Category: worship

That’s My King!

Posted on by Dorci

Dr. S. M. (Shadrach Meshach) Lockridge served the Lord as a pastor from 1942 to 1993, and man did he love Jesus.  In 1976 he delivered a sermon he called Amen. This is the powerful last six and half minutes of that sermon we know as That’s My King! 

Let these words wash over you, and the gravity of who Christ is fill you with His peace, His strength, and His joy.  If you’d like, you can listen to the entire sermon here. 

Let’s worship…

 

 

That’s My King

My King was born King. The Bible says He’s a seven-way king….He’s the King of the Jews; that’s a racial king….He’s the King of Israel; that’s a national King….He’s the King of Righteousness….He’s the King of the Ages…..He’s the King of Heaven….He’s the King of Glory….He’s the King of kings, and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King. Well….I wonder, do you know Him?….

David said, “The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply.

No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He’s enduringly strong….He’s entirely sincere….He’s eternally steadfast….He’s immortally graceful….He’s imperially powerful….He’s impartially merciful……. Do you know Him?

He’s the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world. He’s God’s Son….He’s a sinner’s Saviour….He’s the centerpiece of civilization….He stands in the solitude of Himself….He’s august….

He’s unique….He’s unparalleled….He’s unprecedented….He’s the loftiest idea in literature….He’s the highest personality in philosophy….He’s the supreme problem in higher criticism….He’s the fundamental doctrine of true theology….

He’s the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion….He’s the miracle of the age…. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him….He’s the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour…… I wonder if you know Him today?

He supplies strength for the weak….He’s available for the tempted and the tried….He sympathizes and He saves….He strengthens and sustains….He guards and He guides….He heals the sick….He cleanses lepers….

He forgives sinners….He discharges debtors….He delivers captives….He defends the feeble….He blesses the young….He serves the unfortunate….He regards the aged….He rewards the diligent….and He beautifies the meek……. I wonder if you know Him?

Well, my King….is the King….He’s the key to knowledge….He’s the wellspring to wisdom….He’s the doorway of deliverance….He’s the pathway of peace….He’s the roadway of righteousness ….He’s the highway of holiness….He’s the gateway of glory……. Do you know Him?

Well….His office is manifold….His promise is sure….His light is matchless….His goodness is limitless….His mercy is everlasting….His love never changes….His word is enough….

His grace is sufficient….His reign is righteous….and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He’s indescribable….He’s incomprehensible….He’s invincible….He’s irresistible.

Well, you can’t get Him out of your mind….You can’t get Him off of your hand….You can’t out live Him, and you can’t live without Him….The Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him….Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him….

The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree….Herod couldn’t kill Him….Death couldn’t handle Him, and the grave couldn’t hold Him. Yea!!!, that’s my King, that’s my King.

Father…”Thine is the Kingdom….and the Power….and the Glory….Forever”….and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever…and ever…and when you get through with all the forevers, then…. AMEN!….AMEN!

Saturday Song – Changed

Posted on by Dorci

“So I’m telling you this, and I insist on it in the Lord: you shouldn’t live your life like the Gentiles anymore. They base their lives on pointless thinking, and they are in the dark in their reasoning. They are disconnected from God’s life because of their ignorance and their closed hearts. They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.

– But –

you didn’t learn that sort of thing from Christ. Since you really listened to him and you were taught how the truth is in Jesus, change the former way of life that was part of the person you once were, corrupted by deceitful desires. Instead, renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God’s image in justice and true holiness.”  Ephesians 4:17-24 CEB

 

Saturday Song – I Know

Posted on by Dorci
 
 
 
 
I Know
Big Daddy Weave
 
You don’t answer all my questions
But you hear me when I speak
You don’t keep my heart from breakin’
But when it does, you weep with me
You’re so close that I can feel you
When I’ve lost the words to pray
And though my eyes have never seen you
I’ve seen enough to say
I know that you are good
I know that you are kind
I know that you are so much more
Than what I leave behind
I know that I am loved
I know that I am safe
Cause even in the fire to live is Christ, to die is gain
I know that you are good
I don’t understand the sorrow
But you’re calm within the storm
Sometimes this weight is overwhelming
But I don’t carry it alone
You’re still close when I can’t feel you
I don’t have to be afraid
And though my eyes have never seen you
I’ve seen enough to say
I know that you…
 
