Preparing For The Lord's Day

Preparing for the Lord's Day

“That is not fair!” I am not sure how children learn the concept of fairness so quickly but almost instinctively they have a desire and a hope for equity. They want to make sure that they get their fair share of the good things in life. Siblings will fight over having a just division of screen time. Children all over the world say things like, “That is not fair, Johnny’s parents let him get an iPhone.” In remote villages in South America brothers are fighting over who will get the last serving of dinner. A longing for justice comes naturally.

Yet it is not just children who feel that things should be fair. Adults often will see another's prosperity as a sign of their deprivation. It doesn’t seem fair that someone should have so much more money, so much more power, or so much more hair. Why do parents, who do not even want another child, get pregnant when those who desperately desire a child struggle with infertility? Why is it that the man who works out and eats well gets cancer but the man who cares nothing for his own health lives to 95? Life just doesn’t seem fair. There is always someone who has better presents.

How then do we deal with this longing for fairness in a world that is obviously not fair? How do we find satisfaction for our longing for justice? In our text for this Sunday what we will see is that if we would experience true fairness we must long for the coming of a righteous king. A king who will rule in complete justice. To come prepared take time this week to read and meditate upon Psalm 72, 1 Deuteronomy 10:17-18, Isaiah 11:1-9, Luke 1:31-33; 4:18-19, Timothy 2:1-3 and Westminster Confession of Faith 23.

As we gather this third Sunday of Advent, we will join our hearts in song, singing the Hymn of Praise “Joy to the World, the Acclamation of Praise “Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates!, and the Hymn of Response “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”.  Let us come to worship this Sunday prepared to hear God’s Word, to receive it in faith, to love and treasure it in our hearts, and to practice it in our lives that we may continue to glorify and enjoy Him!

The Advent Wreath expresses our longing for the coming of Christ.  This Sunday, we light the one rose colored candle representing the joy of the arrival of Christ, the Rose of Sharon. (https://www.reformedworship.org/article/september-1986/advent-wreath)

If you’re going to be out of town this Sunday, let me encourage you to listen to the sermon online, through the Rivermont App, (available at the App Store or Google Play), or you can download the REPC podcast, which will be delivered to your mobile device. 

Sermon Information: 

Text: Psalm 72

Title: Longing for Justice

Outline:

  1. Longing for an Earthly King
  2. Longing for a Heavenly King
  3. Longing for an Eternal King

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