Worship Notes for Sunday, September 23, 2012
As the disciples and the people begin to wrestle with whether Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, we too will walk through the signs of His appearing and the nature of waiting for the Lord. Our Call to Worship is from Psalm 34 and speaks of the gladness that comes to the humble and those who take refuge in Him. We continue by singing O For a Thousand Tongues that records the signs of the Redeemer’s coming: freedom from fear and sorrow: life, spiritual health, and peace; the breaking of sin, the freeing of prisoners; redemption through the perfect sacrifice; new life for the dead, mournful, broken-hearted, and humble poor; healing for the deaf, dumb, blind, and lame. That’s a lot of Biblical references in one song text, but an even greater promise of the hope of His appearing and the desire and expectation of the coming Messiah.We continue by singing Psalm 27: God is My Strong Salvation that also rehearses the coming of the day of the Lord and ends with the gift of mercy and peace. The New Testament Reading places us back in the beginning and context of the Gospel of Luke with Zechariah’s song from Luke 1:67-79. He too appeals to the witness of the prophets, the day of redemption, and the light that comes with the Christ.
However, we often resist that light and hang onto blindness and deafness. Our Prayer of Confession comes from Isaiah 42. The Lord calls us out of our blindness and warns against “not taking to heart” the discipline and calling of the Lord. As we sing Jesus, I am Resting, we are reminded of the joy of resting in who He is and why He has come.
Our Communion Hymns and Final Hymn (Jesus, Lover of My Soul, There is a Redeemer, and To our Redeemer’s Glorious Name) all continue the theme of reminding our hearts of the truth of the coming Messiah and the glorious promises of His reign—“Dear Lord, while we adoring pay Our humble thanks to Thee, May every heart with gladness say, The Savior died for me.”
