Lamentations 5: A Prayer for Restoration
Shelter in Place
Amazing Grace
Edwin Othello Excell, John P. Rees, Louie Giglio, John Newton, and Chris Tomlin CCLI 20455650
VERSE 1
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind but now I see
VERSE 2
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed
CHORUS
My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood
His mercy rains
Unending love amazing Grace
VERSE 3
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures
VERSE 4
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine
There Is A Fountain
William Cowper CCLI 20455650
VERSE 1
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners, plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains
VERSE 2
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there have I, though vile as he
Washed all my sins away
Washed all my sins away
Washed all my sins away
And there have I, though vile as he
Washed all my sins away
VERSE 3
Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood
Shall never lose its pow’r,
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more
Be saved to sin no more,
Be saved to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God
Be saved to sin no more
VERSE 4
E’er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die
And shall be till I die,
And shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be till I die
Creed
A LITURGY FOR A
Time of Widespread Suffering
COPYRIGHT © 2020 DOUGLAS MCKELVEY
Christ Our King,
Our world is overtaken by unexpected calamity, and by a host of attending fears, worries, and insecurities.
We witness suffering, confusion, and hardship multiplied around us, and we find ourselves swept up in these same anxieties and troubles, dismayed by so many uncertainties.
Now we turn to you, O God,
in this season of our common distress.
Be merciful, O Christ, to those who suffer,
to those who worry, to those who grieve, to those who are threatened or harmed in any
way by this upheaval. Let your holy compassions be active throughout the world even now— tending the afflicted, comforting the brokenhearted, and bringing hope to many who are hopeless.
Use even these hardships to woo our hearts nearer to you, O God.
Indeed, O Father, may these days of disquiet become a catalyst
for conviction and repentance,
for the tendering of our affections, for the stirring of our sympathies, for the refining of our love.
We are your people, who are called by you,
We need not be troubled or alarmed.
Indeed, O Lord, let us love now more fearlessly, remembering that you created us,
and appointed us
to live in these very places,
in the midst of these unsettled times,
It is no surprise to you that we are here now,
sharing in this turmoil along with the rest of
our society, for you have called your children
to live as salt and light among the nations,
praying and laboring for the flourishing of the communities where we dwell, acting as agents of
your forgiveness, salvation, healing, reconciliation,
and hope, in the very midst of an often-troubled world.
And in these holy vocations
you have not left us helpless, O Lord, because you have not left us at all. Your Spirit remains among us.
Inhabit now your church, O Spirit of the Risen Christ. Unite and equip your people for the work before them.
Father, empower your children to live as your children.
In times of distress let us respond, not as those
who would instinctively entrench for our own self-preservation, but rather as those who—in imitation
of their Lord—would move in humble obedience toward
the needs and hurts of their neighborhoods and communities.
You were not ashamed to share in our sufferings, Jesus.
Let us now be willing to share in yours, serving as your visible witnesses in this broken world.
Hear now these words, you children of God, and be greatly encouraged:
The Lord’s throne in heaven is yet occupied, his rule is eternal, and his good purposes
on earth will be forever accomplished.
So we need never be swayed by the brief and passing panics of this age.
You are the King of the Ages, O Christ, and history is held in your Father’s hands.
We, your people, know the good and glorious end of this story. Our heavenly hope is secure.
In this time of widespread suffering then,
let us rest afresh in the surpassing peace of that vision, that your whole church on earth might be liberated to love more generously and sacrificially.
Now labor in and through us, O Lord, extending and multiplying the many expressions of your mercy.
Amen.
Sermon
Lamentations 5: A Prayer for Restoration
Lamentations 5
1 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!
3 We have become orphans, fatherless; our mothers are like widows.
5 Our pursuers are at our necks; we are weary; we are given no rest.
7 Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their iniquities.
9 We get our bread at the peril of our lives, because of the sword in the wilderness.
15 The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning.
17 For this our heart has become sick, for these things our eyes have grown dim,
Lamentations 5
1 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!
Genesis 8
1 But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.
Genesis 9
15 I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.
16 When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
Deuteronomy 9
27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin,
Psalm 25
6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Lamentations 5
1 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us; look, and see our disgrace!
Psalm 56
8 You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
Lamentations 5
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.
20 Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?
21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—
22 unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.
Lamentations 5
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.
Acts 2
23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
Lamentations 5
19 But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations.
Psalm 102
8 All the day my enemies taunt me; those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9 For I eat ashes like bread and mingle tears with my drink,
10 because of your indignation and anger; for you have taken me up and thrown me down.
11 My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.
Lamentations 5
20 Why do you forget us forever, why do you forsake us for so many days?
Psalms of lament: http://crivoice.org/psalmtypes.html
Lamentations 5
21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old—
Jeremiah 29
10 “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
Psalm 51
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Jeremiah 31
33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Revelation 21
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Closing Song
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
Jonny Robinson, Rich Thompson, and Michael Farren CCLI 20455650
VERSE 1
What gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer
There is no more for heaven now to give
He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom
My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace
CHORUS 1
To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
For my life is wholly bound to His
Oh how strange and divine, I can sing: all is mine!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
VERSE 2
The night is dark but I am not forsaken
For by my side, the Savior He will stay
I labor on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need, His power is displayed
CHORUS
To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley He will lead
Oh the night has been won, and I shall overcome!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
VERSE 3
No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven
The future sure, the price it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And He was raised to overthrow the grave
CHORUS 3
To this I hold, my sin has been defeated
Jesus now and ever is my plea
Oh the chains are released, I can sing: I am free!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
VERSE 4
With every breath I long to follow Jesus
For He has said that He will bring me home
And day by day I know He will renew me
Until I stand with joy before the throne
CHORUS 4
To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
All the glory evermore to Him
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat
Yet not I, but through Christ in me!
TAG
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat
Yet not I, but through Christ in me!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me!
Yet not I, but through Christ in me!