The language of hymnody is filled with imagery related to speech and communication (“speak,” “sing,” “voice,” “tongue,” “mouth,” as well as related concepts like “listen,” “hear,” etc.). In the psalms, we are commanded to sing cheerfully with our voices (All People That On Earth Do Dwell—Psalm 100) and to listen to a mouth speaking wisdom (Hear Me, All You People—Psalm…
June is wedding season, and if my experience as a musician is accurate, on any given weekend in June you can probably find a ceremony with a reading of 1 Corinthians 13 right along with other wedding favorites such as Pachelbel’s Canon in D and the “Bridal March” from Wagner’s Lohengrin. But the popularity of this passage for couples…
The hymns we sing this morning celebrate both our unity as the people of God and the gifts He has given each of us to build up His church: in the language of 1 Corinthians 12, “one body, many members.” From the psalms, we sing that we are “His people and the chosen flock,” and that even though we are…
For the past few weeks, Jamie has been hard at work here at church studying for one of his ordination exams, one specifically dealing with the sacraments. Occasionally, when he emerges from his office, I get to hear him rehearse all the nuances of Presbyterian teaching on the topic. It has really been fascinating to hear all the debates…
Here at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 11, Paul’s letter begins to focus on some specific controversies in the Corinthian church that may seem rather puzzling in our 21st century context. But as in the earlier portion of the book, often the issue at hand isn’t the root issue at all. Perhaps Paul isn’t concerned so much with headgear and…
Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit… —Acts 2:2-4—Acts 2:2-4 This morning, along with the rest of the Western church, we…
Have you ever noticed how often the Psalter calls us to look back on the past? Many of the Scripture passages in this morning’s bulletin are taken from the Psalter, and each one refers to God’s working out His providence in history. We are called to hear “dark sayings from of old” that our fathers told us and that we…
O may His love, immortal flame, tune every heart and tongue. —Anne Steel Each of the hymns in this morning’s service elaborates on some aspect of the call for the Christian to be witnesses for the Gospel “in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). In the opening and closing hymns,…
After spending 11 verses establishing his authority as an apostle and the accompanying rights and privileges to which he is entitled, Paul makes what could be an unexpected turn: refusing the comforts of material gain. He does not assert his rights, preferring instead to “endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ” (1…
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul develops a principle that he has set out in the previous chapters: dealing with interactions between brethren with wisdom and care. Just as he answers questions on human relationships with pastoral tenderness in chapter 7, here the apostle deals with a religious controversy with practical wisdom: the more mature should not wound their weaker brethren…