Sunday's Hymn: How Great Our Joy

While by the sheep we watched at night,
Glad tidings brought an angel bright.

Refrain

How great our joy! Great our joy!
Joy, joy, joy! Joy, joy, joy!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!
Praise we the Lord in heaven on high!

There shall be born, so He did say,
In Bethlehem a Child today.

There shall the Child lie in a stall,
This Child who shall redeem us all.

This gift of God we’ll cherish well,
That ever joy our hearts shall fill.

Other hymns, worship songs, sermons etc. posted today:

• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel at Graces Daily
• O Wondrous Love at By Grace Alone
• The Advent of Our God at The Happy Wonderer
• Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent at Gospel Grace
• Tis So Sweet at Theology for Girls
• O Come, O Come, Emmanuel at The Upward Call
• Why Christ Came: To Do the Father’s Will at Tried With Fire
• Lord’s Day 48, 2013 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Your Weekly Dose of Spurgeon at Pyromaniacs: The long run

Have you posted a hymn (or sermon, sermon notes, prayer, etc.) today and I missed it? Let me know by leaving a link in the comments or by contacting me using the contact form linked above, and I’ll add your post to the list.

The First Commandment

I posted reflections on the first commandment at Out of the Ordinary today.

To keep the commandment to worship the Lord our God and no other god, we need to know him as he has revealed himself. When our view of God is skewed, it isn’t quite the one true God we are holding in our minds when we worship. To the extent that our view of God is different than his self-revelation, we are  “exchanging the truth of God for a lie” (Romans 1:25)—and that’s idolatry. This is why the Westminster Larger Catechism lists ignorance and misapprehensions of God right beside unbelief and misbelief in the list of sins forbidden by the first commandment. 

Read the whole post.

Theological Term of the Week

prayer
“An offering up of our desires unto God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins,and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies”:1 personal communication with God;2 speaking with God.

• From scripture:

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior … .  (1 Timothy 2:1-3 ESV)

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