I love to hear believers talk about Jesus.
Sunday at church, in the middle of the service our music minister invited us to proclaim the names of Jesus over the congregation. As the piano softly played, people began to declare who it was that they worshiped: "Redeemer," "Savior," "The coming One,"
"The Lamb who was slain," "Prophet, Priest, and King," "I AM"
As I was listening to this, I thought about how beautiful it is to hear the way that Christ unifies his church. These people were from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different stages of life, but they all loved the one whom they were describing. They all had fellowship in the Son, and thus were intimately connected.
They love to sing to him because they are sinners, and when they sing to him, they sing to their redeemer. As the song that we sang next declares, "to those who mourn for sin," his name is "most blessed." Therefore, "Praise we must, the grace which gave us Jesus Christ, the Sinners' friend."
This focus on God in Christ will be what unifies the church forever.
Our pastor preached on the nature of the gospel, and toward the end of his sermon he quoted a sermon by Jonathan Edwards called "God Glorified in Man's Dependence," in which Edwards muses on the way that God will consume the affections of his saints in eternity.
Yes, Lord, come quickly.
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The Edwards sermon is the first sermon in the second volume of the Banner of Truth 2 volume Works of Edwards. You can also find the sermon online. The Full Title of the Sermon is "God Glorified in the work of Redemption, by the Greatness of Man's Dependence upon him in the whole of it". This was the first Edwards Sermon that I ever read (5 years ago). The part quoted has been seared into my mind ever since. When I first read this passage I was stopped by the profundity I was encountering. It was when I was re-reading it for the third time that day that I realized I was in the presence of a soul deeper and greater than mine.
Sunday at church, in the middle of the service our music minister invited us to proclaim the names of Jesus over the congregation. As the piano softly played, people began to declare who it was that they worshiped: "Redeemer," "Savior," "The coming One,"
"The Lamb who was slain," "Prophet, Priest, and King," "I AM"
As I was listening to this, I thought about how beautiful it is to hear the way that Christ unifies his church. These people were from different backgrounds, different ethnicities, different stages of life, but they all loved the one whom they were describing. They all had fellowship in the Son, and thus were intimately connected.
They love to sing to him because they are sinners, and when they sing to him, they sing to their redeemer. As the song that we sang next declares, "to those who mourn for sin," his name is "most blessed." Therefore, "Praise we must, the grace which gave us Jesus Christ, the Sinners' friend."
This focus on God in Christ will be what unifies the church forever.
Our pastor preached on the nature of the gospel, and toward the end of his sermon he quoted a sermon by Jonathan Edwards called "God Glorified in Man's Dependence," in which Edwards muses on the way that God will consume the affections of his saints in eternity.
The glorious excellencies and beauty of God will be what will forever entertain the minds of the saints, and the love of God will be their everlasting feast. The redeemed will indeed enjoy other things; they will enjoy the angels, and will enjoy one another; but that which they shall enjoy in the angels, or each other, or in any thing else whatsoever that will yield them delight and happiness, will be what shall be seen of God in them.It is on Sundays like these that I can almost sense the Spirit and the Bride say, "Come."
Yes, Lord, come quickly.
---
The Edwards sermon is the first sermon in the second volume of the Banner of Truth 2 volume Works of Edwards. You can also find the sermon online. The Full Title of the Sermon is "God Glorified in the work of Redemption, by the Greatness of Man's Dependence upon him in the whole of it". This was the first Edwards Sermon that I ever read (5 years ago). The part quoted has been seared into my mind ever since. When I first read this passage I was stopped by the profundity I was encountering. It was when I was re-reading it for the third time that day that I realized I was in the presence of a soul deeper and greater than mine.
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