Wednesday, July 09, 2025

2025.07.09 Hopewell @Home ▫ Micah 3:1–4

Wednesday, July 9, 2025 Read Micah 3:1–4

Questions from the Scripture text: Who are called to hear in v1b? And who, in v1c? What rhetorical question does v1d ask? What is the implied answer? What does He say about their character in v2a? What does He say about their conduct in v2b–3f? How does the imagery convey the ruthlessness? How does it convey the self-interest? What will these rulers do, when the judgment comes (v4a)? With what result (v4b–c)? For what reason (v4d)?

Why wouldn’t the Lord listen to Israel’s prayers? Micah 3:1–4 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the Lord closed His ears to Israel, because their magistrates had closed their ears to the oppressed.

Back in 2:1–2, we read about those who devised elaborate schemes to divest others of their lands and homes, particularly women and children who had apparently lost the help of a husband/father (cf. 2:9).

This brief section goes after the civil magistrates (heads, v1b; rulers, v1c) who have made such schemes possible.

The Lord attacks their competence (v1d). Their job was to know justice, and they either completely disregarded it or spectacularly failed at it. They have rejected a calling that comes from God.

The Lord attacks their character (v2a). Rather than loving good and hating evil, as God does, they are exactly the opposite. They aren’t just assaulting His image in others; they are defacing His image in themselves.

The Lord attacks their conduct (v2b–3f). Those who have little regard for the Lord Himself have ultimately little regard for those made in His image. Whatever fellow-feeling they have that permits some measure of civility, or seeming compassion, for others will ultimately evaporate against a pressure that is high enough. For some, that pressure may be as little as their own desires for power or property.

That was the case with these magistrates. Their love of power is implied by the organization and ruthlessness of the literal butchering that makes up the bulk of the imagery in v2–3. Their love of property is implied by the time the imagery makes to the pot and cauldron, where the food is cooked and ready to serve.

There is a harmonious justice to the Lord’s response. Since the widows and orphans of Israel find themselves with no one to cry out to in the courts of the magistrates, these magistrates will find themselves with no one to cry out to in the courts of the Lord. It will not be only that their requests are denied (“He will not hear them,” v4b), but that their requests are not even heard (“He will even hide His face from them at that time,” v4c).

Ultimately, this little section confronts us with how offensive to God a lack of compassion is. It exposes a disregard for the Lord Himself—doubly so, when we are in an office of care for others; trebly so, when those who are disregarded are lowly such as widows and orphans; quadruply so, when they are among His covenant people. God refuses the prayers of a husband who does not live in an understanding way with his wife (cf. 1Pet 3:7). He refuses the prayers of the professing believer who is unforgiving toward other believers (cf. Mt 18:35). How important a thing, dear reader, is a Christ-like compassion toward others!

Toward whom have you had difficulty having compassion? Who, if any, are entrusted to your overseeing and defending? For what are you covetous, and whom are you in danger of disregarding in your covetousness? Whose plight is often invisible to you?

Sample prayer:  Lord, forgive us for when we participate in the plots of the wicked because our desire for wealth and ease makes us negligent. We confess that carelessness of others exposes a lack of love for You and for Your image in men. By Your Spirit, make us sensitive to the cries of those whom You have assigned to us, and grant that, for the Lord Jesus’s sake, You would be sensitive to our own cries, AMEN!

 Suggested Songs: ARP14 “Within His Heart the Fool Speaks” or TPH400 “Gracious Spirit, Dwell with Me”

Tuesday, July 08, 2025

The Three Persons of the Godhead [Children's Catechism 8—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 8—especially explaining how we know the persons of the Godhead by His own revelation of Himself.

Q8. What are they? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.07.08 Hopewell @Home ▫ Ecclesiastes 1:1–3

Read Ecclesiastes 1:1–3

Questions from the Scripture text: Whose words are these (Ecclesiastes 1:1)? Whose son was he? What position did he hold? What does he observe in Ecclesiastes 1:2? How much, does he say, is vanity? What does Ecclesiastes 1:3 ask about a man having? From how much of his labor? Where did he toil in it? 

