Music makes life memorable.   A soundtrack forges an emotional connection with a movie.  Jingles implant ad slogans in our consciousness that persist decades after product obsolescence.  The playlist of youth is one of the strongest influences on our worldview.  The music of our generation teaches us how to live.   The oft posited statement of a young person that “I don’t listen to the lyrics” is self-deception at best.   Music has power to plant truth, perspective, and emotion deep into our being.

Advertisers know this.  Poets know this as well.  And educators are learning this.   Words set to a song are more easily remembered, than those repeated or memorized.  Even a cursory Amazon search reveals that music is used to teach everything from history to catechism.  All those dates and names and attributes of God, so hard to memorize, are more easily remembered when set to music.

This is why music is such an important part of our culture and our Christian faith.   The Bible instructs us to worship, fellowship, and disciple using hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs.   Congregations are often catechized more from the music they hear and sing, than sermons or Bible studies.   Music is important.  It is a great gift from God given for congregational praise, prayer, and proclamation. And it must be carefully curated by the elders of the church. 

Our hymns, psalms, and spiritual songs must be biblically accurate and theologically clear.   They must express truths about God not the feelings of men.   Our music must echo God’s own Word.  And be faithful to express and teach its history, truths, and promises.  Music has always been an important way to communicate the glorious redemptive story unfolded in the Bible.

Even in the narrative of the Bible itself, God’s people are given songs to recite and remember God’s nature, his promises, and his saving works.   Songs given to remind the present generation.  And instruct the next.   One of the oldest of these songs is found in Exodus 15.   Moses narrated the story in prose, but then records one of God’s greatest hits, ‘The Song of the Sea,’ sometimes called the Song of Moses.   A favorite song of God’s people, sung year after year in their homes, at feasts, and in worship services.   A song that communicates who God is, what he has done, what he does, and what he will do.   A song that gives assurance and confidence for the spiritual battles Christians face.

The Song of Moses is so significant to the church that even the Redeemed in eternity will sing it along with the Song of the Lamb.  This is recounted in Revelation 15:1-4.

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
    O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
    O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
    and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
    All nations will come
    and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Revelation 15:1-4

The Bible is full of music. Hymns that equip us to live victoriously. Psalms to express every fear, concern, and emotion to the Lord. And spiritual songs that move us from fear to faith in any crisis. What songs tell your story?

What is the music of your heart and soul?  Is it Songs of Zion? The Song of Moses and of the Lamb?   These are God’s greatest hits.  Songs to be sung around the throne for all eternity.  Are they the soundtrack of your life? Join us as we examine the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15 and consider what it teaches about who God is, what he has done, what he does, and what he will do.

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. 

The cool, crisp air.  The crunching of fallen leaves. And the low amber lighting of late afternoon means Fall is in full swing.  Hands down, Autumn is my favorite season.  So many fond memories cluster around Fall, its traditions, and its holidays.   It takes me to many happy places in my past.  My mother preparing seasonal feasts.  My wedding day.   Raking mountains of hickory and white oak leaves with my Dad.  And drives through Arkansas’ highways and byways in awe of God’s artistry.   But Fall also reminds me of football.

No, not the hours spent with my Dad listening to Larry Munson call Georgia Bulldog games or any organized league play.   But the informal neighborhood league that existed in suburban Stone Mountain where I grew up.   Colony East and Indian Forrest and my own enclave, Inca Court, put together small 3 to 4 man elite squads which battled it out on a field behind the Stripling’s house for regional bragging rights.  Don, Alan, and I and sometimes Norman, were the pride of Inca Court.  

We practiced every day after school until the light faded or our moms called us for supper.   We cut down small trees to fashion our own goal post.  We were the only neighborhood venue that offered the opportunity to kick ‘real’ extra points.  Though, admittedly, retrieving the balls from the surrounding woods was sometimes a challenge.   It was sandlot ball at its finest.  And we took it seriously. 

