Pilgrim's Progress to be Studied

In the 18th century two books could be found in most English households, the Bible and John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Bunyan’s work is considered one of the most significant books of history because it captures so succinctly the life of a Christian in story form. As Ravi Zacharias says,

"Few books besides the Bible have been translated, printed, and read as often as The Pilgrim's Progress. John Bunyan's classic allegory of Christian, the Pilgrim, on his perilous journey to the Celestial City has touched hearts and minds for more than three hundred years-and still the demand continues. Introduce a new generation to this memorable story, filled with memorable characters- Evangelist, Charity, Hypocrisy, Goodwill, Obstinate, and Mr. Worldly Wiseman.

Each one offers a unique insight into the Christian life--its joys and trials, its opportunities and struggles. You'll discover The Pilgrim's Progress to be both challenging and entertaining. Over the centuries countless souls have been transformed by John Bunyan's timeless and brilliant Pilgrim's Progress--in my estimation, one of the greatest works ever penned."

This Sunday evening (6:30) CRF will begin an in-depth study of this devotional classic. Each class will consist of reading an excerpt and discussing the truths captured in it.

One Little Word Shall Fell Him

Not even the devil himself can prevail over you. Even he must do your bidding and submit to your will. He is as a leashed dog. Though his schemes may devastate and his power on earth increase, it is only because you allow him his day. But in the end, he shall be vanquished. One little word shall fell him!

We praise you for the greatness and the power of your word. And we ask that this day we might have our fill of it. We ask that your voice would resound in our midst, that you would speak from your holy hill.

Grant that we might glory in you today and trust in your unfailing truth. Let our words be few, but yours be multiplied. Let our mouths be closed, but our ears attentive to the murmurs that have a heavenly origin.

Thank-you for granting us to be here today, that we might be your audience. And we praise you before hand for what you will do in our midst.

Christ Our Hope

Our Father in heaven,

Your law has no flaw in it. But by it we see that we abound with defects. And with every passing moment we add to these offenses.

It is because of our faults that we come to you though. We know that our only hope is in you and your unending love for us. Our greatest treasures are the wounds that Christ himself bears.

We pray O God that your eyes would not be cast upon us. But instead would Christ be substituted in our place. Would that our filth and vile acts be hid from your sight and the beauty of his holiness and the purity of his merits be the only thing that you see when you gaze our way.

Thank-you for providing for us the way of salvation. And we pray that our souls might be comforted with the assurance of your forgiveness and love. We pray that our hearts would fully rest in the abounding measure of your favor and the infinite perfection of Christ’s sacrifice.

Be praised in us O God, and allow your Spirit to have his full work.

For this we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Holy and Awesome

Though there are many things about you we cannot understand, we can’t help but marvel at you. The mystery of your being may confound us. But the majesty of your being astounds us and leads us to praise.

You are so very different from us. No one can match your greatness, for you are beyond the highest mountains. Lofty is your might and in you all power is to be found.

So also is the beauty of your character. Perfection marks your ways. There is no wrong to be found in you. Even the angels, in all their purity, even they cannot bear to lift their eyes to you.

But like them, we stand in awe of you, and we bring you our hearts today. We wish to devote ourselves to you again and remember that you are our God. We want to renew our covenant with you and worship you in holiness.

So we ask that we might be drawn into your presence. Come near to us and encompass us in your love. Allow us to taste again the sweetness of your presence.

For we ask this in the rich name of Christ our Lord,

Seeking God's Voice

This is our prayer, O God: That you might speak to us and proclaim to us your name. You have said that if we ask anything in the name of Jesus, we will receive it. You have commanded us to ask, seek and knock. And you promised that we when we ask, we shall receive. When we seek we shall find. When we knock the door will be opened.

So we come to you with simple the faith that you will honor your own word. And we pray that your voice might be heard among us today. What we want is that our hearts would hear that still small voice.

Dear Father, give us light from heaven. Pour out wisdom and knowledge. Endow us with the fear of you and fill us with the spirit of prophecy.

To that end, cause all that may distract us to be quieted. And may our hearts settle upon you. May all the things that clutter our minds be at rest and may we have undivided hearts in this time.

Speak Lord, and we will listen. Glorify yourself among us and let there be praise.

Despising God's Word

Gracious God,

We too are among that sorry number. We recognize that your anger may be kindled against us. For we too have despised your word.

