Preparing for the Lord's Day
It took twenty-five years for the Lord to fulfill His promise to Abraham. As a seventy-five year-old man, the Lord promised to make him a father and I am sure Abraham thought that it would be soon. Yet, year after year the promise did not come to pass. His wife Sarah remained barren and the hope of a child was tested. The Lord was gracious to reaffirm His promise periodically but He did not change His timeline. Waiting would constitute the bulk of Abraham’s walk of faith. And though he longed for this child, he sought to bring about the promise according to his own plans, though his body was as good as dead (Rom 4:4), the Lord was faithful to bring forth the promised child.
Tom Petty’s catchy lyrics seem so appropriate in life, “Waiting is the hardest part.” Yet the Lord in His providence continues to write waiting into the story of each of our lives. Abraham is not alone in his call to wait. Rare is the instantaneous fulfillment of a promise. In each of our lives we are called to wait for the Lord. We are called to trust Him to make good on His promises to us through Jesus Christ. Are you in a time of waiting? Waiting for a wayward child to come home, for a diagnosis to be delivered, for an inevitable good-bye to pass, for a career to begin, for a spouse to marry? What we will see in our Psalm for this week is that we are all called to wait in faith that through Christ all God’s promises will come to pass. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon Psalm 62, Psalm 39:7, Isaiah 26:8; 40:31; 64:4, Zephaniah 3:17, Luke 12:16-21, Romans 8:23-25, and Westminster Confession of Faith 13.3.
As we gather to worship our loving Father this Lord’s day, we will join our hearts in song, singing the Hymn of Praise “Blessed Lord, in Thee is Refuge”, the Acclamation of Praise “Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power”” and the Hymn of Response “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” 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!
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 Text: Psalm 62
Sermon Title: Time to Wait
Sermon Outline:
- The Meaning of Waiting
- The Reasons for Waiting
- The Obstacles to Waiting
- The Work of Waiting
- The Hope of Waiting