Of course, there were no referees and few rules. Controversial plays were resolved by “do-over.”  And every running play inevitably resulted in ‘piling on.’   Even if the ball carrier was clearly down.  The play was not over until every man on the field was added to the pile.   Learning to survive being piled-on was a non-negotiable skill.

In organized play, piling on is a serious offense.  It is a personal foul and carries lengthy penalties.  It is considered excessive force, gratuitous violence.  A vindictive adding of insult to injury.   But for us, piling on was the glorious privilege of every man on the field.  We relished its place in our gridiron heroics.

‘Piling on’ in our idiom has negative connotations.   It denotes addition to a load that is already unbearable, especially harsh or excessive criticism.  It is akin to “kicking them when they are down.”   It speaks of what is gratuitous or excessive beyond what is sufficient.   But ‘piling on’ need not always be a bad thing. 

God delights to pile on.   Not excessive demands or requirements, but grace upon grace, blessing upon blessing, provision upon provision.  We see this both implicitly and explicitly in the Scriptures.  Jesus taught, “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.” (Luke 6:38) And John, the beloved disciple, said of Jesus, “For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)

In Exodus 14, we see his grace upon grace, God’s piling on blessing upon blessing through the deliverance of Israel through the Red Sea.   He protects and delivers his people.  He destroys their enemies.  He comforts and assures them with his presence.  He watches over them.  He grants them faith.   The only things piled higher than the waters of the Red Sea are the blessings of God’s grace upon grace to an unworthy but elect people.  But even this is not all.  With the pillar of cloud and fire, there is another tremendous gift.  The Angel of the Presence.  The one who is very God of very God, yet would one day take on flesh to deliver us from a greater enemy than any ancient king.

God is no miser of grace.  When he sets his love upon you, he lavishes you with grace upon grace.   He holds nothing back.  “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”  His love is higher, wider, deeper and more expansive than you can possibly imagine.  Join us as we examine Exodus 14:15-31 and consider this grace upon grace.

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. 

Parents never quite comprehend children’s anxiety over a family vacation.   We glibly assume all is excitement and anticipation.   It never enters our minds that some insignificant moment of our adventure is keeping our children awake at night.   For one of my daughters, a long awaited trip to Chincoteague Island was eclipsed by fear of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  All reverie over Misty of Chincoteague shrouded by the terror of five minutes driving under the sea.

For me, it was “Fat Man Squeeze.”   Chattanooga was only a couple of hours from our home.   And every barn roof in North Georgia beckoned, “See Rock City.”   My dad thought it would be a great adventure.   And so it was – in retrospect.   But in reading about Rock City, I had learned of a spot in the tour of its rock gardens branded “Fat Man Squeeze.”   Or as I feared, “Fat Boy Squeeze.”

I was ‘husky’ in my childhood – and very self-conscious of it.   And as if the thought of being permanently wedged in a tight rocky passage was not terror-inducing enough, the thought of being publicly branded as the “Fat Boy” who got lodged in “Fat Man Squeeze” was just too much.   So, to my father’s dismay, I offered excuse after excuse as to why a trip to Rock City was not a good idea.  Never daring to reveal my real fear of being literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.  

None of us wants to be in that place.  Stuck between a rock and a hard place.   Either literally or figuratively.  The expression and experience are common ones.  To be ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’ means, to face two equally unpleasant, dangerous, or risky alternatives, where the avoidance of one ensures encountering the harm of the other.  

We consciously avoid being in situations with no safe exit strategy.  Yet as Christians we recognize in both the Bible and in our own lives, that the Lord often places us between a rock and a hard place.   He does so intentionally, so we will learn that He can make a way when there seems to be no way.

As the people of Israel leave Egypt, they go out with head and hand high.   Their God has delivered them from the iron grip of Pharaoh and centuries of slavery and oppression.   They have plundered the Egyptians and depart victoriously, while a defiant Egypt is in ruins.   Yet as their journey begins, we see two things that seem troubling.  