Do we not show it by the way we treat it? We may listen to it from week to week. But how often do we really hear it? And how even more rare is the occasion that we heed it! Lord, we show our low esteem for it in that we do not cherish it for the rich treasure that it is. If it were to us the vast mine of wealth that it is, we would not let one nugget slip away. We would lock every utterance in the chambers of our hearts. Every jot of Scripture would be bound upon our heads and hands and hearts. But this has not been so.

God we are sorry for the times we have not listened your word or given it the reverence that it deserves. And we pray that you would pardon us for having treated it with such contempt. And we pray that the Spirit of Truth would not be taken from us. But instead we pray that he would come to us all the more powerfully and give us that high opinion of your law. And may he not just help us to admire it and attend upon it with the utmost diligence, but may he help us to walk in it and to obey it wholeheartedly.

We know that our offenses are great in this matter. But we know that your grace is great too. And this is why we come to you, for we know that the blood of Jesus is able to cover all our sins.

Praise from Zion's People

Thank-you, O God, for giving us a portion in Zion. For bringing us into that holy fellowship and numbering us among the saints in heaven.

And as we come to that holy haven this morning, we acknowledge that we have none but thee. The world’s treasures are as lasting as day lilies, here today but withering and gone before morning. But you satisfy to eternity’s end. You are an ever flowing fountain of goodness and beauty.

How happy we are because of you. How blessed we have become through you. Our lives are continually refreshed by your pity. Your grace enlivens our souls with each passing moment. Our hearts are given peace; our hands are given prosperity.

Our lips shall praise you forevermore. Our banners shall be lifted to you with gladness. Until all are gathered as one and your people drawn from their dispersions, we shall sing to you.

Breaking the Whole of the Law

Gracious and holy God,

What a perfect web is your law. Each precept rests in another. They are like the many ligaments that make up a single joint. Each relies on the other and every one finds its beginning in you.

Yet this law gives us reason to quake. It stands over and against us because of our sins. We transgress at one part, and we find ourselves condemned at every point.

But our faults are always profuse and are accompanied by several other aggregations. One sin is as a bomb. Its shrapnel causes many wounds and offenses.

How awful is our state, O God. How terrible is our frame. Though you have made us a little lower than the angels and crowned us with glory and honor, we have made ourselves beastly in our character and robed in all kinds of rubbish.

Humbled by the greatness of our sin, we come to you today. And we pray that you would look on our poor state with pity. We pray that you would lift us up out of the mire of our sins and set us again in grace. Remove the guilt that hovers over our heads and the stains that are so deeply woven into our flesh.

Let us find ourselves resting in the sweetness of Christ’s mediation and enjoying the fruits that do flow from it.

For it is in Jesus’ name only do we pray.

The Sting of Shame and Conviction

Our Lord,

Each of us here today bears not just the guilt of our sin, but also its shame. We know all too well our failings and shortcomings, and its heaviness bears us down. Deep within our spirits we feel the pains of conviction. O how we lament our weakness and sinful propensities. We despise how incredibly corrupt our flesh is. Lord, our souls ache because we quickly offend you and so easily trespass your holy law.

Lord, it is maddening. We fall prey to sin and it pounces upon us long before we have time to think about fending off the temptation. And then the pains of grief, frustration and sorrow berate us. They linger over our hearts as dark clouds. Perhaps Lord, Satan’s greatest victory over us is not so much getting us to stumble into sin, but in making us to languish in it.

This is why we look to you, O God. For you are the only cure for our miserable condition. You yourself have said that a broken spirit dies up the bones. And you are the only one who can mend a broken spirit. Only you can cleanse us from the guilt of our sins and strengthen us against the power of sin. Only you can stabilize us and remove the piercing agony of conviction in our breast.

O God, we pray that you might wash away our sins and fix our minds upon the grace of the gospel. Let us rest in the cross of our dear Lord and find joy in his precious blood. And may we be freed from the restlessness we now experience and sense an all surpassing, supernatural peace that only you can afford.

Rejoicing in God

Blessed God,

We do rejoice in you. We rejoice because you created us by your might, you purchased us with your Son, you sealed us with you Spirit. Now there is kept for us in heaven an inheritance that will never perish, spoil or fade. We confess that you are that portion allotted to us. Gladness now fills our souls because we have this whole day to savor you and the benefits you have secured for us through Christ’s mediation.

Let us therefore praise you with a joyous heart. Let us glory in the congregation of your delight. And grant that we might know the assurance of your love today, that we are your people, your treasured possession, created to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. Though we were once not a people, you have gathered us under the name of our dear Lord and Savoir to declare your praises throughout the world.

