This video is a live version of that song, put together by Sovereign Grace Ministries, whose music publishing arm published and recorded the song.

You can download the song or the entire album here.

Sovereign Grace Music:  Songs we have used from here include The Lord Is, Out of the Depths, Glorious and Mighty, Let Your Kingdom Come (we learned this for the missions conference this past fall), O Great God, Completely Done (which we recently learned), Oh the Deep, Deep Love, Receive the Glory, and several others.  On their website you can find song and album downloads; free lyric, guitar, and lead sheets; and super cheap piano sheet music.

Indelible Grace Music:  Songs like The Love of Christ Is Rich and Free, Sovereign Grace O’er Sin Abounding, His Love Can Never Fail.  This group specializes in setting old texts to new music, and for the most part they do a great job.  We will be introducing more of these songs in the coming year, so buy a couple of their albums and be ahead of the game!

Matthew Smith:  He is a principal member of Indelible Grace, and has recorded a few albums as a solo artist.  My Lord I Did Not Choose You is an old text he set to music; his album All I Owe is excellent.

Red Mountain Music:  Similar to Indelible Grace in that they take old texts and set them to new music.  We have not done any songs by them (that I can recall, at least), but you could expect some to come.

Getty Music:  Keith & Kristen Getty, along with Stuart Townend, write some of the best hymn-like songs being produced today.  In Christ Alone, The Power of the Cross, O Church Arise, and Beneath the Cross are just a few of their songs.  They don’t have as many free materials, but you can find their albums on the website, and they are certainly worth the money to own.  The newest album, Awaken the Dawn, is really, really good.  We’ll be introducing a song or two from that album soon, hopefully.

Sandra McCracken:  Her album The Builder and the Architect is all hymns, and is very beautiful.  She has written and recorded with Indelible Grace; she wrote the music for both “The Love of Christ Is Rich and Free” and “Sovereign Grace O’er Sin Abounding.”

I hope these links are a help to you.  A point that I didn’t make so strongly or clearly Wednesday is that because music is so powerful for teaching, not only should we be careful what we sing when we’re together as a congregation, but we should also be careful what we listen to.  Christian radio certainly has its place, but beware songs that make you “feel good” without containing much truth.  I believe these sources for music are a great place to start in finding music to listen to that is both enjoyable and edifying.  And I hope songs like these will help to shape us more and more into people who love the truth of the Gospel, and the God of the Gospel, above all else.

The following is from Ron Pierre, board President for Baptist Haiti Mission:

So many of you are inquiring regarding the situation in Haiti and particularly at the mission. I’ve just now been able to make telephone contact with one of our missionaries, Chris Lieb at Baptist Haiti Mission. Thankfully, the connection was clear and intact long enough for me to inquire as to the current situation. I honestly do not know where to start, the conditions in Haiti are desperate and deteriorating by the moment in spite of all that we hear relative to the aid that is “pouring in” from the US and other countries. I am simply going to list some of the things he was able to relate to me without regard to sequence. Those of you who have been there and/or are familiar with the compound in Fermathe will better understand the conditions, however, all of you will gain a sense of the severity of what our people face.

* Our hospital is filled with people 250-300 people lying in the halls, many, many with serious injuries that need immediate attention, more people outside and surrounding areas with a constant flow coming in.

* Our doctors are exhausted, most all of our staff are assigned to the hospital.

* Thousands of people sleeping in the park just below in Petion-Ville, afraid to return to their homes.

* At least 10 to 15 thousand people are sleeping in the park near the airport with roving gangs of hoodlums attempting to steal whatever “aid” arrives before it gets to the helpless people.

* People all along the roads with serious injuries, multiple fractures and puncture wounds; bleeding and unattended.

* Chris passed women grasping their dying children in their arms, after a while it becomes overwhelming because there is not a thing that you can do about it..

* Countless small children wandering about without any parents or adult oversight.

* The initial stunned calm that was over the population is rapidly turning to despair and in many cases anger. There is a real danger of things turning very ugly, potentially for those who are beginning to arrive to help.

* For most of the “search and rescue” people that have arrived or will arrive, it will be far, far too late to save lives. The stench of death everywhere and is overwhelming. Many places have seen no help whatsoever.

