QUOTABLES: Worship & more

CHRISTMAS 1944 in Berlin

ronmanwri — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 04:37:32 +0000

Ilse Shaffer, a former missionary now with the Lord, grew up in Berlin during World War II and wrote about Christmas 1944 in that city. How prone we are to look back at all the people in Nazi Germany as “the enemy” and never consider the plight of Christians there. (Note: The “Christmas Trees” she mentions was the ironic label given by Germans to the incendiary markers dropped by Allied planes to target an area for the bombers.)

Would there really be Christmas again? Was this the time to celebrate? Where did all the people live that one saw in the streets, the overcrowded streetcars and buses? (So many buildings were destroyed.) Our army in the east was defeated. The Russians were in East Prussia and the Allies were getting close to the western border. We could no longer trust our news, but we knew the end was not too far away.

And now Christmas was approaching, the celebration of the coming of the Prince of Peace; my heart was bitter toward God. What did it mean this Christmas message: “Peace on earth?” There was no peace. This was the sixth Christmas since the war began, and still no peace. Where was God in all the destruction, the dying, the bombing? We saw the first refugees from the east, pulling a little cart with their few possessions, walking in this cold winter, walking, walking, walking, telling us horror stories of murder and rapes by Russian soldiers. “Peace on Earth”??? What would the next months bring? The bombing had not stopped; it got worse, day and night, day and night.

There were no lights in the streets, not many goods on the shelves, only at night the sky was lit up by the “Christmas Tree” bright lights that came down from heaven. The U.S. bombers were coming. If those lights shone over us or near us, we knew we were the targets of their bombs. We better get ready for it. We had not seen any Christmas trees for sale; we had better forget about Christmas. Then, the last day before the holidays my father had found a big branch of a tree about three feet tall. We rejoiced. What shall we do with it? Cut it up, put it in a vase? I found a big flower pot, filled it with sand, cut off the lower branches which I fastened to the trunk to make it look like a tree. The main branch was not quite straight. So I took a walking stick from my father, stuck it in the sand in the flower pot and gave the branch more support. It looked more and more like a Christmas tree. The clear old ornaments were fastened to the branches. There was our Christmas tree!

I cannot remember any presents. My mother raised rabbits, at least one gave its life so we could enjoy meat, but the real Christmas to us was when we all walked to church and heard the Christmas story. How different it sounded this year. Mary and Joseph, tired and hungry, could not find a place to live—so many people’s homes were bombed, they could not find a place to live—God understood. The baby Jesus had no bed, slept in a manger—our soldiers had to sleep on the floor, on straw or hay. God understood. Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus had to leave in a hurry, fleeing Herod—whole families: we saw grandparents, mothers and children, fleeing from home—God understood. How close God was—He was rejected, poor, in danger. His suffering had begun with His birth. He was one of us. Peace, the peace of God, filled our hearts. Christmas took on new meaning—He understood.

Savior of the Nations, Come

ronmanwri — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:45:32 +0000

Savior of the nations, come,
Show yourself, the virgin’s son.
Marvel heaven, wonder earth,
That our God chose such a birth.

Not by human power or seed
Did the woman’s womb conceive;
Only by the Spirit’s breath
Was the Word of God made flesh.

Mary then was found with child,
Still a virgin, chaste and mild.
God had favored her with grace
To receive the Prince of Peace.

Christ laid down his majesty,
Passed through dark Gethsemane.
Though he left his Father’s home,
Christ now sits on God’s own throne.

Christ in glory intercede
For your creatures’ suffering need.
Let your resurrecting power
Soon complete the victory hour.

