Celebrating God’s Greatness

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. Psalm 29:2 ESV

I admit it that the word “Ascribe” in this Psalm is a struggle to grasp. The King James says “give to the Lord” which doesn’t help much either. After all how can we give God something He already has and we do not possess? But when we gather as the body of Christ and worship together a miracle comes to pass. God receives in our praises the glory He already has as we celebrate. Though we can not make God any greater He comes in the splendor of His holiness when we worship. He becomes greater in us together as His people. One family…one church…the Bride of Jesus Christ!

I hope you love this video as much as I did. I have not heard “Awesome God” in quite a while and I love Michael W Smith bringing together so many people to “Ascribe” to the Lord the glory due His name!

The Table

/ pastorpete51 / 6 Comments

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:19

When my mom passed away, she left a few odds and ends of furniture from my great-grandmother. Besides a small sideboard which sat in our office for years were a few worn out chairs and some curious table leaves with legs that took up permanent residence in our attic. One night as I was reorganizing things recently, I began to examine the spare table parts thinking maybe I could salvage them for shelves. They seemed strangely familiar and so I paused to look more closely. Then in a flash I realized that they fit into the sideboard and made up the table at which I had once sat down to breakfast with great grandmother over 60 years ago.

One thing I love about our church is that we have communion every week. Every week we sit down and remember that Jesus has left behind a table. While my table was a happy memory of my childhood; His is a remembrance of His amazing love on the cross. It gives joy to our day as we celebrate God’s gift of eternal life and remember the price that Jesus paid for all who love Him and come to sit down at His table!

Giving Thanks Together

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. KJV

I heard a snap, then the handle gave way and the bucket of rocks and shells I was carrying zeroed in on my big toe. The sharp pain in my foot and the first signs of blood told me this was going to be a game changer. As I quickly limped into the house calling out to my wife for help, I was definitely not thanking God. After she drove as fast as she could to the hospital, the only humorous moment came while I sat bent over in the wheelchair holding my foot as the security guard searched me for weapons at the door!

Photo by Marcus Aurelius on Pexels.com

Thankfully, the x-rays revealed nothing was broken but one thing was certain; like it or not, my plans were going to change. As we road home that night, rather than complain, my wife began to slowly list all the things we should be thankful for. First, we had insurance to pay for the emergency room, second, we I had received wonderful care from the health aide who washed the wound, the nurse who joked with me while she gave a tetanus shot and the doctor who gently encouraged me that my injury should heal with no complications. Compared to our daughter-in-law’s cancer or our grandchild’s kidney failure my problem was infinitesimally small, but the lesson was huge. Thankfulness is not something we always do alone. Even Paul had Silas with him when they sang praises in jail. Few of us in the middle of pain, grief or loss have the ability to honestly say “Thank you Jesus! I’m so happy right now!”. There are times when the best thing we can do is to lean on one another as together we learn to give God praise.