Sunday's Hymn: Oh, How Good It Is

Oh how good it is 

When the family of God

Dwells together in spirit 

In faith and unity. 

Where the bonds of peace, 

Of acceptance and love 

Are the fruit of His presence 

Here among us.

CHORUS 

So with one voice we’ll sing to the Lord 

And with one heart we’ll live out His word 

Till the whole earth sees 

The Redeemer has come

For He dwells in the presence of His people. 

Oh how good it is 

On this journey we share 

To rejoice with the happy 

And weep with those who mourn. 

For the weak find strength 

The afflicted find grace 

When we offer the blessing 

Of belonging. 

Oh how good it is 

To embrace His command 

To prefer one another

Forgive as He forgives. 

When we live as one 

We all share in the love 

Of the Son with the Father 

And the Spirit. 

—Keith Getty, Kristyn Getty, Ross Holmes, and Stuart Townend (© 2012 Gettymusic and Parakeet Boots Music and Townend Music)

Other hymns, worship songs, prayers, sermons excerpts, or quotes posted today:

• Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart at Graces Daily
• Sing to the Lord of Harvest at The Happy Wonderer
• Culture as common grace at Blogging Theologically
• Christian Charity at Tried With Fire
• Lifting Up Our Hearts - 40 at The Upward Call
• As You Are Light, May I Walk in You from Trevin Wax
• Lord’s Day 39, 2014 at The Thirsty Theologian
• Your weekly dose of Spurgeon: Different by design at Pyromaniacs

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.

Linked Together: Questions Answered

A little recommended weekend reading.

What If the Worst Happens?
I have to admit it: I’m a “what if?” woman. I do more than my fair share of worrying about what could happen.

Vaneetha Rendall suggests replacing “what if” with “even if.”

In the Bible, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were not guaranteed deliverance. Just before Nebuchadnezzar delivered them to the fire, they offered some of the most courageous words ever spoken. “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it … But even if he does not, we want you to know that we will not serve your gods … ” (Daniel 3:17–18).

Even if.

Even if the worst happens, God’s grace is sufficient. Those three young men faced the fire without fear because they knew that whatever the outcome, it would ultimately be for their good and for God’s glory. They did not ask “what if” the worst happened. They were satisfied knowing that “even if” the worst happened, God would take care of them.

Read the rest at Desiring God Blog.

What Does Repentance Look Like?
David shows us in Psalm 51 (R. C. Sproul).

Why Are You Here on Earth?
The answer is in a George Herbert poem (John Piper).

Why Is Propitiation Important?
Because it’s what we need (Kim Shay).

With and Within

J. I. Packer on the relationship of Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son:

The Spirit, whose creative power effected the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:35), was with and within the incarnate Son throughout his life on earth. He disclosed his presence to Jesus, to John, and perhaps to others by the apparition of the dove at Jesus’s baptism (Matt. 3:16-17; John 1:32-33), which convinced John that “this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” The Spirit bearer, so John was told, would in due course be the Spirit giver. The Spirit at once led Jesus into the wilderness “to be tempted by the devil” (Matt 4:1); he participated in all the Savior’s ministry (Luke 4:14), empowering his miracles (Matt 12:28), prompting his joy (Luke 10:21), and sustaining him through the agony of Gethsemane for the greater agony of his atoning death (Heb. 9:14). As we Christians are upheld by the Holy Spirit in the life that we live with God and for God, so was our Savior before us. As we live in a simultaneous relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are always together and never apart from each other, so were the Father and the Spirit together with the Son when he was on earth, as they are still and always will be.

Quoting from Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know (page 114).