He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. —Psalm 62:2 The psalmist calls God his “rock” three separate times in Psalm 62, expressing his security and confidence in the Lord. We will be using this image quite a few times this morning. We will declare that the man “who trusts in God’s…
As I was reading through Psalm 42 this week, one aspect that jumped out at me is the number of references to water. The psalmist is thirsty (vs. 2), and he compares himself to a deer panting for streams of water (vs. 1). He pours out his soul (vs. 4), and he describes God’s waterfalls, breakers, and waves (vs. 7).…
When we left off our study of Esther last week, Haman had erected the fantastically tall gallows where he planned to execute his hated nemesis. This morning, in Chapter 6, we see the hidden hand of the Lord providentially turning the entire story upside down. Mordecai, who we recently encountered wearing sackcloth and ashes in the king’s gate, is paraded…
The hymn which closes our service, There’s A Wideness In God’s Mercy, beautifully expresses amazement at God’s provision in unlikely circumstances, a sentiment also found in many of the Scripture readings this morning (Psalm 30; Psalm 126; Isaiah 55; Romans 11). The text was written by an English minister, Frederick Faber, in the midnineteenth century. Though popular, it has been…
Isn’t it interesting that when Mordecai first learns of the edict to annihilate his people at the beginning of Esther 4, his first impulse is to take up the garments of repentance? Before pleading with Esther to intercede with the King, Mordecai cries out to the Lord. We’ll be imitating this repentant posture often in the service this morning. We…
Each week in this sermon series on the book of Esther, the passages have highlighted a particular character in the narrative: we met King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti in chapter 1 then Esther and her guardian Mordecai in chapter 2. This week, in chapter 3, we encounter the villain of the story, Haman. He unfolds a plot to eliminate the…
You’ll notice that many of the passages we will read this morning (Joshua 1:6-7; Psalm 27:14; 1 Corinthians 16:13), along with hymns like O Church Arise and How Can I Keep From Singing, involve us seeking the Lord for courage and strength. One hymn you may be less familiar with is If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee, written…
Here in chapter 2 of the book of Esther, we finally meet the title character. Her improbable story has all the hallmarks of a fairy tale: an orphan girl—raised in exile by a kindly and wise uncle—rises from poverty to become the queen of an empire. This is not a fanciful bedtime story though. Instead, it is an incredible witness…
Today, we observe Ascension Sunday, perhaps the most neglected of the “five evangelical feasts” which are celebrated in most Christian traditions (along with Christmas, Easter, Good Friday, and Pentecost). This day marks the commemoration of the events of Acts 1:6-11 when Jesus completed His earthly ministry by ascending into Heaven and sitting down at the right hand of the Father.…
Narrative passages of scripture can pose some difficulties for a music director. The choice of psalms and hymns to sing is governed by how best to support the preaching of the Word. When the sermon text is something from the epistles, the prophets, or even from the life of Christ, this work is fairly straightforward since so many hymns are…