I have been thinking about what hymns to sing at my induction service. Here is one that we're going to sing as I find its words so appropriate and challenging. Written by Norman McLeod its a call to trust in God and do the right a rallying cry which is not just for ministers...
Courage, brother, do not stumble,
Though thy path be dark as night;
There’s a star to guide the humble:
Trust in God and do the right.
Let the road be rough and dreary,
And its end far out of sight,
Foot it bravely; strong or weary,
Trust in God and do the right.
Perish policy and cunning,
Perish all that fears the light!
Whether losing, whether winning,
Trust in God and do the right,
Trust no party, sect or faction;
Trust no leaders in the fight;
Put in every word or action,
Trust in God and do the right.
Some will hate thee, some will love thee,
Some will flatter, some will slight;
Cease from man, and look above thee:
Trust in God and do the right.
Simple rule, and safest guiding,
Inward peace and inward might,
Star upon our path abiding,
Trust in God and do the right.
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Saturday, 25 April 2009
Pleasing the Father
True children of God will have a desire to please their Heavenly Father as Alec Motyer explains in his comment on Philippians 2.12,
‘Although the terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do there is a fear of God of which we know all too little and which we lose at our peril – a godly fear, growing out of recognition of weakness and of the power of temptation; a filial dread of offending God. This is not the fear of a lost sinner before the Holy One, not a fear of what he might do to us, but of the hurt we might do to him.’
Alec Motyer, BST, Philippians, pg.
‘Although the terrors of law and of God with me can have nothing to do there is a fear of God of which we know all too little and which we lose at our peril – a godly fear, growing out of recognition of weakness and of the power of temptation; a filial dread of offending God. This is not the fear of a lost sinner before the Holy One, not a fear of what he might do to us, but of the hurt we might do to him.’
Alec Motyer, BST, Philippians, pg.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009
Eric Alexander
Eric Alexander was minister at St George's Tron for over twenty years. Widely regarded as one of the best Scottish preachers of his generation his sermons and other resources will be well worth perusing.
To take a look visit www.ericalexander.co.uk/
To take a look visit www.ericalexander.co.uk/
Saturday, 11 April 2009
What is Prayer? - 2
Prayer – What is it? – 2
John Bunyan
‘Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of the church, with submission to the will of God.’
Last week we considered the importance of sincerity in prayer. We now come to think about what John Bunyan meant by ‘sensible’.
What does Bunyan mean here? - Dictionary – ‘aware not unmindful’
Bunyan is teaching us that true prayer involves more than words.
If we are to truly pray then there are certain things of which we must be aware.
Truth that we must know in our minds and experience in our hearts.
(1) We need an awareness of our sinfulness – Remember you are undeserving
(a) Remember that without grace you could not come to God
- Gen 3.22-24; Ex 19.12-13; 1 Sam 6.20
(b) Remember that without grace you would not come to God
- Gen 3.8-10; Col 1.21
(2) We need an awareness of our mediator – Remember you are dependent
In his mercy God appoints mediators – ‘umpires’ between a Holy God and sinful people.
Gen 18.16; Ex 19.21; Ex 28.1; Ex 33.12-22
Every mediator in the Bible pointed forward to the real mediator. 1 Tim 2.5
Jesus Christ is the only one who can represent sinners before God.
(a) If Jesus is to be your mediator he must be your Saviour
(b) If Jesus is your Saviour he must be your Mediator
(3) We need an awareness of our forgiveness – Remember you are welcome
(a) We are to come to God with boldness and confidence – Heb 4.16; 10.21-22
Derek Prime,
‘By nature we deserve God’s throne to be one of judgment, where we receive His just punishment for our sins and failures. But through the Lord Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, God’s righteous wrath has been turned away from us, and God is able to be gracious and kind to us, with no detriment to His justice and holiness. Instead of our having to view God as sitting upon a throne of judgment – as our sins deserve – we are encouraged to picture His throne as a throne of grace. He waits to be gracious to us! There is no limit to what He will do for our good, on account of our spiritual union with His Son, the Lord Jesus.’
Q - Why do justified sinners still need to confess their sins? – Matt 6.12; 1 John 1.8
(4) We need an awareness of our weakness – Remember you are children
We are to pray to God as children pray to a loving Father – Matt 6.9
Q – Think about your prayer life. Does your life reveal that you depend upon your Heavenly father for everything?
Q – In what ways might Jesus teaching about the Fatherhood of God encourage us to pray?
What does it mean to pray in a way that is sensible?
