Tag: Hope

Sermon Songs: Isaiah 64-65

On By BrianIn Isaiah Hymns

MusicNotes

Creator, Father God, we pray
Show forth your zeal and might
Your presence may we know today
Turn back the evil night

We plead O Lord your grace impart
A new work now begin
Revive and soften every heart
And forgive every sin

We cry to you and on you wait
For your final answer
Your just judgment will be the fate
For each wicked sinner

But blessings for those who repent
Who seek the Lord’s mercy
Saved by Jesus whom you have sent
To save us, set us free

Behold the new heaven and earth
Our hope none can destroy
For peace will reign, sin’s doom reversed
We’ll dwell in endless joy

– From a sermon on Isaiah 64-65
(To the tune of “O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing”)

There Is A Fountain – Verse 6

On By BrianIn Sermon Songs

I didn’t preach this past weekend, so I don’t have a new sermon song this week. But a few weeks ago as I was working on the worship service, I wanted to include William Cowper’s hymn “There Is A Fountain.”  It is a great hymn, but the last verse leaves us in the grave. What about the great hope of our resurrection? So I wrote a sixth verse. Below are Cowper’s original five verses and my final verse:

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
Wash all my sins away, Wash all my sins away;
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, Be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I’ll sing thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, Lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue
Lies silent in the grave.

When Christ shall come with trumpet sound,
We’ll rise forevermore,
To sin and death no longer bound,
Our Savior we’ll adore.
Our Savior we’ll adore, Our Savior we’ll adore;
To sin and death no longer bound,
Our Savior we’ll adore.

Sermon Songs: Isaiah 60

On By BrianIn Isaiah Hymns

MusicNotes

Arise and shine, forever praise, Our gracious glor-ious King
People of God your voices raise, Forever let us sing.
For Christ our Savior will return, New Jerusalem bring
We look forward, our spirits’ yearn, For our Lord’s soon coming.

Our glor-ious Lord with us will dwell, In everlasting light
In brilliance no mere words can tell, He’ll banish the dark night.
His people He will gather all, Each daughter ev’ry son
From all the nations He will call, The children of Zion.

Great songs of praise declare His worth, And tell of His glory.
Great wealth will flow from all the earth, Abundance from the sea
Zion in glor-i-ous beauty, The sights, the smells, the sounds
The brilliance of this new city, Ever expands, abounds.

But what of us, vile and sinful, How shall we enter in?
Our Lord make us each beautiful, Cleansing us from our sin.
We’ll walk in humble righteousness, Trust in Him and His grace
We’ll dwell in peace, joyful gladness, Of sin and death no trace.

This glor-ious day is guaranteed, To all who will receive
Turn from your sin, His offer heed, Your Savior now believe.
And in the trials of these days, To this great promise cling:
We’ll dwell with God, forever praise, Our gracious glor-ious King!

– From a sermon on Isaiah 60
(Words: Brian Mikul. Copyright 2015)
(Music: To the tune of “I Sing The Mighty Power of God”)

Look Forward

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah

Isaiah 60 calls us to look forward to the New Jerusalem where:

  • God will dwell with us in all of his glory with such brilliance that there will be no need for the sun or moon (v1-2, 19-20, see also Rev. 21:3, 23).
  • God’s people will be gathered from the nations to dwell with God forever (v3-4, 9, 21, see also Rev. 21:2-3).
  • God will make the city a place of glorious beauty (v7, 13, 15, see also Rev. 21:2, 11, 18-21).
  • Great wealth, abundance, and praise will flow into the city for an ever-expanding glorious beauty (v5-7, 9, 11, 13, 17, see also Rev. 21:24-26).
  • Great salvation from sin will be completed as everyone trusts in him, submits to him, and walks in righteousness before him (v9, 10-12, 14, 17-18, 21, see also Rev. 21:8, 27).
  • Great salvation from the consequences of sin become a reality as peace reigns, mourning comes to an end, and joy abounds (v11, 15, 20, see also Rev. 21:4, 25)

Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

3 Things To Consider Before That Next Big Sin – Tim Challies
John Owen has a challenge for you. Before that next big sin you are pondering, he wants you to simply consider three things…

4 Things That Happen When You Study Leviticus More Than 10 Years – Jay Sklar (TGC)
In my experience, at least four profound things happen when this book begins to seep into your soul…

Someday It Will Be Worth It – Mark Altrogge (Blazing Center)
You won’t be disappointed. Keep believing in Jesus. Keep hoping in him. Keep clinging to him and abiding in him. Don’t give up, no matter how bad the pain gets. You won’t be put to shame. Keep rejoicing and giving thanks in all things. You can’t imagine your reward and the joys that await you.

Preparing for Sunday Worship – Jason Helopoulis
We believe our engagement in corporate worship is essential, so we should also expect to prepare even as we expect the pastor and musicians to prepare for their participation in the Sunday morning service. How can you prepare for worship?

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day prepared for corporate worship of our great God!

