Like the scattered Christians Peter originally wrote to, we are ‘living stones’ – not uniform ‘bricks’ with the same background, experiences, traditions and heritage; but individuals

Malachi 1:11 is one of those verses that we love to quote in the prayer and missions worlds. It’s not a goal or an aspiration, it is a statement , His name will be great among the nations.

In Isaiah 56, the verses for this month’s worship with the word series paints a beautiful picture of what happens when people choose to respond to God’s loving invitation to enter into relationship with Him.

As we draw near to Christmas, we are considering the convergence of worship, prayer and missions in the very person of Jesus Himself. This messianic psalm is a prayer for the coronation of the coming King…

James used this opportunity to emphasise to the leaders of the early church that God’s grace extends to all people, Jews and Gentiles alike, which is as true for us today as it was then.

While the poetic beauty and musicality of the Psalms accounts for their popularity and appeal, it is their enduring relevance and relatedness for all people and generations that is most remarkable.

Having brought up the Ark to Jerusalem, David pitched a tent for it and set singers and musicians to minister to God there, night & day. That is what we have happening here in 1 Chronicles 16:

Jesus is making clear to His disciples, and to us, that at God’s appointed time He will return to swiftly bring judgement on wickedness and set up His Kingdom on earth.

Jesus is making clear to His disciples, and to us, that at God’s appointed time He will return to swiftly bring judgement on wickedness and set up His Kingdom on earth.

This time He is coming in all His righteousness and power to judge and wage war against His enemies and the kingdom of darkness so that He may take hold of His inheritance.

We have great hope as we intercede for all kinds of injustices in our city, nation and the nations because he will come as judge to set the prisoners free and open the eyes of the blind. Jesus our judge brings justice to the poor, the marginalised and the hurting.

But Paul doesn’t just lay the yoke on Timothy and leave him to work it out, he gives him the how! Paul focuses Timothy in on the nature of Jesus.

In this psalm Jesus is spoken of as a son as well as the king. While we know that He is God’s son, the term also reminds us that He is a son like us.

Jesus genuinely chose to give up His divine privileges and equality with God with no route to retreat back to the safety and glory of heaven when things got tough.

Psalm 45 is a great passage to help us follow on from focusing on Jesus as a Bridegroom. If we read the whole Psalm we will see that it speaks of Jesus as both a King and a Bridegroom.

From on high there comes ‘the voice of a great multitude’, like a roar of many waters, a sound like thunder. Heaven is bursting open, erupting with praise and joy, heralding the coming bridegroom!

Poetic literature has many layers, and the relationship between ‘the Shulamite’ and her ‘beloved’ has often been seen as a depiction of the relationship between Christ and the Church.

In these verses, there are two ways that God is like a bridegroom, in the way He delights in His people and in the way he rejoices over His people.

As we draw this series to a close, I’ve been challenged to see afresh the significance of our participation in singing this new song… To see with new eyes and fresh wonder the privilege of how we are invited to respond.

Worship is our response to the Lord. When we see Him and we begin to get a glimpse of who He is, our hearts respond in worship, in declarations of who He is and the way He has revealed himself to us.