
Hosted by FPC BR · EN

“Oh, beautiful for patriot dreamThat sees beyond the yearsThine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears!” For years I assumed Katharine Lee Bates, writer of "America the Beautiful," meant Boston or Los Angeles or Chicago. But no city in our great nation will come to the point where tears shall be no more. No, it is only the great heavenly city, the city prepared by our God as a bride prepared for her husband (Rev. 21:1-4). Praise God, that day is coming, and it is only as we wait for that city that we can love the cities in which we are in here and now, to live and love and God’s free and forgiven people.

“Oh, beautiful for patriot dreamThat sees beyond the yearsThine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears!” For years I assumed Katharine Lee Bates, writer of "America the Beautiful," meant Boston or Los Angeles or Chicago. But no city in our great nation will come to the point where tears shall be no more. No, it is only the great heavenly city, the city prepared by our God as a bride prepared for her husband (Rev. 21:1-4). Praise God, that day is coming, and it is only as we wait for that city that we can love the cities in which we are in here and now, to live and love and God’s free and forgiven people.

False worship reaches for empty glory, while true worship seeks God’s presence, beauty, truth, goodness, grace, and holiness. God’s glory changes our lives, shapes us as his distinct people, gives meaning, hope, joy, and draws the pain out of our souls.

False worship reaches for empty glory, while true worship seeks God’s presence, beauty, truth, goodness, grace, and holiness. God’s glory changes our lives, shapes us as his distinct people, gives meaning, hope, joy, and draws the pain out of our souls.

The Law is not and cannot be a checklist to make sure we’re in good with God. It never was! But now, in Christ as those set free, God’s gracious gift to us is a Law that will redirect us, point us the way we should go. And, by the Spirit’s power as he renews us in the image of the Son, he enables us more and more to live according to how God has made us and called us.

The Law is not and cannot be a checklist to make sure we’re in good with God. It never was! But now, in Christ as those set free, God’s gracious gift to us is a Law that will redirect us, point us the way we should go. And, by the Spirit’s power as he renews us in the image of the Son, he enables us more and more to live according to how God has made us and called us.

Israel arrives at Mount Sinai and hears God declare who they are: His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Though they remain in the wilderness, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises, their identity is secure because it is rooted in God’s covenant love rather than their circumstances. These promises ultimately find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, whose perfect obedience secures for believers the assurance that they belong to God.

Israel arrives at Mount Sinai and hears God declare who they are: His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Though they remain in the wilderness, waiting for the fulfillment of God’s promises, their identity is secure because it is rooted in God’s covenant love rather than their circumstances. These promises ultimately find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, whose perfect obedience secures for believers the assurance that they belong to God.

In response to the question “Is the Lord among us or not?” simply look to Jesus Christ, Emmanuel , who is God With Us. The Lord may not give us every answer to our questions and our tears this side of heaven. Rather, He gives us Himself. The day is coming, we are told, when every tear will be wiped away, when death and sorrow will be no more. Those griefs and unanswered questions will turn into reunions and unexpected answers that will allow us an even greater measure of joy than we ever could have known otherwise. Oh yes. The Lord is among us.

In response to the question “Is the Lord among us or not?” simply look to Jesus Christ, Emmanuel , who is God With Us. The Lord may not give us every answer to our questions and our tears this side of heaven. Rather, He gives us Himself. The day is coming, we are told, when every tear will be wiped away, when death and sorrow will be no more. Those griefs and unanswered questions will turn into reunions and unexpected answers that will allow us an even greater measure of joy than we ever could have known otherwise. Oh yes. The Lord is among us.