Presbyterian Devotions: Real Rejoicing!

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Throughout the summer months, when our church choir does not meet, our Creative Expressions team encourages our church kids to present the anthem during worship on Sunday mornings. The leader of our ministry team, Cynthia, and Joe our choir director, take time out from their own busy schedules to rehearse the songs that our church kids will sing.

Sometimes the kids sing solo; on other occasions they present duets, trios, and ensembles to the Lord. They even do dance routines, taught by one of our moms, for their songs. The kids are as young as first graders and as ‘old’ as Middle Schoolers. It’s wonderful to watch them confidently and enthusiastically sing for the Lord. Their joy in church becomes a great boost to the whole congregation and we rejoice along with them. We feel truly blessed to have such dedicated leaders and creative kids.

Rejoicing is an important part of any church’s worship life. When we joyfully praise God, we do two things: firstly, we express our love to God, and secondly, we attract other people to worship Christ. It’s a wonderful way of living out our faith and sharing our beliefs.

As our church kids grow up, we hope that they will remember their joyful experiences in church, so that when they become adults they will have a solid foundation for their faith. We may never see the full extent of God’s work in their lives, but we will continue to rejoice with them, so long as we are all here.

Today, let’s look for moments of rejoicing in the Lord. Let’s seek out those precious times when we can joyfully and effectively share our faith in Christ. And as we rejoice in Jesus, let’s also pray that others will be attracted to our Savior and His church.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we rejoice in You, for You are the One Great Love and Hope in our lives. Help us to make this day a time of faithful rejoicing in our work, at our homes, and amongst our friends. In Your Most Holy Name, we cheerfully pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Presbyterian Devotions: Real Reality

Galatians 6: 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

We live in a sad age when reality television rules our popular culture. Whether its Octomom or the Gosseleins, the Bachelor or Big Brother, our whole society seems obsessed with people who’s only talent is to brazenly tout their rudeness and crass ways on the small screen. I was even sadly shocked to see that inside the Smithsonian Castle (Washington, DC) of all places, the three chairs and desk for the judges of American Idol were prominently displayed. I guess that the dumbing down of our culture is one of the major indicators that our civilization is breaking apart. Everybody wants to get their fifteen minutes of fame, no matter what the cost is to themselves. Perhaps Andy Warhol was a prophet after all.

This self-centered narcissism is nothing new to our society. Paul wrote about it to the Christians in Galatia almost 2000 years ago. At that time, the fledgling Christian community was trying to establish itself. A few people, however, were beginning to aggrandize themselves by making them out to be better than everyone else. Paul nipped this in the bud by writing about the sin of pride and the mistake of being self-centered in a Christ-centered community. There was no room for esteem, ambition, and power in the church. All the honor and glory belonged to Christ. As Paul so aptly put it, ‘If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.’

Reality occurs when we check our pride and humble ourselves before Christ. It might not make good television, but when the audience is God, it makes a real opportunity for us to be restored to His love and kingdom.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to get real and to understand the ultimate reality of life occurs when we give our hearts to You and place our lives into Your hands. Forgive us for being wiled by worldly distractions and enable us to experience what is actually real for our souls, our culture, and society. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Reality TV: Theology in the Video Era