My husband has been preaching through Romans for some time now (48 weeks and he’ll be in chapter 13 next), and each week has been such a feast that it has been hard to pick out a bite to put up here on Femina to share with you all. But I’ve got one for you from this past Lord’s Day: What God commands, He gives; and He gives what He commands.
In other words, did God command us to not worry? Yes. And He gives us peace. Did He command us to love our enemies? Yes, and He will give us that love. So as we exercise our faith in obedience, we are not left to find the resources within ourselves. What a disappointment that would be! But He enables us to obey Him by giving us all the resources we have in Christ. It’s as though He fills our cupboards with heavenly provisions, and then tells us to open them up and help ourselves. Think about this one for a while! I have been finding it helpful all week.
A friend has loaned me his 1663 edition of A Compleat Collection of Farewell Sermons which includes many of the sermons preached on Sunday, August 17, 1662, by some of England’s greatest preachers. Following the Act of Uniformity of 1662, close to 2,000 ministers left their pulpits rather than compromise their faith. Of particular interest to me are the sermons (one forenoon and one afternoon) by Thomas Watson, and before I return this rare treasure of a book, I wanted to post up a couple of quotes for you.
“We are to love the people of God, although they have many weak infirmities; shew me the man that is perfect, and let him throw the first stone, even the best. Saints like the Stars they have their twinkling, they have their blemishes and their failings: in some there’s too much pride, in others too much censoriousness, in others too much rash anger and passion, but we must love the grace that is in them, not withstanding the infirmities that are in them; you love gold though in the oare, and mixed with much impurity; a Saint on earth, is like a Diamond that hath it’s flaw, like to the Rose that is sweet Continue reading ‘God’s Jewels’
I’m trying to give you a short summary each week from the sermon, a few gleanings that I found particularly satisfying. But this week I was so convicted that I just wanted to come home and go to bed. But instead I had to hear it all again in the second service (being a devoted wife of the minister). But, thankfully, we had a time of confession again in the second service, so I managed to press on and through. Here are the few highlights I have selected for you, and I hope you will be encouraged.
The basic thrust was this: Look out. Look sharp. Christmas is coming, and it is not all about you. The text was Colossians 3:12-17 and the idea that the minister was expressing to us was that we should take a hint from the past seventeen Christmases where we fell on our faces and do a little preparation this year. After all, it will be here on Friday. And, as he put it, there it is on the calendar, leering at you. Continue reading ‘Get Dressed for Christmas’
This morning at worship my husband taught us the difference between looking at Advent as a season of preparation as opposed to a season of penitence. Some Christians view the Advent season as a time to “give up something” like they do for Lent. But if we give up facebook for Advent, and then tell all our friends about it, this is not a biblical fast. When we fast, or give up something, no one but God should know about it. (We should keep it to ourselves and not announce to everyone that we are giving up chocolate or coffee!) Jesus made fun of the Pharisees for letting everyone know when they were fasting (Matthew 6:16-18). “They have their reward.” Of course fasting can be spiritually healthy when done in a God-honoring way. Penitence means repentance, and that is something we should be eager to do all Continue reading ‘Advent Expectancy’
Today we had the good fortune of worshiping with and sitting under the preaching of our good friend Dr. David Field. He and his wife Sue are visiting our community from London. He used Isaiah 40 as his text, and I simply must give you a couple of tidbits from his sermon. Don’t expect this to even give the context of all of his remarks. (It’s rather like giving you a spoon full of the mashed potatoes without the rest of the meal, and without the British accent.) But here are a couple of things I thought were particularly practical and convicting.
We as a people are not good at waiting. We get tired of waiting, and we begin to think the Lord has forgotten us. This is true whether we are waiting to be married, waiting to have a child, waiting to find a job, waiting to be healed, or any other number of Continue reading ‘Strength Renewal’
The time has come to start preparing The Feast. I get very excited about it all, and I love thinking over what the next few days will include, sorting out who will make which pies, and how I will keep the grandkids occupied while their parents are still over in Merry Ol’ England. Today was easy because God sent a beautiful load of snow and the afternoon was spent sliding and rolling around in it (not me, but the kids) until it was almost dark outside. But I digress.
Today my husband preached a Thanksgiving sermon, and I sat in a different row than usual with my five Merkle grandchildren. Funny how being in a different seat can change the whole experience. The kids were great, I got to sit behind the Wilson family grandkids, and I have always wanted to be over there with them all during the Lord’s Supper, so it was sweet indeed. (The Janks were somewhere in the back and I didn’t get a peep at them until after the service when all the grandkids make a bee-line for Doug to give him a hug, and then a bee-line for me because I have the treats in my purse to hand out.) But there I go digressing again.
The point of the sermon was very applicable to all of us who will be putting on our battle gear in the kitchen tomorrow and the next day and the next until the Great Feast Day. He was speaking about rejoicing in the evil day, and how our days are just as evil (or almost) Continue reading ‘Fighting Gear’
Recent Comments