The Holy City

https://youtu.be/AGIWw8skz-I

The Lord’s my shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your …

Love divine, all loves excelling

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care (Psalm 95:6-7). The Lord is our Maker. These words take us back to the beginning. We cannot take ourselves back to the beginning. We can only …

Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and his love.

We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you (Psalm 33:20-22). Here, we focus on the word, "hope." What do the politicians and economists have to …

O for a closer walk with God

The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever. The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace (Psalm 29:10-11). In these verses, we read about who God is, and we read about what he does for his people. (1) God is the "King." He is not just one king among many other …

We have heard the joyful sound: Jesus saves. Tell the nations: Jesus saves.

The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice (Psalm 97:1). Here, we focus our attention on the words, "the distant shores." As we read these words, we are reminded that the gospel of Jesus Christ, our Saviour, is for people of all nations. As a community of worshippers, we are to be reminded, often, …

Lord, fill our worship and our living with your holiness and your joy.

Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!... Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad (Psalm 96:9,11). In our worship, there is to be both holiness and joy. This is not only the way things are to be when we are gathered together for worship. It's the way things are to be in …

O come to the Father through Jesus, the Son.

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart" (Psalm 24:3-4). We read these words of the Psalmist, and we ask the question, "Who has clean hands and a pure heart?" The moment each of us ask ourselves this question is the …

Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus.

Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law (Psalm 119:18). This is a prayer we can pray when we're reading or hearing the Word of God. What we're really praying is "Open our eyes, Lord. We want to see Jesus." https://youtu.be/4XJu0mnn_b4

How marvellous, how wonderful is my Saviour’s love for me!

Who is a God like You? You forgive sin... You love to be merciful.You will again have compassion on us... You will throw all our sins into the depths of the ocean!... You will bless us... You will set Your love upon us... (Micah 7:18-20). ‘I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene …

Wonderful grace of Jesus

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Let's allow these great words to reach our hearts, and let's worship the Lord with a song of joyful praise and thanksgiving. https://youtu.be/vsPc-Ix3_ow

Since Jesus came into my heart

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). Knowledge There are different types of knowledge. We can know with our minds, and we can know with our hearts. …

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). "Let light shine out of darkness": this takes us all the way back to Genesis 1:3-5. And God said, “Let …

Looking beyond our many defeats to God’s final victory

If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31). "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37). In our world, there are many people who set themselves against the Lord. Here, the Word of God assures us that they will not triumph over the Lord, and they will not triumph …

The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people – robbers, evildoers, …

Learning from Genesis 1 (24): The eternal God and His everlasting love

As we come to the end of this series on "Learning from Genesis 1", let us return to the Bible's first words, "In the beginning, God", let us think about the eternal God, and let us open our hearts to his everlasting love. ‘Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations... From everlasting …

Choruses to encourage you in the Lord

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness - http://standrewstrinity.blogspot.com/2020/04/my-lord-knows-way-through-wilderness.html We worship and adore Thee - http://standrewstrinity.blogspot.com/2020/04/we-worship-and-adore-thee.html Rolled away ... I'm so happy ... - http://standrewstrinity.blogspot.com/2020/04/rolled-away.html His name is wonderful - http://standrewstrinity.blogspot.com/2020/04/his-name-is-wonderful-lyrics.html Wonderful, wonderful, Jesus is to me -http://standrewstrinity.blogspot.com/2020/04/067-wonderful-wonderful-jesus-is-to-me-a.html On the victory side - http://standrewstrinity.blogspot.com/2020/04/cbc-choir-opener-on-victory-side.html For God so loved the world - http://standrewstrinity.blogspot.com/2020/04/for-god-so-loved-world.html

The greatest thing in all my life

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take …

What a friend we have in Jesus

We search for happiness, but will we ever find it? or Is the search for happiness like a wild goose chase? Are we travelling along a dead end street? Are we on a road that leads to nowhere? Jesus gives us something to think about. This is what he says to us: "Seek first God's …

Will we walk in the ways of the world? or Will we walk with the Lord?

"God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord... and Noah walked with God" (Genesis 6:5,8-9). In every generation, the Lord's people must make their choice. Will we …

Love lifted me!

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear (Isaiah 59:1-2). In these verses, we have the truth concerning ourselves: "your iniquities have separated you from …

To be blessed by the Lord is better than anything else.

"Abram is blessed by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth" (Genesis 14:19). To be blessed by the Lord is better than anything else. Without the blessing of God, our lives are empty. We may fill our lives with many things, but the question keeps coming back to us: What about God: where does …

When everything seems so dark

"Even though I walk through the darkest valley,  I will fear no evil" (Psalm 23:4). Darkness threatens to overcome the light - but it cannot be done. Our Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead - and we will rise with him to everlasting life. If you feel like you're travelling through a dark valley, here's …

Is the Lord at the centre of our lives?

