UNTIL

The whole life of man until he is converted to Christ is a ruinous labyrinth of wanderings. --- John Calvin

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience ---- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of he body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath....  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses , made us alive together with Christ...for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:1- 5, 10).

A hymn to read, sing, play, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Grace! 'Tis a Charming Sound (Philip Doddridge, 1755).  

POWER

The fact that Jesus Christ is to come again is not a reason for star-gazing, but for working the power of the Holy Ghost. -- Charles Spurgeon

And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven (Acts 1:10-11).

If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).

In Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit(Ephesians 2:22).

A hymn to read, sing, play, hum or whistle to the glory of God: Rejoice, All Ye Believers (Laurentius Lourenti), 1700.  

KINDNESS

Sow kindness; reap good memories. ---- pgs

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." Therefore, welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God (Romans 15:6-7). 

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends(I Corinthians 13:4-8a).

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you(Ephesians s4:32).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: O God of Mercy, God of Might (Robert Murray, 1898)

HAS

We have much more to receive, but God has not more to give than He has given in Jesus Christ [John R. W. Stott].

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption (I Corinthians 1:1:28-30).  

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: How Vast the Benefits Divine. Augustus Toplady, 1774.

GOD'S

God's sovereign love. The whole world is ordered and arranged to match and meet the needs of the people of God. --- J. Alec Motyer

And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way (Ephesians 1:22-23).

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:28 - 31a).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Though Troubles Assail Us (John Newton, 1779).

ELECT

From eternity to eternity there is never a time when God does not know and love His elect children. ---- pgs

 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

 

YES,BUT

Q: If Christ did not live a perfect life and die a substitutionary death and rise from the dead, what would we poor sinners do?

 

A: We would all die and go to hell, we would never enjoy fellowship with God nor with each other, we could never rejoice over lost souls coming to God, we would never know the joy of serving Him, we would never know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, we would never know the grace and forgiveness of God, we would have false hope or no hope...."we would be children destined for wrath...."

 -Anonymous 

Yes, but....

 

"....but God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming age He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith . And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God...." ---- Ephesians 2:4-9a.

 

WORKMANSHIP

The life of holiness is the life of faith in which the believer with a deepening knowledge of his own sin and helplessness apart from Christ's work, increasingly casts himself upon the Lord, and seeks the power of the Spirit and the wisdom and comfort of the Bible to battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil. --- Edmund P. Clowney, The Church, p. 89.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience --- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses,  made us alive together with Church --- by grace you have been saved --- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the  immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepare beforehand that should walk in them (Ephesians 2:1-10).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God:

Christ of All My Hopes the Ground, Ralph Wardlaw, 1817.

HE

Whatever point of compass the wind is in, it is fulfilling God's Word, and turns about by His counsel. ---- Matthew Henry

God the great Creator of all things, does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy (from the Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 5-1).

-- He upholds all things by the word of His power (read Hebrews 1:3 and its context).

-- He does according to His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth... (read and meditate on Daniel 4:34ff. and the context, and Psalm 135:6 and the context).

--- He determined all the circumstances of all our days, and does whatever He wishes - in Him we live and move and have our being...(read and think about Acts 17:25-28, and Matthew 10:29-31). Meditate also upon Psalm 15:3; 104:24; 145:17; Acts 15:18; Ephesians 1:11. 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah (from Psalm 148:1-13).

GIFT

No person is good enough to deserve any of God's blessings; salvation is the free gift of God's unmerited grace to sinners. --- pgs

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior (Titus 3:5-6).

For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God ---- not by works, so that no one can boast  (Ephesians 2:8-9).

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God:

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing (Robert Robinson, 1758). 

ELECTION

 If God did not choose some men without conditions, no man would ever choose God under any condition. ---- John Blanchard.

 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide (John 15:16).

 

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).  

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: 'Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee (Josiah Cander, 1836).