Praise to you, O Lord, we sing.
Praise to Christ, our newborn King!
With the Father, Spirit, one,
Let your lasting kingdom come.
—
Text: Ambrose, 4th cent., and Martin Luther, 1523;
Translation. Calvin Seerveld, 1984

Some Rich Last Verses to Add to “Come Thou Fount”

ronmanwri — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:01:45 +0000

A couple of options:

1. The last verse of “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” by Charles Wesley (same meter, work fine)

Finish then Thy new creation, pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see Thy great salvation perfectly restored in Thee:
Change from glory into glory, till in heav’n we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee, lost in wonder love and praise. [I especially like that last phrase]

2. A new verse penned by Bob Kauflin:

Oh that day when freed from sinning
I shall see Thy lovely face;
Full arrayed in blood-washed linen
How I’ll sing Thy sovereign grace.
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry,
Bring Thy promises to pass;
For I know Thy pow’r will keep me
Till I’m home with Thee at last.

A Prayer

ronmanwri — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:10:25 +0000

Grant us, we beseech Thee, Almighty and most merciful God, fervently to desire, wisely to search out and perfectly to fulfil, all that is well-pleasing unto Thee this day. Order Thou our worldly condition to the glory of Thy Name; and, of all that Thou requires us to do, grant us the knowledge, the desire, and the ability, that we may so fulfil it as we ought; and may our path to Thee, we pray, be safe, straightforward, and perfect to the end.

Give us, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy affection may drag downwards; give us an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; give us an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, understanding to know Thee, diligence to seek Thee, wisdom to find thee, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace Thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

–Thomas Aquinas

Pentecost Readings

ronmanwri — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:46:09 +0000

CALL TO WORSHIP

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Come and worship God the Father.

He raised the Jesus from the dead by the Holy Spirit,

to reign at his right hand in majesty.

And he makes us his royal priesthood to reign with him!

Glory to God in the highest!

Come and worship God the Son.

He poured out his life unto death for us.

And he rose again to pour out his Holy Spirit upon us!

Glory to God in the highest!

Come and worship God the Holy Spirit.

He breathed life into creation in the beginning,

and brings our broken, dead world back to life again.

And he brings us into one body in Christ

with love that breaks through all barriers

of tribe and tongue, culture and color!

Glory to God in the highest!

Let us worship God through the Spirit of our risen Lord.

Amen!

CONFESSION OF SIN

Our exalted Lord Jesus,

you poured out your Holy Spirit upon your church

to fill us with new life and power to love you and serve you.

We confess that we resist and grieve your Spirit,

rejecting the truth of your word that he illumines for us,

refusing to glorify you as he directs us.

We love the way of death and slavery to sin

rather than true freedom and life in your Spirit;

we act in hatred, immorality, and anger

and not in the righteousness, peace, and joy of your Spirit.

Have mercy on us, and forgive us all of our sins.

Renew us and lead us by your Holy Spirit,

so that we may be filled with all life and power that you have promised to us.

–Michael A. Farley

A Father’s Day Prayer

ronmanwri — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 04:16:51 +0000

Minister: Our Father in heaven, on this Father’s Day, we are once again reminded that You have revealed in Your Word who You are to us.

People: You are not only our Creator, our Ruler, our Lord, but a Father to us.

Minister: You established family and appointed men to be heads of their households and earthly representations of You.

People: Thank you for the precious gift of fathers.

Minister: We pray for men who have courageously assumed this sacred role of reflecting who You are on earth.

People: Would You father them, mentor them, and give them hearts like Yours?

Minister: When they face the difficult task of teaching their children to walk upright:

People: Would You help them not to be afraid to discipline, yet to be known by their children for their compassion, tenderness, mercy, and wisdom?

Minister: When they are engaged in the spiritual battles of keeping their families faithful:

People: Would You anoint them to be warriors of prayer, defenders of the Truth, and guardians of the faith of their children’s souls?

Minister: When they are bombarded with the lies of the world that portrays a twisted view of what a father should be:

People: Would You enable them to hold their ground, make them light in darkness, and living examples of Yourself to this Fatherless world?

Minister: O Father, You know the hidden fears fathers have, when they are unable to provide and protect due to loss of income or health, or the increase of needs:

People: Would You grant them understanding children, free them from the pride of self-reliance, and help them find strength as fathers by putting trust in You?

