Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. – Psalm 30:4
Dear Self,
You really should sing more. You should sing more than at gathered worship with the church. You should sing in the car, while working in the yard, and in your home. And when you sing, you should do so with more than lungs and lips. You should sing with your heart, mind, and soul.
And stop rolling your eyes! I’m not suggesting that you become the perpetually happy whistler who rolls through the aisles of the grocery store whistling others into an incurable state of annoyance. But song does need to be a much bigger part of your life.
People sing about the things that capture their hearts and things that give them joy. People sing of heroes, victory, longing, and hope. People even sing as a way to express their sorrow. Does anyone have more reasons to sing than you? As a sinner who has been forgiven, a slave who has been freed, a blind man who has received sight, a spiritual cripple who has been healed—all by the gospel—you have real reasons to be known as a person of song!
It is one thing to tell the world of God’s work of redemption in Jesus; it is another to sing of it. Anyone can parrot truth, but to sing of it—from the soul—reveals how you feel. Song is the natural and appropriate response to the gospel, because singing is one of the highest expressions of joy.
So why aren’t you singing always, only for your king? Have the mercies of God grown small in your heart? Is there little joy, little gratitude, little wonder? Do you just not feel like singing? The confession of your sins and gospel meditation will lead you to song, so start there. There are songs of praise, thanksgiving, confession, lament, and victory that need your voice.
From the great hymns of old to the new songs echoing the wonders of God’s mercy, you have more means of finding songs of redemption than any other generation before you. So join the chorus of God’s people, who have always been known as a people who sing.
“The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.” Proverbs 14:15
The proverb above teaches that God desires for His people to be wise and thoughtful (cf. Matthew 10:16). There are many aspects of our lives which we should plan for, and the most important of these should always be those centered on God. John Piper exhorts “…plan how prayer and meditation on the Word are going to be significant parts of your life. Without a plan these most important things always get pushed aside by urgent pressures.” As a new year begins, don’t neglect to take time to plan for your spiritual growth this year, including how you will daily engage God’s word.
Being fed daily from the Bible is awesome. It is the very word of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13), the means of salvation (Romans 10:17), the chosen instrument of instruction and correction (2 Timothy 3:14), a medium of encouragement (Romans 15:4), a lamp shining in the darkness (2 Peter 1:19), that which will bring people into the inheritance of the Lord (Acts 20:32), the witness to true life (John 5:39), that which is valiantly protected by the Lord (Revelation 22:18-19), alive and active (Hebrews 4:12), the revelation of Christ to the whole world (Romans 16:25-27), the test of one’s truthfulness in communicating God’s desires and declarations (1 Corinthians 14:37), the words of restoration (Isaiah 29:18,19), a preacher of the Gospel (Galatians 3:7-9), a basis for conversion (Acts 17:2,3), utterly truthful (Proverbs 30:5,6), the tool of the Holy Spirit for good (Ephesians 6:17), a witness of the Lord forever (Isaiah 30:8), and that which should be made fully known (Colossians 1:24,25).
There are many ways in which you can read God’s word on a daily basis. For a lot of people, using a Bible reading plan can be a great help and encouragement. If you are interested in using one, we found a couple resources that may help you. First, Justin Taylor has a great blog post with numerous resource. If you’re a smartphone user, YouVersion is a great app with numerous reading plans built in. Finally, Zondervan has put together a lot of different reading plans based on length and topic.
If you do decide to start using a Bible reading plan, as in all things, it is important to be grace-driven. Focusing on the gospel allows us to avoid both the pride and despair that can come from following a reading plan.
First, there is the matter of pride. Sometimes when we are particularly disciplined, we tend to feel superior to others who drag behind. We boast in ourselves, rather than in the Lord. We must know that our righteousness before God does not come from what we do or accomplish, like checking off a box next to a reading assignment – “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In light of Christ’s sacrifice, all who are in Him have no room to look down on others or think themselves great based on any of their own doings. The gospel allows us to celebrate God’s gift of His word and His drawing us into it.
Second, there is the matter of despair. For those less disciplined, who struggle with keeping up to any prescribed plan, there can come a feeling of inferiority and dejection when your Bible reading isn’t going as well “as it should.” Again, the answer to these feelings is to know that your righteousness in God’s eyes comes through Christ and not yourself. Though you may struggle and want to grow in your disciplines, know that you have a loving Father who devotedly, graciously, and impartially gives encouragement, strength, and wisdom to all of His children whom He will never cast out of His presence (Acts 1:8, 2 Timothy 1:6–7, Isaiah 41:8-10, John 6:37).
Reading plan or not, in 2012 may the very word of the Lord be your counselor and guide.
Post by Mike Landis. Mike is a first year MDiv student at Southeastern Seminary and is helping out around the Redemption Hill office while on winter break.
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever! – Psalm 30:11-12
This Sunday, Robert Greene will be preaching out of Revelation 21:5, where the Gospel promise is that God is making all things new. We’ll look to see how the gospel has shaped Redemption Hill in 2011 and how we are praying to be shaped in 2012. If you missed last weeks sermon by Rayshawn Graves entitled Idols in the Heart, you can listen to and download the sermon here. Also, if you missed any of the messages during Advent, you can listen and download them here. Lastly, beginning Sunday, January 15, we will be kicking off a new sermon series looking at 1 John.
Here are the songs that we will sing together this week:
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29
Then 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, saying 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!” And 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!” – Revelation 5:11-13
This Sunday we will be introducing another new song to our Sunday gathering entitled Stand In Awe by Jeremy Riddle. It is featured on the Full Attention album by Jeremy Riddle. The song is a powerful invitation to simply come and behold and worship our kind and gracious Lord whose “love so confounding appears to us in a cleansing flow of blood.”