First God takes the people off the interstate, off the fast track to their new home.   They need to learn about themselves what He already knows.   They must grow in their faith before they face certain enemies and let fear drive them back to slavery.  And second, God leads them directly into what appears to be a dangerous and indefensible encampment.   After making good progress on the desert highway, the Lord tells them to turn around and camp on the shore of the Red Sea.   At the same time, he tells them that Pharaoh will harden his heart one more time and come for them – to either capture or kill them.  

God places the people between a rock and a hard place.   They are not victims of poor planning, poor leadership, or rebellion.  But of the purposeful plan of God.   They are about to learn that the Lord makes paths where no paths appear to exist.  And that the Lord will fight their battles for them.   As Pharaoh’s chariots appear on the horizon, they panic, grumble, and despair.  But Moses instructs them.

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” 

Exodus 14:13-14

This is good counsel for us.   When we are stuck between a rock and a hard place – at work, in relationships, with decisions, and in our spiritual lives, have we learned to “fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for [us]?”   Will we panic, accuse others, or fall into a pit of black despair as the Israelites did before the Red Sea?  Or will we learn that we must only be silent and let the Lord fight for us?  

What is your response when you are between the rock and the hard place?  Join us as we examine Exodus 14:1-14 and consider how God places us in hard places to show us that he will make a way when there seems to be no way.  And that He, himself, is that way.

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. 

Inca Court was a utopian outpost on the frontier of a dystopian suburbia.  The small suburban Atlanta street where I grew up had only ten houses.  Until I left home for college, it was the only home I had ever known. 

None of the families on our street ever moved in or out.  None of the parents in any of those homes ever moved in or out.  We never knew the curiosity of new neighbors and never coped with the stress of leaving Inca Court behind. There were no Moving Days on Inca Court. In a mobile society marked by constant transition, Inca Court was sociological anomaly.

My first significant move was phenomenally stressful – filled with logistical angst and existential self-doubt.  Was I crazy to leave the familiar, the comfortable, the settled, the influential, the known – even with its problems and challenges – for the uncomfortable, the unsettled, the uninfluential, the unknown? 

Life transitions are fertile fields for lush and verdant anxiety, yet as followers of Jesus, we have been chosen to live a pilgrim life and to farm these fields.  Our God is always moving, always at work, even to this very day.  To be a follower means to follow – to follow a God who never changes, but often calls us to change, a God who never leaves or forsakes, but often calls us to leave and forsake.  Followers of Christ in scripture were often on the move, tracing the movement of God.

But when do we go, how do we know where to go?  Or what will happen one the way?  Or when we arrive? What will we leave behind and what will we find ahead?   Following God and leaving the familiar is tough.  But he does not simply push us out of the nest to find our own way.  Nor does he send us unaccompanied.   The Lord promises to go with us and provide us with direction, encouragement, and provision for the journey.

In Exodus 13:17-22, the narrative of Exodus transitions from God visiting his people in Egypt to God leading his people into the Promised Land.  To prepare the people for the move God gives three things we need as we follow Christ: his plan, his promise, and his presence.  God lays out the route, sends them with the bones of Joseph, and appears to them as the pillar of cloud and fire.   All to make it easier for the Israelites to follow.  

Join us as we examine the departure of Israel from Egypt in Exodus 13:17-22.  And as we consider some critical truths about following God when he brings us to our own Moving Day. 

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. 

Complaints about mothers-in-law are as old as the institution of marriage.  Yet I confess, my mother-in-law was a rare jewel.  She had many remarkable qualities.  She was the ultimate encourager.  She never forgot your name or your situation.  She left a wake of joy and blessing wherever life’s voyage took her.  And her life took her into some dark and difficult places.  She excelled in the art of gift giving.  And she always knew and gave exactly what you needed.

But her chief pleasure was the pleasure of others.  And no event gave her greater opportunity to please than feast-keeping.   Holiday meals were lavish, expansive, and eclectic.  She ensured that everyone’s favorite dish was on the table.   For me it was pickled peaches.   No one else shared my passion for pickled peaches.  And they are extremely hard to procure in Arkansas.   Yet every Thanksgiving MaMa preserved one quart jar of homemade pickled peaches, just for me.