"Abram built an altar to the Lord" (Genesis 13:18). As I was reading about Abram and Lot going their separate ways, I noticed these words in the last verse of this chapter. Here, we are challenged to think about what is important to us. Are we giving the Lord His rightful place in our lives? …

How great Thou art

"You are radiant with light, more majestic than mountains ... " (Psalm 76:4). "I lift up my eyes to the mountains — where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:2). It's possible to look up to the mountains - and see nothing but mountains. The …

I have a dream.

https://youtu.be/uHx2uWjECW4

We love, the place, O God.

"Lord, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory dwells" (Psalm 26:8). "We love the place, O God" - listen, sing, and be blessed by the Lord. There is no singing in this video - just music and words on the screen. https://youtu.be/rOUhnA9mJ-Q

Worshipping the Lord

https://youtu.be/_lQRmFXNA2Q Fill our hearts, O God, with praise to You. Help us to exalt You with hearts, full of joyful thanksgiving. https://youtu.be/kA4bTqCjLQw Often, Lord, our faith is weak. Help us to remember that the love of Jesus, our Saviour, is always strong. https://youtu.be/mOrkdW5NAM0 Lord, help us to sing the Kingdom songs - and live the …

O Lord, I Love Your Word.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will …

On the mountaintop with Jesus

Matthew 16:13-17:8 The transfiguration of Jesus (1-8) will be our chief focus of attention, but we will get there by following Peter on a spiritual journey from a mountaintop to a valley and, then back, to a mountaintop. We go on a journey with one of Jesus' disciples. His name is Peter. It's not a …

Some words of encouragement

"I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12). What a great testimony of faith this is! These great words of faith direct our attention away from ourselves to our Saviour. What we are unable to do for …

A new creation in Christ Jesus

What does it mean to become “a new creation in Christ Jesus” (2 Corinthians 5:17)? Does it mean that we become perfect? Does it mean that we will ever become perfect? No! It doesn’t mean either of these things. Throughout our life on earth, each one of us has to live with the fact that we …

What a great difference there is between trying to impress Jesus and asking him to forgive us!

We are not to come to Jesus, our Saviour, with our religion in one hand and our morality in the other hand. We are to come to him with our sin. What's the difference between coming to Jesus with our religion and morality, and coming to him with our sin. When we bring our religion …

First, Jesus has risen from the dead. Then, He lives within my heart.

The hymn, "I serve a risen Saviour, He's in the world today" is probably better known by the first line of its chorus, "He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today." In the chorus, we have these words, "You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart." Before we have the …

Let us worship the Lord and learn from him.

https://youtu.be/44RNKCp-hCY “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!" (Luke 24:5-6). We look together at the risen Christ, and we learn from him. We learn to live for him, always keeping our eyes fixed on him. How do we look to Jesus? How are we to learn …

In our own homes: In our troubled times – let us praise the Lord and pray to Him.

‘I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the House of the Lord”’ (Psalm 122:2). Why, Lord, do we go to Your House? We go ‘to give thanks to the Name of the Lord’ (Psalm 122:4). We seek Your mercy for our past sins: ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us!’ …

May the Lord fill our hearts with the spirit of worship, and may he fill our voices with songs of worship.

"Serve the Lord with gladness. Come befpre him with joyful songs" (Psalm 100:2). https://youtu.be/np79kkXblV0 "There was a vast multitide from every nation, trtibe, people and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb" (Revelation 7:9). https://youtu.be/ccVEjKFkAV4 "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. He was worthy to receive powrer …

Safe in the arms of Jesus

"Noah went into the ark" (Genesis 7:7). For Noah and his family, the ark was the place of safety. For us, Jesus is the 'ark' of our salvation. We are "safe in the arms of Jesus." He has invited us to come to him. He welcomes us when we come to him. We belong to …

Promises, promises, promises

We make promises. We break promises. God is very different from us. He keeps his promises. God "has given us his very great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4). We stand upon the promises he has given to us. https://youtu.be/QVeHDun_oEQ

On the victory side

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17). Here, Paul contrasts the old life and the new life. The old life has come to an end, The new life has begun. Does this mean that we become perfect? No! It doesn't mean that. It …

An unusual Communion service

Since this service is a Communion service, we turn our attention to the 14th chapter of Mark's Gospel, where we read about the last supper Jesus ate with his disciples. We begin by thinking about Jesus' triumphal entry into the city of Jerusalem. We read about this in the beginning of chapter 11. We remember …

From strength to strength, from faith to faith, from glory to glory

"Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 2:1). By the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are led from strength to strengh, from faith to faith, and from glory to glory. (1) From strength to strength The phrase, "from strength to strength" is taken from the hymn, "Soldiers of …

We are weak. The Lord is strong.

