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Zephaniah's prophecy opens with a declaration that the Lord "will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth" (Zephaniah 1:2) but ends with a gentle promise that He will bring His people in, gathering the outcasts together (Zephaniah 3:19). The surprisingly hopeful ending of the book is reflected in many of the elements in this morning's service. We hear God comparing Himself to a sh...

How appropriate that on the morning of our fall hymn sing we come to Zephaniah 3 in our sermon series. In it, the prophet commands us to sing ("Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion") and gives us a picture of God Himself singing to us ("He will exult over you with loud singing"). Nearly every hymn and psalm in this morning's service mentions some aspect of singing. Right at the beginning, we are told to...

Most scholars agree that Psalm 76, the psalm we've been singing all through the month of September, is intended to describe the miraculous defeat of Sennacherib, whose army had laid siege to Jerusalem during the reign of Hezekiah (see 2 Chronicles 32 and Isaiah 37). The angel of the Lord decimated the Assyrian forces in the night as they slept. (This is the "mighty army" who went "securely down to...

Come ye thirsty, come and welcome, God's free bounty glorify; True belief, and true repentance, every grace that brings you nigh. —Joseph Hart In the first two chapters of Zephaniah, the prophet paints a portrait of universal judgment, followed by specific woes for the wicked nations surrounding the people of God. But here in the beginning of chapter 3, we see the Lord's judgment brought to bear o...

Passages like Zephaniah 2, in which God details the coming judgement on the enemies of Israel, tend to make contemporary readers a bit squeamish. After all, the outpouring of words and phrases like "desolation," "woe," "I will destroy you," and "You shall be slain" doesn't seem particularly winsome. But the promises that God will defend His people from their enemies aren't there to be lurid or tri...

The thirteenth century Dies irae (" Day of Wrath ") is one of the best-known hymns of the middle ages. Containing terrifying descriptions of the "tearful day" ( Lacrimosa ) in which the wicked are confounded ( Confutatis maledictis ) and consigned to "acrid flames," this poem became a standard part of the medieval funeral liturgy. As such, it has been set to music numerous times by composers such...

What though my joys and comforts die? The Lord, my Savior, liveth; What though the darkness gather round? Songs in the night He giveth. —Robert Lowry Over the course of the previous two chapters, the prophet Habakkuk has cried out to God in despair over his people's condition. The Lord answers his cry with a vision of judgement, both for the faithless Jews and for those who come to pillage their l...

In Habakkuk 2, the Lord responds to the prophet's questions with a harrowing description of the judgement He is preparing for Babylon. This passage gives us a picture of God as our judge, lawgiver, and king (Isaiah 33:22), imagery which you'll find throughout our service this morning. The Call to Worship from Psalm 50 portrays the Lord surrounded by fire and tempest, calling throughout the heavens...

Over the next three weeks, Pastor Grant will be leading us through the book of Habakkuk. This prophet, like his contemporary Jeremiah, was writing on the cusp of one of the climactic moments in Old Testament history: the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah and the Babylonian captivity. He begins his oracle (what the King James Version poetically renders as a "burden") with a question for God: why...

Many of the hymns we have sung over the past four weeks have had an "Easter" flavor, focusing on Jesus' resurrection as discussed in 1 Corinthians 15. This week, as Paul brings his letter to a close with some personal greetings and encouragements, the hymns shift focus to our own callings as Christians. We ask for Christ's love and power to control all we do and say, that we may run the race befor...

Jesus came to vanquish the final enemy, death itself—and He must win the battle. He is triumphant over the grave and lives that death may die. He is a mighty conqueror, who overthrows death and hell. We can boast in His death and resurrection because His wounds paid our ransom. Because of His atoning sacrifice, we receive great spoils from death, hell, and sin, and we will be complete when we join...

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. —1 Peter 2:2-3 All through the month of July we've been singing a new setting of Psalm 34 (BETHESDA), and I hope the experience has been a blessing. This psalm, written by David after narrowly escaping from his enemies, falls (more or less) into three s...

