In his autobiography Confessions, St. Augustine recounts how his heart was hard and the things of the Lord were despicable to him. Before he understood the beauty of the Gospel, Christ’s work was a stench to him. But when the Lord softened his heart to His voice, Augustine says, “You were radiant and resplendent. You put to flight my blindness.…
Presbyterian minister Henry van Dyke wrote Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee, an ecstatic celebration of Christian unity, in 1907. He intended the poem to be sung to the melody of the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9 in D minor, which was itself a setting of an earlier poem by Friedrich Schiller called “Ode to Joy.” The Ode uses…
He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. —1 Thessalonians 5:24 This morning, the Scriptures we read and the psalms and hymns we sing point us to the reliability of God’s promises— we can trust that He is faithful to do what He says. The service opens with a Call to Worship from Psalm 111 that declares,…
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed… —1 Corinthians 15:51 In this morning’s sermon text, Paul continues his theme of comfort by recounting some of his trials, trials so burdensome that he “despaired of life itself.” But he urges the Corinthians to set their hope on “God who raises the…
Much like last week, the emphasis in this morning’s service can really be captured in a single word—where last Sunday it was “salvation,” this week it is “comfort.” The two readings from Psalm 46, which refer to God as a “fortress” and “a very present help,” promise that He will make wars to cease and assure us that we have…
This morning’s service focuses on a simple, foundational theme: Jesus Christ comes to save His people, and to save them completely. Each of our Scripture readings is taken from the book of Isaiah, where the Lord promises to save “all the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 45) and to clothe us with the garments of salvation (Isaiah 61). He becomes…
The feast of Epiphany (literally “appearance,” or “manifestation”) commemorates the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus, and more broadly the revelation of Christ as “the true light” (John 1:9) and “a light for revelation to the gentiles” (Luke 2:32). Light is a consistent theme in traditional celebrations of Epiphany, and you’ll find that this morning’s service follows…
December 28 (or in our case, the Sunday closest to it) has traditionally marked the observance of Childermas. Also called the Feast of the Holy Innocents, this is a day of remembrance and mourning for the children of Bethlehem murdered by the order of King Herod. Along with Stephen, whose feast day (December 26) is also observed during the week…
