Bulletin This collection of music was chosen to assist us in meditating on the sufferings of Christ on the cross, as presented in John’s Gospel. The choir will be presenting two texts directly from the Gospel of John. Thomas Tallis’ If Ye Love Me is a sparkling gem of Renaissance polyphony, in which the voices crisscross in a challenging web…
The very first promise of redemption comes immediately after the Fall of Adam and Even in the Garden. There, God declares that the “seed of the woman” would “bruise the head of the serpent” (Genesis 3:16). In the earliest churches, this great promise was artistically represented by mosaics of dragons on floors—upon which everyone in the congregation could step and…
The palm tree and palm leaves appear again and again throughout the Bible as symbols of integrity, honor, righteousness, holiness, godly authority, and royal glory. The palm was used in the carved decorations of the temple, usually associated with the Cherubim, but also with the regal lion and the flower in full bloom. In addition though, throughout the entire ancient…
I hope that over the past five weeks you have enjoyed learning and singing Do You Decree, O Earthly Gods (Psalm 58). This is certainly one of the more unusual texts in the psalter, in which David details the corruption of earthly rulers who “go astray from birth, speaking lies” (vs. 3), have venom like serpents (vs. 4), and “deal…
During our Wednesday night Lententide devotions, we have been walking through passages from the Gospel of John, highlighting not just the details of Jesus’ passion and death (“what” and “how), but why He had to die. Likewise, in this morning’s text from 1 Corinthians it could be easy to focus on the prohibitions Paul places on sexuality and miss the…
There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins, And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. In this morning’s sermon text from 1 Corinthians, Paul pulls no punches regarding the “unrighteous” who will not inherit the Kingdom. He very clearly names these unrighteous behaviors and lifestyles, even pointing out that some of these had…
Last week, all of the snow shoveling I had to do gave me ample time to catch up on some podcasts. I was listening to a discussion on worship, in which one of the guests was critiquing certain hymns and songs for excessive use of the first- person perspective. He argued that too many instances of words like “I” and…
This Sunday marks the beginning of the Lenten season, which is traditionally a time of prayer, fasting, and repentance leading up to Easter, observed by Christians since the days of the early church. Several elements of the service have been adjusted to fit the character of this season. We will begin each Sunday by singing What Wondrous Love Is This…
In 1 Corinthians 4:6, Paul gives the Corinthian Christians a warning “not to go beyond what is written.” As Pastor Brian preached last week, their foundation was laid on things other than the Word of God. By contrast, every element in this morning’s service drives us back to the Scriptures. Passages from Matthew 4, Psalm 19, Isaiah 40, and Psalm…
Crown Him the Lord of peace, whose power a scepter sways, From pole to pole, that wars may cease, and all be prayer and praise… —Matthew Bridges Amid a long season of intense social, cultural, and political division, it isn’t uncommon to hear repeated calls to put differences aside for the sake of unity. I’ll confess that this sometimes strikes…