We believe that the rhythm, or order, of our Sunday gatherings tells a story, and we are always looking to be purposeful about proclaiming the gospel in the way that we worship corporately. This proclamation is about engaging the power of the good news that God has provided his grace to save, to sanctify, and to equip his people for this day, every day, and forever. We need this gospel to not only enter Christ’s kingdom, but we also need it to walk with him through our daily trials and demands. So we need to be reminded of heaven’s mercy in a rhythm designed to sing songs that remind us of who God is, who Jesus is, who we are, and how we respond to the triune God. Stand In Awe is one such song.
Stand In Awe begins by describing the character of God using two words: gracious and astounding, and then proceeds to describe God’s redemptive work through Christ on the cross. The song then concludes by speaking of Christ after the resurrection, focusing on his glorification, and even hinting toward His final judgement. And what we get in-between these two verses is a simple refrain that encourages us to respond to the great work of God in Christ. Here are the lyrics:
Gracious and astounding
God’s love so confounding appears to us
In a cleansing flow of blood
The Son left throne in glory
Bore the Father’s wrath and fury in our stead
And for the sins of all He bled
Stand in awe and worship
Raise your voice and worship, come adore
The King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Behold the Lamb in heaven
He was dead but God raised Him from the grave
For His arm is mighty to save
Now glorified and reigning
The keys to death and Hades in His hand
And all hail the Lord of every man
You can listen to Stand In Awe below by clicking the video, and you can purchase and download the song by clicking here. There is also a live version of the song here. I pray that thinking and singing about Jesus taking the punishment for our sin, defeating death, and now reigning as King over all, will encourage you today and everyday, and that we would respond to God in a great way for who is us, and what he done, and continues to do, for us.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. – Psalm 103:1-5
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever! – Psalm 30:11-12
Last Sunday we introduced a song to our Sunday gathering entitled 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin. It is featured on the 10,000 Reasons album by Matt Redman. Inspired by Psalm 103:1-22, this modern hymn speaks of how there are (even much more than) 10,000 reasons for our soul to bless the Lord, and encourages us to respond greatly to the greatness of our God. If this passage of scripture sounds familiar, it’s because we looked in depth at Psalm 103:1-22 this past summer when we sang Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, by Joachim Neander. 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord), like the Psalm it is based on, reminds us of the joy that comes from encouraging our souls to praise the Lord:
This encouraging of ourselves was seen before in Psalm 103:1-22 as David encouraged his soul to speak wonderful things about the Lord, and to meditate on all of the great benefits that He had bestowed upon him. Our aim in worship must be the same. We should always be striving to exhort our souls to enjoy God with all that we are, and to meditate on His goodness and the benefits that He has given to us. Our praise to the Lord should be total – giving God our all in our worship. May our thoughts meditate on His goodness; may our mouths speak of His grace towards us, and may our hearts enjoy the rest and satisfaction that only He can give to our souls. – Rayshawn Graves from Praise to the Lord, the Almighty: Amen: Verse 5
Here are the lyrics:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before, O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes
You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great, and your heart is kind
For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find
And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near, and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore
For further information on the story behind the album 10,000 Reasons, and the song 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord), check out the video below by Matt Redman. You can also purchase and download the song by clicking here. I pray that thinking and singing about the benefits of God’s goodness toward us will make us eager to bless his holy name!
Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not overtake us; we hope for light, and behold, darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. – Isaiah 59:9; 60:1-3, 19
This Sunday, Raymond Goodlett will be continuing with our Advent and Christmas series with a sermon on Joy. His text for the sermon will be Luke 2:6-11. If you missed last weeks sermon on Love, you can listen to and download the sermon here. Also, be sure and mark your calendar and plan on joining us Saturday, December 24, at 6:00 p.m., for a Christmas Eve service at our new office building (400 West 32nd Street, RVA 23225). You can RSVP here. Below is a special invitation by Robert Greene:
Here are the songs that we will sing together this week:
Joy to the World by George Frederic Handel and Isaac Watts. You can read more about this song and why we sing it by clicking here.
Next Saturday, December 24th, Redemption Hill will be coming together to celebrate, sing, read, and respond to the very good news of Immanuel, God with us. This service will be based on the Service of Lessons and Carols, which was first drawn up by E.W. Benson, later Bishop of Canterbury, for use in the Cathedral at Truro. It was later adapted from early sources as a Christmas Eve service and was first celebrated on Christmas Eve in 1880, and was later modified for use at King’s College in Cambridge, in 1918, by its then Dean, Reverend Eric Milner-White.
The service will consist of God’s revelation to us of God’s purpose (the lessons), followed immediately by our response to God’s word (the musical portions of the service, our offering of praise back to God). The first four lessons are passages from the Old Testament which look forward to the Day of the Lord; the day when God will finally establish God’s purpose, reject all that is contrary to it, and affirm whatever belongs to it. The fifth lesson which is taken from the Gospel of Luke directly assert that in Christ, the long-awaited day has come.
As you have meditated on Jesus’ coming with your family this Advent season, we would invite you to celebrate with us on Christmas Eve as we look to Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the death and resurrection. He is the beginning and end of all things. He is Heaven and earth reunited. He is the salvation that the prophets told us about from ancient times. He is the only way out of death. He is the only way that death can ever die. He is the Savior of the world, the one who takes away all the sins of the world, and all of that is offered to us.
Our Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols service will be Saturday night, December 24th, at 6:00 p.m., at the Redemption Hill office. If you are planning on attending, please RSVP here and share the event with your friends, family, and neighbors. After the service, stick around for warm drinks and yummy sweets in the parlor. No childcare will be provided, but that’s on purpose. This is a perfect service for families with children of all ages to sing and celebrate together.
