Greetings Redeemer family,

This week we take a little side-trip from our Summer series in Proverbs as Mike will be sharing some further reflections on our church’s recent trip to Northern Africa. Mike will be preaching from Matthew 15 on true spirituality. The passage centers around Christ quoting Isaiah:

This people honors me with their lips,
But their heart is far away from me.
But in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.

My prayer as I put together this service, and as we move towards Sunday, is that our corporate time of worship would not be in vain. It can be very easy in our church community to get wrapped up in the routine of church attendance. We come and sing and confess and listen, yet remain disconnected in the most vital parts of our hearts and minds. Often this disconnect is met with the implicit (and at times explicit) prescription to “fake it till you make it.” How then can you tell the difference between the divinely authentic and a spiritualized delusion?

Our call to worship this week from the book of 2 Corinthians points to the antithesis of this self-made religious imprisonment:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Our first hymn is a declaration of the glorious majesty of our Lord. As we sing, I pray your heart is awakened, and your eyes opened anew to His beauty and goodness.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and evermore shall be.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy Name, in earth, and sky, and sea;
Holy, holy, holy; merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessèd Trinity!

Our second hymn is a prayer that God would work in us by His Spirit. Written by Francis Scott Key, the lyrics speak directly to the disconnect I mentioned earlier. The writer acknowledges weakness and a dullness in his soul, even as he is a debtor to the great mercy of God. He then takes two verses to speak to himself, recounting the mighty Gospel work of God in his conversion. The song ends with a prayer that God would indeed be glorified in all of his life.

Lord, with glowing heart I’d praise Thee,
For the bliss Thy love bestows,
For the pardoning grace that saves me,
And the peace that from it flows:
Help, O God, my weak endeavor;
This dull soul to rapture raise:
Thou must light the flame, or never
Can my love be warmed to praise.

Praise, my soul, the God that sought thee,
Wretched wanderer, far astray;
Found thee lost, and kindly brought thee
From the paths of death away;
Praise, with love’s devoutest feeling,
Him Who saw thy guilt-born fear,
And the light of hope revealing,
Bade the blood-stained cross appear.

Praise thy Savior God that drew thee
To that cross, new life to give,
Held a blood sealed pardon to thee,
Bade thee look to Him and live.
Praise the grace whose threats alarmed thee,
Roused thee from thy fatal ease;
Praise the grace whose promise warmed thee,
Praise the grace that whispered peace.

Lord, this bosom’s ardent feeling
Vainly would my lips express.
Low before Thy footstool kneeling,
Deign Thy suppliant’s prayer to bless:
Let Thy grace, my soul’s chief treasure,
Love’s pure flame within me raise;
And, since words can never measure,
Let my life show forth Thy praise.

As you go about this weekend, I encourage you to intentionally take time to prepare for our time of corporate worship on Sunday. Take the time to meditate on God’s holiness and glory. Remind yourself of His grace in salvation. Think through the past week and identify particular places where He has provided for and protected you and your family. As you consider these things, I offer this song as a guide for prayer:

In my heart there is a stirring,
one that did not start with me;
a love to worship my Creator,
to show His love for all to see.

I will worship, I will honor,
I will exalt the Lord above;
all my days, I’ll sing the praises
of His great redeeming love.

In my heart there is a treason,
one that poisons all my love.
Take my heart and consecrate it,
wash it in Your cleansing Blood.

Tie me to the Rock unchanging,
Tie me to his wondrous Cross.
I’ll fix my eyes upon the Savior,
all other things I count as loss.

Tie me to the rock unchanging
And His great redeeming love,
And his great redeeming love.

Words and Music by Eric Grover
©2000 PDI Worship

Praying that my heart be continually renewed by the Gospel

Tim Sharpe