Deus Misereatur

{ Audio File is here } Revival and Reformation Pt 18 2 Chronicles 20 From Panic to Prayer to Praise to Peace Righteous God, through your Spirit’s aid, grant us new eyes and new hearts to clearly comprehend what we have just heard, and to unmistakably absorb what we are about to receive; for the honor of Christ’s crown and covenant. Amen. How do you respond to crisis situations? … Here we see a way to move from panic to prayer to praise to peace . The Crisis : 1-2. The Cry : 3-13. Biblical – rehearses many prayers of earlier godly men; for example David in 1 Chronicles 29; Solomon at the Temple Dedication; Asa in 2 Chronicles 14.11. Bold – This prayer is grounded on a relevant piece of God’s story (3-9); and lays out the present facts (10-11). But the basis of his boldness is the conviction of who God is (v. 6) and that he is “the God of our fathers” (v. 6) and is “our God” (v.7 and 12) – and thus that his words and deeds in the past may be appealed to as evid...

We sing praises to you, LORD, and we give thanks to your holy name. For your anger is but for a moment, and your favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. You have turned for us our mourning into dancing; you have loosed our sackcloth and clothed us with gladness, that our glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD our God, we will give thanks to you forever! (Psalm 30.4-5, 11-12). Lord, you are a merciful and a jealous God. Convert your and our enemies, and draw to you those that are going astray; but restrain the malicious persecutors of your Church and the willful corruptors of your truth. Bring their counsels to naught, and show that you are the Lord. Build your Church, and make her a city upon a hill, for the glory of your honor and the salvation of many (Adapted from, “ Reading the Psalms with Luther ,” 225)! O Lord, hear our prayer. We beseech you on behalf of this congregation; as well as Crown Heights Baptist Chu...

[You can listen here while following the manuscript below] Revival and Reformation Pt 17 2 Chronicles 16 When Faith Fumbles, 4 th and Goal! Rightly, Lord, your true word both disturbs the comfortable, and comforts the disturbed. Show us the secrets of our own hearts this evening, and apply your medicinal salve for Christ’s sake. Amen. Consistency is not a normal human tendency. Blind spots, quirks of character, inabilities to see our own double standards – this is the normal human condition. And the same continues to haunt us once we have been brought into the family of God. In 2 Chronicles 16 we see an example of when Faith Fumbles, 4 th and Goal and it reminds us “ Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall ” (1 Corinthians 10.12). Chapter 16 is in the context of 14-15. Keep in the forefront of your mind 14.2 and 15. 17: God’s own description of Asa’s overall life and actions flavors even the final story with God’s mercy! But also...

“ Some  trust  in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright” (Psalm 20.7-8 NKJV). We give you heartfelt thanks, our God, for you take pleasure in your people and adorn the humble with victory (Psalm 149.4); you bless the righteous, O Lord; you cover him with favor as with a shield (Psalm 5.12). Lord, our God, who desires not the death of the wicked; convert those who hate your people without a cause, and turn the hearts of those who persecute your Christians. Protect the poor and the innocent against the oppression of unjust men. And grant your maltreated people patience under the cross, and preserve them in the true faith unto their life’s end (Adapted from, “ Reading the Psalms with Luther ,” 130)! O Lord, hear our prayer. We beseech you on behalf of this congregation; as well as Covenant Life Family Worship Center; Crest View Baptist Ch...

{Preached last night at Heritage Presbyterian Church. Listen Here } Revival and Reformation Pt 16 2 Chronicles 15 Thank you, Lord God, that your Scriptures have been preserved through fire, decay, destruction, and time. Thank you that though nations and nasty people have tried to erase your holy Word it still remains long after they have vanished. So Lord, help us to not only appreciate the Scriptures – as at a distance, but this very day to be touched by your Book for our good and your honor, through Christ our Lord. Amen. What is the desire of your heart? What exactly do you seek and search for with all of your life energies? To answer these two questions is to show where your loyalties lie… Henry Scougal once said: “ The worth and excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love ” (“The Life of God in the Soul of Man,” 62). This is what the Spirit-directed editors of 1 and 2 Chronicles are trying to press home on God’s people throughout the ages as...

Morning: O Almighty, untamable, unstoppable God, whose goodness and mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, we come as priests, adorned with the holy vestments of Christ’s purity and righteousness. Therefore, we offer our requests for your Church and world. We pray for your worldwide Church, your Church suffering from persecutions, famine, drought, and other perils; for this congregation, and our sister churches in Oklahoma. Stir up our hearts to serve you, to keep ourselves pure, to firmly follow the way of Christ, so that our love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that we may approve the things that are excellent, that we may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ (Philippians 1.8-10). We call on you to look on those who have yet to believe in Jesus Christ and repent….May they come to hear the Gospel of Christ with new ears and enlivened hearts, to profess faith in Christ, to turn away from their sin, and to follow along with us ...

{The Audio File is here . There's more in the audio file than is in the manuscript below} Revival and Reformation Pt 15 2 Chronicles 14 The Reforming Heart Lord God, as Paul reminded us, these things we read are examples written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come (1 Corinthians 10.11). And so help us to attend to your word with diligence, preparation and prayer; receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives (Westminster Shorter Catechism 90); that Christ our Lord may be honored. Amen. What standards do you live by? What is it that says to your mind: “I have arrived?” ... Now let me ask you – has it been really worth it? Has that standard set you free? Or has it been nothing more than a cultural or financial ball-and-chain? And when you’re overwhelmed with insurmountable odds, I ask you, do your “Standards” carry you thru; or do they let you down? And those who set the “standard” for you – where are ...