Extol the Son of God

The Son of God! the Lord of Life!
How wondrous are His ways!
Oh for a harp of thousand strings,
To sound abroad His praise!

How passing strange, to leave the seat
Of heaven's eternal throne,
And hosts of glittering seraphim,
For guilty man alone!

And did He bow His sacred head,
And die a death of shame?
Let men and angels magnify
And bless His holy name!

Oh let us live in peace and love,
And cast away our pride,
And crucify our sins afresh,
As He was crucified!

He rose again; then let us rise
From sin, and Christ adore,
And dwell in peace with all mankind,
And tempt the Lord no more:

The Son of God! the Lord of Life!
How wondrous are His ways!
Oh for a harp of thousand strings,
To sound abroad His praise!

George Mogridge, 1851

Josh Harris Encounter continued

Table Talk Continued...

Josh: Wow. All the way from Philly.

Someone: We went to VA first (aka. we got lost)

Alex: We found our way when we saw the Mormon Temple landmark. It serves as a guide.

Josh: That's ironic. A cult guiding your way. Maybe you should find a new landmark.

Alex: Yea, we saw a tree along the way, maybe that will work.

Josh Harris Encounter

Table Talk

Josh Harris: Hi

Jenny: Hi!

Josh: Whats your name?

Jenny: Jenny

Josh: Who are the rest of these folks?

Alex: We roll with Jenny

Josh: You guys should get t-shirts made that say that!

Jenny: I disagree

The rest: Ha-ha

Rick...

...has some big news.

Hollywood, the Gospel, and Pyromaniacs

Team Pyro has an interesting article on a recent episode of E.R.

Key quote:

As I've often observed and remarked: the most gifted screenwriters can concoct believable monsters, deviants, heroes, regular-joes, atheists, agnostics, all sorts of characters. But the believable depiction of a full-orbed Christian character is simply beyond them. Evidently they have never known (much less understood nor liked) even one credible, practicing, Biblically-faithful Christian. It's the one color missing from their palate — as starved for ideas as they are.

Survey: Americans switching faiths, dropping out

Interesting Article.


(HT: Chris Lester)

"The Pirate"

This is an old, but interesting, article from Boundless on online piracy. And so I ask (based on Justin Taylor's comment), has this become an acceptable sin to most Christians?

(HT: JT)

Spy Satellites & the Schuylkill River

In case anyone hasn't heard about the spy satellite containing a toxic fuel plummeting towards earth, well, there was a spy satellite containing a toxic fuel plummeting towards earth. Rest easy, though, it's been shot down.

However, while it isn't usually the best to dwell on the "what could have beens", I think I'll make an exception for this case. Let us speculate for a moment on what could have happened if the satellite crash landed (with all it's toxic fuel) in the beloved Schuylkill River.

Currently there are two theories:

1. The toxic fuel would have neutralized the already toxic water from the Schuylkill River, thus restoring it to a pristine condition. Vegetation would return, fish would swim, birds would sing...or...
2. The toxic fuel will mix with the already toxic water to mutate a seemingly harmless creature into a giant deadly monster that would attack Philadelphia!!!! The only way Philly would be saved is if an unsuspecting rowing team was also in the water at the time, causing them to mutate into a superhero rowing team!!!!

Does anybody have any other theories?

(HT: Will Haun, Chris)

Jesus Crashed My Pity-Party

Great Article written by my pastor Joseph Stigora!









excerpt...

But we don’t have to stay there. The way out of self-pity is not to sit off to the side with our head in our hands, looking dejected until someone is manipulated into asking us what is wrong (and sadly, I’ve done that!). The way out of self-pity is to repent and turn our eyes to Jesus Christ. The way out is to counteract the lie that God does not care with Scripture about his character, his mercy, his nearness and his cross. He reminds us that we can cast all of our cares on him because he loves us (1 Peter 5:5-7), Jesus tells us that the Father cares for the birds and that we are worth more to him than a bird (Luke 12:22-34) and that is how we see God’s grace each day. And above all that he does to sustain us each day, the grace of God comes to us in the fact that through his own sacrifice he has transferred us from a domain of darkness and into the kingdom of the Son who forgives our sins! (Col 1:13-14) When he is our focus, it brings everything else into perspective. Our confidence in the cross where Jesus dealt with our greatest need is enough to give us hope in all situations.