It is the awareness that while we are undeserving sinners dependent upon a Saviour we are at the same time welcome children.
A mature Christian will learn to pray with both great humility and great confidence.
‘No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown,
through Christ, my own.’
John Bunyan
‘Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has promised, or according to his Word, for the good of the church, with submission to the will of God.’
Last week we considered the importance of sincerity in prayer. We now come to think about what John Bunyan meant by ‘sensible’.
What does Bunyan mean here? - Dictionary – ‘aware not unmindful’
Bunyan is teaching us that true prayer involves more than words.
If we are to truly pray then there are certain things of which we must be aware.
Truth that we must know in our minds and experience in our hearts.
(1) We need an awareness of our sinfulness – Remember you are undeserving
(a) Remember that without grace you could not come to God
- Gen 3.22-24; Ex 19.12-13; 1 Sam 6.20
(b) Remember that without grace you would not come to God
- Gen 3.8-10; Col 1.21
(2) We need an awareness of our mediator – Remember you are dependent
In his mercy God appoints mediators – ‘umpires’ between a Holy God and sinful people.
Gen 18.16; Ex 19.21; Ex 28.1; Ex 33.12-22
Every mediator in the Bible pointed forward to the real mediator. 1 Tim 2.5
Jesus Christ is the only one who can represent sinners before God.
(a) If Jesus is to be your mediator he must be your Saviour
(b) If Jesus is your Saviour he must be your Mediator
(3) We need an awareness of our forgiveness – Remember you are welcome
(a) We are to come to God with boldness and confidence – Heb 4.16; 10.21-22
Derek Prime,
‘By nature we deserve God’s throne to be one of judgment, where we receive His just punishment for our sins and failures. But through the Lord Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, God’s righteous wrath has been turned away from us, and God is able to be gracious and kind to us, with no detriment to His justice and holiness. Instead of our having to view God as sitting upon a throne of judgment – as our sins deserve – we are encouraged to picture His throne as a throne of grace. He waits to be gracious to us! There is no limit to what He will do for our good, on account of our spiritual union with His Son, the Lord Jesus.’
Q - Why do justified sinners still need to confess their sins? – Matt 6.12; 1 John 1.8
(4) We need an awareness of our weakness – Remember you are children
We are to pray to God as children pray to a loving Father – Matt 6.9
Q – Think about your prayer life. Does your life reveal that you depend upon your Heavenly father for everything?
Q – In what ways might Jesus teaching about the Fatherhood of God encourage us to pray?
What does it mean to pray in a way that is sensible?
It is the awareness that while we are undeserving sinners dependent upon a Saviour we are at the same time welcome children.
A mature Christian will learn to pray with both great humility and great confidence.
‘No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine!
Alive in Him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne,
And claim the crown,
through Christ, my own.’
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Spectators of a wonder
In the run up to Good Friday I wany to post some of my favourite quotes about the death of Christ.
The cross is,
'The most solemn spectale in all history, a spectacle unparalleled, unique, unrepeated and unrepeatable. The site of the most mysterious utterance that ever ascended from earth to heaven, "My God, my God why has thou forsaken me?" Beholding it, we are spectators of a wonder the praise and glory of which eternity will not exhaust. It is the Lord of glory, the Son of God incarnate, the God-man, drinking the cup given him by the eternal Father, the cup of woe and indescribable agony. We almost hesitate to say so. But it must be said. It is God in our nature forsaken of God. The cry from the accursed tree evinces nothing less than the abandonment that is the wages of sin...There is no reproduction or parallel in the experience of archangels or of the greatest saints. The faintest parallel would crush the holiest of men and the mightiest of the angelic host.'
John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied pg. 77-78
The cross is,
'The most solemn spectale in all history, a spectacle unparalleled, unique, unrepeated and unrepeatable. The site of the most mysterious utterance that ever ascended from earth to heaven, "My God, my God why has thou forsaken me?" Beholding it, we are spectators of a wonder the praise and glory of which eternity will not exhaust. It is the Lord of glory, the Son of God incarnate, the God-man, drinking the cup given him by the eternal Father, the cup of woe and indescribable agony. We almost hesitate to say so. But it must be said. It is God in our nature forsaken of God. The cry from the accursed tree evinces nothing less than the abandonment that is the wages of sin...There is no reproduction or parallel in the experience of archangels or of the greatest saints. The faintest parallel would crush the holiest of men and the mightiest of the angelic host.'
John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied pg. 77-78
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