* There are piles of bodies in many roads and some have become “roadblocks” in and of themselves. [Haiti]

* Many people are simply in shock, most have lost at least one or more family members.

* Vehicles are abandon, roads are blocked or down to one tight lane as large chucks of the mountain have fallen.

* Chris gave out about 100 very large heavy duty tarps today to be used as temporary shelters and it got very ugly as the last ones were dispersed. The actual process of giving out aid is going to be quite dangerous the longer it takes to reach the people.

* There appears to be no oversight of the “teams” arriving. They are equipped but do not know where to go or how to get there. It may improve but it is going to continue to be a big problem.

* Medical supplies are running low at our hospital; I asked for a list of the supplies that they need we can be a bit more specific in our requests when aid does arrive.

* We have a need for anesthesiologists and orthopedic surgeons. Any medical personnel would be a blessing.

* Chris commented that he has seen things over the past several days that he hoped he would never see and would chose never to see again.

* Many people are simply walking around in what is really clinical shock.

* Everything is closed down; no stores, no markets, water is in tight supply and is running out fast.

* People walk up and down the mountain just looking for their families; there is no transportation.

* The Samaritans Purse people were supposed to arrive today with Greta Van Susteren of FOXNews.com. The plane circled for about an hour but could not land. They returned to Miami.

* The same was true for several other planes caring supplies and aid for the mission. We desperately need a pump and water filters that are coming in.

* All in all, there are no words to describe what is taking place, the TV news gives inadequate for those of you who know Haiti, the conditions, the culture, the people.

* Two of our churches in PAP have been completely destroyed, we do not have reports on the many churches in outlying rural areas yet.

* Most every school in PAP is destroyed, personnel killed. It will be a long, long time before there will be any schools in PAP.

* Our chaplains have been ministering to every single person who comes to the hospital; scripture is read and they pray with each and every one. We do have some very dedicated people.

* Our mission families are all accounted for and remain uninjured; we need to uphold them in prayer during these times. God certainly gives the strength and grace when needed. They recognize that the tasks before them are humanly impossible; They also recognize that prayer is the greatest asset they have in this trial.

* We are trying to keep the website current with pictures, video, and various other feeds . . . . go to www.bhm.org. It may be a bit slow due to traffic but it does function. [Haiti] Our thanks to all of you who have inquired, emailed, called, and written and otherwise displayed your love and concern, this has been equally overwhelming! It is now almost 2:00 am Friday morning EST and time ready ourselves for a new day. Again, I close with Psalm 20, verses 1 and 2: “May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob protect you! May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Zion!” –R.A.Pierre

(source)

“Snares of My Own Arrogance”

I automatically and continually think in one of two ways that are snares of my own arrogance.

I convince myself that I am able to save myself by working hard and being good. This usually means pushing me above others, obsessing about others’ deficiencies and demanding total conformity to my personal standards from them. It can also mean falsely reconciling God’s standard to my life. “I am obviously OK, so God must be like me, and His standards must be like mine.”
Ironically, I can also catch myself in a snare of arrogance by feeling utterly overwhelmed by defeat and discouragement over my sinfulness; for example, when my behavior falls below my expectations for myself. As a result, I battle hopelessness and despair.

My first tactic is distraction, the second is despair – these tactics are the foundation of life in a fallen world. That is to say they arise instinctively and unthinkingly from within me (Jer. 17:9, Rom. 1:18-21) and are classic satanic discourse (Gen. 3:4, John 8:44, Rev. 12:10).

Stating the above number one and two another way -
1. I arrogantly create my own restorative process by:

Blaming / accusing others or ‘choking’ them – (Matt. 18:28, John 8:7, Rom. 2: 1-4)

·Self- justifying comparative judgment, making my standards as good, or even better than God’s standards – (Gen. 3: 6-7, 4: 1-8, Luke 15: 28-30, 18:11-17) to include self-blinding comparative judgment – (Matt. 7:1-6)

·Blinding immersion in worldly distractions to include work, possessions and family (Luke 12:16-20, 14: 16-23)

Which results in death, but I feel good about myself on the way because I elevated self as the ultimate lawmaker, judge and executioner of all others, including God – (Gen. 3:5, 4:1-9, James 4:11-12).

