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21 April: Blessings Found in the Lord Psalm 16 The Gospel Coalition: David Schuman April 9,’24 Read Psalm 16
1. The Blessing of Community: David first speaks of the blessing of community: “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight” (v. 3). Finding joy while spending time with friends and family is usually a pretty easy task. Something as easy as a phone call, text, email, or postcard, can be an uplifting experience. It is God’s intentions to provide us with all the help we need to get through our days on this earth: 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” Romans 12:10 “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor”. Ephesians 5:19 “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord”. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” Heb 10:24 “and let us consider how to encourage one another to love and good deeds”.
Our being part of God’s family, founded on the concept of loving our neighbor, has placed us in a social setting which provides us with all the encouragement and uplifting support that we need in our lives.
2. The Blessing of Inheritance: Alluding to the allotment of the promised land to the 12 tribes, David tells us we have an inheritance that far surpasses even the choicest earthly inheritance (vv. 5–6). Our inheritance is an abundant and blessed life to be followed by eternity with the Father.
Earthly Blessings: Mt 6:33 & 7:11 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” “… how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!” 1 Cor 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Philistines 4:6,7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual Blessings: Eph 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”. Rom 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Rev 3:21 “He who overcomes, I will grant to him the right to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
3. The Blessing of Counsel: The psalm continues to rise as David reflects on the blessing of God’s counsel: “I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me” (v. 7).
2 Tim 3:16,17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” 1 Cor 10:11 “Now these things happened to them as an example and they were written for our instructions”.
4. The Blessing of Strength: Next, David blesses God for the strength he supplies: “I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken” (v. 8).
Psalm 68:35 “O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!” Isaiah 40:31 “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” 2 Thess 3:3 “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” 2 Cor 12:10 “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
5. The Blessing in Death: David reaches a climax of praise as he declares God’s blessing even in death:
You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (v 10–11)
We too know assurance of a resurrection awaiting us. 2 Cor 4:14 “knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.” 1 Thess 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies”. John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
We deserve none of these blessings. We want a life filled with joy, but our hearts turn from God and run after other things. Rom 3:23 tells us that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Rom 1:18 “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” 2 Thess 1:9 “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might.” Matt 8:12 “but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 2 Peter 3:7 “But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.”
We may not feel like we are ungodly men, but I think we will all agree that we are sinners. That is why, in order to avoid this punishment we see here, that Christ came and died for us: Eph 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace”. 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” Gal 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us . . .”
Jesus tasted death that you might live forever at His right hand. Jesus truly desires that we share eternity with Him and the Father. He gave his life to share with you the inheritance He earned by right.
14 April: God’s Plan of Salvation
Mt 28:19,20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations: this means that someone is teaching a person who is listening and believing; baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit: the one who believes then decides to be baptized; teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; after baptism that person then lives their lives in accordance with Jesus’ teachings.
Detailed Examination of God’s Plan: A) The first portion of the plan is that people must hear the message. Rom 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Hm whom they have not heard: and how will they hear without a preacher?”
If someone is going to become a believer, they must first hear the message. This is something very important to God our Father: 1 Tim 2:3,4 “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise but is patient toward you, not wishing any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” The point in these passages is that God cares about the lost. He cares so much that according to John 3:16 God sent His Son to die on the cross. We should pay attention to those things that God cares about. If He cares, then we need to care also as his faithful children. CONSIDER:
1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellences of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 2 Cor 5:18,20 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . . therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us . . .” If we belong to God, “His own possession”, then we are going to do what He wants us to do. This verse then goes on and tells us what He wants US to do: not die on some cross, necessarily, but to at least share our knowledge of Him. If we have been given a ministry – He is going to EXPECT us to minister!!!
