August 23, 2020
Upcoming Events and Notices
Please note the time change for livestream worship service. Please join us for livestream worship at 10 AM, August 23, 2020 here.
You can find the order of worship and songs here.
The August 16, 2020 sermon, Proverbs 3:!–4. “Steadfast Love and Faithfulness” is available on our church website. You can also catch up on older sermons from our Sermon page and subscribe to sermon podcast here.
August 23 (Lord's Day 11:15 AM ): Please join us for online fellowship after the worship live-stream via Google Meet. You can also join by phone. Please contact pastor Ken for call-in information.
September 16 (Wednesday 7 PM): We will begin new online study series. More information will be available soon.
Thank you for your coninued support of Grace Fallbrook (PCA). Your loving support makes the proclamation of the gospel and the building up of the saints possible. Please continue to mail in your gifts and offerings to our church treasurer, Bruce Summers. In addition, our church website now features online giving. Please visit the church website and click on "Give" which you will find in the upper left corner of our church's website. When you click on "Give Online Now" button on that page, you will be directed to the PCA Foundation where you give towards Grace Fallbrook (PCA).
Before We Worship
Most of the psalms come with subheading titles. For example, Psalms 120–134 are all indicated as "A Song of Ascents" at the very beginning of each psalm. But unlike other subheading titles throughout the rest of the Bible, the Psalms' subheading titles are actually part of the inspired Scripture present in the original Hebrew texts of the Bible. And they often provide proper orientation for understanding the psalms.
Psalm 133, in particular, has as its title "A Song of Ascents. Of David." This tells us that when the OT saints made their pilgrimage to the Jerusalem Temple, they found David's reflection about brotherhood and fellowship very proper and helpful. In other words, the Spirit instructed the OT saints to think of their pilgrimage, not as an individual effort, but as a communal task carried out in the presence of their fellow pilgrims.
We need this lesson so urgently today. Our culture is rife with individualism, and with a corresponding neglect of the community. Many Christians consider their daily Quiet Time to be more important than meeting with other believers for corporate worship. They understand their spiritual life largely in terms of what they are called to experience and to do as individuals, rather than as a call to a life lived together in a community of shared faith. This mindset shows up in many tangible ways, from the neglect of corporate worship to quickly leaving as soon as the worship service is over.
In Psalm 133 the Holy Spirit teaches us to think differently. "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity." Remember the context of this psalm as "A Song of Ascents." This psalm is not chiefly describing nice neighborhoods, but the spiritual fellowship of pilgrims. Our shared faith and destination unite us. Notice then how David describes this brotherhood and fellowship. "It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!" This is not exactly an appealing picture for us. But it is alluding to the ministry of the High Priest in Exodus 29–30. The High Priest was anointed with oil, which symbolized anointing of the Spirit. And this was an overflowing anointing, so much so that the oil ran down from the priest's head to his face to his beard to his robe. It is a picture of an abundant presence and blessing of the Lord's Spirit.
And it is in these precise terms David describes the spiritual fellowship of fellow pilgrims. For we experience God's presence and blessing in fellowship with other believers in ways not possible on our own. There is glory and joy in sharing our pilgrimage with one another.