Finally, brothers and sisters,

whatever is true,

whatever is noble,

whatever is right,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is admirable—

if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

Philippians 4:8

Treasure Hunting

Posted on by Dorci

This time of year we start seeing and hearing scripture about the birth of Jesus, and if we’ve been a believer long enough, or even alive long enough, they’re probably all words we’ve heard before…

 “And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Luke 2:7

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12

As beautiful as those words are, as amazing and miraculous as those events were and what they still mean for us today, we might start thinking we’ve heard it all before and there’s nothing new to learn. 

But that’s the amazing thing about God’s Word – it is chock full of buried treasure just waiting to be uncovered. 

Rabbi Jason Sobel gives us an amazing jewel that I’d never heard before about Jesus’s birth and the significance of being wrapped in swaddling cloths.

The series Rabbi Sobel refers to – The Chosen – is an amazingly well-done show that portrays the life of Jesus and how He radically changed those who encountered Him. 

I can relate.

Life is hard and I need God’s treasure, the seen and unseen. The treasure left for me in plain sight and the deeper, buried treasure that can only be found by those who are willing to hunker down and dig deep.

More than ever I want to go treasure hunting in the coming year. I want to continue encountering Jesus in new and precious ways so He can continue molding me into the person only He can make me to be.

I hope you come with me as we seek Him and His treasure together.

 

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of your Son.  Please lead us in the coming year as we seek to know you on an ever-deepening level. Change us into the men and women you desire us to be, and may we bring you glory as we follow you.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

Saturday Song – Holy Water

Posted on by Dorci

I was driving down the road minding my own business when a song I’d never heard before came on the radio.  It grabbed my soul by the shoulders, shook it and said “get your eyes off the world, off yourself, and back onto the gracious, refreshing, life-giving, life-renewing Living Water of Jesus Christ.” Maybe it’ll do the same for you.  God bless you today and always.

 

 

Holy Water
by We The Kingdom

God, I’m on my knees again
God, I’m beginning please again
I need you
Oh, I need you


Walking down these desert roads
Water for my thirsty soul
I need you
Oh, I need you


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
Like Holy water on my skin


Dead man walking, slave to sin
I wanna know being born again
I need you
Oh, God, I need you


So, take me to the riverside
Take me under, baptize
I need you
Oh, God I need you


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
Like holy water on my skin
(On my skin, on my…)


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


I don’t wanna abuse your grace
God, I need it every day
It’s the only thing that ever really
Makes me wanna change


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips (Yes, it is)
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
It’s like holy water…


Your forgiveness
Is like sweet, sweet honey
On my lips
Like the sound of a symphony
To my ears
It’s like holy water on my skin
It’s like holy water on my skin
It’s like holy water.

Are We Really Living a Christian Life?

Posted on by Dorci

I am so blessed to be able to sit in church on Sunday and worship the Lord with some beautifully composed music and be fed by pastors who love the Lord greatly and study hard to bring us Bible-based sound teaching. During the week there’s a Bible study and home groups. My social media page is full of pastors and messages that remind me about God’s truths. I have at least 15 Bibles in several translations, and more faith-based books than I will probably ever be able to finish.  On the internet I have access to teachings from some of the most gifted pastors and teachers from all over the world, countless commentaries, uplifting Christian music…

And I wonder how many other people are doing the very same thing Sunday after Sunday, week after week.

We are deluged with messages from and for believers of every type, for every situation, every level of faith, and every age.

So why does the church, at least here in America, seem more anemic and ineffective than ever?

Why do we live our lives largely indistinguishable from the world?

