Good evening. Let's all stand
together. We'll sing hymn number 283. 283. Oh, how sweet the glorious message
simple faith may claim. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same. Still he loves to save the sinful,
kill the sick, and blame. Cheer the mortar, calm the tempest,
glory to His name. Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus
is the same. All may change, but Jesus never,
glory to His name. Glory to His name. Glory to His name. All may change, but Jesus, never
glory to his name. He who barred in there in Peter,
never needs thou fear. He who gave to faithless Thomas,
all thy doubt will clear. He who let the loved disciple
on his bosom rest. Fits thee still with loveless
Lean upon his breast Yesterday, today, forever Jesus is the same
All may change, but Jesus never Glory to his name Glory to his
name Glory to his name all may change but Jesus never glory
to his name he who made the raging billows walked upon the sea still
can hush our wildest deepest eyes on Galilee he who wept and
? And anguish and Gethsemane ? ? Drinks with us each cup of
trembling in our agony ? ? Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the
same ? ? All may change but Jesus never bore it to his name ? Glory
to His name, glory to His name All may change, but Jesus never
Glory to His name As a bold He walks to lay us with Him to abide,
So through all our sway He walketh ever near our side. ? Soon again shall we behold
Him facin' Lord the day ? But we'll be as this same Jesus as
He went away ? Yesterday, today, forever, Jesus is the same ?
All may change but Jesus never, glory to His name Glory to his
name. Glory to his name. All may change, but Jesus never. Glory to his name. Be seated. We'll sing hymn number
298. 298. In shady green pastures so rich
and so sweet God leads his dear children along Where the water's
cool flow paints the weary one's feet God leads his dear children
along Some through the water, some
through the flood Some through the fire, but all through the
flood Some through great sorrow, but God gives us all In the night
season and all the day long Sometimes on the mount where
the sun shines so bright, God pleads his dear children of old. Sometimes in the valley in darkest
of night, God pleads his dear children of old. Some through the water, some
through the flood. Some through the fire, but all
through the blood. Some through great sorrow, God
gives us all. In the night season and all the
day long. Though sorrows befall us and
Satan oppose, God leaves his two children alone. Though grace we can conquer,
defeat all our foes, God leaves his two children alone. Some through the waters, some
through the flood Some through the fire, but all through the
blood Some through great sorrow, but God gives us all In the night
season and all the day long Away from the mire and away from
the plain, God leads his dear children along. Away up in glory,
eternity's day, God leads his dear children along. Some through the flood Some through
the fire But all through the flood Some through great sorrow
But God gives us all In the night season And all the day long If you have your Bibles, let's
read from Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form
and void. And darkness was upon the face
of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters. And God said, let there be light, and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good. And God divided the
light from the darkness. And God called the light day,
and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning
were the first day. And God said, let there be a
firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the
waters from the waters. And God made the firmament and
divided the waters which were under the firmament from the
waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called
the firmament heaven. And the evening and the morning
were the second day. And God said, let the waters
under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and
let the dry land appear. And it was so. And God called
the dry land earth, and the gathering together of the waters called
he seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, let the earth bring
forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding
fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth,
and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass
and herb, yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding
fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind, and God saw that
it was good. And the evening and the morning
were the third day. And God said, let there be lights
in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night,
and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and
years, and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven
to give light upon the earth, and it was so. And God made two great lights,
the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule
the night, and he made the stars also. And God set them in the
firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth and to rule
over the day and over the night and to divide the light from
the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And the evening
and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, let the waters
bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life and flow,
excuse me, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open
firmament of heaven. And God created great wells,
and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought
forth abundantly, after their kind, and every weaned fowl after
his kind, and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them,
saying, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters and the seas,
and let the fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and
the morning were the fifth day, And God said, let the earth bring
forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping
thing, and beast of the earth after his kind. And it was so.
And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle
after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth
after his kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness,
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon this
earth. So God created man in his own image. In the image of
God, created he him. Male and female, created he them.
And God blessed them. And God said unto them, be fruitful,
and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And
God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for me. And
to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air,
and to everything that creepeth upon the earth wherein there
is life, I have given every green herb for meat, and it was so. And God saw everything that he
had made, and behold, it was very good. And the evening and
the morning were the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth
were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day,
God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh
day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the
seventh day and sanctified it, because in it he had rested from
all the work which God created and made. Lord God Almighty, we come to
you once more through your blessed Son. Lord, we bow our heads and we
bow our hearts. Lord, we come to you so thankful that we can come
to you through Christ. We thank you for your word preserved
through time. Lord, we thank you for all of
your creation. Thank you for all of your all of the work of thy mighty
hand. Lord, we thank you most of all
for the work that you did for us so that you may provide salvation
freely unto your elect. Lord, I ask that you would meet
with us here tonight There's only a few of us gathered
here, Lord, but you've promised in your word where there be a
couple of people gathered together in thy name that you would be
with them. Lord, we ask that you would be
with us. Send your spirit among us. Lord, pray that you would be
with those who are listening and watching online, those who
may Hear this later, Lord, whatever it is that you have put on Brother
Obi's heart to bring forth the night, Lord, cause it to go forth. Bless it how you will. Lord,
we remember those who are weak and weary, those who are sick,
going through great trial and burden and tribulation. Ask that you'd be their strength
and their stay. Lord, give them grace. Lift them up. Lord, we ask that you would teach
us thy way. Continue to give us grace. Lord, we pray that you would
keep us. Pray again for Brother Obi as
he prepares to stand here and proclaim thy gospel, Lord, that
you would bless him and bless us through him. We ask that that
will be done for Christ's sake. Amen. I thought of this song this morning,
Brother Obie's. He did it all for me. He gave
himself for me. For all of his sheep, for all
of his elect, he gave himself. And I was gonna try to change
the words in this a little bit to accommodate that, but he did
it all for me, he gave himself. And so when I sing this, I hope
that you can Think of the meaning of this. And for copyright purposes,
since we are streaming, I'd have to tell you, written by Dwayne
Allen and Sager Powell, Sawyer Powell,
the Oak Ridge Boys. Once a man whom we know as the
Son of God hung upon a cruel tree. He suffered pain as no
more He took my place He did it all for me He did it all for me Each
drop of blood He shed for even me When the Savior cried about His
sin and died, O praise the Lord, He did it all for me. When I step just inside those
gates of pearl and the master's face I see, I'll gladly ? At his little scarred feet ?
