The central thing we do is worship, but it’s important to underline what we mean. Worship is not in the first instance praise; worship is surrender. The word often translated “worship” literally means to bow down or kneel, and it is often coupled with other words that mean the same thing: “Oh come, let us worship [bow down] and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker” (Ps. 95:6). Worship acknowledges the holiness of God and trembles before Him: “Exalt the Lord our God, and worship [bow down] at His holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy” (Ps. 99:9). 

Worship means coming into the presence of the King of the Universe at His summons and laying everything that we are before Him: “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service/worship. And be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:1-2). In Christian worship, the King of the Universe summons His servants to appear before Him. We are beloved servants, but we are servants nevertheless. He has purchased us with His blood. All that we are, body and soul, belongs to Him. Our money is His, our time is His, our house is His, our children are His, our marriage is His, our work is His. This is what it means to call Him “Lord/Master.” We gather to hear His authoritative Word with reverence and godly fear, and we are sent out to obey. 

This is why worship is central. We are servants of the Lord Jesus. We are under orders. He rescued us from sin and death and Hell, and He is worthy. We are here this morning to acknowledge that. We are here to bow down before Him. We are here to say that we are completely at His service. So this is the Call to Worship. We’re about to kneel down in just a moment to confess our sins: do not just go through that motion. Kneel before Your Maker. Surrender everything to Him in true humility and say, like Isaiah, “here I am, send me.”

Toby Sumpter – May 5, 2024

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Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble. So it is not a sin to have cares and concerns. But, it is a sin to hold on to those cares and concerns. The world deals them to you. And then you must deal them to God. The Apostle Peter has said so: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). This is the plague of the prideful man: He’s doomed to carry around his cares. They are too important. And he is too important, to hand them over to any other.

Now there is a difference between casting your cares upon  mighty God, and simply unzipping your anxiety luggage before Him in prayer, only to zip it back up and take it with you after you have spoken with Him. “Why Lord, don’t I feel the freedom of being carefree?” “Well,” He replies, “That freedom would require you actually handing them over.”

You might object to this with something like, “Well, I simply want to be responsible. I want to make a plan. I like fixing problems.” That’s fine and good. The problem is not you taking responsibility. It is the weight, the stress, the worry, then the coping mechanisms, and the way you are trying to manipulate the people around you to solve whatever trouble you are all twisted up about. All of that goes away when you hand the care itself over to the Mighty One.

But, you cannot merely go to the Lord for advice about dealing with your worries. There must be an actual transaction. You must hand Him your worries, and He will hand you His peace.

Jared Longshore – May 5, 2024

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One notable distinctive of our worship is our joyful singing of the psalms. This is often one of the first things mentioned by visitors to our churches, for it is both attractive but also simply really peculiar. Now of course this is not a practice that we have made up, but is rather part of our inheritance in the Reformed tradition and as God’s people. And so this morning I want to offer two simple reasons behind why we sing psalms in our worship services. 

First, the Psalter is a divinely-inspired book of 150 songs given by God to His church. It would be foolish to neglect in our worship songs that we know God is absolutely pleased to hear. As John Calvin wrote, “when we sing psalms we can be sure that God Himself has put the words in our mouths, as though He Himself were singing in us to the praise of His glory.” The Spirit wrote these words, and so we have the privilege of offering them back to our Lord in song. 

The second reason is this: the psalms are fitting for biblical worship. The writer of Hebrews calls us to worship “with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28b–29). When put to appropriate music, the psalms are up for this task, as they most accurately reflect the character of God and His will. Following the Apostle Paul’s admonition to be “fervent in spirit, serving the Lord” (Rom. 12:11), the psalms offer God’s people the opportunity to sing songs that are both formal and lively, and that express a zealous and militant joy. 

If the church is to conquer the nations with the gospel, the Psalter then is an excellent battle hymnal for the frontlines—whether in corporate worship, our homes, or in the town square. 

So let us hear and heed the words of Psalm 95,
“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
and let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” 

Shawn Paterson – April 28, 2024

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Feminine virtues are under serpentine assault. Our culture is spraying the fields of femininity with herbicides of laziness, immodesty, and impudence. This salting of the fields is deceptively heralded as liberation. But wherever the Gospel takes root it becomes a vineyard in which both male and female virtues grow and flourish. A woman who trusts in Christ and obeys His Word is called a virtuous woman, and such a woman becomes praiseworthy. Our culture insists that women need to be praised simply for being women; Scripture teaches that praise is reserved for a woman who can be described as virtuous.

What does that little word contain? A whole lot, it turns out. A virtuous woman, among other things, is marked by hard-work, attentiveness to her own sphere while keeping her nose out of others’, and a contentment which gives no place to guilt, shame, and insecurity.

Many of you moms are hard-working women. But perhaps you’ve grown frazzled with the grind of diapers, school runs, disciplining the toddler, art assignments, prepping meals that are half-eaten, disciplining the toddler, mopping up a spill, laundry, gardening, helping a teen with homework, meal planning, and disciplining the toddler again.

Leaning against the feminine vices of our age––like laziness and self-centered self-care––isn’t a summons to having a frazzled soul. Some days the dishes don’t get done, but this doesn’t mean that you’ve failed to honor the Lord. It isn’t self-centered to take a quick inventory with your husband of both your chores and the standards for them. Make sure your standards are attainable and realistic; make adjustments during various life-seasons. What does it profit a woman to clean all her baseboards but lose her soul? By God’s grace you will find strength for all the duties, wisdom in managing the margins, and contentment in fulfilling your duties. This is how virtuous women become praiseworthy, and in due time, get the baseboards cleaned.

Ben Zornes – April 28, 2024

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