Why do we get up in the morning and still feel like we’re being sucked under the trials of life, wondering where the joy is we’re supposed to be experiencing? Why we’re not feeling like an overcomer? Why we aren’t living that life Jesus talked about when He said:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”
(John 10:10)

That question has a lot of answers, but I want to tackle just one right now.  Could it be the thief is still working hard to steal, kill, and destroy as much of that abundant life as he can, and maybe he’s using busyness, even “Christian” busyness, to do it?

Could it be that we have so much all around us that we are kidding ourselves into thinking we’re living a Christian life that would lead to abundance without really living it?

Maybe all the doing – sitting in a seat on Sundays, singing along, having a Bible (and maybe even opening up from time to time), maybe listening to a Christian song every now and then or even reading a faith-based book, is causing us to think we’re accomplishing something.

But maybe all it’s become, if done in the flesh, in our own strength, is nothing more than a rote religion, or just another sort of self-help.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…”
(Galatians 5:22)

Jesus came to give us life, and when He went back to the Father He gave us His Holy Spirit to bring about the abundant life we desire and Christ died to give us.

All those things – the teachings, the worship (the music is not a warm-up concert for the pastor!), the studies, the reading, are all meant to draw us closer to Jesus as we walk through them with the Holy Spirit. He is the power in our lives. He will bring about the abundant life we all so desperately want.

We’re on a journey with Him to know God and love Him more, to grow in faith, not to just put in our time on Sunday morning. Walking with Him is not just part of our life, it IS our life.

God desires to do so much in our hearts, our minds, and in and through our lives, and He wants us to partner with Him – to seek Him, to know Him, to love Him – as we do those things.

Do we pray before going to church, asking and fully expecting to hear from God, to receive from Him what He wants to say to us? Do we use the time we sing together to truly worship the Lord, to enter into the throne room of God and praise and exalt Him and let Him prepare our hearts for His message? Do we pray for our pastors during the week, that He will speak to them as they prepare the teaching, and that He will speak through them on Sunday morning? Do we pray before reading God’s Word or other books, or before listening to teachings online?

Do we pray without ceasing, inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us and change us through those things?

Are we, the branches, clinging to the Vine, allowing Him to use all those things as nourishment for our souls, bringing its fruit in His time?

What all those things are meant to do, what they should do, is draw us closer to Jesus, reminding us of His love and grace and mercy so that we will continue reaching out to Him, reading and studying His Word and praying, inviting Him into every aspect of our lives. Inviting Him to leave no sin-stone unturned in the sanctifying of our souls. Inviting Him into every bit of suffering, every attitude, every decision, every joy.

Oh Church, we must leave the dead religion behind and get back to a living, breathing relationship with the One who died to bring us abundant life – to mold us into His image, to bring about the godly treasures we could never find in the world if we looked forever, and to be a light to the world.

Can you imagine if we invited the power of God into our lives every single day? If we let the Holy Spirit continually have His way in and through us?

If He changed the world with 12 men, what could He do with a nation full of Spirit-filled, God-fearing, mercy-loving believers?

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21)

.

Heavenly Father, thank you for not only giving us your Holy Spirit to be with us, but to indwell us.  He is an amazing gift and we are so grateful. Help us to always walk in the Spirit, to breathe and live and grow and speak in the Spirit. Help us to cling to you through Him so that He might produce the fruit and gifts in our hearts and lives that you desire so that we, as your church, your kingdom, can be effective witnesses and bright lights to the world around us that’s so dark and seems to get darker every day. Help us to have wisdom and discernment to know how to live in this world, but not to be of it.  Help us to glorify and magnify the name of Jesus.  It’s in His precious name we pray, amen. 

How Can Salt Lose Its Saltiness?

Posted on by Dorci

I ask myself this question every time I come across these words of Jesus –

“You are the salt of the earth.
But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?
It is no longer good for anything,
except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
Matthew 5:13

So, how does salt lose its saltiness?

What was Jesus telling us?