Eight Ways to Improve Your Daily Bible Reading

Full Article HERE

1. Prepare the night before
2. Pray
3. Same time, same place every day
4. Keep track of what you read
5. Write in your Bible
6. Read consecutively
7. Use a journal
8. Respond to what you’ve read

More Keller

As per Rick's comment in the previous post:

Westminster Theological Seminary will be presenting "An Evening with Tim Keller" at Harrison Auditorium on the University of Pennsylvania Campus on March 11 at 7:30 p.m.

More info can be found on Keller's website for his new book.

Keller

Tim Keller is a pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. He has a new book out called "A Reason For God". You can get some free messages on some of the topics found in the book here. This is a great resource for evangelism and apologetics.

(HT:Praz)

Wisdom

"And he said to man,
'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
and to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Job 28:28

Praise God for Smart Men

I purchased a book a little over a year ago written by Richard B. Gaffin Jr., entitled Resurrection and Redemption. Not only did I think the book was about something different than what its true purpose was; I was also not prepared for the sheer academic and intellectual style of Dr. Gaffin that is far beyond my comprehending at times. This is a quote for any of you who are proud and think that you're smart. Be humbled by this mans brilliance and be grateful that God has given smart men like this to the church as a gift. This is only a footnote in the book.

There is no need to read out of the argument developed to this point any unbiblical qualification or relativizing of the perfections of Scripture (necessity, authority, clarity, sufficiency!). An analogy from differential calculus may help to make the basic points clear. Redemptive events constitute a function (f), the authentication and interpretation of the New Testament its first derivative (f') and the interpretation of the later church its second derivative (f"). F', to be sure, is of a different order than f", since the former, the infallible verbal revelation (Scripture) which has God as its primary author, is the basis (principium) of the latter. But both, as derivatives, have a common interpretative reference to f. Indeed, it may be said that at its level (characterized by fallibility and tentativeness) f" "goes beyond" f' by seeking to make more explicit the structure implicit to the latter.

In the above discussion, the redemptive-historical distinction between canonical and noncanonical, between the apostolic and postapostolic periods, is not being overlooked or obliterated. Rather, stress is being placed on some implications of the fact that in "church" "apostolic" and "postapostolic" have their common (redemptive-historical) denominator.

Blessed

Philippians 2:1-5

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day, or as one of my good friends put it, Single Awareness Day for all of us out there who are not in a courtship/relationship, engaged, or married. However for the ladies of Drexel Cru, yesterday served not to remind us of our relationship status, but rather of Christ’s love for us.

Last night, the gentlemen took time out of their schedules to honor and celebrate the friendships that they share with the ladies here at Drexel. Much time was spent in preparing a wonderful meal, complete with a selection of delicious desserts. During dinner, we were entertained with the artistic talents of some of our gentlemen – through songs and a poem. All in all, we were encouraged to continue pursuing Christ whole-heartedly and to strive to attain the characteristics of the godly woman portrayed in Proverbs 31.

I wanted to use this opportunity to thank all of the gentlemen who played a role in serving us last night. All of the ladies who attended the dinner were blessed by the time, effort, planning, and preparation that went into making last night what it was. Moreover, we are blessed since these friendships exist and have meaning because of Christ. I would like to thank you for your leadership, your example in serving and caring, and most of all, for the way that each of you demonstrates Christ’s love.

- Emily & Renjini

Cups

One of the books I’m currently reading is The Cross He Bore: Meditations on the Sufferings of the Redeemer by Frederick S. Leahy. What I have appreciated about it is that for the size of the book, the author helps show how even some of the details I would be prone to overlook are of the utmost importance to the suffering of Christ, and how that fulfilled the Father’s wrath.

Such an example comes from the 11^th chapter, where Leahy explains how important it was for Jesus to refuse the wine and myrrh/gall mixture offered to him while hanging on the cross.

First he explains how the cup of wrath needed to be kept pure.

