Easter Song 2nd Chapter of Acts Lyrics

“I will praise the Lord ... His praise endures forever”

Psalm 111:1-10

Hallelujah! Jesus Christ is risen today - a celebration for Easter, and every Lord’s Day.

* At the start of the Psalm - “I will praise the Lord” (Psalm 111:1).

* At the end of the Psalm - “His praise endures forever” (Psalm 111:10).

In our worship, there is to be both “the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 111:10) and trust in the Lord - “the Lord is gracious and compassionate... He has sent redemption to His people” (Psalm 111:4,9).

We give thanks to the Lord for His love, but we must never forget that “His Name is holy and awe-inspiring” (Psalm 111:9).

* The character of God: He is holy, He is love.

* The message of the Gospel: In love for us, the holy God has provided a way for our sins to be forgiven.

These are the truths of God’s Word which are to shape our lives, making us more holy and more loving.

Psalm 111

Hallelujah! Jesus Christ is risen today - a celebration for Easter, and every Lord’s Day.

* At the start of the Psalm - “I will praise the Lord” (Psalm 111:1).

* At the end of the Psalm - “His praise endures forever” (Psalm 111:10).

In our worship, there is to be both “the fear of the Lord” (Psalm 111:10) and trust in the Lord - “the Lord is gracious and compassionate... He has sent redemption to His people” (Psalm 111:4,9).

We give thanks to the Lord for His love, but we must never forget that “His Name is holy and awe-inspiring” (Psalm 111:9).

* The character of God: He is holy, He is love.

* The message of the Gospel: In love for us, the holy God has provided a way for our sins to be forgiven.

These are the truths of God’s Word which are to shape our lives, making us more holy and more loving.

I know whom I have believed ...

I know not why - YouTube

Don’t stop believing in God's love. He’ll never stop loving you.

Jeremiah 31:15-20

The human situation, the divine solution

* “She refuses to be comforted” (Jeremiah 31:15). Often, we dig a hole for ourselves.

* “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears” - This is what “the Lord” says to us (Jeremiah 31:16).

If anyone else says this to us, we might well say, “It’s all right for you to say that. You’re not suffering like I am.”

God gave His only Son - to die for us. He knows what we’re going through. He’s been there, and He hasn’t forgotten it,

He came out the other side for us - the resurrection.

* “They shall come back from the land of the enemy; there is hope for your future” (Jeremiah 31:16-17) - “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

How are we to understand our times of suffering?

* “You disciplined me” (Jeremiah 31:18) - There is a purpose of God in our suffering. “Bring me back, let me come back, for You are the Lord my God” (Jeremiah 31:18) - the story of the prodigal son, your story, my story.

* “After I had turned away, I repented” - two stages of life.

* Jeremiah 31:20 - God puts a question to us, and He answers it for us. It is the answer of His love. Don’t stop believing in His love. He’ll never stop loving you. Believe in His Son. Believe in His promises.

Psalm 98

"Be jubilant, shout for joy and sing to the Lord ... " (Psalm 98:4-5). Our joyful worship goes to the Lord. First, it comes from Him (Psalm 98:1-3).

Israel looked back to the Exodus. We look back to Jesus - His death and resurrection. We do more than look back. We look forward - "He is coming" (Psalm 98:9).

Psalms 22-24

Read of the Psalmist’s sufferings. Think of the Saviour, suffering for you (Psalm 22:7-8,18; Matthew 27:39,43,35). We highlight two statements: ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’, ‘They have pierced my hands and my feet’(Psalm 22:1,16). Jesus Christ was ‘crucified and killed by the hands of the lawless men’(Acts 2:23). There is, however, more to His story than this: ‘The Lord has laid all our sins on Him’(Isaiah 53:6). When we read of Jesus Christ, ‘pierced for our transgressions’, we see Him ‘pierced’ by men and forsaken by God (Isaiah 53:5; Zechariah 12:10; John 19:34; Matthew 27:46). Looking on to Jesus Christ, risen, exalted and returning, we see Him still bearing the marks of His suffering - ‘the mark of the nails’, ‘a Lamb standing as though it had been slain’, ‘pierced’(John 20:25; Revelation 5:6; 1:7).

Jesus Christ has ‘tasted death for everyone’(Hebrews 2:9). Now, through Him, salvation is proclaimed to ‘the congregation’, to ‘the ends of the earth’ to ‘future generations’(Psalm 22:22,27,30). Jesus Christ, ‘the same yesterday, today and for ever’, proclaims salvation to the great ‘congregation’, drawn from ‘every tribe and language and people and nation’(Hebrews 13:8; Hebrews 2:12; Revelation 5:9). Jesus Christ has passed ‘through the valley of the shadow of death’ for us (Psalm 23:4). Now, we rejoice in Him, our Shepherd of love - (a) the Good Shepherd who died for us (John 10:11); (b) the Great Shepherd who was raised for us (Hebrews 13:20-21); (c) The Chief Shepherd who is coming again for us (1 Peter 5:4). He restores us. He keeps us from ’straying like sheep’. He leads us ‘in paths of righteousness’(Psalm 23:3; 1 Peter 2:25).