What will Ecclesiastes teach us? Ecclesiastes 1:1–3 looks forward to the opening portion of morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these three verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that the book of Ecclesiastes is going to tell us about how, even in a fallen world, life can be profitable.  

Toil is part of the fall (Ecclesiastes 1:3, cf. Genesis 3:17–19). But is that the last word for sinful, fallen man?

The answer of the book of Ecclesiastes is “no!” The theme of the book is not meaninglessness, like so many seem to have concluded. In fact, it is exactly the opposite! Each section of the book has a concluding statement that asserts the goodness and joy of life as lived in the memory and fear of the Lord (cf. Ecclesiastes 2:24–26Ecclesiastes 3:12–13Ecclesiastes 5:18–20Ecclesiastes 9:7–10Ecclesiastes 11:7–10Ecclesiastes 12:1Ecclesiastes 12:13–14). The book asserts that the Lord gives to us our portions under the sun, and that in His saving grace, He super-adds the gift of the joy as well.

One help for understanding the message of the book is the proper translation of the root that is repeated five times in Ecclesiastes 1:2. Its basic meaning is mist/vapor, but the emphasis is on transience/change rather than emptiness (as translations like “vanity” or “meaningless” would imply). If we’re here one moment, and gone the next, without what seems like lasting impact, what is the profit/purpose?

As someone instructed by the Westminster Shorter Catechism would expect, the Scripture’s answer everywhere, and especially in Ecclesiastes, is “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!”

And there’s no better candidate to be the Spirit’s instrument for telling us this than “the preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:3).

“Preacher” here comes from a root that means more “to gather/assemble” than “to proclaim.” He is speaking as one who beckons us, like lady wisdom in Proverbs 1:20ff and Proverbs 9:1ff. 

Solomon also speaks as one that, if purpose and joy could be had in the things under the sun, from the things under the sun, then certainly it would have been Solomon who had them! 

But he also speaks as the “king in Jerusalem.” The reason that fallen man can still have purpose and joy is because of the Seed of the woman, Who would crush the serpent’s head (cf. Genesis 3:15); the Seed of Abraham, in Whom all of the families of the earth would be blessed (cf. Genesis 12:3, Genesis 18:18, Genesis 26:4); the Prophet like Moses, Who would teach and lead the way into God’s everlasting rest (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15–18); and, the Forever-King on David’s throne (cf. 2 Samuel 7:10–16). It is this last, of Whom Solomon would be keenly aware. He’s temporarily occupying a throne that belongs to Another, and this Other is the One Who makes it possible for us to have everlasting joy in a transient world. 

As we work through this little book of the Bible, we will be rushing forward to the conclusion that fearing God and keeping His commandments is our all, and that we should learn to remember Him and enjoy Him from our earliest possible days. This book, as a whole, is a great call to worship God with our entire life, and we look forward to its calling us into His public worship for several weeks to come.

What are some of the most toilsome tasks in your life? What are some of the most mundane/unimpressive gifts that you enjoy in life? How can a finite, fallen person have purpose and pleasure in such things?

Sample prayer:  Lord, we are so grateful to You that our short lives in this fallen world are from Your hand and in Your hand. Through Christ, You have given us a glorious redemption. And, in Him, You have made us to enjoy all things as gifts from You, and to employ all things in service to Your glory. What a glorious life You have given us, even under the sun. For, You have given us to live it in fellowship with You, Who are above the sun. Grant, now, that we would have that fellowship with You in Your worship, by Your Spirit, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP73C “Yet Constantly, I Am With You” or TPH73C “In Sweet Communion, Lord, with Thee”

Monday, July 07, 2025

2025.07.07 Hopewell @Home ▫ Proverbs 15:25–29

Read Proverbs 15:25–29

Questions from the Scripture text: What will Who do to whose house (Proverbs 15:25a)? But what will He do to whose boundary (verse 25b)? Whose thoughts are viewed how by Whom (Proverbs 15:26a)? But whose are viewed in what opposite way (verse 26b)? What might a man be greedy for (Proverbs 15:27a)? But what does he do to whom? What does the opposite sort of man hate (verse 27b)? With what effect? Whose heart studies what (Proverbs 15:28a)? With what does who operate, instead (verse 28b)? And what does he do with that mouth? Who is far from whom (Proverbs 15:29a)? But in what way is He especially near to whom (verse 29b)? 