Not only would the Saviour drink the cup of divine wrath, with its steadily increasing bitterness, but also, in terms of his suffering, he would drink no other cup, nor would he accept any admixture. He would drink the cup that the Father had given him unmixed. Not a solitary drop of any other potion must blend with that prepared by the Father. That cup must be kept pure.

He continues:

Dilute that cup with a single extraneous drop and it is no longer the cup of God’s wrath. For that matter, add one foreign ingredient to the cup of God’s mercy and it ceases to be such. God’s wrath and God’s mercy alike are unmixed.

Leahy then explains how the myrrh/gall was typically used to dull the pain of those being crucified. Christ refused the drink, because he needed to feel the full pain and suffering of the cross. As Leahy says, “Nothing must be allowed to insulate his spirit from the reality of the situation.”

He must suffer to the utmost. He must feel the full ‘sting’ of his death. No anesthetic was permissible.

Leahy continues by saying how by refusing the cup the soldiers offered, he was also refusing a cup Satan himself offered and then considers what would have happened if Jesus had drank the mixture.

Then, with a befuddled brain, he could not have prayed for the soldiers who were waiting to nail him to the cross. Then those seven great sayings on the cross would never have been uttered. Then his obedience would at last have been broken and all would have been lost. How much was at stake as they pushed the rim of that cup towards the Saviour’s lips! Everything! All of the divine decree, all of prophecy, all of redemption was at stake as that appealing cup was offered to the suffering one again and again.

Leahy concludes the chapter by pointing to Matthew 26:29, where Christ refused another cup, the sacramental cup, until the consummation. The sacramental cup we drink at communion as a relationship between “‘…commencement and fulfillment.’”

As we take the sacramental cup in our hands, may we be profoundly conscious that this is a foretaste of that heavenly banquet. Our thoughts might well be of the cup Christ drank, the cup he refused, and the cup from which he will drink with us in glory.

IS ROB BELL A HERETIC?

I am not saying he is, but I am not saying he isn't.

I'll let you decide. Now, lets not be theological calculators. Put on your discerning glasses and be humble.

Full Article

Excerpt:

There’s a passage in one of Bell’s books, however, that leads me to think that Bell really is asserting that life, forgiveness, and even the Spirit of God is already possessed by every single human being ever. The only hitch is that some people don’t realize it. Here’s the relevant passage from Velvet Elvis (page 146):

The fact that we are loved and accepted and forgiven in spite of everything we have done is simply too good to be true. Our choice becomes this: We can trust his [God’s] retelling of the story, or we can trust our telling of our story. It is a choice we make every day about the reality we are going to live in.

And this reality extends beyond life.

Heaven is full of forgiven people.

Hell is full of forgiven people.

Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for.

Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for.

The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust.

Ours or God’s.

I don’t know how else to understand this: What Bell is asserting here is a bizarre kind of universalism in which every human being is forgiven and yet some forgiven people end up in hell anyway. The NOOMA might be slippery, but this passage from Velvet Elvis isn’t at all, and that may offer some insight on what he’s actually saying in NOOMA. The only way I can see to understand it is that Bell is telling lost people that they are forgiven, that they are in relationship with God, even that the Spirit of God lives in them and is waiting to guide them and sanctify them if only they’d wake up and realize it.

That kind of thinking though is devastatingly misleading to lost people. To be lost is not merely to be ignorant about the fact that you are already in relationship with God, forgiven, free, and full of his Spirit. To be lost is to be separated from God and under his judgment. That’s a crucial part of the gospel, not just because Bell’s alternative involves the absurdity of forgiven people suffering in hell; it’s crucial because, unless you understand that God hates sin and judges it, the cross doesn’t make any sense. In fact, it becomes kind of superfluous. The fact is, somebody could hear Rob Bell’s version of the gospel in NOOMA and walk away feeling forgiven and Spirit-filled without a single thought about Jesus’ death. And at that point, what you have is something quite other than Christianity.

Abe Lincoln & Providence

John Piper offers some interesting insights on Abe Lincoln, and how, though skeptical about God through his 40s, his suffering drew him to God. I'd say more, but I'd rather let the article speak for itself.

