Dear Redeemer family,
I’m sad that I won’t be with you this Sunday. This weekend I’ll be out of town visiting with some friends from seminary – and I’m excited to catch up with them and hear how God has been at work in their lives and ministries. But I am disappointed I won’t be with you all – particularly as Greg Yates’ entire family will be helping to lead in worship on Sunday morning. It’s truly unique to see a whole family that has as much talent as the Yates’, and I’m very excited that you will have the opportunity to be served by them on Sunday.
I am so thankful for the way that Greg in particular has stepped in to help and carry much of the up- front leadership weight the past few months at Redeemer. He has been a wonderfully willing servant, both to me and the body of Redeemer as a whole, being extremely generous with the beautiful talents God has given Him.
The experience of the past few months have been a real learning and growth experience for me as well. I was suddenly in a very unique position, where something that had always been a strength for me was suddenly a liability. Singing was always something that I knew I was good at. I had worked at it over the years, but for the most part, I relied on my natural ability and assumed that would be enough. Then life crept in, things started breaking down, and I had to admit that I was wrong. I couldn’t shoulder this weight by myself. I couldn’t figure out a way to be self sufficent. I was far weaker than I thought.
A simlar thing happens to many of us. Students go from being the valedictorian in their class to being a middle of the pack freshman at a fiercely competitive university. A college basketball superstar becomes just another 6 and half foot no-name in the NBA. Business people go from managing one sector of a buisiness well, only to be given new responsibilities that overwhelm their schedule. Young couples pour themselves into being good parents when their kids are small, only to find frustration when all of their wise words fall on the deaf ears of teenagers. We are not as strong as we think we are.
Our call to worship this week is from Psalm 20, a reminder of God’s faithfulness to aid His people. The last part of the passage is particluarly important. In the ancient world, a chariot was a sign of the military might of your nation. It secured your dominiance in the region. You knew you were ok because your nation’s military was strong enough to fight off any opposition. But all of this is a false hope. There’s always somebody stronger. Sooner or later, you’re going to lose the battle. So we hope in the One who never fails us. We trust in the name of the Lord our God.
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
The call to worship is followed with singing songs of our sure hope in the strength of our God. I love the second verse of Luther’s classic hymn, “A Mighty Fortress.” The first verse ends with the grim reminder that Satan is a real, active force in the world – and “on Earth is not his equal.” We have a real Enemy that is at work against the cause of the Kingdom of God and the People of God. Luther writes:
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing; Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing: Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He; Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same, And He must win the battle.
The battles and struggles of this world are an ever-present reality. We have the assurance of the final victory in Christ’s death and resurrection, but we have other promises as well. We have the promise that, through all of life’s difficulties, God is there. He knows the hardships that we go through because Jesus experienced them as well. He was and remains Emmanuel – the God who is with His people. He hold us firmly in His hand, and will never let us go.
O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee; I give thee back the life I owe, That in thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain, That morn shall tearless be.
Our confession of faith this week comes from one of our church’s founding documents, the Westminster Shorter Catechism. A catechism is a series of questions and answers that give an outline of the teachings of Scripture as a whole. The Westminster standards state that God the Bible chiefly teaches 2 things: who God is, and what duty He requires of man. (Questions 40-81 go through the 10 Commandments as a summary of the moral law)
Q. 39-40. What is the duty which God requires of man? A. The duty which God requires of man is obedience to his revealed will, first given in the moral law.
Q. 82. Is any man able to keep the commandments of God perfectly? A. Since the fall of Adam, no mere man is able in this life to keep the commandments of God perfectly. Instead, he does daily break them
in thought, word, and deed.
Our failure is in many ways inevitable. Because of Adam’s fall, we are born in depravity – meaning that we have a constant, fleshly drive towards sin. We may work to surpress it, to manage it, to hide it – but it is far more tenacious than we are. Sooner or later, it gets the best of us. Yet God, in His grace, calls us to Himself, to admit our failures and weaknesses, and find His forgiving arms waiting to embrace us.
Gracious God, our sins are too heavy to carry,
too real to hide, and too deep to undo. Forgive what our lips tremble to name, what our hearts can no longer bear, and what has become for us a consuming fire of judgment. Set us free from a past that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed; and grant us grace to grow more and more in your likeness and image,
through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.
Following our confession, we will sing of the blood of Jesus, that washes us clean of every stain.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh! precious is the flow That makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
This week, Mike will be finishing up our time in John 13. In last week’s reading, we saw Jesus tell His disciples that He will be going away, and that they cannot follow. So Peter asks why, and points to his resolve by claiming to be ready to lay down his life for Jesus. Jesus counters his over-confidence, telling Peter: “before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”
We close our service this week with two songs that may be a little unfamiliar for many, for two different reasons. “How High and How Wide” is a great song that Redeemer has sung for years, but I haven’t used it in worship for quite a few months. On the other side of the spectrum, “Let Your Kingdom Come” is a new song for us, which we just sang for the first time last week. To help you prepare for these songs, here are some links that can help to get the melody in your ear before Sunday.
Here is a link to a clip of “How High and How Wide”
And here’s a link to a youtube clip of the whole song of “Let Your Kingdom Come”
I pray that God mightily uses the Word and worship this week to remind you that in our weakness, He is constantly strong to save. May the confidence of His victory empower you to live for His glory in every sphere of life
Give us Your strength, O God And courage to speak Perform Your wondrous deeds Through those who are weak Lord use us as You want whatever the test
By grace we’ll preach Your Gospel Till our dying breath
Let Your kingdom come Let Your will be done So that everyone might know Your Name Let Your song be heard everywhere on earth Till Your sovereign work on earth is done Let Your kingdom come
Praying that His Kingdom come in Lynchburg and the world,
Tim Sharpe
