Mar 24, 2023 Let The Redeemed of The Lord Say So – Words of Grace – March 24, 2023
This Sunday evening at Grace Community Church, we are going old school. We are not going back to a decades old church practice. We’re going back much further than that. You might say we are going “Old Testament.”
Psalm 89:1 says, “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord forever; with all my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.”
Throughout the history of Israel and the church, believers gathered to remember God’s faithfulness and to declare it with songs and testimonies. They did this for God’s glory and to find the encouragement they needed to carry on in faithfulness to him. They did this as a witness to others. It was a simple strategy for exalting God, edifying themselves, and evangelizing others.
So, like Psalm 107 says, we will gather Sunday evening as the redeemed of the Lord to say so.
Since the usual way of this Words of Grace is to introduce you to the sermon on Sunday, you might assume that I will be preaching Sunday evening from Psalm 89 or 107. In fact, you are the ones who will “say so.” This will be a song and testimony night. Your voices will be heard singing of God’s steadfast love and giving testimony to his faithfulness.
We all need to hear from one another. I know I need to hear from you.
Some of you have walked with Christ for many years. The younger, newer believers need to hear you say that Christ will walk with them to the end.
Some of you have endured great hardship. The suffering among us need to know that the Lord can sustain them in every trial.
Some of you are fighting strong temptations and spiritual battles. We know you are not perfect. But we need to hear that God restores and strengthens you each day.
Some of you are new to the faith and fresh on the journey with Christ. We need to hear how you started with Christ and how already you have found him faithful.
It would be helpful to hear how God has sustained marriages, healed broken hearts, open doors for service, cleared up doubts, calmed fears, given courage, corrected error, guided with truth, and kept us faithful.
Grace Community Church is now thirty years old. Maybe some of you who have been around awhile will share how you have seen God’s faithfulness to our congregation. That would encourage the next generation to press on with confidence.
This weekend, think about the steadfast love and faithfulness of the Lord in your life and our church. Formulate your thoughts in a brief, minute-long testimony. When the mic opens, open your mouth and say so.
I do plan to preach this Sunday morning from 1 Peter 2:11-12. Ask the Lord to help us hear and heed his guidance for our sojourning life.
-Scott