Soli Deo Gloria

Welcome

Announcements

Join us on Sunday Mornings at 9:30 am for our Reformation Truths series and Wednesday evenings at 6pm for our Study on Puritan theology.

October 31st is our Reformation day party at 5pm

Prepare for Worship

Call To Worship

126 Behold Our God

Confession

Prayer of Confession

O Father, we are gathered before you, the Maker of Heaven and Earth, whose chosen dwelling place is with the broken and contrite, to confess that we have sinned in thought and word and deed; we have not loved you with all our heart and soul, we have not loved you with all our mind and strength; we have not even loved our neighbor as ourselves. Purge us from selfishness, the fear of man, and the love of praise. In your mercy, deepen our sorrow for the wrong we have done and for the good we have left undone, so that we may hate our sin with a holy hatred. But, please Father, do not leave us in sorrow. With you, O Lord, there is forgiveness. In your mercy, restore the joy of our salvation; so that we may love you with a holy love. Amen.

Assurance of Faith

This saying is true and we should believe it: that Christ Jesus came into the world to rescue sinners. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, that we might be dead to sin and alive to all that is good. To all those who repent, therefore, I proclaim to you the forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Worship

2 Praise to the Lord, The Almighty

35 O Great God

48 Holy, Holy, Holy

Prayers of the People

Prayer Request

Lords Prayer: Found on the back cover of the Westminster Hand out

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy

kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us

this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our

debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria

This week week look at our 5th reformer and our 5th principle of the Reformation.

Soli Deo Gloria Christus - To the Glory of God Alone

We have set the standard by which we are save, according to Sola Scriptura

We discovered the Means of our salvation, Sola Gratia

We looked at the method of our salvation, Sola Fide

And we learned about the perosn of of Salvation, Solus Christus

Let us now look at the reason for our salvation, and how we should live in light of that reason.

John Knox

Our Reformer this week is the Thundering Scot, John Knox.

He was a profound preacher, and is known as the founder of the Presbyterian Church.

Unlike the previous Reformers we have highlighted, Knox wasn’t as highly educated, no where near as extensively written, wasn’t born into a preaching family. And we do not have some profound work of his on this weeks Sola.

What we do have is his example. You see though he may not have in someway highlighted in writing or preaching the concept of to the Glory of God alone, he undoubtedly lived as though it was the central tenet of His life

Intro to Knox

Knox was not so much famous as he was infamous.

Much of the details of his early life are not recorded anywhere. We don’t really know his birthdate, even the year precisely. We know he was a small frail boy and man.

He was born poor, into a house of no consequence. We know he went off to college somewhere, but because he never graduated, we are not even sure of which one. We don’t have a detailed accounting of His conversion like some of the others.

The knowledge of his life really picks up when He joins up with the rebel protestants.

He starts his ministry as a bodyguard, for a man named George Wishart. A preacher, preaching reform to Scotland, who was burned at the stake by the head of the Scottish Catholic church.

This lead to a giant rift. Young Scottish nobles who had it with the Catholic Church murder the Cardinal who had Wishart burned. They then held up in the castle that the Cardinal possessed and awaited retaliation. This is where Knox is strong-armed into becoming a preacher. It is said that when they voted him to be their preacher, he wept and ran from the room.

But preach he must. And He did his entire life through until his last sermon in which they carried him to the pulpit in a chair because he was so infirmed. And the frail peckish man became a firebrand in the pulpit, rumored to have destroyed a couple pulpits in his day.

Living to the Glory of God

Knox was not afforded by God the luxury of settling down to the life of a simple country preacher, or of an aspiring academic. In fact his first preaching job led to being enslaved on a French galley as a rower for over a year.

He spent the next 10 years after his release preaching in England and learning under John Calvin in Geneva, before he finally was permitted by God to return to accomplish what he felt was his purpose, to bring the gospel to Scotland

His life was a constant battle against the powers that be, the Catholic Church, multiple Queens and Bishops. All because He held up Scripture as the ultimate authority in all matters and He sought to glorify God in freeing God’s people from the tyranny of a government that denied the ultimate authority of God.

Building a Church to Glory God

I guess it could be said that His crowning achievement in the end was the reformation of the Church of Scotland

There is much history to be learned in the life of John Knox. But ultimately he saw Gods will prevail in Scotland, and shaped not only the future of Scotland, but of the western world.

Established the order of the Church in Scotland, in turn setting the rules for all worship in Scotland.

Established a democratic system of calling Pastors and Elders, giving local churches autonomy, with oversight form Presbytery, so that they might be able to Pastor the people more effectively.

Insistent that all Christians have the ability to read, established schools in every church in Scotland, led to Scotland being the first full literate country, even the women.

His focus was to bring the church into accordance with how God would have it, thereby giving the glory to God rather than a system or hierarchy.

Soli Deo Gloria

The reformers like Knox saw only one purpose in their laborers and efforts. To bring Glory to God

They saw only one purpose in all of existence, and it was summed up in the Westminster Catechism’s first question. What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

Existence can be broken down into three major events, creation, redemption, and consummation

God Glorified in Creation

According to John Piper, defining glory is impossible, as impossible to define beauty. We can provide other words that might describe beauty or glory, but to put a concrete definition upon the word is truly impossible.

The simple reason our catechism leads wit this statement is that God’s glory is a central theme in the Bible.

But Gods glory was before the beginning John 17:5

John 17:5 ESV

And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

Gods glory will be after the end Rev 21:23

Revelation 21:23 ESV

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

This is important to realize because it makes it clear that God’s glory is his own. It is not dependent upon us, nothing we do, nor fail to do will ultimately change God’s glory

what then are the implications of this idea?

