REFLECTION QUOTES
“Truth is under attack…. Rare is the person who believes that there are facts that correspond with reality (truths) and…are true for all people in all places and at all times…. [T]his will ultimately lead us to nihilism wherein all ideas lose their value. Ultimately, the only thing that will matter is who has sufficient power to exercise his or her will.”
“As followers of Christ, our greatest delight will always be found in our obedience to His Word.”
~Voddie Baucham, Dean of Theology at African Christian University (Zambia)
“…I know a place/Ain’t nobody cryin’/Ain’t nobody worried/Ain’t no smilin’ faces/Mmm, no no/Lyin’ to the races”
~“I’ll Take You There” (1972) by The Staples Singers
“You have to be a bit of a dreamer to imagine a world where love trumps hate—but I don’t think being a dreamer is all that bad. Joel prophesied that God would ‘pour out [His] Spirit on all people. Your…old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.’”
“We live out our call most fully when we are a community of faith with arms wrapped about a community of pain.”
~John M. Perkins, Christian minister and civil rights activist
“If someone had told me in 1963 that one day I would be in Congress, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy. You don’t know what you’re talking about.’”
“When people tell me nothing has changed, I say come walk in my shoes and I will show you change.”
~John Lewis (1940-2020), legendary civil rights leader and politician
“The cross reconciles men to God and men to each other.”
~Thabiti Anyabwile, pastor and writer
“The operation of the Church is entirely set up for the sinner; which creates much misunderstanding among the smug.”
~Flannery O’Connor (1925-1964), novelist and essayist
SERMON PASSAGE
Psalm 133, selections from Ephesians 4 & 5 (NASB)
Psalm 133
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forever.
Ephesians 4
1 Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace…
25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another…
29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians 5
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
The Beauty of Unity: Part 3
Psalm 133; August 30, 2020; Pastor Don Willeman
August 30, 2020 • Don Willeman • Psalm 133
The Beaming Blessing
August 13, 2023 • Ryan Bouton • Psalm 67
QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “If physical objects please you, praise God for them, but turn back your love to their Creator, lest, in those things which please you, you displease him.” ~Confessions by St. Augustine (354-430), bishop in North Africa “But the most obvious fact about praise – whether of God or anything – strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise… I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed. It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not to be able to tell anyone how good he is; to come suddenly, at the turn of the road, upon some mountain valley of unexpected grandeur and then to have to keep silent because the people with you care for it no more than for a tin can in the ditch; to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with.” ~C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms “If a psalm was ever written round the promises to Abraham that he would be both blessed and made a blessing, it could well have been such as this.” ~ Derek Kidner, Psalms “Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face.” ~ “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” by William Cowper SERMON PASSAGE Psalm 67 (ESV) 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! 6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
The Blessing of Forgiveness
June 25, 2023 • Mike O'Leary • Psalm 32
QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “When the apostles preached, they could assume even in their Pagan hearers a real consciousness of deserving the Divine anger… It was against this background that the Gospel appeared as good news. It brought news of possible healing to men who knew they were mortally ill.” ~C.S Lewis, Author & Theologian, in The Problem of Pain “I found a place where the past was forgiven Where my mistakes met a grace I couldn’t earn And so I piled up my excuses and defenses in the night Then I lit a match, stepped back and watched them burn.” ~“Carry Me” by NeedtoBreathe “God is so faithful. He says, ‘If you bring me your sin, if you uncover it before me, I will cover it. I will do the very thing that you’re trying to do in your own strength and power.’” ~Juan Sánchez, Pastor & Author “If one is not genuinely offended by one’s sin, there is no repentance. Repentance is painful, but it is a sweet pain. It demands brokenness of heart but always with a view to healing and restoration and a renewed vision of the beauty of Christ and forgiving grace.” ~Sam Storms, Pastor & Author SERMON PASSAGE Psalm 32 (ESV) 1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah 5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. 7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah 8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. 10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Remember His Unfailing Love
January 9, 2022
QUOTES FOR REFLECTION “Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.” ~C.S. Lewis “God’s unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God’s love, nor does our faith create it. It originates in the very nature of God, who is love, and it flows to us through our union with His beloved Son.” ~Jerry Bridges “The sin underneath all our sins is to trust the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and must take matters into our own hands.” ~Martin Luther “One of the greatest evidences of God’s love to those that love him is to send them afflictions, with grace to bear them.” ~John Wesley “God’s love does not keep us from trials, but sees us through them.” ~John Piper “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” ~Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV) SERMON PASSAGE Psalm 107 (ESV) 1 Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. “The Desert” 4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; 5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. 6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 7 He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. 8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 9 For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. “The Prison” 10 Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and in irons, 11 for they had rebelled against the words of God, and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 12 So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor; they fell down, with none to help. 13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. 15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 16 For he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts in two the bars of iron. “The Hospital” 17 Some were fools through their sinful ways, and because of their iniquities suffered affliction; 18 they loathed any kind of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. 19 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 20 He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. 21 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 22 And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! “The Storm” 23 Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; 24 they saw the deeds of the LORD, his wondrous works in the deep. 25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind, which lifted up the waves of the sea. 26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths; their courage melted away in their evil plight; 27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men and were at their wits’ end. 28 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. 29 He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. 30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven. 31 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! 32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. 33 He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, 34 a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. 35 He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. 36 And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; 37 they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. 38 By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. 39 When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, 40 he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; 41 but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. 42 The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. 43 Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.