Happy Sunday!

Have a wonderful, restful day ...  wherever you may be, I hope you begin it with worship.

Heb 10:25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, 

but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

WORSHIP: Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday 2012

     

Matthew  21 tells us what happened the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem.

The Triumphal Entry

 ¹ When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.” ⁴This ^[a]took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ⁵ “SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION,
‘BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU,
GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY,
EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.’”
 ⁶ The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, ⁷ and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on ^[b]the coats. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. ⁹ The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
   “Hosanna to the Son of David;
BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Hosanna in the highest!”
 ¹⁰ When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?” ¹¹ And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Cleansing the Temple

 ¹² And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. ¹³And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ ^[c]DEN.” ¹⁴ And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

Have a blessed Holy Week!

Sunday Worship the Lord

Isaiah 25:9

                            ... This is the Lord, we have waited for Him; 

we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

SUNDAY WORSHIP: Psalm 91:4 He will cover shelter you with His wings...

Thanks, Jacque, for sharing this with me.  Have a blessed Sunday.

Psalm 91:4

He will cover you with His feathers,

and under His wings you will find refuge;

His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 

Psalm 46:1  

God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble. 

Sunday Worship / Seeing Others as God See Them / COMPASSION

We had an RTS intern give our sermon this morning at church.  We were studying Mark 8 and he used this video to make one of his points.  Get your tissues ready and be prepared for your heart to change...

It is about seeing others as the Lord sees them, without the "masks" they regularly wear. Go to THIS LINK to view.

Sunday Worship : The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

How can someone NOT worship seeing something like this beautiful sunrise?

I went to our church's ladies retreat Friday and Saturday and this is what we saw while walking to our breakfast on Saturday morning.  I don't often see the sun coming up over a beautiful lake in the mornings so this was a treat.  

Have a wonderful Sunday.  If you're in Orlando, step outside. It's gorgeous today.

Psalm 97:6 

The heavens declare His righteousness, 

And all the peoples have seen His glory. 

Sunday Worship / The Reason for God by Tim Keller

Our pastor has been teaching from John 10 the last few weeks.  He had this quote from Tim Keller's book A Reason for God in his sermon notes today.  To hear the entire sermon from v. 31-42 titled  Why Believe in Someone So Many Despised As a Blasphemer (Part 1), go to THIS LINK.   Although Dr. Keller is referring to Matthew 28, the application is relevant to both texts.

The most instructive thing about this text is, however, what it says about the purpose of biblical miracles. They lead not simply to cognitive belief but to worship, to awe and wonder. Jesus's miracles in particular were never magic tricks designed only to impress and coerce. You never see him say something like: 

See that tree over there? Watch me make it burst into flames!" Instead, He used miraculous power to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and raise the dead. Why? We modern people think of miracles as a suspension of the natural order, but Jesus meant them to be the restoration of the natural order. The Bible tells us that God did not orginally make the world to have disease, hunger and death in it. Jesus has come to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world where it is broken. His miracles are not just proofs that he has power but also wonderful foretastes of what he is going to do with that power. Jesus's miracles are not just a challenge to our minds but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming.

 Google Reader has an excerpt from this book at THIS LINK.  

The Gospel In Life Grace Changes Everything / Tim Keller

Our church began a new 16-week class during  the Sunday School hour last week titled The Gospel in Life / Grace Changes Everything.  The way this class is structured, we first meet in our shepherd groups (each elder meets with their flock for prayer), then we view a brief video presentation by  Dr. Tim Keller, Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian  Church in New York City.  

SESSION 2 : HEART THREE WAYS TO LIVE 

 (SEPT. 19 AND 26)  

In Session 2 we look at the parable of the two lost sons in Luke 15. We conclude that there are three ways to relate to God—irreligion, religion, and the gospel. The irreligious don’t repent at all. The religious only repent of sins. But Christians repent of both their sins and the reasons for their righteousness. The gospel is  something entirely different from religion and irreligion. Only the gospel has the power to transform our hearts.

Then we regroup in our small groups again and discuss the video.  We are taking two weeks for each session in case folks have to miss one or the other.     Check it out or come join us on Sunday morning, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Additional Reading:Additional Reading:
Ferguson, Sinclair. Children of the Living God.Horton, Michael. Putting the Amazing Back into Grace.Keller, Timothy. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith

Lewis, C. S. Three Kinds of Men.
Lovelace, Richard F. Renewal as a Way of Life: A Guidebook for Spiritual Growth.
Stevenson, Leslie. Seven Theories of Human Nature.

Sermons:
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: Sin as Self-Righteousness
Keller, Timothy. Sermon Series: The Fellowship Of Grace. (sermons below)
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: He Welcomes Sinners
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: Give Me Mine
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: He Came to Himself
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: To Be Called Your Son
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: And Kissed Him
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: We Had to Celebrate
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: The True Older Brother

Gospel In Life Grace Changes Everything / Tim Keller

Our church began a new 16-week class during  the Sunday School hour last week titled The Gospel in Life / Grace Changes Everything.  The way this class is structured, we first meet in our shepherd groups (each elder meets with their flock for prayer), then we view a brief video presentation by  Dr. Tim Keller, Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian  Church in New York City.  