We mostly use salt now to make great burgers and to bring out all the good flavors in our food, but in Jesus’ day, salt was very important and used for many things.  Besides being used to flavor food, it was also used to preserve food, to heal, and as currency, or trade.  (The word salary comes from the Latin word salarium, the root word of which is sal.)  And it’s essential to our health.

Mountainside by the Sea of Galilee

When Jesus sat on the mountainside teaching by the Sea of Galilee, not far from the salt-filled Dead Sea, the people who were listening had a much fuller, richer understanding of the metaphor “you are the salt of the earth.” And my guess is they would have also understood how salt could lose its saltiness and what a horrifying thought that was.

Salt is made up of a number of chemical compounds, but what it is mostly, what makes it salty, what makes it useful, is sodium chloride, which is very stable and will keep its usefulness for years.

But…

If salt is exposed to water, or diluted, the sodium chloride can be dissolved and removed, and the salt will lose its essence, or saltiness. It still looks like salt, but it’s no longer useful.

We, too, can look the same on the outside, but if we let our faith become weak, we’ll lose our usefulness in the kingdom of God.

So how can we, being the salt of the earth, lose our saltiness?

How can we lose our usefulness?

There are a million ways, but it all comes down to letting our faith become diluted.

Watered down. Weak. Tasteless. Flat.

“But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith
and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love
as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
to bring you to eternal life.”  Jude 1:20

Jude writes an impassioned letter to his fellow believers warning them that wolves have always, and will always slip in among the sheep, and will corrupt them and their faith if they’re not careful.  The ungodly “pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.”  (Jude 1:4)

In this age of television, computers, and smartphones, we no longer need to wait for the godlessness of the world to physically come in among us.  The world comes at us constantly, and the more we allow it, the more we become steeped in it, the more we’ll begin to look like it, think like it, and believe like it.

Not only are there people who pervert the gospel itself, sometimes even calling themselves Christians, all around us there is a pervasive attitude of anger, hatred, judgment, unforgiveness, self-righteousness, salaciousness, among others.  The apostle Paul warned about this explicitly in his second letter to Timothy.  

God’s Word warns us over and over to be careful of allowing any false beliefs, no matter how subtle or how good or even inspirational they may sound, to water down the true gospel, and our faith.

Every day we have to be vigilant and spiritually discerning of what is true and what is not, and

“not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Rom. 12:2)

And by doing that we are able to build ourselves up as Jude exhorts us, and

“…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.” (2 Peter 1:5-9)

The same word Jude used for holy faith is used for the Holy Spirit, in whom we are to pray at all times.  He enables us to worship God over the world and ourselves, to seek God’s will above our own, to repent of our sins and be cleansed and made holy, set apart for the work of God. 

Unless we’re walking in Him we will revert right back to walking in our flesh, to living for the world and for ourselves, and in that state we cannot be useful in spiritual things.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”  (Colossians 2:6-8)

If we ever wonder what God’s will for us is, it must include this: “…to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  James 1:27b

And whatever we do, we cannot allow anyone, especially those who have set themselves up as pastors or other type of spiritual leader, no matter how popular they are, to water down the truth in the Word of God and our faith. 

“For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what they itching ears want to hear.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4

Sometimes popularity comes at the expense of the truth that most don’t want to hear.  Watering down the truth, appealing to our flesh, is exactly what the enemy will use to weaken our faith and our witness. 

So, let’s determine to look and be more like Christ and less like the world, to live our lives worthy of the calling we have in Christ who paid for us with a hefty price. 

Let’s be worth our salt. 

So Much More to be Thankful For

Posted on by Dorci

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to Him and praise His name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100

 

Yes, we have much to be thankful for.  We can all look around and see the many ways we’re blessed.  But as God’s children, we have so much more.  Right now we still most easily see with our eyes, but God knows that the temporary things of this life will leave us wanting, and so He continually invites us to see with our hearts.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Cor. 5:7  “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:1

And what we do not yet see is all God is building for us, inside our hearts and souls, and inside His kingdom that is to come – our future and forever home with Him.

