Worship Devotional II
Originally posted to the Facebook group on 11/27/2019.
Weekly Worship Devotional
Hello again everyone! This week we celebrate Thanksgiving, remembering to give thanks to God for all He has given us. We also are preparing to enter the Christmas season, and so the songs and Scriptures we are listening to are about how the gospel reveals Jesus Christ as the Light of the world and the eternal King.
Before we focus our singing this month on the birth of the Messiah, we will be reflecting on the prophecies that point to His coming, on the anticipation of a King and Savior. When sin entered the world, darkness and death entered with it. Sin clouds our vision, blinding us to the truth of God's word. Because we all are guilty of sin against the Lord, we all deserve to die. We cannot save ourselves by our righteous deeds, for even those which we attempt can be twisted and corrupted by our selfish motives. We have become enslaved to our sin, and we cannot break its bonds by our own strength. We all are weak and broken, and have gone astray like sheep (see Isaiah 53:6). God's own chosen people, the nation of Israel, rejected Him and turned aside to the evil ways of all the other nations. There was no hope for mankind, for everyone was found to be guilty.
However, even through all of the rebellion and sin, God continued to speak to His people through His prophets, and performed signs and wonders in the sight of all the nations. The prophets spoke of One who would come to save God's people, to restore their lives and return them to the true God, to forgive their sin and make everything new. He would suffer in our place and bear the weight of our guilt so that we might be justified and cleansed through Him. Because of God's unfailing love, which we sang about last week with gratitude, He offered hope to a dark and dying world. Even though we don't deserve it, God has promised a true and eternal hope to those who believe in His name, that they may be saved unto light and life in Him.
Here are the songs we are singing to reflect on this and to praise God this week:
1) Here I Am To Worship by Tim Hughes
We start the set by saying to God, "Here I am," and bowing our hearts before Him in worship. The verses talk about how the Light of the world stepped into darkness for us, and how the eternal King humbled Himself for the sake of His love. By this great and awe-inspiring act, we don't have to know the cost/penalty of our sin anymore, because Jesus took it upon Himself and paid it for us.
2) Suffering Servant by Dustin Kensrue
This song is taken from Isaiah 53, which prophesied the coming of the Servant of the Lord who would suffer in the place of His people to save, heal, forgive, and deliver them. With a passionate declaration, it reminds us that the One whose birth we celebrate at Christmas is the One who would suffer and die according to the Scriptures to redeem God's people.
This song is based on John 1, which introduces Christ as the true light, the Word become flesh, and the Son of God.
The next song is also about the Light of the world and the eternal King. We declare His greatness and lift up His name, which is holy and exalted above all else.
5) Come Thou Long Expected Jesus
Finally, we conclude the set with the first "Christmas song" of the month, a hymn by Charles Wesley. This song brings us to a place of anticipation for the coming of the Lord as we enter the Christmas season to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the fulfillment of prophecies, the arrival of hope for mankind.
Scriptures to read and meditate on:
Isaiah 42:1-9, 49:1-13, 50, 52:13-15, & 53
John 1, 3:16-21, 8:12, & 12:34-46
Psalm 22 & 102
Matthew 4:12-17 & 11:25-30
Luke 1:78-79 & 2:31-32
1 John 1:1-3
As we go through this holiday season, let us remember why we celebrate. We give thanks because God has provided for us and poured out blessing on His people. We have nothing except what God has given to us. We celebrate Christmas because though God could have just left us to die under the judgment we deserve, He instead chose to come to us, born into human flesh, bringing light and salvation and life everlasting. Let us celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ, looking forward to the day He returns, full of gratitude in our hearts for His grace and truth and love. See you Sunday!