A new music video I just completed and uploaded to Facebook: Beyond the Sky, by Fernando Ortega

Our text for this week is Revelation 21:1-8, in which John sees (finally!) the new heavens and new earth, and God comes to dwell with the redeemed. We’ll focus on God’s fulfilled promise that he will be with us forever, and on the fact that he will wipe every tear from our eyes and make all things new.

Our prelude will be this video:

Worship:
I’ll Fly Away

Joy To The World, it’s not just a Christmas Carol.
Actually I’ve always liked the Mannheim Steamroller version of this one too.

Be Still My Soul Traditional melody, but we do a different second verse.
Be Still My Soul, by Vocalpoint, an a-capella group. Not quite as traditional, but nicely done.

Face to Face – this is an Indelible Grace song, new to us – take some time to listen. You can find the lyrics on their site igracemusic

The Sands of Time are Sinking

On Jordan’s Stormy Banks. Another Indelible Grace version, I think. Anyway, lyrics here

O Holy Night Another one that’s not just for Christmas.

Offertory:
Restless – Switchfoot

All Things New Had to go with the pretty vid over the one with lyrics!

Beyond the Sky I’m hoping to make a lyric version of this soon. I’ve got the idea, just not the time. We’ll see.

Our Devotional in Paul’s prayers continues.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

A very simple opening prayer in this second letter to the church at Thessalonica. Once again, Paul begins with thanksgiving, in this case for their faith, which is ‘growing more and more.’

If faith is ‘the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen,’ then a growing faith has more and more assurance that no matter what is going on around us in the world, God ultimate purposes will be fulfilled and his promised goodness will be realized, both in our lives today and in eternity.

When faith grows, love for others can grow as well, since a growing faith places its dependence not on ourselves or on others, but on him, giving us the ability to put the interests of others ahead of our own self-interest.

Who do you know who is walking by faith and showing love? Give thanks for them! And give thanks for those who are not there yet, but whose faith and love are growing.

Our Devotional in Paul’s prayers continues.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.

God himself is the God of peace. Does this make a difference for you? Does it make a difference for those you pray for?

The difference Paul seeks, in prayer, for his brothers and sisters in Thessalonica, is sanctification. To be sanctified is to be set apart, purified, and declared clean for the Master’s use. Paul prays that this sanctification would extend to the very depths of our lives – that we would be pure through and through, like 24ct gold.

He says the same thing again when he asks that our whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless. ‘Blameless’ is the same word we have seen several times in his prayers. It simply means ‘without fault’ or ‘without guilt,’ but that is as high a standard as holiness.

But it is not up to us – this is a prayer that God would sanctify his people; it is a prayer that we would be ‘kept blameless’ – actually there is no verb in this part of the sentance – the blamelessness is a further evidence of his sanctification. But Paul goes on to very clearly ground this outcome in the character of God: he is faithful and he will do it! Amen.

But don’t miss the connection between Paul’s prayer and the invocation ‘May God himself, the God of peace . . .’ Peace, apparently, is an end product of sanctification and blamelessness.

Here’s a Stuart Townend song based on a number of these ‘God of peace’ passages: Benediction. The video is pretty well done, but does not have lyrics. You can find them here.