Tuesday, June 1, 2010

"Reminders of Grace are Not Dry Cereal for the Soul"

I believe it was Jerry Bridges from whom I first read that we must preach the Gospel to ourselves every day. To that point I love this paragraph from Bryan Chappell in his Christ Centered Worship:Letting the Gospel Shape our Practice

The corruption and weakness of our natures make it vital that we preach the gospel to our own hearts every day. Reminders of grace are not dry cereal for the soul; they are daily bread, blessed manna, and needed meat. For those in whom the Spirit dwells, grace is the fuel of obedience and the foundation of hope. Without its regular support, we quickly resort to self-dependence or private despair. The maturest of believers most appreciate regular nourishment from the truths of God's love. The old gospel song is true: those who know "the old, old story" best are "hungering and thirsting to hear it, like the rest."  While the gospel's power can become lost in canned and stale recitations, its sincere and authentic expression is a never-ceasing source of joy that is strength for God's people. Worship that keeps the gospel before God's people serves their deepest needs and highest aspirations, enabling them to feed on God's grace while praising Him for it (p. 117).

2 comments:

Karin said...

Need to start singing the old, old hymn of the old, old story to myself again! Thanks for sharing this excerpt!

Dan Sudfeld said...

That's right, Karin. We can't ever let the Gospel become something that happened in the past. It empowers our present, and informs our future.