Reverend Michael Fennema grew up in Chicago, IL in a faithful Christian home. He is a graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. A few years following graduation from college, Mike married his wife Stephanie in 2006. He pursued his Master of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL. After seminary training, he had the opportunity to serve as associate pastor at Redeemer Church...

Here at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul returns to the theme of the bodily resurrection of Jesus: Christ really, physically died and rose again. You'll probably notice that many of the hymns we sing this morning are associated with the Lenten or Easter seasons. While we typically encounter Christ The Lord Is Risen Today , Man Of Sorrows , Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed , Christ Is Risen! Ha...

In the second half of 1 Corinthians 14, Paul makes a strong case that God is deeply concerned not merely that we worship Him, but also how we worship Him. As our confession states, "…the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by Him, and so limited by His own revealed will, that He may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men, or the suggestions of Satan...

The language of hymnody is filled with imagery related to speech and communication ("speak," "sing," "voice," "tongue," "mouth," as well as related concepts like "listen," "hear," etc.). In the psalms, we are commanded to sing cheerfully with our voices (All People That On Earth Do Dwell—Psalm 100) and to listen to a mouth speaking wisdom (Hear Me, All You People—Psalm 49). We find the language of...

June is wedding season, and if my experience as a musician is accurate, on any given weekend in June you can probably find a ceremony with a reading of 1 Corinthians 13 right along with other wedding favorites such as Pachelbel's Canon in D and the "Bridal March" from Wagner's Lohengrin. But the popularity of this passage for couples planning their service belies the fact that Paul has something m...

The hymns we sing this morning celebrate both our unity as the people of God and the gifts He has given each of us to build up His church: in the language of 1 Corinthians 12, "one body, many members." From the psalms, we sing that we are "His people and the chosen flock," and that even though we are gentiles, we are still "Abram's children" ( In All The Land Rejoice—Psalm 100 ; All Nations Clap Y...

For the past few weeks, Jamie has been hard at work here at church studying for one of his ordination exams, one specifically dealing with the sacraments. Occasionally, when he emerges from his office, I get to hear him rehearse all the nuances of Presbyterian teaching on the topic. It has really been fascinating to hear all the debates and controversies throughout Christian history, especially ov...

Here at the beginning of 1 Corinthians 11, Paul's letter begins to focus on some specific controversies in the Corinthian church that may seem rather puzzling in our 21st century context. But as in the earlier portion of the book, often the issue at hand isn't the root issue at all. Perhaps Paul isn't concerned so much with headgear and hairstyles as he is with authority: "the head of every man is...

Suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit… —Acts 2:2-4—Acts 2:2-4 This morning, along with the rest of the Western church, we remember the events of the day of Pentecost recorded in the book of A...

Have you ever noticed how often the Psalter calls us to look back on the past? Many of the Scripture passages in this morning's bulletin are taken from the Psalter, and each one refers to God's working out His providence in history. We are called to hear "dark sayings from of old" that our fathers told us and that we should tell our children (Psalm 78). We are reminded that the Lord rescued His pe...

O may His love, immortal flame, tune every heart and tongue. —Anne Steel Each of the hymns in this morning's service elaborates on some aspect of the call for the Christian to be witnesses for the Gospel "in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In the opening and closing hymns, All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name and Ye Servants Of God , we catch a glimpse...

After spending 11 verses establishing his authority as an apostle and the accompanying rights and privileges to which he is entitled, Paul makes what could be an unexpected turn: refusing the comforts of material gain. He does not assert his rights, preferring instead to "endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:12). This humility and commitm...

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul develops a principle that he has set out in the previous chapters: dealing with interactions between brethren with wisdom and care. Just as he answers questions on human relationships with pastoral tenderness in chapter 7, here the apostle deals with a religious controversy with practical wisdom: the more mature should not wound their weaker brethren by flaunting their fre...