Let it be so this day. May this room be filled with adoration as we delight ourselves in you and experience your delight in us.

For we ask this in the Name of our great Savior, Amen.

Outward Religion

O God,

You know how prone we are to cleanse the outside of the cup. We know the destiny of the good Pharisee. Yet we pride ourselves on how clean and moral we are in comparison to others. We even congratulate ourselves our outward piety. But such is wickedness and iniquity, for our true goal has not been the honor of your name. Rather we have been self consumed and we have sought by our ethical theatrics the applause of men.

O, what do we see when we open the cavity of our chest? Is it not rank putrefaction? Does not the evil that resides there compare to an aged tomb? Father we confess that these hearts of ours are still so filled with dead men’s bones. We acknowledge that this is the only place in the world where death is active, and ever so lively.

Father, we know that you find it even more foul than we do; for you see it as it is and its odor rises before you day and night. It is for this reason we seek your favor. We want you to forgive us, O God. Forgive us for using religion as a means of gaining recognition and concerning ourselves so much with externals only. And forgive us for being so deluded and failing to recognize the real (the pitiful!) state of our souls.

Lord, we want you to eliminate Pharisaical spirit and we want you to reign in us. But all we can do now is fall upon Christ and beg you for that which we do not deserve. Cleanse us from this mask of religiosity, and give us hearts that do manifest true godliness from the heart.

The Glory Due Him

God Almighty,

What a pleasure it is to praise you, O God. What a joy it is to declare the glory of the Lord. For this we were created and for this reason we gather together.

Yet, how can we attribute to you the sum of what you deserve? No man has that capacity to sing the full measure of your praise. Even if our voices were amplified a thousand decibels over, it would not achieve a fraction of your worth. If all the starry host could speak and every grain of sand could cry out, still it would not be enough. Even eternity will not provide enough time to exhaust the riches of your greatness.

You are too wonderful, O God. Your glory exceeds the pomp of kings and your majesty is above that of the earth’s treasures.

But no matter how meager our worship may be this morning, though it be but a small portion of what you are due, we pray that you would find delight in it. Though we give what may only be counted as an offering of poor peasants, we pray that you would take great pleasure in it. And so be moved to lay your tender affection on us and affirm your love to us again.

For we ask this in the strong Name of Jesus, Amen.

Anomolies in Creation

God,

We come to you again this morning, frustrated with our selves, and recognizing that you are frustrated with us.

We are so peculiar in comparison to all the rest of your creation. The birds sweetly sing your praises from morning to night. The heavens resound with an eternal chorus, never ceasing to declare the glory of God. All around us there is a loud crescendo of worship all the day long.

But we suffer from the paralysis of sin. Our hearts limp along at best. When we compare ourselves to the rocks that lie motionless on the ground and are trampled on by our feet, we recognize that they do a better job of paying homage to you than we do.

We admit before you Lord, that it is not our nature to honor you. Even when our souls are primed and our affections are ignited in the worship you, it is like a storm that quickly passes. The embers cool so rapidly and our enthusiasm fades away so quickly.

Lord, we know that a cool breeze in August lasts much longer than our zeal for the worship of your name. And we are greatly sorry for this. We are grieved by our own sluggishness, for we know that you are deserving of all our affection.

And we pray for your pardoning grace in this matter. We thank you that there is Jesus. We thank you that his love was undying and his passion was never tempered. We thank you moreover that this was for us and for our salvation. So we look not to our ourselves, but only to what he merited by his virtuous life. And we pray that our sins would be consumed in his perfect sacrifice.

For it is in His name we pray. Amen.

Christ and the Future: End Times Study at CRF

Starting June 14 CRF will begin a new Sunday evening series on the end times. The basis of the study will flow from Cornelis Venema's latest book Christ and the Future.

Some of the topics will include how the future is now, the state of man between death and the resurrection, and the various millennial views.

Those curious or confused about future matters are invited to attend. Study time is 6:30 pm.

Calvin Study Forming

What's on your summer reading list? How about John Calvin's magnum opus, The Institutes of the Christian Religion? Calvin's Institutes has been acclaimed as one of the most influential books of all time. Since 2009 marks Calvin's 500th birthday, it is a great time to dabble in its richness.

A study group is forming to discuss select portions of the Institutes. Plans are to meet each Friday at 1:30 p.m in the Circle at Grace Brethren Church. Sessions will start June 5th and run through the summer months.

Texts can be obtained on a loan basis if so desired. Contact Matt Timmons at covenantofgrace1@msn.com or 419-289-2552.