I met with our Moderator, Judy K., this week and in our wide ranging conversation we really drilled down on one particular question: What does it mean to be God's people in such a time as this?
When Judy articulated the question with just those words I jumped up and grabbed my worship plans for the Season of Lent...because, well, sometimes the Spirit moves among us.
I showed Judy that I'd been planning a "Faithfulness in this Time" sermon series.
We kicked things off last Sunday with a sermon on "Forgiveness in an Unforgiving Time" and I'll continue the series this week with "Assurance in a Time of Fear."
If you are anything like me, when you see that word "Assurance" then the familiar words of an old church hymn fill your mind.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
O what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed
Watching and waiting, looking above
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
This is my story, this is my song
Praising my Savior all the day long
"Blessed Assurance" is one of the most beloved and well known hymns that we have as a church. It reaffirms the promises of God's blessing, the gift of his love, and the power of Christ to claim us and change us.
In the midst of a world that tells us so many stories (that we are unworthy, that we are insignificant, that we are in constant danger, that all is lost) we dare to affirm that "this is my story" (a story of salvation, glory, and the gift of Christ Jesus).
In the midst of a world that tells us so many stories (that we are unworthy, that we are insignificant, that we are in constant danger, that all is lost) we dare to affirm that "this is my story" (a story of salvation, glory, and the gift of Christ Jesus).
This Sunday I'll be telling the little known origin story of "Blessed Assurance" to help us hear those words with fresh ears and to know that these promises are ours...even in times such as these.
Psalm 121 Assurance of God’s Protection
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.
-------
Psalm 121 Assurance of God’s Protection
I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.
No comments:
Post a Comment