Whose opinions should matter most to us? Proverbs 15:25–29 looks forward to the sermon in the midweek meeting this week. In these five verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that we should care most about what the Lord sees in us and thinks of us.  

The bookends of this section indicate that it focuses upon YHWH’s actions and attitudes toward men. It begins with YHWH destroying the house of the proud and concludes with His rejecting the wicked and listening to the righteous. 

By definition, the wicked do not take the Lord’s opinion and response into account, when considering their action. Let us not repeat their mistake, dear reader. How foolish to be proud, when that only serves to provoke the living God (Proverbs 15:25a)! Those of whom the arrogant would take advantage are the objects of YHWH’s special care (verse 25b, cf. Psalm 68:5, Psalm 146:9). This is not only a warning to the oppressor, but a comfort to the oppressed. 

It is not what men think of our actions, but what YHWH thinks of our actions, that ultimately matters. Therefore, we must be careful not only of our actions, but of our thoughts and words. For, our thoughts and words are also before YHWH. How dreadful to consider that one’s very thoughts may be the object of God’s holy enmity (Proverbs 15:26a). With the Lord as our primary audience, we will wish to have words that have no defect in them at all (verse 26b).

Therefore, we must pay attention to what is occurring in our hearts. The downfall of a household in Proverbs 15:27a is traced backward, through the actions that brought it about, to the greed in the heart that was at the root of it all. So, we must beware of even the desire of our heart, for there we find the destruction of a family line, in embryonic form. By God’s grace, we must come to hate what God hates. If we hate bribing, because He hates bribes, we will be spared the folly of thinking that a bribe might be a way of getting what we want.

This consideration of the heart is a practice that is uniquely godly. The righteous heart meditates upon what to answer (Proverbs 15:28a). But the wicked never stops to think. His mouth is like a spigot whose handle is broken. All of his wickedness just keeps pouring out (verse 28b). 

Finally, Proverbs 15:29 reminds us of another reason that it is so important to be right with God: we are profoundly dependent upon Him. For the wicked, this is a problem, because they cannot find the Lord or reach to Him in their need (verse 29a). But, the righteous finds that the Lord is near him, especially in hearing his prayer (verse 29b). What an encouragement to you to pray, dear believer! One of the ways that the Lord is especially near to you is in hearing you when you do. 

How are you growing in the habits of keeping your heart? By what habits do you draw near to the Lord? How has this made you more mindful of being always before Him? How are you growing in the habit of considering what you will speak? What are your habits for drawing near to God in prayer?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for reminding us that we are always before Your face, and that You respond to what we do, say, and even think. Grant that by the grace of Your Spirit, we would think, speak, and act according to the character of Christ, through Whom we ask it, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP1 “How Blessed the Man” or TPH128B “Blest the Man Who Fears Jehovah”

Sunday, July 06, 2025

2025.07.06 Lord's Day Livestreams [live at 10:10a, 11:10a, 3p]

Click below for the:
July 6 Lord's Day Worship Booklet
Matthew 20:20–8 sermon outline
3p song selections & Deuteronomy 5:18 sermon outline
We urge you to assemble physically, if possible, with a true congregation of Christ's church. For those of our own congregation who may be providentially hindered, we are grateful to be able to provide this service.

IF you are unable to get the stream to work, or simply wish to save on data, you can listen in simply by calling 712.432.3410 and entering 70150 at the prompt.

Each week we livestream the Lord's Day (Sabbath School, Morning Public Worship, and p.m. Singing and Sermon) and Midweek Meeting (sermon and prayer). For notifications when Hopewell is streaming live, install the CHURCHONE APP on your [Apple], [Android], or [Kindle] device, and enter hopewellarp for your broadcaster.

Saturday, July 05, 2025

Knowing the Triune God in Christ [Children's Catechism 7—Theology Simply Explained]

Pastor walks his children through Children's Catechism question 7—especially explaining how the Triune God has been pleased to make Himself known as Triune, especially through His Son.

