O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!

A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes, does various unessential things, and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas 

Thanksgiving (4)

Some people complain that God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses on thorns.”

—Anonymous

Were there no God, we would be in this glorious world with grateful hearts:and no one to thank.

—Christina Rossetti, 1830-1894

Thanksgiving (3)

Grace (eucharis) is what we receive.  Thanksgiving (eucharistia) is the Grace that we give back to the Father.

—David W. Torrance, “The Word of God in Worship,” Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology 1 (1983):11-16

Thanksgiving (2)

Thankful self-offering to the true God in response to His mercies is reasonable, right-minded worship. [Romans 12:1]

—Michael B. Thompson, “Romans 12.1–2 and Paul’s Vision for Worship” in A Vision for the Church, ed. Markus Bockmuehl & Michael B. Thompson, 125

Thanksgiving

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”

—Colossians 2:6-7

Only God

Worship is a transitive verb. This isn’t a lesson in English grammar, it is a vital issue in biblical theology and in Christian living. Worship is a transitive verb! That is, it demands an object. And the only the object it will tolerate in biblical religion is the object God. So, when someone says, “O, I just come to worship God,” I wonder whether they really have got clarity about the object of our worship. It is God and no other. That’s what worship is really all about; it can never be divorced from the God who is its only object.

—Eric Alexander, “Worship God! (Rev. 19:10)” (sermon)

Real Life

What is this one life, so brief, given to me by God for? I tell you, my dear friends, it’s for Him. It’s for Him, and you will never really discover yourself or your destiny until you’ve discovered that: that’s for Him, and so that you might offer your life to Him to be a means of bringing Him glory and honor.

—Eric Alexander, “Worship God! (Rev. 19:10)” (sermon)