"The Lord said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). We are weak. The Lord is strong. Our real strength comes from the Lord, not from ourselves. It comes to us when we are reminded that the Lord's love for us is, always, stronger than our …

I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever.

‘I will sing of the Lord’s great love for ever; with my mouth I will make known Your faithfulness through all generations’(Psalm 89:1). Many years have passed since these words were written by the Psalmist. Many generations have come and gone since Jesus Christ came to our world. The years come and go. The centuries …

What a wonderful day!

One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see! (John 9:25). What a wonderful day it was! The man started the day as a blind man. By the end of that day, he could see. As I was thinking about this, a song came into my mind. It's called, "O what a …

Thinking about faith, love and hope, let us worship the Lord with joy.

https://youtu.be/-TVTmq7THU4 Faith: Thomas said, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). Like Thomas, we speak our words of faith to Jesus, our Saviour. This is more than confessing our faith in a church service. It's saying "thank you" to Jesus for all that he has done for us. We thank Jesus for all that he …

Let us worship the Lord, our God.

https://youtu.be/RAyKmYD2Zg8 Taking the Place of Barabbas (Luke 23:13-25) Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which …

Let us worship the Lord with great joy.

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). The Lord has done great things for us. Let us praise him with great joy. Here's a song that will help you to sing to …

Yield not to temptation.

Away from me, Satan!... Then the devil left Jesus (Matthew 4:10). When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Jesus until an opportune time (Luke 4:13). Jesus' temptations in the wilderness were over, but there would be more temptations, coming his way. As we read the words, "until an opportune time", we are reminded that …

Jesus is calling us to come to him.

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). https://youtu.be/XUVCpF8-VuE

May the Lord bless each of you, as you worship him.

Taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8). As I was reading these words, I thought of the hymn, "Jesus, Thou joy of loving heartrs." Here's a video of the hymn. May the Lord bless you, as you listen to it and sing along with it. https://youtu.be/4QkOLQs44yo

Hallelu, hallelu, hallellu, hallelujah, praise ye the Lord.

Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God (Psalm 147:1). When I was a boy, I was taught a simple song about praising the Lord. Reading the first verse of Psalm 147 brought this simple song back to my mind. I thought I''d share it with you. I hope that it …

God’s Word does not return to him empty.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,  so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will …

Worshipping the Lord and living for him

God is calling us to live with courage, the courage that comes from him. We are to live with the courage that dares to be different. We are not to live the world's way. We are to live the Lord's way. How are we to keep on living for the Lord? We are to walk …

More love, more power

Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). We need faith, and we need hope, but, above all, we need love. We need more than human love. We need God's love. https://youtu.be/JW9SkRMtXTo As I listened to these words of prayer, "More love, more power", I was …

May the peace of God reach your heart and change your life.

You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace (Isaiah 55:12). Where does our joy come from? Where does our peace come from? Our joy comes from the Lord. Our peace comes from the Lord. This post will focus on peace. For more on joy, Are you looking for true and lasting …

In our own homes – let us put our trust in Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

https://youtu.be/lhUiRonlzaQ Lord, we need Your wisdom (2 Chronicles 1:10). We need Jesus – He is Your wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30). Without Jesus, we’re fools. We may think that we’re wise – but we’re not. Jesus makes us wise. True wisdom comes from Him. When we build our lives on Jesus, we are truly wise (Matthew …

In our own homes – praising the Lord

At this difficult and distressing time, we're not able to gather with one another to worship the Lord in His house. In our own homes, we can come to the Lord and we can bring our praise to Him. Let's begin our worship with "We have come into His house and gathered in His name …

In our own homes – let us rejoice in the Lord and receive strength from Him.

This time of worship is not only for Sunday morning (or some other time on Sunday). You can come back, again and again, during the week, and be blessed by the Lord. He is with us every day. He loves us - always and forever. However difficult and distressing our present circumstances may be, let …

In our own homes – let us sing to the Lord with grateful praise.

“Sing to the Lord with grateful praise” (Psalm 147:4). Here’s a link to a song – “I’m forever grateful.” The video will lead you to think of God, your Creator. The words will lead you to the cross of Christ, your Saviour. Look around you – and sing to the Lord with grateful praise. Look to your …