Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Covenant Fellows to Examine Respectable Sins


After having considered what would be profitable for the Covenant Fellows (the men's group at CRF), I have settled on Jerry Bridges' book Respectable Sins. Bridges books are always highly recommended as they contain deep theology in simple terms (as a matter of fact the CRF ladies are currently studying Bridges book on the Fruit of the Spirit).

Respectable Sins certianly looks to be a probing study as the book addresses the more "acceptable" sins such as discontent, judgmentalism, and envy.

Feel free to join us Tuesday nights at 6:00 at my house (1010 Chestnut St.) whether or not you have a book. Or contact me for more information.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Great Multitude

Praise is due you, O God. For you are drawing unto yourself a people of every tribe, tongue and nation. And we who are gathered here today are only a sample of the myriads who have been appointed to salvation. Indeed, who can number the legions who have gone before us. Who can tell how many will come after us? And who can count them that now populate the earth?

But this thread binds us all, that you have ordained praise from our lips. And we unite our voices today for that very purpose: to exalt you as our God, to worship you as our Savior divine.

We praise the Father, for you have ordained us to inherit everlasting life. We praise the Son, for he has purchased us with his own blood. We praise the Spirit, for he is the guarantee of our inheritance until we gain possession of it. Blessed is our God, and blessed be his Name.

Broken Fellowship

Almighty God,

We have just confessed our common faith. We have voiced the fact that we are united in serving the true and living God. But we wish to confess how we have all failed to live up to that confession. We admit that we have acted foolishly and broken the bond of peace that is to exist among us.

Father, we are sorry for the times that we have majored in minors and have pitted ourselves against one another. Such is so unbecoming of those who belong to the household of faith. And we wish to ask your forgiveness for the times when we have failed to be gracious and forgiving.

We thank you that you are more gracious than we are, that you do not hold us to the same standard we hold others. And we pray that you would fill us with your Spirit, that we might become more like you. That in being united to Christ we would be more united to one another. That in tasting of the love of God we would be more apt to show the love, and strengthened to relish the communion of saints.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

A Confession of Sin for the Ministers of Great Lakes Presbytery

O God,

Do hear our cry, and look down from your holy height with compassion for we are poor sinners, humbled low and to the dust.

We confess to you that all too frequently we have had sleepy souls. We have been dull to the things of God and deadened to your holy ordinances. And we pray that you would forgive us or this. And we pray that you would pardon us for having conducted drowsy ministries.

O how we have lacked the fervency that is expected of us as watchmen. We have been like the disciples in the garden. We have failed to be diligent in prayer and earnestness in presenting our supplications.

Much to our shame we must also confess that this lethargy has also invaded your pulpit. Time after time we have moved our mouths to speak words, but we have not let ourselves be moved by your word. We know you can use passionless preaching—because you are God and your Word is guided by your Spirit—but that does not take away the offensiveness of our inattentiveness and the scarcity of our zeal.

But we acknowledge this sin before you, and we pray that you would cover it and all the others that accompany it. We pray that we might know the sure salvation that is in Christ, and the full pardon that comes through his blood. I pray that you might indeed impress it upon our hearts that we might be more apt to pass it on to our fellow sinners. Give us o God, a fresh taste of your grace, that we might go forth and declare it aboard. Renew our hearts and give us a holy fanaticism that burns ever so keenly.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

To Our King

God almighty,

Blessed is your Name, O God. Blessed be the Lord our God. Kings of earth bow down to you, and their kingdoms cannot compare. For you stretched out the heavens in the span of your hand and your dominion reaches from end to end.

And we gather together in this hour acknowledging that you are our God and that our citizenship is with you in heaven. We wish to proclaim our love for you and how happy we are to be under your good rule.

Most of all we bring out tribute to you. We bring our praise to honor you and render you that which you are due. So let your name be exalted and let your fame be spread from shore to shore.
Most Gracious God,

You are a Saving God, unlike any other. We thank you that you reach down and restore the fortunes of your people.

And we wish to humble ourselves before you and admit our need for Christ’s atonement and your unfailing grace. Many have been our sins, and few have been our acts of righteousness. Yet even those, our good deeds, have been sordid and polluted with all sorts of impure motives.
We admit that we do not deserve to be your children. Neither do we deserve to have access to you now. You would be just if you bolted the doors to your throne room and banned us from this place of worship.

It is amazing to us that you permit us to participate in these holy ordinances. For we are like children who play with diamonds, not knowing their true value and not giving them the regard they deserve.

But you are the God of all grace, and the one who overlooks a multitude of sins. We praise you that you call us to draw near to you. And we do that now, that we might obtain the mercy we need and forgiveness for our lack of reverence.

Moreover, we come to you to ask that you would purge our hearts of all idolatrous acts. Let us not be complacent and presume upon your goodness. But let us put off the sin that so easily entangles and run with endurance the race set before us.

And O God, we look unto Jesus, for he is the author and the perfecter of our faith. He who is now seated at your right hand is our only consolation here in this world and our only hope before your judgment seat.