To God be the glory, to Him alone.
To God be the glory for He’s enthroned.
Reigning on high and yet close to me.
Reigning on high and always near me.
You are my God,
My Lord,
And my King.
You are my Rock my praise I will bring.
In the morning I lift up my voice,
At the noontide I will still rejoice.
For you are mighty and full of grace.
You are love, i’ll will never be displaced.
Through Jesus Your Son I confess my sins.
Through Jesus Your Son, my new life begins.
To You be all glory,
all honor
and all praise.
To you be all worship on You i’ll set my gaze.
Worship
Worship!!!
Here we are – Sunday morning – preparing to travel to a location to engage in corporate worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Why? Because God is so freak’in awesome that if you are not worshiping then something is seriously wrong. Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of your sins and rose from the grave that you may live forever in eternal joy with him. How can one not worship this God? How can one be ambivalent? Our Creator God is not distant but close, loving and intimate as a father to a child. Our Creator God is not too busy for you but knows every hair on your head – He’s given them each a unique name. Our Creator God reigns on high but lives in your heart.
Worship? Of course.
When? Now.
And so, what are you waiting for?
Worship!!!
[The following is part of the Holy Communion liturgy I wrote for worship this morning. To God be the glory, always and forever.]
Yes, God, it is right and our joy to give thanks and praise to You, at all times and in all places. It is our joy for through Jesus Christ You gave us Your Spirit that we may know the truth of the Gospel – the forgiveness of our sins and the salvation of our souls through faith in Jesus Christ. You redeemed us though we are sinful. You saved us because we cannot save ourselves. You love us because, well, You are love. Oh God, our praise and worship is so inadequate in compassion to what You deserve. Our self-conceived works fall oh so short. May we just let go and let the works you have prepared beforehand manifest themselves through us that You are rightly glorified. And so, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven we join in singing Your unending praise…
Steadfast
Sunday, October 27 is Reformation Sunday. This is a day when we recognize a world-changing movement that God orchestrated through a group of ordinary and sinful men – most notably Martin Luther. Five hundred years later, many continue this “movement” which is nothing more than faithfulness to the Word of God. I pray every day that I remain faithful and stay true to the Word – not striving to tickle itching ears with a false gospel. This world needs scripture faithfulness in the midst of a plethora of false prophets. May I never be tempted to join the crowd.
So, God willing and through His Holy Spirit, I will continue in the footsteps of those first Reformers. The following is a prayer that I wrote that we will use as the Prayer of the Day on Reformation Sunday. May I always be faithful. To God be the glory. Amen.
Holy God, You have saved us by Your grace through our faith in Jesus Christ. Keep us steadfast in Your Word that we would live to Your glory. May we not be content with the status quo but, using the example of the Reformers, may we live out loud in the freedom that we have through the Gospel and stand strong in the mighty fortress that is You. To You be the glory, through Christ Jesus our Lord in union with the Holy Spirit, now and forever, Amen.
Guarding
I am preaching on Romans 10:8-17 this morning. Earlier i posted, A Gospel Poem, that flowed from this sermon prep. Now, i have written this Holy Communion liturgy that was inspired by that text. To God be the glory, always and forever, Amen.
It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you,
oh God,
for You have given us the word of truth that saves us our souls –
Jesus Christ,
Your only Son,
our Lord.
And through Jesus, You have given us a “good deposit” that is to be guarded with our lives, not hidden away and protected as gold or silver, but maintained in all its integrity. For it is only through the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ that people are saved.
And so,
may You send our feet to people who have not heard –
that faith may come through their hearing of the Gospel that flows from our lips and may those who hear this Good News come to call upon Your most holy name.
Oh Lord,
my God,
You are mighty to save and thus we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…
Jesus Is Worth It
I am in Omaha, NE at the LCMC (Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ) Annual Gathering. I look forward to this event every year to connect with friends and colleagues in fellowship, worship and networking. It is also a time when I am encouraged in my faith. Case in point, at our opening worship on Sunday, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart through the sermon on Romans 10:14 and thus the following poem flowed out. Praise be to God!
I am a sinner that is true.
God’s wrath is most certainly due.
I fall short through every action.
My deeds have no satisfaction.
But Jesus died that I may live.
And thus to God all glory give.
He is worthy of all my praise.
To Him I will direct my gaze.