JMac

Calculators & Discernment

Is it just me, or does Tim Challies seem to think discernment is important? My first clue was his book review website, and my second--that he wrote a book about it. Today, Mr. Challies offered some insights on what he hopes people will get from his book. He compared cheating on the discipline of discernment to cheating on long division with a calculator. He says, “Just knowing that discernment is an expectation for all of us is valuable knowledge and something many Christians really do not understand.”

Here are some of his thoughts:

And second to that, I want people to realize that discernment is something we are responsible for as individuals. We cannot simply leave discernment to the experts. Rather, we each need to learn to discern and we each need to grow in the skill of discernment. Like using a calculator for division, we can rely on others to give us the bottom line. But like doing long division, it is far better to do the work ourselves and to ensure we understand how to discern. The theological equivalent of using a calculator may be just Googling what John Piper or John MacArthur says about a certain topic and taking that word as law. It may be asking a parent or pastor and accepting what they say without further thought. We are all prone to want to get to the final tally without going through the intervening steps.

But like the kid who cheats by using a calculator, we cheat ourselves if we do not do the difficult work of discernment. As we discern what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong, we train ourselves to think as Christians and we train ourselves to really understand what discernment is. We make sure that we understand the difficult business of discernment—not only the end result but the process of getting there.

Graven in His Hands

Today I had the privilege of being at my home church. It's always so comforting and brings my heart to a place of peace and rest. One thing that we do at my church is testimony time. The pulpit is opened up to members of the congregation who want to quickly share a prayer request or glorify God for a particular way they've seen Him move in their life. The family of God is always so encouraging. One of the older guys shared a testimony today about a recent trial the Lord brought him through. There was one thing in particular he said that touched me. The Lord had been speaking to him that he was blessed by God. My friend was saying that often as Christians, we think that being blessed means having success in material things or relationships. "We are blessed because we are graven in the palms of His hands." That statement really sank into my soul today. Despite whatever ways the Lord is testing and trying me, whatever storms and waves may be crashing around me, I am still blessed because I am graven in the palms of my Savior.

Preparing for Sundays

Tim Challies writes:

"While a pastor bears great responsibility in preparing for and delivering the Word of God each Sunday, the listener shares in the responsibility. The church has no place for an audience. We are all to be involved in the preaching, even as listeners. "

You can read the whole article at the link below. He has some great ways to prepare.

http://www.challies.com/archives/articles/the-listeners-r.php

Rick Responds

Anonymous: 1)how did YOU get a girlfriend??
I do not know how I got a girlfriend. It has increased my faith in the sovereignty of God though.

Alex: 1) What do you do with cults on your campus? Do you help them become an established group on campus? What if they are very persistent?
Share the gospel with them. No you do not help them become established groups on campus. Share the gospel with them more and do what Chris said, pray against them.

2) What is your favorite book on evangelism?
I never read a book on evangelism but I think Stephan's is Tell it Often, Tell it Well.

3) What is the biggest challenge for Christian college students on campus?
I don't know...sin.


4) Any good new outreach ideas?
Pin the tail on the Willy

5) Should I take the internship?
Yes, refer to Traci's post below

6) How should I prank Will next? Any good ideas?
More pepper spray!

7) Who is your favorite pastor?
Mark Prater

Chris:1)What have you learned about girls, since being in a relationship (in order to help me serve Jenny better)?
Girls like trains.

2) Should I minor in Accounting and Finance, Finance and Philosophy, Accounting and Philosophy, just Finance, or just Accounting?
Accounting and Finance

Serious Questions:
1) Just how does he look so good all the time? It's a gift
2) How many people say they wish they were Richard Healey? 1...Jay Gomes
3) How often do you and Joseph forget the same things?
The better question is how often don't we forget the same thing.

Not so serious:
1) What the worst part about the internship? The best part?
Raising support...girlfriend, respectively.

Nathan: 1.Do you have any tips for freshman design? What to do, what not to do, what to worry about, etc.
Get a good team and good advisor, it makes all the difference in the world.

2.Also, can I get an extension on my homework assignment?
No

Yet Another Flowchart - The Female Perspective

An Answer to Alex From Traci

Yes, take the internship. You'll get a girlfriend.

t

Ask Rick.