For God’s people, there is a glorious eternal destiny: ‘I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever’(Psalm 23:6). We ‘receive this blessing from the Lord,...the God of our salvation’(Psalm 24:5). There is only one answer to the question, ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?: Jesus Christ ‘shall stand in His holy place’. No one else has ‘clean hands and a pure heart’- no one else but Jesus. He is the One who receives ‘blessing’ from the Lord - and He gives it to us (Psalm 24:3-5)! How do we receive His blessing? - We must open our hearts ‘that the King of glory may come in’(Psalm 24:7,9). How can ‘the Lord, strong and mighty’ live in me? How can I receive His resurrection power? Jesus says, ‘I stand at the door and knock, if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in’(Psalm 24:8; Ephesians 1:19-20; Revelation 3:20).

The human situation, the divine solution ...

Jeremiah 31:15-20

The human situation, the divine solution

 * “She refuses to be comforted” (Jeremiah 31:15). Often, we dig a hole for ourselves.

 * “Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears” - This is what “the Lord” says to us (Jeremiah 31:16).

If anyone else says this to us, we might well say, “It’s all right for you to say that. You’re not suffering like I am.”

God gave His only Son - to die for us. He knows what we’re going through. He’s been there, and He hasn’t forgotten it,

He came out the other side for us - the resurrection.

 * “They shall come back from the land of the enemy; there is hope for your future” (Jeremiah 31:16-17) - “more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

How are we to understand our times of suffering?

 * “You disciplined me” (Jeremiah 31:18) - There is a purpose of God in our suffering. “Bring me back, let me come back, for You are the Lord my God” (Jeremiah 31:18) - the story of the prodigal son, your story, my story.

 * “After I had turned away, I repented” - two stages of life.

 * Jeremiah 31:20 - God puts a question to us, and He answers it for us. It is the answer of His love. Don’t stop believing in His love. He’ll never stop loving you. Believe in His Son. Believe in His promises.

Let us return to the Lord ...

Hosea 6:1-3

* “Let us return to the Lord” (Hosea 6:1). There are many blessings, waiting for us. We must come to the Lord and receive these blessings from Him.

* “He will revive us” (Hosea 6:2). This is new life in Christ. It’s new life in the Spirit. We were dead. Now, we are alive, Glory to God!

* “He will raise us up” (Hosea 6:2) - resurrection, not just a pick-me-up. God must do it. He alone can do it - and He does!

* “He will come to us like the rain” (Hosea 6:3) - “the spring showers that water the land”: This will put a spring in our step. It will send us out, with joy and strength, to serve the Lord and bring others to Him (Psalm 126:5-6).

God's Kingdom Endures Forever.

Daniel 2:44-47

God’s Kingdom “will never be destroyed.” It “endures forever.”

“The dream is true, and the interpretation is certain.”

Through the resurrection of Jesus, this is more than a dream. He has triumphed over death.

How are we to respond to Jesus? - “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28); “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16); “revealer of mysteries” (Daniel 2:47).

Worship the Lord. Submit to Him. Learn from Him. Live for Him.

Joyful worship ... looking back and looking forward

Psalm 98:1-9 
"Be jubilant, shout for joy and sing to the Lord ... " (Psalm 98:4-5). Our joyful worship goes to the Lord. First, it comes from Him (Psalm 98:1-3).
Israel looked back to the Exodus. We look back to Jesus - His death and resurrection. We do more than look back. We look forward - "He is coming" (Psalm 98:9).

God is our refuge and our strength ...

"God is our refuge and our strength ..." (Psalm 46;1). "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). First, the truth about God; Then, our feelings are brought into line with the truth about God,
Facts; Faith; Feelings
* Facts - Christ's death and resurrection for us
* Faith - I believe the facts. My faith is built on the sure foundation - Christ, the rock of my salvation.
* Feelings - Never start with feelings. They will lead you astray.
Safety; Certainty; Enjoyment
* Safety - We have been saved by the Lord. It's His doing - not ours.
* Certainty - We believe His Word. We stand upon His promises.
* Enjoyment - We enjoy His blessing.

Psalm 16

‘Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore’(Psalm 16:11). In this earthly life, there are many difficulties. For all of God’s people, there is something better still to come. We must look not only at the things which are happening now. We must look also to the glory which is yet to come. Our hope of eternal glory is based on Christ’s resurrection. David’s words (Psalm 16:8-11) are quoted by Peter in connection with ‘the resurrection of the Christ’(Acts 2:24-33). ‘Christ has been raised from the dead...at His coming those who belong to Christ...will be raised imperishable’(1 Corinthians 15:20-23, 52). ‘The Lord is my chosen portion...Therefore my heart is glad’(Psalm 16:5,9). Is this your testimony? Choose Christ and be glad.