Searching for Hope

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes

ForeverSeparated from God, who was to be the source of their hope, Adam and Eve and the generations they birthed began to search for hope horizontally. So we look for hope in the temporary situations, locations, relationships, and possessions of the broken world. We hook ourselves to things that give temporary hope, or no hope at all, going back again and again until we become enslaved and addicted. In searching for hope horizontally, we are shopping for God replacements. But just like wooden idols that cannot see, hear, or speak, these God replacements have no capacity whatsoever to deliver. They quickly leave us empty, always craving for more….
How different would your life and mine be if we remembered that everything that exists in the created world is meant to be a finger pointing us to the only place where hope can be found?

– Paul David Tripp in Forever

We Have a Great Hope to Be Resurrected With Jesus

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous2 Comments

Today we look at the last of our great hopes from the book of Philippians. As we have already seen, we have a great hope to be with Jesus and to see his return. Today we consider that:

We have a great hope to be resurrected with Jesus. In Philippians 3:20, we read that Jesus will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. We all have lowly bodies. They are perishable and mortal, but one day we will have bodies that are imperishable and immortal (I Corinthians 15:53). They will not get sick, injured, grow old, or die. We will live forever with our Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:10-11 also speak of attaining the resurrection of the dead. Today we will share in the sufferings of Christ, but one day we will be raised with Christ. This is our great hope.

But until then, we must press on toward Jesus. Paul wants to know Jesus (v8-10), and he presses on to know him more (v12-14). He is like a runner straining forward toward the goal – which is Jesus. He is not content with what he has already attained. He wants to go deeper and further into a relationship with Jesus. What about us? Are we pressing on toward Jesus? Are we seeking to grow in our relationship with him each day?

We have a great hope to be resurrected with Jesus. Until then, press on toward Jesus.

We Have a Great Hope to See Jesus Return

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

Yesterday, we looked at one of Paul’s three great hopes in the book of Philippians. Today we want to consider the second great hope:

We have a great hope to see Jesus return. In Philippians 3:20-21, we are reminded that our citizenship is in heaven. That is our address, our destination. And from there a Savior is coming. The one who died and rose to save us from the penalty and power of sin is coming again. And this Savior is also our Lord. He is our King whose power enables him to subject all things to himself. He is coming to reign with peace and justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:7). Image a world with no more strife or wars or crime – a world of peace and justice and righteousness. Jesus is coming, and he will bring such a world. This is our great hope.

But until then, we must stand firm in Jesus. This is Paul’s instruction in the following verse (4:1). Because Jesus is coming, we are to stand firm in him now. As the following verses make clear, that means:

• We ought to strive for unity in the Lord (v2-3). Paul instructs two ladies to agree in the Lord. We are going to agree in heaven, we may as well start learning to agree now. Are you? Do your words and actions enhance or discourage unity in your church?

• We ought to rejoice in the Lord (v4). If our hope is found in him, then he is the place to find our joy. Are you rejoicing in the Lord? Or are you looking for joy in all the wrong places?

• We ought to point to the Lord (v5). We are to be known for our reasonableness or gentleness, our being more concerned about others than ourselves. We aren’t pointing at ourselves. And when the Lord returns, it is clear who we will be point toward. In a world where everyone is pointing at themselves, who are you pointing at?

• We ought to set our gaze on the Lord (v6-7). As we wait for him, we can bring our cares to him. We can keep our gaze set on him in the midst of the trials of life. Where is your gaze?

• We ought to think like the Lord (v8). We are to set our mind on good things – things above instead of earthly sinful things like the rest of the world (3:19). What is your mind set on? What are you putting in your mind?

• We ought to imitate the Lord (v9). Paul says to imitate him, but he can only say that because he is imitating the Lord. Are you following Christ’s example of love and humility and service and…?

We have a great hope to see Jesus return. Until then, stand firm in Jesus.

We Have a Great Hope to Be With Jesus

On By BrianIn Books of the Bible, Virtue Miscellaneous

In the book of Philippians, Paul gives us three great hopes. I want to look at one of those hopes each of the next three days. So today we want to consider that:

We have a great hope to be with Jesus. In Philippians 1:21, Paul says to die is gain, and v23 makes clear why death is gain: because we go to be with Jesus. That is Paul’s hope: to be with Jesus. He says it is better than life, echoing the Psalmist who said of God, “Your steadfast love is better than life” (Psalm 63:3). Paul desires to be with Jesus. Is that your desire? Does your heart resonate with this great hope to be with Jesus? To be with the one who took on flesh as a little baby for you? To be with the one who died a cruel death on a cross for you? To be with the one who rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and reigns as your King? One day we will be with him. That is our great hope.

But until then, we must live for Jesus. Paul desires to be with Jesus, but until then he says: “to live is Christ” (v21). And as the verses progress, it becomes clear that this means fruitful labor for Christ in serving God’s people for their growth and for the glory of God (v22-26). In other words, until the day we go to be with Jesus, we have work to do. Each of us has gifts and abilities God has given to us to serve God’s people for their growth and God’s glory. Some will teach. Some will lead. Different ones will be involved in different ministries. All of us in our own ways can care for, encourage, and help one another. And we can pray for one another, even when our age and health allow us to do nothing else. Don’t coast into heaven. If you are here, God has a purpose for you. And at least part of that purpose is to live for Jesus serving God’s people for their growth and God’s glory.

We have a great hope to be with Jesus. Until then, live for Jesus.