My pastor recently started a summer series called “Hold Fast: Forgotten Truths We Must Always Remember.” This week focused on the greatness of God.

Specifically, God alone is great.

What better springboard for praise and worship than this truth?

The word “great” is overused and wrongly applied today. Pastor Tom’s illustration was a particular cereal with a tiger mascot named Tony. Remember? “They’re grrreat!”

That cereal is delicious, but only God is truly great. This should impact how I approach God, both in worship and in conversation.

He isn’t a genie or any of these 8 misconceptions referenced in the sermon:

1. The Disengaged Inventor
2. The Man Upstairs
3. The Hard Schoolmaster
4. The Over-eager Policeman
5. The Clueless Dad
6. The Indulgent Grandfather
7. The Frustrated Benefactor
8. The Good-natured Buddy

God is awesome and must be properly worshipped.

Check out Isaiah 40:12-26.

According to Pastor Tom’s sermon:

YHWH alone is great and He is completely worthy of my trust.

God alone is the Creator of all things (12-14). Nothing compares with His majesty and holiness (15-17).

He alone is God and worthy of my worship (18-20). The Ten Commandments are very clear about that.

Also, He alone is sovereign (21-26). This is something believers should take comfort in, especially during this election year. Yes, God is even sovereign over the nations and their leaders. Nothing is outside of His gaze and rule. He establishes rulers and kings; He also dethrones them.

God’s sovereignty is also seen in the heavens. (Remember this post?)

Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing. (Isaiah 40:26 ESV)

God created the stars.

He directs their movements and controls what happens to them.

He calls them all by name!

There is not a single stray star in all of the universe.

This was a mind-blowing factoid:

Isaiah would have seen up to 5,000 stars in his time; today, we know of 1 billion trillion!

What a GREAT God we serve!

As I prepared for bed last night, I flipped to a prayer from The Valley of Vision entitled “The Great God.” Here’s an excerpt that stood out to me:

Nothing exceeds thy power,

Nothing is too great for thee to do,

Nothing too good for thee to give.

Infinite is thy might,

Boundless thy love,

Limitless thy grace,

Glorious thy saving name.

The prayer finished with this powerful reminder:

I ask great things of a great God.

He is great and does great things.

I can go to Him in prayer and, in faith, expect Him to respond in great ways according to His good and kind will.

May I never forget the greatness of the majestic, incomparable, sovereign, Creator God.