Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Tim Janiszewski - "Where Praise Is Due"

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Messages of Grace

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This Sunday
October 25, 2015



Sermon Title:
"Where Praise Is Due"



Scripture: 
Psalm 68:24-27;

Acts 2:47a
[which is included in our Confession of God's New Community, Acts 2:42-47];

Hebrews 13:15-16  
Picture of Pastor Tim
October 22, 2015
 
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends:
 
As we read Acts 2:42-47, our Confession of God's New Community which provides the basis for our current sermon series, we find that the first Christians constantly were "praising God" (v. 47a). They praised God when they went together to church; they praised Him when they went home to share meals together with glad and sincere hearts (see v. 46).
 
The question may come to our minds: Why? Why did they praise God constantly both when gathered for worship and when scattered for daily life? For one man's answer, we turn to John Calvin (1509-64), the person who stands at the head of our Reformed and Presbyterian tradition. Calvin was a brilliant theologian and Bible teacher. Yet he also was a pastor who sought to inspire the churches of Geneva to praise God as did the first Christians. Two words captured Calvin's call to praise--Gospel and Christ. He writes the following in his "Preface to Pierre Olivetan's 1534 Translation of the New Testament."
 
Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under God's condemnation.
 
      But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs to God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinners justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and the slaves free. The gospel is the power of salvation for all those who believe. . . .
 
      It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For He was sold to buy us back; captive to deliver us; condemned to absolve us. He was made a curse for our blessing, a sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by Him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light . . . and debt is cancelled.
 
      In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune. For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us . . . are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our benefit. . . . And we are comforted in tribulation, joyful in sorrow, glorying under verbal abuse, abounding in poverty, warm in our nakedness, patient in the midst of evils, and living even in death.
 
      This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in Him are offered to us by Him from God the Father.
 
It would be hard to cram more reasons for giving praise to God into a few short paragraphs than Calvin has done here. As an exercise in praise, allow me to encourage you to read each of the five paragraphs by Calvin once more. Stop after each one. Ponder and reflect on the greatness of our God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift mentioned. And then offer prayers of praise to God for each benefit referred to in that paragraph before going on to the next one. Give praise where praise is due to our generous God and Savior. In doing so, He will receive glory and your heart will receive encouragement.
 
Pastor Tim

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