"The messianic promises of the new covenant have begun in Christ. It is now unthinkable to live as though Christ has not been born, died for our sins and risen to resurrection life. The old covenant pales in comparison with the power of the end of the ages that has dawned in Christ. God's one covenant story holds together in his Son; and the entire drama must be understood in his light. Thus the covenant is newly shaped by the death and resurrection of Jesus. And Jesus is the true glory of the old covenant as well as the new. God's covenant revelation in Moses looked toward Christ; and now that Christ has come, the entire covenant story is redefined in terms of him. Jesus Christ is the new in new covenant." Michael Williams, Far as the Curse is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption, (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing Company, 2005), 239-40.

"The world shouldn't dictate what we anticipate from God. As the West becomes more committed to a secular belief system, it doesn't mean we should expect less from God during our lifetime. He is sovereign, which is why we should believe anything is possible. His Spirit can move when and where He wishes. Whether or not we witness exponential growth in our own culture, we know the end of history will reveal His faithfulness in fulfilling His original promise to Abraham wherein the sons of God will be as populous as the sands of the sea." Andy Jones - The danger of the scarcity of the Gospel. https://byfaithonline.com/the-danger-of-the-scarcity-gospel/

Let earth and heaven combine, Angels and men agree, To praise in songs divine The incarnate Deity, Our God contracted to a span, Incomprehensibly made Man. The Hymn by Charles Wesley - "Let Earth and Heaven Combine."

"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would be either a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse." C. S. Lewis. Mere Christianity (New York: Macmillan, 1943), 41.

Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matt. 20:26-28). Many people unconsciously expect their church to serve them. The expectation shows with the checklist we bring to worship. We ask, "Did the pastor preach a sermon to my liking? Did the music suit my taste? Does the building have the right décor?" Of course, we are right to be concerned that our church does what is right. The Bible tells us to be vigilant about God's priorities. But sometimes God's priorities get confused with our preferences. Whether we are expressing greater concerns about the latter than the former may take serious heart examination. That examination, if it is Biblical, often begins with asking whether we really are willing to follow Jesus by denying ourselves (Matt. 16:24)? Are we more seeking to serve or to be served? Of course, we are all ready to testify that we are willing to be a servant - until someone treats us like one. Then, we must ask if Jesus only calls us to an occasional act of service, or to a life of selflessness for the sake of others knowing him. The charge to put God's priorities above our own often can reduce our checklist to one item: Does this church help me serve Jesus better? Bryan Chapell. ByFaith Magazine. Devotional. 18th November 2022