No matter what’s going on in our lives right now – the pain, the heartache, the sickness, the missing of our loved ones – by God’s Spirit we can choose to see with the eyes of our hearts all God has done, is doing, and will continue to do. 

Through our struggles God draws near to us, and calls us to draw nearer to Him.  He speaks to us in our pain; He loves us in our sickness, comforts us in our grief, and has filled us with a deep and lasting joy nothing can take way.  Through it all He builds a powerful faith on the foundation of Christ that will bring us a future reward we can only dream of, for now. Those are the true blessings so easily overlooked, yet will bring us a future reward that will outshine anything we can see with our eyes.  

We can join as one voice with our brothers and sisters in Christ and look up.  Shout for joy to the Lord for His magnificent love He’s showered on us, for sending His Son to die in our place, for filling us with His Spirit to comfort us, minister to us, heal and restore us, lead us, give us wisdom and peace, and to give us gifts to use to bless the Body. 

To preserve us until the day we see the Lord face to face, and to be filled with the hope that He’s prepared for us a home with Him where we will live in peace and safety with no end.

We can enter into worship with thanksgiving, not just for the things we see, but for the riches we have in Christ, both now and waiting for us.

God’s made us His own and called us His children, and we know that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Nothing on earth compares to that, and for that we can truly give thanks.

What are you thankful for?

Saturday Song – Clear the Stage

Posted on by Dorci

Finding Peace

Posted on by Dorci

 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”  Luke 2:14

I had always set up our nativity scene on a buffet table right by the front door.  Everyone who came and went saw it. Anyone in the living room or kitchen could see it.  And I liked it that way.  I always wanted Jesus to be front and center of Christmas.

Then we moved to a new house and the best place for the buffet was in the front living room.  You know, that room no one ever goes into.  The one that gets passed by on the way to the family (tv) room and the kitchen.

We started unpacking Christmas decorations and the nativity scene automatically went on the buffet. But I still wanted Jesus to be front and center, so I walked around the house looking for a more suitable place for him.  Nothing seemed right.  I didn’t want it where it could get broken.  Some places weren’t big enough.  Some were too high.

“But people will have to go out of their way to see it” I thought. 

Yes, yes they will.

 

There was a lot going on that first Christmas in the little town of Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding regions. The first census had been ordered by Caesar Augustus, and there was a lot of traffic as people made their way to their tribal towns to be counted.  Joseph and Mary traveled 70 miles…70 miles, from Nazareth to Bethlehem, while Mary was very pregnant.

They came into town, dusty and thirsty and exhausted. Maybe the birth pains had already begun. All they wanted was a place to lie down and prepare to give birth to the King of kings.

But there was no place for them. They knocked on doors, but everyone had gotten there ahead of them and every room was filled. Joseph and Mary found refuge where they could, somewhere near the animals, away from the crowd.

No one knew they were there. Not one person in that small but suddenly bustling town knew that just around the corner, in the still of the night, under the stars, was the center of the universe.

Those who heard were the shepherds out in the quiet field, suddenly hearing from a host of angels that the Messiah had been born. They left their lives for a moment, and went out of their way to see the Savior of the world, the One God’s people had been waiting for.

Some time later the magi left their lives for a moment, and went out of their way to follow a star to worship and bring gifts to the King of the Jews.

Christmas is a busy, bustling, noisy time of year. But really, when are our lives not that way? For most of us, not very often.

Our lives are full of busyness and running here and there.  The world is full of chaos and anxiety, and is as short on peace now as it was then.  It always will be.  Funny though, how we can try looking for peace in the world, right in the middle of all that chaos.

But God calls us to come away.

Like the shepherds and the magi, when we come away from the noise, away from the hustle and bustle of the season no matter what season that may be, to worship the King, to see and hear from the Savior of the world, the Savior of our own lives, we will again find a miracle, wrapped in humility and joy and peace.

When we go out of our way to meet with Him and give Him our whole heart’s attention, He will be there, waiting, and we will be ready to receive Him and all He is and has for us.