Bible’s open to “the next verse”, hearts prepared to hear what truly “Thus Saith The Lord”, minds engaged, saints gathered with the anticipation that the text will determine the message and use the messenger to teach God’s Word.
It is the gathering of the saints in fellowship, worship, prayer, and the Word.
The calendar simply marked the date and the clock the time to gather, neither determining what ought to be preached.
Mother’s gathered with all other saints. What greater message for her and those she loves to hear than “the next verse”? She didn’t come to hear a message for her, about her, and all praise to her. She knows her greatest need and that of those beside her and all around her and she couldn’t imagine a better message than for God’s Word to be opened and exposited.
Perhaps to the surprise of the visitor, they would not hear a “safe message” that they may determine by the calendar when it is acceptable to attend church because the message will not confront them in their sins but make them feel seen, loved, understood and as if this day is their day and God can have all the other Sundays not already determined by the calendar.
In a little church, growing according to God’s saving grace, His saints gathered today in Sunday School, Bible’s open to “the next verse”. The end of the discussion marked the beginning of prayer one for another. And then, the Word. The Next Verse: the end of the life of King Solomon. The heart of this wise king who the end of his life serves as a great reminder to us all that we examine our own hearts, often. What could a mother learn from this wise king who did not heed the warnings of having so many wives? The same thing widows, singles, young and old, and every other saint may learn.
What might we learn from this wise king who the end of his life stirs up much conversation concerning his eternity? Though he was wise and wisdom is not an enemy, he rejected the warnings that marrying the women he did would turn his heart after other gods and away from wholly serving God. We read that he “loved” his 700 wives. He “clung” to them. As a result, the warnings he ignored proved true, as it is recorded that he turned his heart away after other gods, and his heart was not wholly devoted to Yahweh his God.
These saints, now, having heard the faithful exposition of this text, closed their Bibles but meditating on the reality of the end of the life of such a wise king who later in his life turned his heart after other gods and was not wholly devoted to his God, now picked up their Bibles and proceeded to gather with the saints for corporate worship.
Gathering to sing what may for some encourage the heart to examine itself according to lyrics that almost ask that while they are true, “having heard what you have of this wise king, is it true in your own life when you sing, ‘My soul is satisfied in Him alone’? If it is, praise Him and worship Him with all your heart but if it’s not, sing not a lie, repent, and turn to Him with your whole heart.”
Another song, a sweet reminder of God’s amazing mercy toward wretches like these, in part also examines and comforts:
‘Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, oh take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above.’
The prideful heart says, “I could never!” Are the lyrics wrong? Do any of us love God so perfectly that we would never be prone to wander? Is it possible that we may be more honest if we recognized our weakness and because we love God we admit it and boast all the more in His grace? Doctrinally sound lyrics have a way of exposing our hearts, be it pride or be it that we admit our weakness and find God’s grace truly sufficient? Are our hearts prone to wander? Don’t we feel it? What Grace of God to allow us to feel it and to draw our hearts back wholly to the God we love.
Little one’s disperse and some stay playing in their mother’s hair. What now will the message be for all to hear?
Could it be that the hearts of God’s people will now hear a softer message – a message that starts with man? Not so. They will hear, “the next verse”.
All, except visitors, know where to go: the book, the chapter, the verse. Today they would hear 1 Peter 4:12-19.
Is it possible to turn that passage into a message for mothers? Might the pastor feel the pressure to preach a message that visitors came to hear and that will be preached from many pulpits all around him? What drives him to preach what he preaches? Will he allow himself to allow something external to the text to determine what he preaches and when he preaches it (like a calendar)? What if he doesn’t give the people what is expected in many churches all around? Is he now allowing the calendar or the expectations of man to determine what he preaches? Or does this congregation gather around the Word, with the desire to hear the Word faithfully exposited? What did they come to hear?
The message does not begin with man, a calendar, a vision, a dream, or anything external to the text; the man is used to preach God’s Word and it begins with “Thus Saith The Lord” as the text is read.
Were these mothers robbed of their praise? Were they robbed of their moment for recognition? No. God was glorified as every mother and every other saint heard His Word opened and exposited.
Much was unpacked from that text but one might be encouraged to have heard that it is God who tests us and this is FOR the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose so that we may be conformed to the image of His Son. It is the love of God that proves our faith through our suffering. Suffering, though painful for a time, is for the good of God’s children.
At the end of our lives, we cannot say, “I made it!”, we are scarcely saved. If our lives are not marked with suffering then how can we be sure that we belong to God? He has said that we will suffer and that it is His will for His children to endure suffering. The Christian life is not the promise of all our heart’s desire, has not Solomon taught us this much? If we, at the end of our lives believe that our faith has been proven by having accumulated all we desire and how we impressed others by our decreeing and declaring all we wanted in life, then we do not understand faith and we do not understand God’s sovereignty in suffering. According to His great love for us, it is His good will that we suffer, so that the proof of our faith, being more precious than gold may be found to result in praise and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. God allows His children to suffer for Christ so that we may rejoice at the revelation of His glory.
Many look to the end with the desire to leave a name or a legacy for themselves. How much better is God’s Word that says that by His preserving us to the end it may result in the praise of His glory? May it end as it began, by Him and for His glory. What worship we may sing when at the end of our lives we may sing praise to our King that though many times our hearts may fail, He will not lose one of His?
Today many saints gathered under Topical Sermons that preached Mother’s Day messages, some faithful to exegete the text and others unfaithful to the text. Nevertheless, the calendar determined the message. Some will argue that it ought not be so and others argue that there’s nothing wrong with it. Where you stand may be based on bias rather than firm Biblical conviction. Whether you heard your 1st or 50th Mother’s Day message or if you heard “The Next Verse”, was the text faithfully exposited? What danger might there be in allowing the calendar or what the people want and expect and not God’s Word to determine what will be preached the next week? How might it benefit the body to know where in the text, they will be next week? What danger might there be in that which is external to the text driving the message?
Have you ever considered the difference in Expository Preaching and Topical Preaching?
Grace and Peace
Soli Deo Gloria
April J. Buchanan
Helpful Resources:
Below is the sermon referenced in this writing.
https://www.youtube.com/live/UjIav4-y2Nc?si=e35yN3_jFyBReLLl
Leaving Beyond - Grounded In Scripture 
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