1. God is asei, meaning he is self sufficient, self existent, he has no dependence upon any other thing

2. All God has done in creation then is to share His glory with us, out of His love for us, for His own glory. It is a never ending circle.

3. All we are then we owe to God, and we should see our very existence as purposed in glorifying him, serving His glory.

God glorified Himself in the creation of everything, but there was an event we must recognize and remember that happened within the context of that Creation, and that was the fall. God’s creation rebelled against Him, and no it was not a surprise either. But even in that fall, there was purpose towards God’s glory.

God Glorified in Redemption

The fall pointed to redemption. The redemption of the creation from sin, by Jesus Christ, and His work on the Cross.

Knowing that our mere creation is an expression of God’s Glory, and was meant to glorify Him, how much more then do we see the work of Christ as serving God’s Glory.

John Chapter 17 is called the High Priestly Prayer, it is the Son praying to the Father. In it we see a number of references to how Christs work on earth has brought Glory to the Father

John 17:1–6 ESV

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

Christ is glorified in His people John 17:8-10

John 17:8–10 ESV

For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.

John 17:20–24 ESV

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

God Glorified in Consummation

We noted that in the end it will be God’s glory alone that provides the light for all time. This is the end. But we are not there yet.

And guess what, we are not in some benign holding pattern waiting for the end to come.

God is ever working, he is ever creating, He is ever redeeming His creation.

We are in a dynamic period of the creation. A period post cross, where the good news of the Messiah has arrived and we are assured that our King sits upon His throne, and He will remain there until all enemies are placed beneath His feet. He will remain there until as we are told:

Habakkuk 2:14 ESV

For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

This ongoing work is headed to what we would call the consumation, the coming of the perfect creation in which man and God will commune forever.

But Scripture tells us the work to get there is ongoing. 2 Cor 3:18

2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

God’s eternal glory is at the center of all existence, from creation, to redemption, to consumation. God does not need us to provide it for him, magnify it for him, nor can we lessen it for him. It then becomes obvious that are only part in God’s glory is in receiving it from Him.

How Then Shall We Live?

According Scripture, We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ Alone, all to the Glory of God Alone.

Our lives are to be lived to the glory of God. 1 Cor 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

There is not to be any action or thought that we do as God’s redeemed people that is not pointed towards God’s glory.

Again we ask why is this important to me? How do I apply it in my life? Knowing this information, How then shall I live?

Individual

If you do not know Christ as your Lord and Savior, then Scripture tells you to turn today, repent of your sins and believe on Him as your only hope.

For the follower of Christ, you are to take every thought captive to Christ. Jesus tells us that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If our Heart and mind are continually on Christ as the focus of our life, then our words and actions will soon follow.

Ask yourself if Christ is truly first, do you see your life as lived in service to God, or is God a convenient shoulder to lean upon in the hard times, a thing that requires you to be in a certain place on Sunday morning and Wednesday nights, or is He a feeling in your heart that makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

Rather He should be the focus of your life. When you lie down, when you get up, when you sit, when you walk along the road. Is Christ the one that marks your hand and forehead? We should be ever thinking of Him in all we do, we should be seeking to glorify Him in every thing, even in menial things such as eating and drinking.

We must live life with as much zeal for God as Knox did, fearing no man, or power, standing firm upon the Word of God.

Family

Families, do you think of Christ at the table when you dine, are you thinking of Christ there with you when you watch television, how about when you argue with your family, or when you pay the bills?. Are you glorifying Christ in those areas?

Christ should be the center of conversation more times than not in your homes.

Parents/grandparents is your children’s education centered upon Christ as Paul instructs? What about their entertainment.

The Church

Church we has well are called to ensure that all we do has the explicit and sole purpose of glorifying God.

What we teach, how we worship, how we fellowship, and how we reach out to the community. All of these must be glorifying to God.

We must seek as Knox did to build the church around how God has designed it so that in all things we glorify Him.

Community/Nation

As a local community,, and even as a nation, we are called to recognize Christ as Lord. He has sole authority over all matters. As Christians we are called to serve in many capacities within these areas. Businessmen, philanthropists, community leaders and even representatives in the government. In all those areas each dollar spent, each law passed is to glorify God.

Knox had no qualms calling the leaders of the nation to submit to God as the one who had given them their authority, and therefore they were to serve in that capacity in such a way as to glorify God, placing Him at the head of the nation, a rule and authority above all others.

Conclusion

The Reformers like Knox knew the importance of applying All of Christ to all of life. They left no part of their existence outside of the call of God to glorify him. I assert that if we could only but recapture a portion of that kind of zeal to live life for Christ, we would see great blessing from God in this land.

But I understand that it is not always easy to follow Christ. We see that in Knox, there is a reason He is often portrayed as standing firm with a two handed broadsword in his grasp, because that was His first call to ministry, to protect the life of a minister of God.

I heard it said recently, the problem with preachers today is that no one wants to kill them. I take that to heart. I am to proclaim the truth of God before the people. And the truth that must be proclaimed louder than all is the Gospel of the coming of the Kingdom of the Lord.

Each of us is required to do this, to live our lives in unwavering, fearless dedication and sacrifice to the Glory of God Alone.

Doxology

Closing Prayer

If anyone has any questions or concerns feel free to catch me afterwards. And a quick reminder we do have plates in the back for anyone who desires to worship through giving today. The plate to the right is general giving, and the one to the left is specific for our missions giving.

Join us as we sing the doxology:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures here below, Praise Him above ye Heavenly Host, Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Commissioning: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Amen