Pastor Jim Thomas
Happy Stir Up Sunday/Joyful Christ the King Sunday!
- Stir Up Sunday
- Christ the King Sunday
- Sunday of Doom
“You never go away from us, yet we have difficulty in returning to You. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back. Kindle and seize us. Be our fire and our sweetness.” – Augustine
The Psalms serve to:
- Stir the emotions
- Inform the mind
- Direct the will
- Stimulate the imagination
- Inspire worship
Psalm 98 reminds us that God is our:
- Wonderful Savior (v. 1-3)
- Mighty King (v. 4-6)
- Righteous Judge (v. 7-9)
Psalm 98
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
The LORD has made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.
He has remembered His love
and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth
have seen the salvation of our God. Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn shout for joy before the LORD, the King.
Let the sea roar, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the LORD,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
- The scope of His kingdom: all of creation, every nation, the ends of the earth.
- The right He has to be king: as Creator, not by seizure or violence.
- The nature of His kingship: wonderful, victorious, holy, saving, steadfast in love, righteous, justice.
- The duration of His kingship and reign: past, present, future = for all eternity!
“One glimpse of the King and you are consumed by a desire to see more of Him and say more about Him. Pew-warming is no longer an option. Junk religion will no longer suffice. Sensation-seeking is needless. Once you have seen His face you will forever long to see it again.” – Max Lucado, God Came Near
“The tenacity of glory and goodness, even in this shadowed world of tears, trains my eyes to pay attention, to stay alert not only to the darkness of our story, but to the light as well.” – Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer in the Night
“We should ask God to increase our hope when it is small, awaken it when it is dormant, confirm it when it is wavering, strengthen it when it is weak, and raise it up when it is overthrown.” – John Calvin
“Because in no other person but the historic Jesus of Nazareth has God become man and lived a human life on earth, died to bear the penalty of our sins, and been raised from death and exalted to glory, there is no other Savior, for there is no other person who is qualified to save.” – John Stott, The Authentic Jesus