July 28, 2024 - Preparing for the Lord's Day
July 25, 2024
Preparing for the Lord's Day
Some things just belong together. Peanut butter and jelly. Tom and Jerry. Oreos and milk. Pineapple and pizza (that’s right, I said it.) Some things don’t. Oil and water. Mentos and Coke. Predators and prey. Lions and lambs.
Revelation 5 presents an unexpected pairing. An angel directs John’s attention to the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” as he “[takes a] scroll” from the “right hand of him who was seated on the throne” of heaven. When John turns to look, he writes, “I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.” Christ, the text claims, is the Lion and the Lamb.
Jonathan Edwards described this unexpected pairing as an “admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies. The lion excels in strength, and in the majesty of his appearance and voice: the lamb excels in meekness and patience. These [excellencies] otherwise would have been thought utterly incompatible in the same subject such as neither men nor angels would ever have imagined could have met together in the same person.”
Though we could have never fathomed such a person, we find that He is precisely the One for whom we long. “The lamblike gentleness woos us in our weariness. But this quality of meekness alone would not be glorious. [It becomes] brilliant alongside the limitless and everlasting authority of the Lion. Only this fits our longing for greatness.” Christ is worthy to take the scroll, open its seals, and bring history to its appointed end. And, Christ is able to meet the deepest longings of the human heart.
To come prepared for worship, please remain in prayer for God to open the eyes of our hearts and minds and meditate on Revelation 5:1-12. As we gather to worship the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit this Lord’s Day, we will join our hearts and voices in singing the Hymn of Praise “Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power” the Acclamation of Praise “Majesty, Worship His Majesty,” and the Hymn of Response “Ye Servants of God, Your Master Proclaim.” Let us come to worship this Sunday prepared to hear God’s Word, receive it in faith, and obey it that we may continue to glorify and enjoy Him!
Sermon Information
Text: Revelation 5:1-12
Title: The Lion and the Lamb
Outline:
- Jesus is needed
- Jesus is worthy
- Jesus is working