Redeemer Presbyterian Church

Greetings Redeemer family!\n \nThis week we move towards the end of our series in the book of Proverbs. We have spent the last few months reading through this book of wisdom and asking how Scripture informs particular issues and topics from money to sexuality to citizenship. As we move towards the end of this series, Mike will be teaching this week on some overarching themes from this past Summer.\n \nOur first hymn this week is a great reminder that, while we can study and apply the Word, it is ultimately God himself who works obedience, faith, and worship in us. I’d encourage you to take a few minutes and read through the whole song. Many of the best hymns are not disconnected verses, but rather are a unified whole that tells a story. This text is one of those hymns. Some of the language is a little old-fashioned, so read carefully.\n \nLord, with glowing heart I’d praise thee\nFor the bliss thy love bestows,\nFor the pard’ning grace that saves me,\nAnd the peace that from it flows;\nHelp, O God, my weak endeavor;\nThis dull soul to rapture raise;\nThou must light the flame, or never\nCan my love be warmed to praise.\n \nPraise, my soul, the God that sought thee,\nWretched wand’rer far astray;\nFound thee lost, and kindly brought thee\nFrom the paths of death away;\nPraise, with love’s devoutest feeling,\nHim who saw thy guilt-born fear,\nAnd, the light of hope revealing,\nBade the blood-stained cross appear.\n \nPraise thy Saviour God that drew thee\nTo that cross, new life to give,\nHeld a blood-sealed pardon to thee,\nBade thee look to him and live;\nPraise the grace whose threats alarmed thee,\nRoused thee from thy fatal ease,\nPraise the grace whose promise warmed thee,\nPraise the grace that whispered peace.\n \nLord, this bosom’s ardent feeling\nVainly would my lips express;\nLow before thy footstool kneeling,\nDeign thy suppliant’s prayer to bless:\nLet thy love, my soul’s chief treasure,\nLove’s pure flame within me raise,\nAnd, since words can never measure,\nLet my life show forth thy praise.\n \nI love that last line. It is a reminder that the end of our sanctification is not simply to be a bunch of individuals who make good decisions. God’s work in our lives is to make us into a community of worshipers, giving continuous praise for Christ’s work in us. Our Call to Worship this week builds on this theme, using selections from Psalm 111. The words of the Psalmist remind us of the character of God, and that true wisdom is found in knowing and honoring Him.\n \nPraise the LORD. \nGreat are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.\nGlorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.\nHe has caused his wonders to be remembered;\nthe LORD is gracious and compassionate.\nHe provided redemption for his people;\nhe ordained his covenant forever – holy and awesome is his name.\nThe fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;\nall who follow his precepts have good understanding.\nTo him belongs eternal praise.\n \nWe follow this reading of scripture with two songs of worship to God. The first, “Our Great God”, reminds us of God’s unchanging character and compels us to respond “Hallelujah!” (Praise the Lord). The second, “Satisfied”, recalls to mind the fruitless search for lasting satisfaction in the things of this world, and the sweetness of salvation in Christ. \n \nLet ev’ry creature in the sea and ev’ry flying bird,\nLet ev’ry mountain, ev’ry field and valley of the earth;\nLet all the moons and all the stars in all the universe\nSing praises to the living God who rules them by His Word.\n \nPoor I was and sought for riches\nSomething that would satisfy\nBut the dust I gathered ’round me\nOnly mocked my soul’s sad cry\n \nWell of water ever springing\nBread of life so rich and free\nUntold wealth that never faileth\nMy Redeemer is to me\n \nThis week we are also celebrating the sacrament of covenant baptism. In our church, we believe that baptism is a sign and seal of the covenant love of God. Like circumcision in the Old Testament, baptism is an entrance rite into the community that marks us as His people. When applied to an infant, the baptism is accompanied with vows by the parents to raise the child as a Christian, teaching him or her to love and worship God. \n \nOur Confession of Faith this week, taken from the Heidelberg Catechism, is a reminder of what it means to be called a Christian. Often in our worship, we use catechism readings, and it occurs to me as I type this that many of you may not even know what a catechism is! Most basically, a catechism is an ancient teaching method made up of questions and answers. This system has been used for centuries to instruct both children and adults in the basics of our faith. As I study catechisms, I am often surprised and inspired by the insights of the writers. This reading is no exception, as it likens our call as Christians to Christ’s offices of prophet, priest, and king.