But Satan wants me to just quit;
Saying Jesus is not worth it.
But Jesus holds me ever close,
So thus to Satan, “adios”.
And so I’ll live my life for Him.
And not let my light ever dim.
So may I keep on standing strong.
That I may ever sing Your song.
Morning Glory
I wrote the last stanza of this poem yesterday morning as a short prayer as I prepared for worship. This morning, I share it with you – with a couple more stanzas. To God be the glory!
Hold me with Your grace.
Bring me from disgrace.
My sins please erase.
For Your glory!
For Your glory!
Hear me when I pray.
Each and every day.
With You I want to stay.
In Your glory!
In Your glory!
Jesus is my King.
What an awesome ring.
My heart will loudly sing.
Your great glory!
Your great glory!
Bless me as I preach.
Guide me as I teach.
Many souls may I reach.
To Your glory!
To Your glory!
Doer
The preaching text for today is James 1:19-27 as I continue working through the Epistle of James. The following is the Holy Communion liturgy I wrote with this James text in mind and heart. To God be the glory.
It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, for You and You alone are worthy. But words are not enough to fully express our worship, and so may we not get caught up in only spouting off words of doctrine – falling into complacency – but may we also be doers of the Word. May we control our tongues, care for the vulnerable and be holy as you are holy. Oh Lord our God, Creator and Redeemer, Shepherd and Fortress, our hope and salvation. You call us to action and thus grant us Your Spirit that we may respond and so glorify You. And so with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven we join in singing Your unending praise.
Good Pleasure
The text for preaching this morning is Luke 12:32 where Jesus says that it is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. It is a rich and Gospel-packed verse and I can hardly wait to preach it this morning. The following is part of the Holy Communion liturgy I wrote with the Gospel text in mind. May it bring glory to God.
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It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, our Shepherd and Father; for it is Your good pleasure to give us Your kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, You have saved us from our sins and redeemed us from the clutches of the Evil One. You have placed us in the vault of Your fortress and carved, in granite, our names in the Book of Life. You are the hope in a violent and hate-filled world. You are the Light in the stormy waters. You are the Truth as the Deceiver works overtime to lead Your flock astray. Nothing and no one can stake their claim on Your children. For these reasons, and many more, we join with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven in singing Your unending praise…
No Matter What, God Reigns
Today, is August 4, and this nation is mourning after two deadly shooting sprees in the last days or so. Many are shaking their fists at heaven wondering where is God; and thus turning to worldly leaders for answers and action. But no matter the situation, God reigns. I have no explanation for this shooting sprees, I just know my God who holds my life in His hands and thus my hope is in Him. My prayer is that others come to know Him through Jesus Christ as well.
So with that in mind, I wrote the following Holy Communion liturgy for this morning. Let pray together, and instead of finger pointing, let’s raise all our fingers to God in praise and worship for being rich towards Him in Jesus Christ.
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It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, Father and Creator. We look around and grieve the violence and hatred. We listen to our neighbors and hear hate-filled words, fear and hopelessness. We live in a sin-fallen world that looks to worldly gods and leaders for their peace and security, but You reign, and thus we give You praise. Through Jesus Christ You and You alone have overcome this world. You have defeated sin, Satan and hate. No amount of violence can stop Your will from being done. No amount of rhetoric can bury Your Words of Life. No amount of riches can compare to You, for through Christ we are rich beyond our wildest dreams and imagination. And thus, as children in Your family; sheep of Your flock we have no fear in this world, for You and You alone reign. And therefore, with the Church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we join in singing Your unending praise…
Unending Praise for the King of Glory
I wrote the following as part of the Holy Communion liturgy for today, July 28. God’s deserving title, the King of Glory, is still running around in my head and heart so thus that theme was picked up again, and why not 🙂
To God be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
It is indeed right and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks and praise to you, oh God, the King of Glory. And You are indeed deserving of that title, the King of Glory. Through Jesus Christ we have salvation. You have given the Holy Spirit, without which we would not believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. You have made us Your beloved children and thus love to dote on us; giving us Your most wonderful and perfect gifts. You have sealed us with the cross of Christ and have engraved our names in the book of Life. Oh God, there is none other worthy of the title, the King of Glory and therefore, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven, we join in singing Your unending praise…
The Heart of a Pastor 