Blog - BEChurch

Buckingham Evangelical Church

You are here: Home » Blog

Rejoice, the Lord is king!

Details: Published: Monday, 01 August 2016 22:53; Written by James Dean

I've had an old hymn stuck in my head today which is actually a welcome change and I'm wondering if I can orchestrate the same thing happening to me every day so that I'm able to praise God even while my mind is on other things.

The hymn, Rejoice, the Lord is King, was written by Charles Wesley and picks up on themes from a wide variety of scripture but it focuses on our joy in Jesus as King and assurance of his reign forever. Look at the words of the first verse:

Rejoice, the Lord is King!
your Lord and King adore;
mortals, give thanks and sing,
and triumph evermore:

We've been studying Genesis in our recent sermons and there is so much packed into those 4 lines alone that directs our worship to where it should be - to our Creator! We can easily recognise the hymn-writer's inspiration:

The Psalmist wrote:
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!
Psalm 97:12

and Paul, writing to the Philippians, wrote:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
Philippians 4:4

But we find this hard, don't we? To rejoice in every situation, whether good or bad - is that even possible? When our focus is drawn to a difficult situation it's sometimes hard enough to simply draw breath let alone turn that to anything resembling praise. But that is what we're called to do. It is when we lift our eyes and look above our immediate circumstances to the sovereign God that we are able to rejoice. When our joy is grounded in God and not in what's going on around us we can be joyful and rejoice no matter what. In those moments, it's often singing a song or a hymn that will drag my mind up to where it should be and lift my spirit to praise.

I'm reminded of that truth in the chorus of the hymn which is an easily remembered anthem and I need to frequently remind myself of as it echoes Paul's exhortation:

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
rejoice, again I say, rejoice.

There is so much more you could say about this hymn, but for now I'll just leave the remaining verses for you to sing your own praises to our wonderful God!

2. Jesus, the Saviour, reigns,
the God of truth and love;
when he had purged our stains
he took his seat above:

3. His kingdom cannot fail,
he rules both earth and heaven;
the keys of death and hell
are to our Jesus given:

4. He sits at God’s right hand,
till all his foes submit
and bow to his command
and fall beneath his feet:

5. Rejoice in glorious hope!
Jesus the Judge shall come
and take his servants up
to their eternal home:

We soon shall hear the archangel’s voice;
God’s trumpet-call shall sound-Rejoice!

Need help with a tune? Try Darwall (

Baptisms, baptisms, baptisms

Details: Published: Monday, 25 July 2016 22:45; Written by James Dean

What a great day we had last Sunday. Of course we delight to worship our Lord together every Sunday but it was especially uplifting to be able to share the gospel with some people who may never have heard it before, and to rejoice together as we baptised three of our little fellowship.

Please keep Natalie, Lauren and James in your prayers and pray also for Naomi, Kyla and Ryan as they look forward to their baptisms this coming Sunday! The day will run much the same as last week so please bring food for your family to share at the "Bring & Share" meal afterwards.

My struggle with small groups

Details: Published: Tuesday, 19 July 2016 13:29; Written by James Dean

I have an ongoing love-hate relationship with small groups at church, and I sense I may not be alone in this.

On the one hand I love the fact that at times it can be an uplifting and edifying time where we share the difficulties of life and turn to prayer and exalt God together for his care and love. I delight when we read a passage of the Bible and as we talk about what it means a little sparkle appears in our eyes as we realise something amazing and learn something we'd never known before or remember a truth we'd forgotten.

On the other hand there are some weeks when everything really does feel like pulling teeth. No one wants to talk or open up; everyone seems downright grumpy; and I wonder if it was worthwhile getting together in the first place.

I've thought this over many times and wondered whether perhaps we're just doing it wrong. Perhaps we need to sing or not sing; perhaps the groups should be larger or smaller; meet earlier or later; meet more often or less often. Surely other churches that have seen huge benefits to this model of meeting together have a secret they're not letting on?

But what I'm coming to realise is that we're not doing it wrong at all. What we might perceive as being "wrong" about the groups is actually right. It's just a reflection what real life is like and the only thing we need to do is to understand that simple fact. Sometimes people have just all had a "bad day" on the same day; that doesn't make the group itself not work - but it does mean that the group has some work to do!

Our small groups, home groups, whatever you like to call them, are there not to create or reinforce cliques but for us to disciple one another. The idea is that in these groups we build relationships with one another and encourage and build one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11). That means there will be times when we're going to have to roll up our sleeves, get to work and that may get a bit messy from time to time as we deal with real life issues. But the goal is to grow together in our faith and spur each other on (Hebrews 10:24).

Yes, some weeks will be tough; others will be easier. But every time we meet together it should be enriching and joyous to the glory of God.