God’s Plan: B) Those that hear must then believe: Once we have done our job of sharing it is then their responsibility to respond appropriately. Even Jesus found that there were those who believed and responded and there were those who rejected His message. Those whose heart and minds are open to God’s spirit will respond properly: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Heb 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” John 8:24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Those who hear and believe the story of Christ will receive salvation and eternal life. Those who do not believe and accept will lose their eternal life. James tells us that even the demons believe, but they have not accepted Jesus as their Lord. Our belief must lead to obedience -
God’s Plan: C) Believers must repent and turn to God’s way: Acts 17:30,31 “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent”. Luke 13:1-5 Jesus describes two tragedies that occurred and stipulated that those killed were not more evil than others, but unless His followers repented, they will also perish like the people in the tragedy. Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” Acts 2:37,38 “Now when they heard this there were pierced to the hear and said, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ Peter said, ‘Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ . . .” Rom 3:23-25 “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in His grace, freely makes us right in His sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. . . .” Those previous verses telling them to repent refers to us as well. Repentance is a heartfelt reaction to the sins in our lives. Eph 4:22 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires”. (this change of lifestyle is evidence of repentance) 2 Cor 7:10 “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” Sorrow only occurs because repentance is making a change withing us. As we see the harm being done in our lives because of sin, damage to others and damage to our relationship with Christ, we become sorrowful and desire a change within us – this is repentance from the heart as God desires. Once we see and desire a change – we must then confess this desire for change:
God’s Plan: D) We must confess our faith to be saved. Rom 10:8-10 “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ – that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confessed, resulting in salvation.” Luke 12:8,9 “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God, but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Denying and rejecting the message of Christ is not limited to a vocal thing. “Actions speak louder than words.” If, in our lives, we do not live according to God’s will, we have rejected His will and thus His message. Mt 12:34b “(Jesus said to them) ‘For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.” What we say and how we live reflects what is in our hearts. We are to love the Lord out God with ALL our heart. If we do not love God with all our heart we are breaking the most important commandment in Scripture – and this failure is what makes it so hard to love our neighbor and to follow all the other teachings of Christ. One such commandment is that we are to be baptized:
God’s Plan: E) We must be baptized to be saved. 1 Peter 3:21 “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you – not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience – through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Mark 16:15,16 “And Jesus said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” Acts 8:35,36 “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him (Ethiopian Eunuch). As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?’ . . . And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him.” Apparently, the preaching story of Jesus included some reference to the importance of being baptized. Apparently, the Eunuch believed all the things he was hearing and wanted to be obedient to the message. This is what led him to wanting to be obedient – thus be baptized! Acts 2:37,38 “now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and asked, ‘Brethren, what shall we do?’ and Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Rom 6:3,4,5 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.’” Wouldn’t the opposite of this be true, also? If we have NOT be united with Him in His death, then we won’t be like Him in His resurrection.
Our being united with Him in His death means that we are to “walk in newness of life”. Paul put it this way: Rom 6:6-8 “knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him”. This isn’t referring to living with Him in heaven but living with Him day by day as we continue in this life. This is where that abundant life comes into play that Jesus speaks of in John 10:10. If we are living with Him then we are walking faithfully with Him.
God’s Plan: F) We must be faithful until death. Rev 2:10 “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. . . . Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” Do you see that expectation that is written there? John is telling that church that they ARE going to suffer and they DO need to remain faithful!!! Eph 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” How is a person to “remain faithful”? By doing the works that God places before us in the course of our day by day existence.
2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Ephesians 4:24 “and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Remember that verse about us being unified with Christ’s death in our baptism and how we were then raised to walk in the newness of life – here is that message again: we are a new creation and in the likeness of Christ – created in righteousness and holiness. That is how our lives are to be lived!
2 Tim 2:12 “If we endure (faithfully), we will also reign with Him; If we deny Him (actions), He also will deny us.” Col 3:1-3 “Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is, seated at the right had of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jas 1:12 “Blessed is a man who perseveres (remains faithful) under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of live which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
Mt 13:23 “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” Mt 3:8 “(Jesus said to them), Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” James 2:20 “But are you willing to recognize you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”
Conclusion: Once we have heard the Word it is up to us to respond with belief, repentance, confession, and baptism. This is then followed by a faithful and Godly productive life for God’s Kingdom. If we do so then we will be rewarded with an eternal WITH our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the right hand of God.
7 April: What Are We Celebrating on Easter – the Lord’s Resurrection!
Easter is a celebration of the fact that Jesus died and rose from the grave to pay the price for our failures and affirm for us that we have a second chance to walk with God. Rev 3:21 “ The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Knowing the resurrection is in our future should completely change our direction, our attitude and our decisions in life. That is why our Easter celebration is so important – it sets the tone for the rest of our year. Fortunate for us, we have in the word of God the assurance that the resurrection is real and trustworthy. It is a proven fact that Jesus rose from the grave.
Lk 24:31 “Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight!” Mk 16:16 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him.” Acts 1:3 “To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Lk 24:36-39 (paraphrased) “And while the apostles were together Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said, “Peace be to you.” But they were startled and frightened and thought they were seeing a spirit. But He said to them, ‘See My hands and My feet, - touch Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
Know and believing that Jesus was resurrected should bring us joy and an assurance that such an end state awaits us as well. We need to believe that we will also experience our own resurrection.
2 Cor 4:14 “knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you.” 1 Thessalonians 4:14 “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.” John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies”. John 6:40 “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”
This hope in the resurrection changes everything. It impacts how we go through life and how we go through death. But some may have a few questions about the idea of a resurrection for us. What does it actually mean for us?
To explain this concept Paul must use metaphoric language from the world of botany, in verses 35-44. Think of it like a seed. A seed that must be buried in the ground, in order to be transformed into a plant.