For those of you just dying to ask me questions. This is the ask Rick post. Feel free to ask any questions of me in the comments section, from how do you do evangelism effectively to how did you get such an awesome girlfriend. I will post later on my answers.

Rick

The Flowchart - An Engineers Guide

Read carefully, thoughtfully, and with discernment.

All Due to Grace

This hymn has helped focus my heart on resting in grace alone--that I contributed nothing to my salvation--that it was the work of God alone who rescued me from my sin.

All that I was, my sin, my guilt,
My death, was all mine own;
All that I am, I owe to Thee,
My gracious God, alone.

The evil of my former state
Was mine, and only mine;
The good in which I now rejoice
Is Thine, and only Thine.

The darkness of my former state,
The bondage--all was mine;
The light of life in which I walk,
The liberty--is Thine.

Thy grace that made me feel my sin
It taught me to believe;
Then, in believing, peace I found,
And now I live, I live.

All that I am, e'en here on earth,
All that I hope to be,
When Jesus comes and glory dawns,
I owe it, Lord, to Thee

Horatius Bonar, 1856

The Crown of Thorns

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting a together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of Jews!” (Matthew 27:27-30 ESV)

“And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.” (Mark 15:17-19 ESV)

Brutal, terrible, vicious…but just how important was Christ’s crown of thorns? Frederick S. Leahy puts it this way in The Cross He Bore: Meditations on the Sufferings of the Redeemer:

If we are to receive the crown of life, Christ must receive the crown of thorns. He cannot be our Saviour any other way. That is what Krummacher means when he comments that in the crown of his deity alone, Christ could only say to a dying thief, ‘Be thou accursed’; but in the crown of thorns he can say, ‘This day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.’ In the crown of his deity alone, he can only say to a Magdalene or a publican, ‘Depart from me’; but in the crown of thorns he can say, ‘Go in peace, your sins are forgiven you.’ It is in his diadem of thorns that he stoops low in humiliation and shame and sorrow to seek and to save sinners. It is only by the sharp torn of his suffering that the poisonous thorn of our sin is drawn. In other words, apart from the cross God cannot forgive sin.

Leahy continues:

In this apparent weakness he is the mighty conqueror of Satan and sin and death, the overcomer of this world. The cross appears as foolishness to the world, but to God’s redeemed people the cross is victory, salvation, the power of God.

Bitter Like a Lemon...

Good Article on NA Blog!

Distractions Continue

Easy Distracted

I'm in the lab today. I got distracted. Here's what distracted me.

To the optimist, the glass is half full.
To the pessimist, the glass is half empty.
To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.

Q: What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
A: Mechanical Engineers build weapons, Civil Engineers build targets.

Q: How can you tell an extroverted engineer?
A: When he talks to you, he looks at your shoes instead of his own.

Sola Gratia: Only One Gospel

This past Sunday, Jared Mellinger kicked off a new sermon series at Covenant Fellowship Church called Sola Gratia (grace alone). It is an expository series going through Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia (the book of Galatians).

Jared started the series by preaching through the first ten verses of chapter one, while also giving an overview of the whole letter and what was to come in the series.

The sermon surrounded the question, “What does it mean to stand on grace alone?” and was followed by three answers:

1. We uphold the one true way of salvation!
2. We deepen our understanding of the Cross of Christ!
3. We enjoy the privileges we have in Christ!

At first glance, we think this letter does not apply to us, because we don’t believe we need adherence to the Jewish law for salvation; we do believe in salvation through grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. However, as Jared pointed out, the book of Galatians does apply to us. Jared said,

God gave us the book of Galatians because the foolish galatian tendency to drift, from grace, is in every single one of us. If the Christians in Galatia were vulnerable to this drift and if Peter and if Barnabas were vulnerable to that drift, then I think it’s good for us to acknowledge that every one of us is vulnerable to that same exact drift away from a Biblical understanding of God’s grace.

He then referenced the famous hymn, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing saying,

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;

Personally, I know that I am prone to wander – I know that I am prone to leave God. We must actively flee from our good works; flee from that subtle drift away from grace. When God calls us to flee from something – it is always to flee to something else. We must flee to the Cross of Christ!