MaMa knew the importance of keeping the feast.  Of gathering and celebrating the season.   Of remembering the grace of God with gratitude through feast-keeping.   Feasting it important.   God commanded feasts in the Old Testament to ensure the people would remember His mighty acts of deliverance.  And to prepare them for the even greater ultimate deliverance in Christ.   The feasts joyfully told the story – His story.   The story of what made God’s people different.  Of who they were and whose they were.  And of how they came to be.

The feasts of Israel were not optional.   Not extra for experts.   Nor merely perfunctory or obligatory.   They were to be attended with solemnity, yet joy.  With careful preparation, yet zealous participation.  And most of all they were to be enjoyed in faith. Faith that the God who delivered them from the tyranny of Pharaoh would deliver them from the ultimate tyranny of sin.  And so, at the climax of the exodus, we find more instruction than action.   God instructs his people to keep the Passover with diligence and sincerity.  And in the same way we are still instructed to keep the feast.

But Christ is our Passover and we celebrate this great work of redemption as we gather around his table in the Lord’s Supper.   Paul instructs us.

For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:  Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8

And again.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?  For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.  Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?

1 Corinthians 10:16-17

And finally.

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Are you keeping the feast?  Are you coming in faith?  Carefully prepared to thankfully participate?   Join us this week as we examine Exodus 12:43-13:16 to consider God’s instructions to his ancient people and to us to keep the feast.

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube. 

We rarely give children credit for existential reflection.   But nothing in my childhood provoked existential reflection like “nuclear preparedness drills.”   Even the simplest child knew that in the event of nuclear war facing the interior wall of the hall at school with our heads tucked between knees was an unlikely survival strategy. 

And so, our minds moved quickly to more practical matters.  More likely outcomes.  Would we be crushed by debris? Incinerated in an instant?  Blown to kingdom come by shock waves?   We were not even sure ‘the posture of protection’ would help us survive a tornado. How would it save us if the Iron Curtain targeted metro Atlanta?

And even if we survived the initial blast, there was the fallout — the insidious radioactive residue that lingers like slow death.  How could our head pressed between our knees possibly protect us from this?  We had no masks.  No protective gear.   We knew! We understood!  “Nuclear preparedness drills” were just busy work.   And we knew all about ‘busy work.”  Assignments given to keep us quiet.   These drills were meant to keep us quiet.  To keep us from despair.   But we knew.  If the “red menace” targeted us there would be no ‘day after.’

The word ‘fallout’ has become an idiom for all the downstream consequences of a catastrophe.   If the catastrophe does not strike us down, the fallout will.  The plagues of Egypt were catastrophic.   They destroyed everything that made Egypt great among the nations of the ancient world — its agriculture, its natural resources, its culture, its people, its king, its elaborate religion along with its profound wickedness and sin.  God spoke to Egypt in grace.  But Egypt responded in stunning unbelief.   Plague after plague brought wrack and ruin.   Yet they persisted in unbelief.

And then God himself brought the final stroke – the death of the firstborn.   The plague God warned of from the beginning.   And with that plague came the fallout.   Egypt was destroyed.  Plundered.  Just as God had said.  And after centuries of ruthless and bitter oppression by the Egyptians, God’s people were delivered.  Just as God had said. 

God’s word never fails.  What he promises, he performs.  Both in the way of judgement and in the way of deliverance.   The Egyptians refused to trust God’s Word and they experienced catastrophe and its fallout.   But the people of Israel trusted God’s Word and found promised deliverance.   Nothing is more certain that the word of God. 

What about you?  What certainty is ahead for you?  The certainty of judgement because of unbelief, along with all the fallout?  Or the certainty of salvation?  God always keeps his word.   Believe his word of grace that you may never know his word of judgement. Join us as we examine Exodus 12:29-42 and consider the catastrophe of God’s righteous judgement and the fallout that brings death to unbelievers and life to believers.

We meet on the square in Pottsville, right next to historic Potts’ Inn at 10:30 am for worship.  Get directions here or contact us for more info.  Or join us on Facebook Live @PottsvilleARP or YouTube.