As Pastor John Piper puts it, “Concealed sin keeps us from seeing the light of Christ. Sin is like spiritual leprosy. It deadens your spiritual senses so that you rip your [and others] soul to shreds and don’t even feel it.”[1]

2. I arrogantly snub the Lord’s restoration process by:

Being remorseful over my own sin, rather than repenting – (Ps. 32, 2 Cor. 7:10) Implying that I know a superior or more effectual sacrifice than Christ - (Heb. 10:11-31)

This also results in death, but I feel miserable about myself on the way – (Matt. 27:3-5). Despairing of my own sin is as opposite to faith as suffocating is to breathing.

The fact is, awareness of my own wretchedness is my only access to Christ and should compel me to come to Him (John 6:29). His work is to forgive MY sin; my work is faith in Him expressed primarily by thankfully loving God and forgivingly loving others (Matt. 22: 37-40). I cannot love those I harbor bitterness toward (Matt. 18: 21-35). Bitterness toward others means I do not love God (1 John 4: 19-21).

Yes but…(insert whatever excuse I generate this moment) and then consider C.S. Lewis: “Anyone who makes excuses is not really seeking forgiveness”

Those times when I most need forgiveness of my sin, are the very times I can least comprehend my need, or His forgiveness. Only Christ can rescue me from this body of death (Rom. 7:21-25), I access Him through repentance and faith. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.” (John 3: 19-21, NASU).
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[1] Piper, John. Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. Multnomah (Chapter 3, Emphasis added)

The gospel changes our relationship with God from one of hostility or slavish compliance to one of intimacy and joy. The core dynamic of gospel–centered ministry is therefore worship and fervent prayer.

In corporate worship God’s people receive a special life-transforming sight of the worth and beauty of God, and then give back to God suitable expressions of his worth. At the heart of corporate worship is the ministry of the Word. Preaching should be expository (explaining the text of Scripture) and Christ-centered (expounding all biblical themes as climaxing in Christ and his work of salvation). Its ultimate goal, however, is not simply to teach but to lead the hearers to worship, individual and corporate, that strengthens their inner being to do the will of God.

This is what we strive for weekly in our services.  Please pray toward this end, that we might gather to both encounter our God and respond to Him rightly.  And pray for the ministry of the Word, that we would be continually strengthened in our inner being to do the will of our God.

(ht: Justin Taylor)

On the suggestion of a church member, I have been rereading the chapter on Worship from Piper’s Desiring God.  One section in particular bears sharing here.  Even if you’ve read it before, I think it will benefit you to read it again.

Piper is talking about the idea of vain worship–from Jesus’ words in Matthew 15:8-9 (to which we referred a couple weeks ago in corporate worship):  “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far form me; in vain do they worship me.”  Piper’s (and Jesus’) main contention is that in order for our worship to not be vain, our hearts–our feelings, emotions, affections–must be engaged.  In this passage he expounds the kinds of emotions that should be involved in our worship.

Worship is more than an act of mere willpower.  All the outward acts of worship are performed by acts of will.  But that does not make them authentic.  The will can be present (for all kinds of reasons) while the heart is not truly engaged (or, as Jesus says, is “far away”).  The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart.  Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead.

Now let’s be specific.  What are these feelings or affections that make the outward acts of worship authentic?  For an answer we turn to the inspired psalms and hymns of the Old Testament.  An array of different and intertwined affections may grip the heart at any time.  So the extent and order of the following list is not intended to limit the possibilities of pleasure in anyone’s heart.

Perhaps the first response of the heart at seeing the majestic holiness of God is stunned silence:  “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).  “The LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him” (Habakkuk 2:20).

In the silence rises a sense of awe and reverence and wonder at the sheer magnitude of God:  “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” (Psalm 33:8).

And because we are all sinners, there is in our reverence a holy dread of God’s righteous power.  “The LORD of hosts, him you shall regard as holy.  Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread” (Isaiah 8:13).  “I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you” (Psalm 5:7).

But this dread is not a paralyzing fright full of resentment against God’s absolute authority.  It finds release in brokenness and contrition and grief for our ungodliness:  “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise”  (Psalm 51:17).  “Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15).