UNITY

Unity in the Faith.  Nothing does so much harm to the cause of religion as the quarrels of Christians. -- J. C. Ryle

 

I therefore...urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit...(Ephesians 4:1-4a)

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: How Beautiful the Sight (James Montgomery, 1771-1854).

GRACE

The essence of Christian theology is grace . The essence of Christian ethics is gratitude. ---- Georgia Settle*

 

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not  your own doing,  it is the gift of God(Ephesians 2:8-9).

 

 O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; because His mercy endures forever. Let them now that fear the LORD say, that His mercy endures forever (Psalm 118:1, 4).

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us.Dorothy Ann Thrupp, 1836.

 

*On this day in 1956, Georgia and I were married (57 years ago!). Today's hymn was sung at our wedding.

ALIVE

All that I was, my sin, my guilt,

   My death, was all my own;

All that I am I owe to Thee,

   My gracious God, alone. ---- Horatio Bonar

 

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked...and were by nature the children of wrath....  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ ---- by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:1, 3, 5, 8-9).

 

For you are a people holy to the LORD our God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession...  It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your father... (Deuteronomy 9:6-8a).

TRUSTING

Trusting a Sovereign God. Once you walk through the door of love into the massive, unshakable structure of Romans 8:28 everything changes. There come into your life stability and depth and freedom. You simply can't be blown over any more. The confidence that a sovereign God governs for your good all the pain and all the pleasure that you will ever experience is an incomparable refuge and security and hope and power in your life. When God's people really live by the future grace of Romans 8:28 --- from measles to the mortuary --- they are the freest and strongest and most generous people in the world. ---- John Piper

 

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to HIs purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Romans 8:26-30. See also Ephesians 3:14-21.)

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle, to the glory of God: O Rejoice in he Lord.  

Two Testaments

The two Testaments are the two lips by which God has spoken to us. 

---- Thomas Watson

 

Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them. If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead (Luke 16:29-31).

 

And are built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20).

 

Our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand...as...do...the other Scriptures (II Peter 3:15-16). 

 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: O God of Light, Your Word, a Lamp Unfailing. "From days of old, through swiftly rolling ages, You have revealed Your will to mortal men, speaking to saints, to prophets, kings, and sages, who wrote the message with immortal pen (second stanza)."

Controversy

 The devil's master stroke is that of dividing forces that ought to stand together. ---- G. Campbell Morgan

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:1-3). 

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment (I Corinthians 1:10). 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of  God: Blest Be the Tie That Binds

     Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.  

Seeing Life as Christ Sees It

It is not the eye that sees the beauty of the heaven, nor the ear that hears the sweetness of music or the glad tidings of a prosperous occurrence, but the soul, that perceives all the relishes of sensual and intellectual perfections; and the more noble and excellent the soul is, the greater and more savory are its perceptions. ---- Jeremy Taylor

But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25-28). 

("...for the fruit of life is found in all that is good and true) (Ephesians 5:9). 

Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things...practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:5-9). 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST MY SAVIOR.

Christlikeness

A true saint is a divine landscape or picture, where all the beauties of Christ are lively portrayed and drawn forth. He has the same judgment, the same will with Christ. Thomas Watson. 

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith ---- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:14-19). 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of Christ: MORE ABOUT JESUS WOULD I KNOW

The Church

Good morning!

The excellence of the church does not consist in multitude but in purity. John Calvin.

...but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:21-22). 

A hymn to read, sing, hum, or whistle to the glory of God: GLORIOUS THINGS OF THEE ARE SPOKEN (Trinity Hymnal 345). 

Sunday, August 24, 1997: Southern Cities String Quartet in Concert at the First United Methodist Church of Long Beach for the Summer Sunday Concert Spectacular Program.

Christine Ho, Violin
Oliver Truong, Violin
Melissa Bowers, Viola
Anthony Aviguetero, Cello

The theme of this piece is also recognized as the:
- Christian Hymn, "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken" with lyrics composed by John Newton
- German National Anthem