SESSION 2 : HEART THREE WAYS TO LIVE 

 (SEPT. 19 AND 26)  

In Session 2 we look at the parable of the two lost sons in Luke 15. We conclude that there are three ways to relate to God—irreligion, religion, and the gospel. The irreligious don’t repent at all. The religious only repent of sins. But Christians repent of both their sins and the reasons for their righteousness. The gospel is  something entirely different from religion and irreligion. Only the gospel has the power to transform our hearts.

Then we regroup in our small groups again and discuss the video.  We are taking two weeks for each session in case folks have to miss one or the other.     Check it out or come join us on Sunday morning, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Additional Reading:Additional Reading:
Ferguson, Sinclair. Children of the Living God.
Horton, Michael. Putting the Amazing Back into Grace.
Keller, Timothy. The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith

Lewis, C. S. Three Kinds of Men.
Lovelace, Richard F. Renewal as a Way of Life: A Guidebook for Spiritual Growth.
Stevenson, Leslie. Seven Theories of Human Nature.

Sermons:
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: Sin as Self-Righteousness
Keller, Timothy. Sermon Series: The Fellowship Of Grace. (sermons below)
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: He Welcomes Sinners
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: Give Me Mine
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: He Came to Himself
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: To Be Called Your Son
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: And Kissed Him
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: We Had to Celebrate
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: The True Older Brother

Gospel In Life Grace Changes Everything Tim Keller

Our church began a new 16-week class during  the Sunday School hour last week titled The Gospel in Life / Grace Changes Everything.  The way this class is structured, we first meet in our shepherd groups (each elder meets with their flock for prayer), then we view a brief video presentation by  Dr. Tim Keller, Senior Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian  Church in New York City.  

SESSION 1 : CITY THE WORLD THAT IS.  (Sept. 5 AND 12)  We learn that we are not just to seek prosperity and peace in the city where we live, but we are to seek prosperity and peace for the city, as well. We see the reasons that cities were created, how they have fallen under sin, and how we can be a part of redeeming them—how we are a part of God’s story to redeem and restore the whole world for his glory.

Then we regroup in our small groups again and discuss the video.  We are taking two weeks for each session in case folks have to miss one or the other.     Check it out or come join us on Sunday morning, 9:30 - 10:30 a.m.

Additional Reading:
Bakke, Ray. The Urban Christian.Bartholomew, C., and M. Goheen. The Drama of Scripture: Finding our Place in the Biblical Story.Berger, Peter, and Thomas Luckman. The Social Construction of Reality.Stott, John R. W. The Contemporary Christian.

Sermons:
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: Love for the City
Keller, Timothy. Sermon: Should I Not Love That Great City

Sunday Worship

Here are two pieces of music that I will be playing on the piano  today during communion.  The first one is written by Yurima, a Christian Korean composer and is titled River Flows In You, reminding us that we have rivers of living water within us through Jesus springing up to eternal life.  (John 4: 7-14)

The second piece I am playing is familiar to many, The Lord's Prayer.  A good friend will be singing it today. THIS LINK has Denyce Graves singing this beautiful piece   with accompaniment by Dr. Douglas Major, during the National Service of Prayer and Remembrance following September 11, 2001. The song was composed by Albert Hay Malotte in 1935.

The Lord's Prayer

Our Father who art in heaven;

Hallowed be Thy Name;

Thy kingdom come;

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;

Give us this day our daily bread;

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us;

And lead us not into temptation;

But deliver us from evil;

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Amen. 

Sunday Worship

If you can't make it to church today, check out one of our pastor's sermons at THIS LINK.

Another one of my favorite radio and television pastors is Dr. Charles Stanley.  Click on THIS LINK to hear his radio broadcast or THIS LINK for his television program.  

Dr. Charles F. Stanley, pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta and founder of In Touch Ministries, demonstrates a keen awareness of people’s needs by providing practical Biblical truths for everyday life. 

Sunday Worship

Sunday worship, a day of rest. If you had to miss church this morning, our pastor's sermon today is at THIS LINK for you.

How to Tell the True Shepherd from the False (Part 2)

Here is THE LINK to our pastor's blog with a little info on this picture which was a wonderful illustration of the shepherd BEING the door of the sheep  (John 10:7-10 ).

John 10:7-10 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

The offertory song was just beautiful.  I had not heard it before although my son said that it was sung at the Passion Conference in Atlanta in January.  You can hear  Healing is in Your hands by Christy Nockels  at THIS LINK.  Personally I thought the two women who sang it sounded better than the original version.

Sunday Worship

Sunday worship, a day of rest. If you had to miss church this morning, our pastor's sermon today is at THIS LINK for you.

Sunday Sermon: The Extraordinarily Ordinary Life / Ecclesiastes

Our youth pastor gave an excellent sermon last Sunday morning based on Ecclesiastes 3: 1-13.  If you're home today rather than at church, here is the link to listen.  

The Extraordinarily Ordinary Life

Theme:  Life is a beautiful adventure meant to be enjoyed.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man. (ESV)