Verse 42 shows us that our bodies will rise to no longer face destruction or death. Our bodies will rise incorruptible, imperishable. Paul then goes on to say that our bodies will be raised in glory. We will be filled and animated by the Spirit. We will bear the image of Jesus. The image of God, that we were created with will be restored and renewed. People will clearly see Jesus in us.
At the same time, there will be a certain continuity. Just as there is continuousness between a seed and a plant, we will continue to be us, only in a far more heightened way. What we were made to be in the first place. when
The next question is when will the resurrection take place? The apostle Paul tells us we will not experience resurrection until somewhere out into the future when Christ returns.
Christ will return and the dead will meet Him and then we will follow upwards as well: 1 Thess 4:16,17 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
1 Cor 15:51,52.53 “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Where/paradise
So what remains is to ask where are we until the resurrection? In the parable of the “Rich Man and Lazarus” both Lazarus and the man find themselves in a holding area. Lazarus is with Abraham and the man is in Hades. In the Transfiguration Moses and Elijah appear on the mountaintop with Christ. They apparently have been maintain their presence somewhere.
To the thief on the cross next to Him Luke 23:43 “And He said to Him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Paul tells the account of a vision that he had: 2 Cor 12:3,4 “And I know how such a man . . . was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words . . .” So where the Lord was with the thief and where Paul was in his experience – I don’t know. But apparently they were in a specific location.
For those who are not in relationship with Christ, they will be told to depart or leave the presence of God Mt 7:23 “I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me”. 2 Peter 2:9 “then the Lord knows to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgement.” Until then???
All of this leads to one final question: What should we do with our remaining moments on this earth?
1 Cor 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
Whatever decisions you have left to make in your life, make them in light of eternity. What you do in this life should have an eternal trajectory. Give yourself to speaking truth, living truth, living according to the commands of the Lord to love one another and so prove that we are His disciples (John 13:35) sharing the gospel and truly fulfill the requirement of showing love to others!
2 Tim 4:7,8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
Knowing the resurrection awaits those who are faithful and loving should completely change our direction, our attitude and our decisions in this life.
31 March: The FULL Story of the Lord’s Supper
I know today is Easter Sunday and what was scheduled for our thoughts today was to look at the Lord’s resurrection and all that it means. But as I spoke last week, the chronology that I had in my mind was that two weeks ago I presented the lesson on how the Lord loved His apostles and how that love extends to us as well. Then in last weeks lesson on the cross we saw why the cross was necessary:
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
James 1:15 “Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” 1 Peter 3:18 “Christ suffered and died for sins once for all. He never sinned and yet He died for us who have sinned. He died so He might bring us to God.”
1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”
Colossians 1:10 “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him; bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”
Jude 1:21 “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.”
This week my thoughts were that I would present a brief look at the Lord’s Supper which we celebrate each week based on the sacrifice of the Lord on the cross. Then I thought we could examine the glorious resurrection which came about after Christ’s death and burial. But I guess the Lord had other plans. As I studied and wrote and thought about what I was finding in God’s Word things just kinda’ exploded and grew and I had a full blown lesson without ever getting to the Easter story. So, rather than give you an hour long overload . . . next week we will look at the resurrection and then the week after that we will be looking at God’s “Plan of Salvation” which is available to those who hear and believe the story of Christ. In my study I came across a couple of passages Standing for the reading of God’s Word: (Isa 53)
Joshua 8:30-35 “Then Joshua built an altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, . . . . 32 And he wrote there on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses. 33 And all Israel with their elders, officers, and their judges were standing on both sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, . . . . 34 Then afterward he read all the words of the Law, the blessing, and the curse, according to everything that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.”
Nehemiah 8:1,2,5 ”And all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring [and read] the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the Seventh month. Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
Luke 4:16-17, He [the Lord] went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day, He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written…
The passage in Luke is an example of Jesus reading a passage from Isaiah while standing up, but it is not mentioned here that the people also stood, rather, it was only Jesus that did.
In none of the three cases is the audience asked to stand. In the Old Testament readings, the people seem to make the decision on their own to stand for the reading. Now why would they do that???
Why Is it a Sign of Respect?
Because the act of standing up while reading the Bible is a sign of respect, there is nothing wrong with doing it if the congregation or denomination decides to. It is comparable to when we stand when a judge or some person of position enters a room. Standing during the reading is comparable to when we stand when the flag of our country is being raised. It is a sign of respect towards the flag and country. When we sing the national anthem, we also stand up and some even put their hands on their chest. This is the same as standing while the Bible is read — to show the utmost respect for the Word. When something is done with respect to God and His Word, it always pleases God. So, if standing while the Bible is being read is done out of respect to the Word, then there is nothing wrong with it. We are about to begin our weekly celebration of the Lord’s Supper and I would like to first read Isaiah 53. So If you can, would you please stand for the reading of God’s Word: