There is no book more important than the Bible. It is the Book that saves your soul. It is the Book that made your world. It is the Book that makes our Boom!

We come to a bonus Sunday, a 53rd Lord’s Day of the year, and, as has become our chosen practice, we give attention to our worship and liturgy as we turn the calendar. In the year of our Lord 2025, we want to be inhabited by the Word of the Lord. Let this Book be our meditation in both liturgy and life.

Lord willing there will be four messages this series of reminders. Today’s point: the Word of God aims our worship against the gates of hell. Then we will consider the blessing of the Lord’s Day on two Lord’s Days, and the fourth message will be about cheerful and bountiful giving.

To start, here are three 5s for 2025: 5 parts of our Boom, 5 observations of our Book, and 5 habits for our Blessing.

Our Boom

At our evening service on December 1st I talked about how our faith overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), and how the negative world is hell. I won’t re-preach that, except to remind us that the Word itself brings nike faith. The Word teaches us our confession that Jesus is the Christ, and it is by the Word that we overcome the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18). It’s the truth that drives our “boom!”

Martin Luther’s hymn comes at it a different way:

And though this world with devils filled
should threaten to undo us;
We will not fear for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure
for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

That Word above all earthly pow’r,
no thanks to them abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
through Him who with us sideth;
Let goods and kindred go,
this mortal life also;
The body they may kill;
God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever! —“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

There is disagreement as to what the “one little word” is. It certainly stands in for truth that triumphs and truth that abides. It is the divinely revealed truth that the “father of lies” can’t stand.

Hell is a place of eternal pain, in conscience and in body. But what are the “gates” protecting? Consider how the five main movements of our liturgy include truth that aims directly at the reigning paradigms of hell. These are five parts of our BOOM.

• Hell only sees what’s immediate, the immanence of one’s self and pain. God’s Word calls us to worship and immediately reminds us of our God’s transcendence and His cosmic and eternal realities. It lifts up our heads to get beyond our heads.
• Hell refuses to submit. Hell is rebellion. God’s Word not only reveals the standard of obedience, it invites us to confess our disobedience and promises us forgiveness. God’s Word teaches us the freedom of righteousness.
• Hell hates God and loves godlessness. God’s Word sanctifies us in truth (John 17:17). God consecrates us through the ministry of the Word. We are made more godly through the reading and teaching and exhortation.
• Hell is all self all the time. Hell has no camaraderie but only isolation; even misery isn’t shared. God’s Word is communication, it is the good news of Jesus Christ that we share, and in communion we share peace with God and one another.
• Hell curses and weeps and grinds its teeth. Our blessing includes a commission with the word of His grace.

Hell is driven by unbelief, not faith, and the Word gives and grows our faith. Hell is hate, not love, and the Word exhibits love and forms our affections. Hell is hopeless, hell is death, not life. Our boom is everything against that, and it can only happen by the Book. One little word…BOOM!

Our Book

There are many texts in our Book that are worth considering for sake of the value of our Book. Colossians 3:16 is just one great tree in the garden.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

The Word belongs with “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” (verse 12 that opens the paragraph). Here are five observations.

1. More Than Optional

Let dwell the word. It is not a life-hack. It is not a top-ten list from which we can pick a couple to try. This Word-indwelling is an imperative. This Word-indwelling is not less than elective, we must recognize our obligation to it.

2. More Than Reading

Let the Word dwell richly. While I am a great believer in Bible-reading, the command to read Scripture is not in Scripture (except for those reading in public for those who didn’t have their own copies of the Word).

We are to meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8). We are to crave it (1 Peter 2:2). And it should dominate our lives of thought. The rabbis described that the man who dwells in a house is the master of the house, not just a guest. A dominus-master is lord of his domus-house. The Word is to be the Master of our soul-house, the Word must dominate. So this Word-indwelling is not less than reading, but so much more.

3. More Than Individual

Note the one another. So-called “quiet time” should lead into conversation.

A teacher is an office, a gift of God to equip the saints for the work of ministry (see Ephesians 4:11; James 3:1; Colossians 1:25). And, part of that work of ministry is knowing and speaking truth in love to one another (Ephesians 4:15).

The structure of Colossians 3:16 shows the teaching and admonishing to be results (they are participles not imperatives). You’ll know that the word is richly dwelling when it comes back out.

So we are not mere collectors of doctrinal facts, as good as it is for truth to inform. This Word-indwelling is not less than individual, but for more than one.

4. More Than Rules

Memorize and quote Bible verses, yes, but our conversations (and even corrections/admonishing) certainly are not all rules and checklists. Our wisdom comes from the Word and the Spirit bringing us to maturity.

This Word-indwelling is not less than the obvious right and wrong, but it is more than using cookie cutters.

5. More Than Monotonous

** singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God**

So Luther’s hymn, while obviously not available to Paul, fits with application of Paul. This Word-indwelling is not less than straightforward, but it is not tedious. It’s for more than teaching to the test. It is for each part working properly that the body would grow and build itself up in love (Ephesians 4:16).

Our Blessing

So Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man!” He is known by what he delights to consume (and it’s not in the most “insightful” criticizers).

5 Bible habits for 2025:

• Input it. Kids: the Bible is worth learning to read for. Non-kids: you’ve got so many tools, make some Reminders that pop up Scripture, or make some verse artwork for your home screen. Follow a plan, big chunks, verse-a-day, read and/or listen,
• Be familiar with it. Let it be “The book of daily life.”
• Talk about it. Use lyrics. Let thankfulness set the tone.
• Do it. Hearers only will not be blessed, see James 1:22-25.
• Appeal to it. Scripture is the great authority. Let it set your boundaries. Feel free to get help from other resources, but never let those secondary things have the primary place in your thinking.

Conclusion

The Bible is not just the blueprint for a blessed house, it is the load-bearing walls. It is not just the recipe for the good life, it is the milk and meat.

As a church we will continue to let Scripture call us to worship, remind us of forgiveness when we’ve confessed our sins, be read and taught for sake of our sanctification/consecration, inform our time of communion, and be the final benediction as the Lord sends us with blessing.

As disciples, be after Berean blessings (Acts 17:11). Jealousable Bible reading isn’t driven from guilt, but for fruit.

René Girard wrote, “Few people want to be saints nowadays, but everyone is trying to lose weight.” There’s nothing wrong with bodily training, but godliness is of value in every way.

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Charge

Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Blessed and fruitful is the man who hungers for and delights in that Word. Marinate in the Word. Let it dominate your thoughts. Do all that is written in it, you will be blessed in your doing.

Benediction:

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20:32 ESV)