Mingled with the feeling of genuine brokenness and contrition, there arises a longing for God:  “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2).  “Whom have I in heaven but you?  And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26).  “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).

God is not unresponsive to the contrite longing of the soul.  He comes and lifts the load of sin and fills our heart with gladness and gratitude.  “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.  O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Psalm 30:11-12).

But our joy does not just rise from the backward glance in gratitude.  It also rises from the forward glance in hope:  “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5-6).  “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalm 130:5).

In the end the heart longs not for any of God’s good gifts, but for God himself [emphasis added].  To see Him and know Him and be in His presence is the soul’s final feast.  Beyond this there is no quest.  Words fail.  We call it pleasure, joy, delight.  But these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience:  “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4).  “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).  “Delight yourself in the LORD” (Psalm 37:4).

These are some of the affections of the heart that keep worship from being “in vain.”  Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth.  It is not a mere act of willpower by which we perform outward acts.  Without the engagement of the heart, we do not really worship.  The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of the feelings and emotions and affections of the heart.  Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead.

True worship must include inward feelings that reflect the worth of God’s glory.  If this were not so, the word hypocrite would have no meaning.  But there is such a thing as hypocrisy–going through outward motions (like singing, praying, giving, reciting) that signify affections of the heart that are not there.  “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

I hope and pray earnestly that our worship may never be deemed vain by our Lord.  May our hearts be united to fear and love and rejoice in God together every time we gather, and throughout all of life.

You can have formal services, so long as you do not have formalism.  You can have casual services, so long as you do not approach your faith casually.  Your services can have a lot of different looks, but young people want to see passion.  They want to see us do church and follow Christ like we mean it.

We would do well to pay attention to Romans 12.  “Let love by genuine.  Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.  Love one another with brotherly affection.  Outdo one another in showing honor.  Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord” (9-11).  We would be far less likely to lose our young people and far more likely to win some others, if the spiritual temperature of our churches was something other than lukewarm.  People need to see that God is the all-consuming reality in our lives.  Our sincerity and earnestness in worship matter ten times more than the style we use to display our sincerity and earnestness. (emphasis added)

“Do not be slothful in zeal; be fervent in spirit.”  This is actually a command from the Lord.  And note the context–these verses come in Paul’s fleshing out of the directive to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice…which is your spiritual worship” (12:1).  Right worship is zealous, fervent worship.

Here is an essential point for us to understand:  Even if the services or songs or prayers take different forms of expression than you prefer, the truths we are expressing are still the same; therefore, the level of passion we express should remain the same. Our zeal and passion come not from a style of music but from the truth of the Gospel, and who God is for us in Christ.  If we can unite in passion for God in Christ, then people will clearly see that what we say and sing and express has affected us deeply.  If we can only unite in passion for a style of music or a level of formality or casualness, then people will see that what matters most to us is only superficial and no different than any group of sports fans or concertgoers.

So the next time we gather, set your sights on the Gospel, and on the God of the Gospel.  Let Him be what drives your passion.  And notice how styles and forms begin to matter less and less.

GLORIOUS GOD,

It is the flame of my life to worship You,

the crown and glory of my soul to adore You,

heavenly pleasure to approach You.

Give me power by Your Spirit to help me worship now,

that I may forget the world,

be brought into fullness of life,

be refreshed, comforted, blessed.

Give me knowledge of Your goodness

that I might not be overwhelmed by Your greatness;

Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,

that I might not be terrified,

but be drawn near with childlike love,

with holy boldness;

He is my Mediator, Brother, Interpreter,

Branch, Shepherd, Lamb;

Him I glorify,

in Him I am set on high.

Crowns to give I have none,

but what You have given I return,

content to feel that everything is mine

when it is Yours,

and more fully mine when I have yielded it to You.

Let me life wholly for my Savior,

free from distractions,

from worldly cares,

from hindrances to the pursuit of the narrow way.

I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus -

give me a new sense of it,

continue to pardon me by it,

may I come every day to the fountain,

and every day be washed anew,

that I may worship You always

in spirit and truth.

-from The Valley of Vision, ed. Arthur Bennett, ©1975 The Banner of Truth Trust.