could be due to not stopping to think about what has occurred or there’s just too much going on in life therefore you did not remember the kind deeds done to you.
—while forgetfulness is a possibility for not being thankful, more often than not it is out of pride. We think we deserve everything and the world ought to take notice. They ought to be thankful for the opportunity to give to me kind of attitude. On a more subtle note of pride, we might abhor the gift and in doing so we abhor the giver. Now, we will likely respond with the words of thanksgiving but they are just words. The gift isn’t what I wanted or needed and we think there’s no benefit from it.
—though we could breakdown piece by piece the steps from pride to unbelief I don’t think that’s necessary. The major problem with not having a heart of thankfulness is unbelief in God. This is the root of unthankfulness. Because if we trust in the Lord, we of all people know and understand that God has been gracious and merciful to us in every respect throughout our entire life. When we turn our attention on the fact that we deserve the consequences of our sin—the miseries of this life and eternal death itself. But Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners like us. He took the death that we deserved and we get forgiveness and counted righteous by faith in him. To all who have turned from their sins and trusted in Jesus, we will be saved. From that understanding, we of all people ought to be thankful!
Daily Encouragement
As I was reading these psalms together, I kept hearing a lot of the same things but presented differently. By that I mean for example the statements made in Psalm 23 given as what is believed. They declare certain things to be true.
Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
But notice this…
Psalm 25:4–5 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 25:6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
I only offer two parallels though there are more to be sure. I’m sure you noticed that Psalm 25 sounds like petitions to the Lord to do and be what David believes to be true of the Lord. Both are necessary. In fact, I’m not sure why you would pray these things if you did not believe them to be certain of God’s nature.
We don’t pray to change his nature but rather we appeal to him to be who he be! So, the exhortation is to believe and pray. Hold confidently these amazing truths about who God is and hold him to be who he says he is.
Maybe to understand this on a more human level let’s think about it this way. Let’s say I’ve neglected to be the father I should be and the kids notice it. Would it not make perfect sense for the kids to ask the father to be who he is supposed to be? Would it not be fitting for the father to hear that and rejoice in the desire of his children to want that to be so of him?
In other words, not asking may indicate that you do not want or have even noticed or need your father or the Lord to be who they are supposed to be. This is a relationship in which we walk with the Lord now albeit in a strange and distant land for which we long to be in his presence forever on that glorious day.
Let us love the Lord now by believing and pleading and longing for this…
Psalm 26:8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
A Life Well Lived
A life well lived needs a trajectory. It needs a peculiar perspective. It needs to sit safely in the reality of the resurrection of Christ and our own resurrection at the end of the age. I think this poem helps remind us or point us to living a life well lived.
Only One Life
By C.T. Studd
Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgement seat;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its clays I must fulfill,
living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
When this bright world would tempt me sore,
When Satan would a victory score;
When self would seek to have its way,
Then help me Lord with joy to say;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Give me Father, a purpose deep,
In joy or sorrow Thy word to keep;
Faithful and true what e’er the strife,
Pleasing Thee in my daily life;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Oh let my love with fervor burn,
And from the world now let me turn;
Living for Thee, and Thee alone,
Bringing Thee pleasure on Thy throne;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one,
Now let me say,”Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call,
I know I’ll say “twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.
“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12
Meditating on a Hymn!
(Col. 3:15-17) 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.
This text tells us that there is a connection between the peace of Christ and the word of Christ. The way for peace to rule your heart is by letting the word of God dwell in you richly. There are different ways to get the truth of the Lord in our hearts. One way is through songs. Music is an amazing gift from the Lord. The words stick with us with very little effort.
They comfort us and stir our hearts to places other things cannot accomplish. And strangely, you don’t even have to be a good singer for it to work. You can sing and cry at the same time. Your heart can be warmed with gladness as you sing.
This text in Colossians tells us to teach one another by singing psalms and hymns and spirituals. There are times in our lives that words alone do not suffice. But rather certain songs reach in through the muck and tragedy of life and touch our hearts in unique ways.
Though we do not prefer it this way, many songs are birthed in the agony of pain. The truth of these songs help us cope. Every word is a brief explanation of the chaos going on in our mind that makes our heart ache with pain. Past memories and present realities compete with each other. You never know whether you are going to laugh at a memory or weep over the emotions of the day.
While past and present fight it out in our souls, there remains another period of time that can set out hearts on the mountain of hope—the future. There is no other hymn that seems to do it best than the song “It is well with my soul.”
The man who wrote this song was Horatio Spafford. Mr. Spafford was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago. In 1871, his son died of pneumonia and he lost much of his business in the well-known Chicago fire. Some years later Horatio lost four of his daughters as the ship they were traveling on sank in the Atlantic. His wife Anna survived. Mr. Spafford boarded a ship to comfort his wife.
As he traveled the slow-moving vessel, he wrote the hymn “It is well with my soul.” I want to read the words that were penned in the midst of tragedy.
1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
(You might notice the first two lines acknowledge how life often goes. Life has its days of peace and sorrow. He describes peace as a gentle, rolling river and sorrow as the chaotic ocean he was traveling in to see his wife. Both of these emotions attend his path. Let’s move on.)
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul
(Though both peace and sorrow visit his path, Horatio claims to have been taught something important. Whatever my lot…whatever joins me on this path of life—peace or (and) sorrow—he says it is well with his soul. But how? What does he mean? Does he mean it doesn’t matter? Oh, no. Though present sorrows seem to be never ending waves of the sea there is something solid and strong under him. Let’s find out what this solid foundation is.)
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blessed assurance control,
(If sorrow were not enough, there’s an enemy who likes to make it worse. Horatio understands that this enemy’s tools are that of repeated strikes (the meaning of buffet). He kicks you when you are down. He shows up in the night and makes war on you as your mind races with thoughts and sleep is nowhere to be found. Time feels different for us all though it is always the same. Somedays hours pass without a moment’s notice. Other days every tick of every second pierces the soul. It’s easy to do hard things fast but endings are hard too. You want it to end and you don’t want it to end. Yet, there’s something else that can control us. That is the next line.)
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
(We never feel more helpless than we do in the midst of tragedy. But Jesus has regarded our helpless estate. Though peace and sorrows and the enemy attend our path, so does Jesus. But how? By shedding his own blood for my soul. Though the past and present claw at us with pain and suffering, there remains hope for the future. Here comes the true reality of the soul even in the midst of sorrow and repeated trials.)
3. My sin, oh the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(In one moment, God swallowed up the pains of this world that were never meant to be. He fixed the brokenness that plagues us. Sin is our greatest enemy. It separates us from God. It closes us off to what this world was meant to be. Pain and suffering are here because of our sin. But in the cross of Christ, Jesus destroyed the power and penalty of sin BY NAILING OUR SINS TO THE CROSS SO THAT I DO NOT HAVE THE BEAR THE PUNISHMENT ANYMORE. PRAISE THE LORD, PRAISE THE LORD, O MY SOUL! NOW THE FUTURE AS IT WAS MEANT TO BE IS THROUGH REPENTANCE AND FAITH IN JESUS FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF MY SINS. HERE’S THE FUTURE HORATIO LONGS FOR IN THE LAST VERSE.)
4. And Lord haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Is it well with your soul? Only peace can be found in Jesus. There will come a day when he will wipe away every tear from our eyes. Pain and suffering will be no more. But for now, sorrow remains until that trumpet sounds.
(Col. 2:13-15) 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Be sure you can say, “It is well with my soul” whatever your lot in this world.
The Lord’s Day Sermon Manuscript for 12/25/2022
Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested:
The Word Is Not Imprisoned 