ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK
Our world is not as it should be. Sin has warped and distorted and broken everyone and everything. Even creation itself groans under the weight of sin. Maybe you have experienced that first hand this week, or maybe you are aware of it as you have seen the devastation of another earthquake in Haiti and the chaos of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan. Maybe you are thinking, ‘those things are sad, but I don’t live in Haiti or Afghanistan…’. One of the reasons we gather as the people of God is to be reminded that we belong together. If you are a follower of Jesus, you have not been saved just to be an individual, but have been saved to be a part of a family, a part of a Body of Christ, His Church. And if you are a member of this church, you belong to this local expression of the Body of Christ, but every follower of Jesus is also a member of the Global, Universal Church - the Body of Christ made up of followers of Jesus from every tribe, every tongue, every language and every nation on the planet throughout time, and history, even now. And right now, we have brothers and sisters, members of our family who we will never meet this side of eternity in Haiti and Afghanistan who are experiencing the weight and the brokenness of sin in a very acute way - and that should grieve us. But as followers of Jesus, we are people that hold tensions. We hold the tension of acknowledging that there is sin and brokenness in the world, and at the same time acknowledging that there is a firm foundation, a solid rock which is Christ - the One who will return to set all things right and make all things new. That is lament - grief and hope, grief with expectation, grief with anticipation of what God will do. We will continue in worship praying this prayer of lament particularly on behalf of our brothers and sisters in Haiti and Afghanistan.
PRAYER OF LAMENT:
LEADER:
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?
ALL:
Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
LEADER:
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
ALL:
But I have trusted in Your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
ALL:
Deliver us, O Lord, from evil men;
preserve us from violent men,
who plan evil things in their heart
and stir up wars continually.
We know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and will execute justice for the needy.
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
the upright shall dwell in Your presence.
(Psalm 10:1-2, 12, Psalm 13:1-2,5-6, from Psalm 140:1-2, 12-13)
GRACE ALONE
BUILD MY LIFE
Sermon: Psalm 132
EVER BE
Communion
RAISE UP THE CROWN (ALL HAIL THE POWER)