The Worship Quote of the Week for (10/08/2002):

Magnifying Christ The psalmist sings, "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together!" John the Baptist gave his testimony, "He [Jesus] must increase; I must decrease." But what does it really mean to magnify God? to see Christ increased? Today’s WORSHIP QUOTE is from a new book about the glory of Christ. The author of this excerpt is Jim Elliff. MAGNIFYING CHRIST When we magnify Christ, we do not make Him any bigger. When you magnify something, you are simply making it larger to the eye. Christ cannot be made any bigger or more glorious than He already is. But like the Hubble telescope, we go out to display the attractiveness and the magnificence of Christ. Do you long to do that? All your other goals may be very important, but this has to be supreme. If you miss it here, you have missed it all. — Jim Elliff, from "The Believer’s Passion for the Glory of Christ," chapter 8 in THE GLORY OF CHRIST, edited by John H. Armstrong. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2002, p. 159. ISBN 1-58134-298-5. Other authors in this book are John H. Armstrong, Albert Mohler, Jr., and J. I. Packer. [Take a look at Psalm 34:1-3; John 3:22-36; Philippians 2:5-11; The Book of Hebrews] Have a great week, Chip Stam Director, Institute for Christian Worship School of Church Music and Worship Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Louisville, Kentucky www.carlstam.org www.sbts.edu