Murderer and Liar – the Devil

~ Jeff Crippen ~ Leave a comment

June 13, 2021

Sunday School Songs

Yet Not I But Through Christ
Verse 1
What gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer
There is no more for heaven now to give
He is my joy my righteousness and freedom
My steadfast love my deep and boundless peace

To this I hold my hope is only Jesus
For my life is wholly bound to his
Oh how strange and divine I can sing all is mine
Yet not I but through Christ in me

Verse 2
The night is dark but I am not forsaken
For by my side the Saviour he will stay
I labour on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need his power is displayed

To this I hold my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley he will lead
Oh the night has been won and I shall overcome
Yet not I but through Christ in me

Verse 3
No fate I dread I know I am forgiven
The future sure the price it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And he was raised to overthrow the grave

To this I hold my sin has been defeated
Jesus now and ever is my plea
Oh the chains are released I can sing I am free
Yet not I but through Christ in me

Verse 4
With every breath I long to follow Jesus
For he has said that he will bring me home
And day by day I know he will renew me
Until I stand with joy before the throne

To this I hold my hope is only Jesus
All the glory evermore to him
When the race is complete still my lips shall repeat
Yet not I but through Christ in me

Ending
When the race is complete still my lips shall repeat
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Yet not I but through Christ in me

Jonny Robinson/Michael Farren/RichThompson
2018 CityAlight Music/Farren Love and War Publishing/Integrity’s Alleluia! Music
CCLI #108183

How Long Till That Day
Verse 1
O how long will you be still
How long shall I wait
Sorrows toils and ills prevail
God come be my strength
Tears like rain fall to the floor
Cries like tempests crash the shore
Saviour rescue me I pray
How long till that day
Verse 2
O how weak my feeble frame
How long shall I faint
Burdened by my guilt and shame
Lord I need Your grace
The war against my sin remains
Satan’s lies assail my faith
Give me pow’r to run this race
How long till that day
Chorus
You abound in steadfast love
You are strong to save
You are faithful to Your promise
Worthy is Your name
Worthy is Your name
Verse 3
O that day when Christ will come
How the dawn will break
Every cry will turn to song
When we see His face
Christ my Saviour and my Lord
You’re my hope and my reward
Jesus You are coming soon
How long till that day

Jody Cross/Pat Sczebel/Robert Brockman
@Gospel Commonwealth
CCLI #108183

Sunday Service

Pastoral Reading
Psalm 49
Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together!
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man can ransom another,
or give to God the price of his life,
8 for the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and never see the pit.
10 For he sees that even the wise die;
the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp will not remain;
he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts. Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
17 For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again see light.
20 Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

Opening Hymn
Exalt the Lord, His Praise Proclaim (Trinity #12)

Prayer
Focus this week:  Joe Childers, age 15, Indiana

Offering Hymn
My Heart is Filled with Thankfulness (HMA #88)

Scripture Reading
Galatians 5

Preaching the Word
Murderer and Liar – The Devil’s Essence
John 8:44

Closing Hymn
We Come, O Christ to You (Trinity #181)

The Heart of True Religion

~ Jeff Crippen ~ 3 Comments

“You know, we [abuse victims] make people that are having a wonderful, ‘no worries’  life, uncomfortable.”  [Teresa, abuse survivor]

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

For some reason, the Apostle James was faced with an infestation of false religion parading as Christianity.  It was faith without works.  Now, we all as Christians should know that the righteousness by which we are righteous before God is NOT of our own creation.  We do not work our way into heaven.  Oh, we are indeed made righteous before God by works, but those works are not ours.  They are the works of the Lord Jesus Christ in our behalf.   HE obeyed God’s Law perfectly.  HE took our sin upon Himself on the cross.  So it is an alien righteousness, not of our own making, that is credited to our account when we come to genuine faith in Christ as our only Lord and Savior.

However, where there is authentic faith, wherever a heart has been re-made by Christ, there will also be the fruit of good works.  We can’t boast about those even, they are God’s creation (Ephesians 2:8-10).  But they will be there.  Christians love one another with the love of Christ. James says that if a man claims to have faith (claims to be a Christian) but his life is devoid of works, he is liar.  That man’s faith is a dead faith.  Counterfeit.  We are “justified” by our works in that our works, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, justify that our claim to faith in Christ is genuine.

The evil of abuse brings much of this into clarity.  First, the abuser who claims to be a Christian is exposed by his wicked ways.  He is not a Christian.  A person cannot be an abuser by nature and be a Christian.  It is impossible.  Second, the existence of abuse exposes whether or not WE are Christians.  By “we,” I mean the church.  Other people who profess to be Christians.  James says that pure, undefiled religion is characterized by visiting orphans and widows in their affliction (and by not being conformed to this evil world).

As Teresa’s quote (above) so accurately notes, victims of abuse make comfortable people uncomfortable.  Here comes this mother and her children.  They have, well, problems.  Big problems.  The car is broken down and no one to fix it.  The kids often seem to have relational problems.  Mom is stressed.  Mom isn’t fun to talk to because her children and the threats of her abuser are always on her mind.  She is in need.  In other words, what you’ve got right in front of you is a widow and orphans.  And if you step in to help her, it is going to cost you.  Big time. Financially.  Emotionally.  You might get into some danger because her abuser just ain’t gonna like it at all.  You might be accused of breaking up a marriage if you don’t try to talk her into going back to the guy and trying harder.  She rocks your comfy boat.  And most people, even most professing Christians, would rather see her go find another church.

I bet the Jewish man who was beaten and robbed was really glad that the Good Samaritan came along.  That Samaritan was radical.  He took radical action.  He stopped what he was doing and put his plans and comfort on hold.  He put his money where is mouth was.  He loved that Jew and took care of him over the long haul.

The first two religious types that came by, well, they just couldn’t be bothered.  “It’s a tough world out there, you know, but we can’t be expected to fix everything.  Why, if you worry about all of that stuff, you will go crazy.”

Jesus doesn’t expect us to worry about and fix “all” of that stuff.  But He does expect us – He commands us – to worry about and do what we can to fix the plight of the widow and orphan He places in our path.  He makes us uncomfortable.  And He requires us to take action.

James 2:14-17, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? (15) If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, (16) and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (17) So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.