Aren’t you glad that, Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing doesn’t end there, but continues?

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

God, in his mercy, will take our hearts and will seal them for his courts above!

Application Questions:

1. In what ways am I tempted to subtly believe that my acceptance before God is based on something that I do rather than what Christ has done?
2. Am I growing in my understanding and the appreciation of the Cross? Do you find yourself more amazed by grace the more you advance in your Christian walk?
3. Am I enjoying the privileges that we have in Christ?

Thought for the Day

"But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?" (Galatians 4:9).

Band-aided Bullet Wounds

I was just reading a great article by Abraham Piper, John Piper's son, entitled "Let Them Come Home". He talked about when he was living in rebellion and was not a Christian. His third point convicted me about the way I relate to the unbelievers in my life. His point was to acknowledge that something is wrong.

When your daughter rejects Jesus, don’t pretend that everything is fine. If you know she’s not a believer and you’re not reaching out to her, then start. And never stop. Don’t ignore her unbelief. Ignoring it might make holidays easier, but not eternity.

Abraham makes a point that I know but often forget or push aside due to my desire for comfort. This is a good reminder to me about what love looks like, because it's not simply getting along with family members. I also appreciated his solution for the problem, point them to Christ. He goes on to say.

Your rebellious child’s real problem is not drugs or sex or cigarettes or porn or laziness or crime or cussing or slovenliness or homosexuality or being in a punk band. The real problem is that your child doesn’t see Jesus clearly. The best thing you can do for rebellious children—and the only reason to follow any of these suggestions—is to show them Christ. It won’t be simple or immediate, but the sins in their life that distress you and destroy them will begin to disappear only when they see Jesus more as He actually is.

How easy it is to want to fix a symptom of the problem when the real issue lies beneath. Sometimes we love bandaiding bullet wounds. We should pray to God changes us from band-aiders to surgeons when it comes to matters of the soul.

Rick

The Perfections as a Whole

How shall I praise th' eternal God,
That infinite Unknown?
Who can ascend His high abode,
Or venture near His throne?

The great Invisible! He dwells
Conceal'd in dazzling light;
But His all-searching eye reveals
The secrets of the night.

Those watchful eyes, that never sleep,
Survey the world around;
His wisdom is a boundless deep,
Where all our thoughts are drown'd.

He knows no shadow of a change,
Nor alters His decrees;
Firm as a rock His truth remains,
To guard His promises.

Justice upon a dreadful throne
Maintains the rights of God;
While mercy sends her pardons down,
Bought with a Saviour's blood.

Now to my soul, immortal King!
Speak some forgiving word;
Then 'twill by double joy to sing
The glories of my Lord.

Isaac Watts, 1709

Another Evening in Catan...

Sigh.

(Apologies for bad cellphone image.)

Preparing Ourselves to Hear the Word of God

Donald Whitney makes a great comment in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life about where our heart should be as we are about to hear the Word of God preached on Sunday mornings. While not the main point of his chapter on Bible intake, he makes a fruitful digression.

If you enter the typical evangelical church two minutes before the start of the worship service, it sounds almost like you’ve walked into a gymnasium two minutes before a basketball game. Part of my pastoral heart appreciates the good things represented by people who are glad to see and talk with each other. There is a spirit of family reunion in the air when the family of God gathers together. But I think a larger part of my heart longs for reverence and a spirit of seeking God among those who come to hear His Word. (pg. 31)

Whitney continues, relating a story of a congregation of Korean Christians using his church building for their services.

I was impressed by the way they entered the worship center. Whether they were first to arrive or came in after the service had already started, they immediately bowed in prayer for several moments before arranging their belongings, unbuttoning their coat, or acknowledging the presence of anyone else. This served as an effective reminder to their own hearts and to everyone else of their main purpose for that time. (pg. 31)

Oh, how often I neglect to prepare my heart for corporate worship and the hearing of God’s Word on Sunday mornings. Oh, how easy it is for me to converse with others, or to even twiddle my thumbs aimlessly, instead of spending a few minutes with God in reverent prayer before the morning’s service begins. May God continue to pour out His grace on me so that I can approach his Word with more awe and reverence and thanksgiving!