The Present and Presence of Glory

STORY: Doxology

One of my first memories of church, other than the birthday cake bank in Sunday School, was hearing the organ blare a few chords and then all the people rising to their feet and belting out “The Doxology.” My most recent time to sing this glorious hymn was at a writers’ conference this summer. I was the banquet keynote speaker. Let me back up and explain why this monumental moment erupted.

You see, I’d been losing weight, and didn’t realize my banquet outfit was too big. The skirt hinted at sliding towards the ground because the elastic in the waistband wasn’t all that dependable. To top matters off, I sat down next to the one person who made me nervous because I wasn’t sure how they felt about me. (Ends up, we’re hitting it off really great, but I didn’t know that at the time.) The audio tech recording the event handed me a lapel mic with a battery pack. Not thinking, I secured it to my lazy waistband. When I stood up, I felt the skirt heading south. I walked as discreetly as possible toward the restroom, and of course, along the way the mic-pack took a tumble and I had to scoop it up to retrieve it and hoist up my skirt in one fell swoop. Not a pretty picture, I’m sure. My girlfriends ran in the restroom after me and helped me try to secure the skirt the best we could with what we had. It was a MacGyver moment—making a miracle out of everyday items. I went back to the table and interacted best I could. Then we needed to stand for a prayer. I felt the safety pin poking me in the side. Disaster was ready to strike at any moment. Back I ran to the restroom. In swooped my rescue squad (aka girlfriends). This time we clipped the mic pack to the back of my collar and taped my skirt to my camisole under the jacket. Reinforced, I went back, albeit a bit like Quasimodo.

I delivered the keynote address. My friends say it went well. Audience members came up to tell me their aha! moments from the speech. After the event we walked the block or two back to our dorm, enjoying the afterglow of an amazing God-evening and a full week of God-moments. That’s when my friend broke out singing The Doxology. We all joined in, exploring every part of the harmonious chord structure possible. Heaven descended to earth.

That’s glory. The afterglow. The praise. The peace. The joy. All wrapped up in the tangible presence of God in our lives.

Now for the rest of the story. The word “doxology” is taken from the Greek word “doxa” which means—you guessed it—glory.

STUDY: Give God Glory

All-Day Praise

O God, we give glory to you all day long and constantly praise your name. (Psalm 44:8 NLT)

• What does it mean to give God glory?
• How often did the psalmist want to give God glory?
• What does praising God’s name have to do with glorifying God?

Bring the Glory

Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. (Psalm 96:8 NLT)

• What does the Lord deserve?
• Often when two sentences are connected it means there’s a connection between the principle of sentence #1 with the principle of sentence #2. Using that method, it seems one way we can glorify God is by what?

Answered Prayers Glorify God

You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. (John 14:13 NLT)

• What does Jesus want you to do, according to John 14:13?
• When Jesus answers our prayers according to His will, what does it do to the Father?

Next Generation Glory

Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. (Romans 1:5 NLT)

• What brings glory to God’s name?
• Knowing this, what is it our privilege to do?

Fruitful Fruit

May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God. (Philippians 1:11 NLT)

• What does God want you to be filled with?
• What is the fruit of your salvation?
• Why do you think this brings so much glory to God?

Live Out Your Purpose

Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. (1 Peter 4:11 NLT)

• Do you know how God has gifted you?
• How are you supposed to use this gift?
• How will everything you do bring glory to God?

STEPS: You Bring the Glory/He Gets the Praise

1. Glorify God with your offerings, your presence, and your worship. “Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his presence. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.” (1 Chronicles 16:29 NLT)
2. Don’t hold back anything from God. “With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12 NLT)
3. Minister to others so your love will inspire them to glorify God. “As a result of your ministry, they will give glory to God. For your generosity to them and to all believers will prove that you are obedient to the Good News of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 9:13 NLT)

Copyright 2016 Kathy Carlton Willis. Used by permission.