Minister: We pray for fathers who are striving to balance the demands of work, marriage, children and Kingdom service with both joy and sacrifice.

People: Would You bless their efforts and reward them with the fruits of their labor?

Minister: We pray, on this day, specifically for the spiritual fathers of the church, our elders and leaders, for You know the weighty tasks they are confronted with daily.

People: Would uphold them, sustain them, help them walk blamelessly before You, and grow in them knowledge and understanding of Your Truth, so that they may effectively father and shepherd those under their care.

Minister: And we pray for ourselves who have all been fathered.

People: Would you teach us how we may best love, honor, support and take care of our fathers, in prayer and in deed? Help us overlook their short-comings but carry on those legacies that are of eternal value. Amen.

–Virginia Yip

Wrong Approaches to Leading Worship

ronmanwri — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 00:55:03 +0000

Think of yourself as a spiritual engineer.
Lead worship that reinforces narcissism rather than challenging it.
Shy away from naming the folly of life apart from God. Hold back from telling all of God’s wonderful deeds (Psalm 73:28).

–John D. Witvliet, “Worship in a Beatitude-Shaped World: Learning from Psalm 73,” Reformed Worship 100 (June 2011), 6

Right Approaches to Leading Worship

ronmanwri — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 00:53:12 +0000

Desire to worship God, not to worship worship.
Realize that we don’t engineer the spiritual value of worship but receive it as a gift.
Realize that—by the Spirit’s power—worship is formative, not merely expressive; it changes our perspective, shapes our desires, corrects our vision.
Long for the Holy Spirit to work through our preaching and praying, tasting and seeing, to convert and sanctify us.
Be convinced that worship at its best immerses us in a countercultural world that fits the second rather than the first half of Psalm 73.

–John D. Witvliet, “Worship in a Beatitude-Shaped World: Learning from Psalm 73,” Reformed Worship 100 (June 2011), 6

Providence

ronmanwri — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:39:21 +0000

“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13

It is not the vast bulk of an estate, but the vigilant care of divine providence that guards you from the stroke of ruin. The providence of God around us is the solid basis of all sanctified and durable prosperity. His providence enfolds all who bear his image in everlasting arms. He will advance you higher, and secure you better than any noble birth or estate could ever do. The delight and pleasure resulting from the observation of divine providence is very great. It would doubtless be a part of our entertainment in heaven to view with transporting delight how the designs and methods were laid to bring us there.

Providence not only brings you to heaven, it brings heaven to your soul now. God is providentially steering all to the port of his own praise and his people’s happiness, while the whole world is busily employed in managing the sails and tugging at the oars with a quite opposite design and purpose. They promote God’s design by opposing it, fulfil his will be resisting it, and enlarge his church by scattering it. They make the saint’s rest sweeter by making their condition so restless in the world.

What a history we might compile, as we trace the footsteps of providence along the way. Here it prevented, and there it delivered. Here it directed, and there it corrected. Here it grieved, and there it relieved. Here was the poison, and there, the antidote. This providence dispelled a dismal cloud. This one straitened, and that one enlarged. Here a want, and there a supply.

Words cannot express what delight we may find in such an employment. O reader, what a life of pleasure you might live by noticing the ways of providence towards you! What a heaven upon earth you may have! Taste and see the glory of the study of providence.

–John Flavel (1627-1691)

The Wonder of the Incarnation

ronmanwri — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 07:09:20 +0000

Welcome, all Wonders in one sight!
Eternity shut in a span.
Summer in winter, day in night,
Heaven in earth, and God in man.
Great little One! Whose all-embracing birth
Lifts earth to heaven, stoops heaven to earth.

To Thee, meek Majesty! soft King
Of simple graces and sweet loves.
Each of us his lamb will bring,
Each his pair of silver doves;
Till burnt at last in fire of Thy fair eyes,
Ourselves become our own best sacrifice.

–from “Hymn to the Nativity: A Song Sung by Shepherds” by Richard Crashaw (1613-1649)