FIRE Session 1: The Beauty of Christ In Worship

LaRue Baptist Church, OH

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Well our topic for tonight is the beauty of Christ in worship and Pastor Dana Kidder is going to be bringing the word to us tonight.

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Dana is a pastor of Redeemer Bible Church in Bellefontaine. Used to be

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Logansville Community Church but now they've moved to Bellefontaine and I've known

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Dana, I met Dana several years ago. Where are you Dana? You're here somewhere right?

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There he is. When did we meet that first time? What year was that? Maybe yeah yeah and so we kind of crossed paths then then

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Dana came to to Logansville Community Church and he's been ministering there for a while.

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Some of you remember at our last conference Dana gave us the history of his church. They weren't part of fire back then but now they're one of the fire churches here and so Dana how long have you been it?

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Yeah 10 and a half years. Okay so the

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Lord saw fit to bring a church to life in that time and Dana is a dear friend and I appreciate the ministry he's going to have.

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So Dana come and minister the word of God. Thanks Tim.

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Every time even at church when I when I say our new name

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I almost always say the wrong name. Our old name was

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Logansville Community Church. We are now called Redemption Bible Church. Redeemer was already taken but I almost always say

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Reformation Bible Church and then my elders look at me what what is it again? Oh well ultimately we're going to make our way this evening to Psalm 96.

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We're going to take a little bit of time to get there because if I'm honest with you it took me quite a while to wrap my mind around what we mean by the by the beauty of Christ in worship.

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So I'll do my best to keep you with me tonight but I need you to work hard at following me as well.

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So that's my disclaimer at the beginning here if you get confused I told you to keep up.

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The beauty of Christ in worship. I'm going to be honest again

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I don't think that way. I don't think of the beauty of Christ. When I think if you were to ask me about Jesus his beauty is not something that would come to mind.

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It's not a word I would use to describe our savior but I think this says more about me than it does him.

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See when I think of beauty I often just I just think in worldly terms usually.

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I think of something that looks beautiful maybe if I'm pressed

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I might say well personality too. I think of it mostly as a feminine trait unless you're talking about a beautiful landscape or sunset beautiful wood grain in a piece of furniture.

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Men are not beautiful they're handsome I would say and besides as the saying goes beauty is in the eye of the beholder right and of course you remember the prophecy of Isaiah the prophecy of the

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Messiah as Isaiah says in chapter 53 who has believed what he has heard from us and to whom has the arm of the

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Lord been revealed for he grew up before him like a young plant like a root out of dry ground he had no form or majesty that we should look at him and no beauty that we should desire him.

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But of course and you've already picked up on this I'm speaking purely as a man a man -centered point of view and that's what the prophecy of Isaiah is talking about it's talking about the incarnate

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Christ God in the flesh laid aside his glory his majesty and his beauty to take on the form of a servant and being made in the likeness of men and as a man

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Jesus took on the the commonness and the limitations of our humanity there was nothing humanly speaking extraordinary about him in fact in scripture scripture tells us that at his crucifixion sinful men so disfigured him his physical appearance that he wasn't even recognizable his appearance while he was on the cross was grotesque and yet it is here that we glimpse his beauty in the late 1600s an

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English seventh -day Baptist named Joseph Stennett he first published a collection of hymns for the church with a with a typically puritanical title hymns in commemoration of the sufferings of our blessed savior

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Jesus Christ composed for the celebration of his holy supper hymns to be sung in communion one such hymn was entitled thy loveliness

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I view and the first verse goes like this oh prince of peace bless thou this board with those sweet smiles which angels cheer oh give us peace and tell us lord we're pardoned and accepted here commenting on that hymn the theologian

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Michael Haken he says this he says this experience of God's loving forgiveness at the table because of Christ's atoning death should also overwhelm the believer with wonder and lead to ardent rededication to Christ this this communion hymn continues listen for the beauty of Christ at the table thou art all love my dearest lord and thou art all lovely too thy love

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I at thy table taste thy loveliness I view thy divine beauty veiled with flesh thy enemies despise thy mangled body they did disdain and turn from thee their eyes but thou more lovely art to me for all that thou hast borne each cloud sets off thy luster more thee all thy scars adorn thy garments tinctured with thy blood the best and noblest dye out shines the robes that princes wear thy thorns their gems out vie that I may be all love to thee and all lovely like thee too oh cleanse me with thy precious blood and me thy beauty show my former vows

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I now renew oh lord as thou art mine I freely give my heart to thee forever

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I'll be thine when we come to the table to proclaim the lord's death when we come to proclaim the atonement for sins we come to proclaim that Christ died for our sins we come to taste and see that the lord is good blessed is the man who takes refuge in him we come to behold the beauty of Christ in worship but it's not just limited to the table in fact all of our worship is a beholding of the beauty the the loveliness the splendor of Jesus Christ listen to what

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David writes in the 27th psalm about coming into the house of the lord psalm 27 says this the lord is my light and my salvation whom shall

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I fear the lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid when evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh my adversaries and foes it is they who stumble and fall though an army encamp against me my heart shall not fear the war arise against me yet I will be confident one thing

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I have asked of the lord that I will seek after that I may dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life to gaze upon the beauty of the lord and to inquire in his temple for he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble he will conceal me under the cover of his tent he will lift me high upon a rock and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy

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I will sing and make melody to the lord hear oh lord when I cry be gracious and to me and answer me you have said seek my face my heart says to you your face lord do

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I seek hide not your face from me turn not your servant away in anger oh you who have been my help cast me not off forsake me not oh god of my salvation for my father and my mother have forsaken me but the lord will take me in teach me your way oh lord and lead me on a level path because of my enemies give me not up to the will of my adversaries for false witnesses have risen against me and they breathe out violence

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I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the lord in the land of the living wait for the lord be strong and let your heart take courage wait for the lord the 27th psalm basically contains all of the elements that we have when we when we call our people together to worship as the assembly of the saints as the church of Jesus Christ it contains praise and prayer confession and assurance of pardon offerings and and reminders of the promises of god and when we call our people to worship each lord's day as they come into the house of the lord as they come come to worship our god to inquire in his temple to gaze upon the beauty of the lord we are pointing them at christ and I know that our prayer for all of us in here

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I'm assuming all of our prayer is that we would dwell in the house of the lord all of the days of our lives

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I don't know about for each individual church represented here today but often as we call our church to worship on the lord's day we go straight to the psalms now of course there are other passages that direct our eyes and our hearts heavenward