Isaiah 25:6-9

Here, we have prophecy, looking forward to Christ's resurrection and His return. We look back to His resurrection - and we look forward to his return. We have "the foretaste of glory divine" - but we still look forward to the complete fulfilment of God's promises: "He will destroy" (Isaiah 25:7-8), "On that day, it will be said ... " (Isaiah 25:9).

A Great Promise

In Genesis 3:15, we have a great promise from God. He won't let Satan have the victory over us. He will sent His Son, Jesus ("the seed of the woman". Through His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus will triumph over Satan - for us. Satan will bruise Jesus' heel. We see this in Jesus' suffering on the Cross. Jesus will bruise Satan's head. We see this in Jesus' mighty resurrection from the dead. When Jesus was crucified, it seemed that Satan had the upper hand. That's the way it seemed, but it's not the way really was. That was only the bruising of Jesus' heel. Soon, it would be made clear that it was Jesus who had the upper hand. His triumph was revealed in his glorious resurrection - the bruising of Satan's head. When we read these words, we may say, "Satan is still alive and kicking." Yes. That's true, but his head has been bruised - and this is the beginning of the end for him. Satan's end will come when he is "cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:10). Then, there will be the ultimate triumph of the Lord - "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4). We have seen the beginning of the fulfilment of God's great promise. We shall see the complete fulfilment of His promise. This is the work of His amazing grace, and we give all the glory to Him.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Jesus spoke about His death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21). This is prophecy. What we have here is even more remarkable. We read this, and we think that this must have been written after Jesus’ death. This is the work of the Spirit of God. He sees what lies ahead. He describes these events, as if they had already happened. This is more than a description of what was going to happen. It’s an explanation of the meaning of the death of Christ.

Is there a look beyond His death to His resurrection? Yes! “He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will succeed by His hand” (Isaiah 53:10).

When these words were first spoken, people must have wondered, “What does all this mean?” They must have wondered about Jesus, when He started talking about His resurrection - “What is He talking about?”

When Jesus died for us, and then rose from the dead, everything fell into place. This was what Isaiah and Jesus had been speaking about.

There is hope ... love ... joy ... peace.

“Come and see the shining hope that Christ’s apostle saw;

 On the earth, confusion, but in heaven an open door …

… Love has the victory for ever!” (Mission Praise, 86).

“On the earth confusion” - Is this all that we have to look forward to, or is there more than this? Is there nothing but bad news, or is there Good News - from God?

As we head towards Easter, we need to be reminded that there is hope.

Where does our hope for the future come from? Are we just hoping that everything will turn out fine, or are we looking beyond ourselves - to Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. If, in our reading of the story of Jesus Christ, we stopped after we had read about His crucifixion, we would be asking ourselves, “Is there any hope?” When we read about His resurrection, we move on - from “Is there any hope?”, to “There is hope”.

When we look back - from Jesus’ resurrection to His crucifixion, we see that there is love.

At the cross of Jesus, we learn that we are loved. From the resurrection of Jesus, we learn that Jesus’ love has triumphed over our sin. His love changes us. It brings us out of our darkness. It brings us into His light.

In the light of Jesus’ love, we see that there is joy and there is peace.

We look for joy, and we do not find it. We look for peace, and we do not find it. What’s our problem? Are we not too busy looking into ourselves, when we should be looking away from ourselves - to Jesus, our Saviour? We say to ourselves, “I would have more joy, more peace and more hope - if I had more love for Jesus”.

There’s a problem with this way of thinking - there’s too much about my love for Jesus, and not enough of His love for me. When, we read about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, let us remember this - this is not about us, it’s about Him. It’s about what He has done for us - not about what we do for Him. His love for us is always much more important than our love for Him. Focusing on ourselves - my love for Jesus, my joy, my peace, my hope - is always bad news. It just reminds us of how much we have failed our Lord. Focusing on Jesus and his love for us - this is always Good News: Jesus keeps loving us, even when we don’t feel very joyful, very peaceful or very hopeful.    

May the Good News of Jesus’ love bring to you His joy, His peace and His hope.

Daniel's Deliverance And Christ's Resurrection

Daniel 6:1-28

The deliverance of Daniel from the mouths of the lions - What a great miracle this is! It points forward to an even greater miracle - the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why is the resurrection a greater miracle? - It seemed almost inevitable that Daniel would be killed, but he didn’t actually die. Jesus did die. The shadow of death hung over Daniel, but death did not take him. Jesus was raised from death. He was “crucified, dead and buried” - and, after all that, He was raised to life.

The message of Daniel’s deliverance from the mouths of the lions - “For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His Kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion has no end” (Daniel 6:26). This is the message of Jesus’ resurrection.

Daniel’s deliverance gives us a glimpse of God’s glory. Jesus’ resurrection is a marvellous and mighty revelation of the eternal God and eternal life (see 1 John 5:20 - “Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”) Daniel was a great man. Jesus is our great Saviour.

Like Daniel, we will face “lions” - Satan goes about “like a roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8). Like Daniel, we must “resist” the devil, firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:9). Christ delivers us - and He will raise us.