\n \n 32. Q. Why are you called a Christian?\nA. Because I am a member of Christ by faith and thus share in His anointing, so that I may as prophet confess His Name, as priest present myself a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him, and as king fight with a free and good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, and hereafter reign with Him eternally over all creatures.\n \nFollowing a period of confession of sin, we will sing together a song of assurance. We have sung “Mercy Speaks by Jesus Blood” as a congregation for some time, but the lyric can be easily misunderstood. The key to understanding this song is to realize there are two voices speaking in the text, like two characters in a play. The voice in the verses is that of one believer to another, describing the great salvation that Jesus won for us in the cross and calling for our joyful response. \n \n1. Mercy speaks by Jesus’ blood;\nHear and sing, ye sons of God;\nJustice satisfied indeed;\nChrist has full atonement made.\n \n2. Jesus blood speaks loud and sweet;\nHere all Deity can meet,\nAnd, without a jarring voice,\nWelcome Zion to rejoice,\nWelcome Zion to rejoice.\n \nThe chorus introduces the second voice. This is the voice of Christ on the cross. The female “she” and “her” that Christ refers to is His bride, the Church. The chorus is the loud proclamation that Jesus has taken all of our sins upon Himself and granted us forgiveness. Because His perfect obedience has satisfied our guilt, we can live in the sweet freedom of His love.\n \n “All her debts were cast on Me,\nAnd she must and shall go free.”\n \nThe last 3 songs of the morning share a common theme. As I’ve thought about the end goal of wisdom this week, I’ve been reminded of an all too common false goal that is put forward in our larger culture, and even the church. It’s the idol of balance. It’s the idea that we ought to be able to arrange our life in such a way that it is manageable and sustainable. It promises that our world can be free from suffering and pain and hard work. This can take the form of nostalgia about the good old days. Or it could be pining after a new piece of technology, a job, home, marriage, kids, empty nest, retirement. \n \nBut all of these things end in disappointment, because this idea of balance is little more than a mirage. Once you get one thing aligned, something else shifts. We were made to live in time, and so change is inevitable. God never promised us that kind of precarious peace. He offers us Himself: the true Lord of Lords, King of Kings, the real Prince of Peace. So, if you’ve been chasing balance, I’d humbly submit that maybe you’ve been chasing the wrong thing.\n \nIn many ways, a test of true wisdom is to see how honestly you can pray the words of this simple gospel song:\n \nIn the morning when I rise\nIn the morning when I rise\nIn the morning when I rise\nGive me Jesus\n \nGive me Jesus, give me Jesus\nYou can have all this world\nBut give me Jesus\n \nThou lovely source of true delight whom I unseen adore\nUnveil Thy beauties to my sight that I might love Thee more\n \nJesus my Lord, my life, my light, oh come with blissful ray\nBreak radiant through the shades of night and chase my fears away\n \nThen shall my soul with rapture trace the wonders of Thy love\nBut the full glories of Thy face are only known above\n \nThat last line of “Thou Lovely Source” reminds us that even the most intimate experience of Jesus’ love that we experience in this life is just a foretaste of the wonders of Heaven. We close our service this week with a song that looks forward towards that hope. It uses the Old Testament image of standing on the banks of the Jordan looking towards the Promised Land as a metaphor for our expectation of Christ’s coming, eternal Kingdom.\n \nOn Jordan’s stormy banks I stand,\nAnd cast a wishful eye\nTo Canaan’s fair and happy land,\nWhere my possessions lie.\n \nNo chilling winds nor poisonous breath\nCan reach that healthful shore;\nSickness, sorrow, pain and death,\nAre felt and feared no more.\n \nI am bound (I am bound) I am bound (I am bound)\nI am bound for promised land,\nI am bound (I am bound) I am bound (I am bound)\nI am bound for promised land.\n \nLonging for the promised rest of Christ,\n \nTim Sharpe