Verse of the Day 10/16

Verse of the Day 10/16

1 Peter 1:3-4

English Standard Version

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

After the introduction and his call for God's grace and peace be multiplied for his readers, the Apostle Peter begins the body of his letter with words of praise and thanksgiving. Many speeches, sermons and letters begin with an outline of what the letter intends to achieve or convey.

Reading the verses reminded me of all of the church services at the church I grew up in and then the church where we raised our children.  In both churches, the services began with hymns, mostly of praise, such as the "Doxology" - praise God from whom all things flow; or "Holy, Holy, Holy" - early in the morning our song will rise to Thee; or 'Praise the Savior" - ye who know Him, who can can tell how much we owe Him.

Not as many of the modern church services begin with traditional hymns but the purpose is still the same and if you listen to the words, they are not very different from the hymns we learned and loved from childhood on.  Third Day's "Children of God" came to mind.

Praise to the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ
Our God and our King, to Him we will sing
In His great mercy, He has given us life
Now we can be called the children of God

Great is the Love that the Father has given us
He has delivered us
He has delivered us

Children of God, sing your song and rejoice
For the love that He has given us all
Children of God, by the blood of His Son
We have been redeemed and we can be called
Children of God
Children of God

Read the passage below.  May the words prepare your heart for worship this weekend and while you're at it, may you sing out one of your favorite hymns or one of today's songs that give praise to the Lord for all that He has done for us and all that we have in Him.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

1 Peter 1:3-9

English Standard Version

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.