Q7. In how many persons does this one God exist? In three persons.
(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

Crowns Only through Crosses [Family Worship lesson in Matthew 20:20–28]

How do saints come to glory? Matthew 20:20–28 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that saints come to glory through service and suffering with Christ.

The sermon explores the disciples' request for positions of prominence in Jesus's kingdom, contrasting it with the model of selfless service exemplified by Christ. Drawing from Matthew 20, the message emphasizes humility and the prioritization of serving others, rather than seeking authority or recognition. It clarifies that true greatness lies in emulating Jesus's example of sacrifice and submission, ultimately trusting God's sovereign plan for their places in His kingdom, while acknowledging the patience and wisdom of Christ in guiding his followers towards a deeper understanding of his will.
(click here to DOWNLOAD mp3/pdf files of this lesson)

2025.07.05 Hopewell @Home ▫ Matthew 20:20–28

Read Matthew 20:20–28

Questions from the Scripture text: Who came in v20? With whom? Doing what? Speaking how? How does He answer in v21? For whom does she request? That hey would sit where? In what place? What does Jesus tell James and John (the answer is in the plural, v22)? What two things does He ask them? How do they answer? What does He tell them will happen to them (v23)? But what does He tell them about siting on His right hand or left? Who have heard it in v24? How do they respond? Whom does Jesus call in v25? Unto Whom? What does He say that they know about whom else? Whom does He say must be different (v26)? What might one of them desire, and what must that person be? What else might one of them desire, and what must he be (v27)? For what purpose didn’t Who come (v28)? Why did He come? Which great service in particular?

How do saints come to glory? Matthew 20:20–28 prepares us for the sermon in the morning public worship on the coming Lord’s Day. In these nine verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that saints come to glory through service and suffering with Christ.  

The wisdom of Jesus. We immediately see how needful it had been for Him to take them aside in v17–19 to emphasize to them His humiliation, suffering, and death. Even after His doing so, they are focused entirely upon the glory prophesied in 19:28. 

There is much to be commended in the desire of these brothers and their praying mother. They have faith to believe that Jesus will be glorified, to trust that His Word is effectual, and to make request of Him. They have humility to bow low and to wait to be bidden to ask. They have love to desire to be near Him in the next life, as they have been in this one. 

But they are not counting the cost, and in His wisdom, Jesus now prompts them to do so. He reminds them of the portion (cup) that He has been assigned in this life, and the means by which He will be initiated (baptism) into His glory. There will be no crown without a cross.

The gentleness of Jesus. Jesus doesn’t chide them for asserting their ability. He simply affirms that they will come to glory through suffering, while managing their expectations by instructing them that one’s rank in the kingdom is not achieved or brokered, but prepared by the Father. Even the response of the ten does not move Jesus off of His gentleness. 

Rather than responding in exasperation to the fact that they all seem to have missed the lessons that we have learned in the last two chapters, He kindly calls them to Himself. And He points out to them the difference between those raging kingdoms of the Gentiles (v25, cf. Ps 2:1–2) and His own kingdom as the suffering Servant (v28, cf. Isa 53:10–11). 

In His kingdom, the way to the top is down (v26). The humblest slave receives the highest position (v27), in which none can outdo Christ (v28). Here is the theme of the entire book of Matthew, and in some ways, of the whole Bible: the glorious God humbled Himself in order to ransom those unto whom He was determined to give a place in His kingdom. 

Behold your wise, gentle Savior. Not only did He submit Himself to the cross for your sake, but He knows exactly your need for Him to apply its lessons to you. And, He patiently and gently keeps teaching you by pointing you to Himself. 

What position or praise does your flesh crave? By what sort of path are you expecting to go to glory? Whom can you trust with your place in the kingdom? How does this change the way you think and act in/about the church? Of whom have you made yourself servant and slave?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for determining to give each of us our own particular place in Your kingdom. Forgive us for desiring any other place but the one that You have intended. Please give us the wisdom to expect that we will only come to glory through service and suffering. And, graciously carry us through that service and suffering until You have brought us all the way home to our place in Your kingdom, we ask in the Name of Jesus, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP15 “Within Your Tent, Who Will Abide” or TPH539“Am I a Soldier of the Cross”

Friday, July 04, 2025

2025.07.04 Hopewell @Home ▫ Deuteronomy 5:18

Read Deuteronomy 5:18

Questions from the Scripture text: What does this verse prohibit?

What is the proper relationship of God’s provisions to the pleasures of those provisions? Deuteronomy 5:18 prepares us for the evening sermon on the coming Lord’s Day. In this verse of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that God has made marriage, and other things, pleasurable in order that we might enjoy His goodness in what He has designed, and therefore forbids seeking the pleasure apart from or in contradiction to God’s design.  

The sixth commandment, prohibiting murder, rested upon the fact that man is created in the image of God. The seventh commandment, prohibiting adultery, also takes us back to the creation. For, God made them from the beginning “male and female” so that the two could become one flesh in the God-joined covenant of marriage (cf. Matt 19:4–6, Prov 2:16–17). 

Marriage is a glorious arrangement that not only supplied the man and the woman with an honorable and blessed estate (cf. Heb 13:4) but was the means by which they would be fruitful and multiply. So greatly is it to be honored that the connection with father and mother which is so strongly upheld by the fifth commandment must become a lower class connection by comparison to marriage (cf. Gen 2:24a), so that spouse always takes precedent over parent (cf. Ps 45:10c). Furthermore, marriage itself serves as a picture of Christ and His church, and marriage done well communicates many good things by analogy to the Lord Jesus and His Bride (cf. Eph 5:22–33).

What a glorious thing is marriage! Therefore, we praise the wisdom of God that has so blessed that special marital knowing of a man and his wife: the mutual and exclusive commitment, the treasuring of one not just like oneself but as being one with one’s own self, the intertwining of heart and life, and even the privilege and pleasure of the marriage bed.

But just as murder disregards God in man, so also adultery disregards God in marriage. In fact, apart from marriage itself, it seeks to have the pleasures of marriage: feastings of the eyes or attractings of others’ eyes, intertwining of the heart, the special knowing of another and various pleasures that come with it. Whether it’s immodest dress, the wandering eye, indulging thoughts of romance or lust, or even worse the involving of others in actions that stir up these sins of the heart—all of them seek pleasures that belong to marriage without the marriage to which they belong. 

When we go after these with our heart, we show that we do not care for God’s institution, for God’s covenant, for the multiplication of God’s image through it, or the display of God’s redemption in it. It is bad enough that adultery, fornication, pornography, etc. communicate that we do not need our spouse to have the pleasures that belong properly to marriage. Even worse, it communicates that our pleasure is chief and that other things are a means to the end of our pleasure, putting ourselves and our pleasure in the place that rightfully belongs to God. 

Chastity is much more than refraining from sexual sin. It is a commitment to enjoying only those pleasures which come in the way that God has designed and commanded them, because He Himself is our chief joy. Indeed, once a man and woman are married, chastity actually demands their romantic enjoyment of one another, of their conjoined life, of the marriage bed (cf. 1Cor 7:3–5). For it is the Lord Who has given these as part of the goodness of marriage, which He has designed for so many good purposes.

Why is marriage good? What purposes does it have? Whose marriages’ health ought you to be guarding and promoting? How do you do that for yourself? How do you do that for others?

Sample prayer: Lord, we bless Your Name for the good gift of marriage. Preserve each of us for our spouse alone, and give us pleasure in the exclusive fellowship and fecund fruitfulness of marriage. Make us to be zealous for faithfulness in others’ marriages as well. Give us modesty of dress and behavior and a chastity that delights in You and Your good design. Forgive us and help us by the life and power of Christ, in Whose Name we ask it, AMEN!

Suggested songs: ARP45B “Daughter, Incline Your Ear” or TPH174 “The Ten Commandments”

Thursday, July 03, 2025

2025.07.03 Hopewell @Home ▫ Revelation 15:1–4

Read Revelation 15:1–4

Questions from the Scripture text: What does John see in v1? Of what quality? How many of whom? What do they have? What is completed in them? What does he see in v2? What does the sea seem to be made of? With what does it seem to be mingled? Over what four things do those standing upon it have victory? What do they have in their hands (cf. 5:8; Ps 149:3, 7–9)? Whose song do they sing (v3, cf. Ex 15)? And which other song is now detailed? What are great and marvelous? Whose works? What is true of His ways? What else is He called? What two things are asked rhetorically in v4a? What is the implied answer? What is the first reason to fear and glorify Him (v4b)? What is a second (v4c)? And a third (v4d)? 

What is it like in heaven, when wrath is being poured out upon the earth? Revelation 15:1–4 looks forward to the hearing of God’s Word, publicly read, in the holy assembly on the coming Lord’s Day. In these four verses of Holy Scripture, the Holy Spirit teaches us that heaven is a place of peace, power, and praise, while God’s wrath is being poured out upon the earth.

Peace. Comparing v1 to 12:1, we see that John is moving on from the dragon’s war on the church, which takes place during the entire time between Christ’s comings, and which he has examined from various vantage points. As he is about to take us into the pourings out of God’s wrath on the earth, he starts us out in heaven. As in the other cycles of visions in Revelation, the situation in heaven is rather opposite to that on the earth. The seven angels with the seven last plagues that complete the wrath of God, have appeared. But, in heaven, the scene is one of peace, power, and praise.

One thing to notice here is that the saints are standing on the sea—like Peter, when his eyes were fixed upon Christ. Unlike that situation, this sea is not raging. Exactly the opposite. Things on earth are ranging, as implied by the glass being “mingled with fire.” They can see through the clear, calm glass, and what they see is the burning of the fire (cf. 14:18a). But they are literally above it, standing securely despite it. 

Power. The Lord has delivered these saints. Yes, from the sword of the beast. The powers of this world, in service of the dragon, have failed to destroy them. Even their deaths translated them to this condition, where they stand upon a sea of tranquility. But, even more, the Lord has delivered them from the seduction of the beast. They did not worship his image, or take his mark; they worship Christ, the very image of God, and are marked by Him. 

Here they are, assembled for praise, having been given a priesthood that is represented in the harps in their hands in v2. As with the Lord’s priestly people in Ps 149, their praise of God (cf. Ps 149:1–4) is married to power over the nations, peoples, kings, and nobles (cf. Ps 149:7–8). The wrath of God’s judgment upon them is written, and upon His saints He has bestowed the honor of standing atop its execution (cf. Ps 149:9). They have not merely escaped. They have gained victory. Victory over the beast. Victory over his image. Victory over the number of his name. They are a victorious people.

Praise. Though they stand upon a sea of glass, through which they see the fire of God’s wrath, the saints’ attention is not on this great spectacle. Their attention is upon the Lord God, Who has given them the victory. Like the Israelites safe on the banks of the Egyptian-swallowing sea, these saints sing (v3). The song of Moses was, “I will sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” (cf. Ex 15:1, 21). And it anticipated this new and glorious song.

The Lord God Almighty (v3c) glorifies His Name (v4a) especially as the King of the saints (v3e). He is great and marvelous in Himself, and He shows it in the great and marvelous salvation of His people. He is just and true, His ways are just and true (v3d), and He shows it by the truth and justice of the ultimate end His people vs the ultimate end of His enemies. The end result is that all of the remnant of humanity worship Him (v4a–c). Those who love the Lord rejoice that His Name would be feared and that He would be worshiped. The glorified saints delight in His judgments, not merely because they are given victory and glory, but especially because this brings glory to their God.

How are you taking advantage of the opportunity to worship, and meditate upon Scripture, to rise peacefully above whatever rages on the earth? Over what temptations and seductions is the Lord giving you victory? How does your joy at being delivered or honored compare to your joy at God being feared and worshiped?

Sample prayer:  Lord, thank You for glorifying Your Name by delivering Your saints, and giving them victory. Forgive us for when we do not let Your peace rule in our hearts, or guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And forgive us for how we miss opportunities to praise Your Name for the displays of Your greatness, justice, and truth. Grant that we would enjoy Your peace, employ Your power, and express Your praise through Christ, in Whose Name we ask it, AMEN!

 Suggested songs: ARP98 “O Sing a New Song to the Lord” or TPH389 “Great God, What Do I See and Hear”