Oh, praise the Lord ? He did it all for me ? He did it all
for me ? Each drop of blood he shed for even me When the Savior cried, bowed
his head, and I, O praise the Lord, He did it all for me. Sing the chorus with me again.
He did it all for me. each drop of blood he shed for
even me. Brother Odie, you come on. Okay, I was about to ask. It's good to see y'all again
this evening. Hope y'all had as enjoyable a day as we did. Actually got a nap, that was
nice. And needed. Enjoyed being with you again
and hope the Lord will bless our services this evening. Open
with me to Luke chapter 1. This isn't our text, but it's
going to be where we kind of jump off from. Luke chapter 1, very familiar passage of scripture
and one that is very often read around the end of December. And
we're generally looking at it and we focus on, tend to focus
on the announcement to Mary. But as this was read not that
long ago, I picked up on something I hope will be a blessing to
us. Luke 1 verse 24, and after those days his wife
Elizabeth conceived and hid herself five months saying, thus hath
the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me
to take away my reproach among men. Now skip down to verse 36. This is the angel speaking to Mary.
He says, And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived
a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month with her who
was called barren. For with God nothing shall be
impossible. That word barren caught my attention. And as I started looking at it,
I got more interested in Elizabeth. Think about this poor woman.
All her life, she was called barren, fruitless, lifeless,
destitute. No doubt, especially as she got
older, she cringed and had some heartache within her when passages
such as the proverb, her children arise and call her blessed. Or Psalm 127.3 that says, lo,
children are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb
is his reward. She had, her heart had to break
just a little bit as these were read, knowing that she would
never be blessed with children. Then the miracle occurred. She
conceived. And she found, by experience,
the same as her cousin Mary would soon find. With God, nothing
shall be impossible. Does that make your heart leap
like mine? With God, nothing shall be impossible. Can you imagine the joy Elizabeth
felt? Can you imagine how her heart
burst into singing when she realized, I'm with child? Turn to Isaiah 54. As I considered Elizabeth in
her barren state, I was once more reminded of myself. I'm
like my father Adam. I'm like my brothers and sisters
born of Adam. I am barren. We are all barren. We are all lifeless, fruitless,
and unprofitable before God. A man and a woman are married
and they have a desire to have a family, to have children. That desire is meaningless. We,
just naturally speaking, cannot produce life, physical life,
unless the Lord is pleased to bless it. If that marriage, if
that union is not blessed of the Lord, they'll remain childless. But beyond the physical, beyond
looking at just this temporal world of what we want, looking
to that one thing needful, no one born of Adam is able to produce
life. real life, the life of God. We are barren. We preach the
gospel. We witness as we are able. We have a yearning and a desire
that the Lord would save our children, our friends, our families,
those we love. And yet all the while, we confess,
Lord, we are barren. If you are pleased, will you
please save them and us? Isaiah 54, verse 1. Sing, O barren, thou that didst
not bear. Break forth into singing and
cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child. For more
are the children of the desolate than the children of the married
wife, saith the Lord. Does that passage seem a little
strange to you? Sang, O barren. What do you have to sing about?
You are barren, lifeless, fruitless, unprofitable. Singing goes with
happiness, not with desolation. What is your song, O barren? Do you know the song? Elizabeth
was taught the song. She said, thus hath the Lord
dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me to take away
my reproach among men. What did Elizabeth say? What
was her song? He did it. This is not of me. He did it. To him be the glory,
the honor, the praise. For every barren sinner that
the Lord is pleased to have mercy upon, we will sing the same song. We will tell the same story.
And it goes something like this. The Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty,
himself, came from eternal glory. He lived as a man in perfect
obedience to his law. He suffered. He shed his blood. He died for my sins. He took them to the tomb and
he left them there. He arose. He robed me in his
righteousness. And one day, one sweet, glorious
day, he's coming back to receive me to himself that I might be
where he is. To him be all power. All my majesty, all glory forever
and ever. Why are you able to sing, O baron? The answer is found in Isaiah
53. May the Lord be pleased to reveal
his glory as we read his story and our story in this chapter. Now, as I was thinking on our
barren estate, and the scriptures led me to this point, and I realized
I was going to have to speak from chapter 53. There was a sense of dread fall
over me. Dad, I don't even know if you'll
remember this, I hadn't been speaking many times. I was scheduled
to speak here on Sunday, and we were out on the boat on Saturday
just enjoying the day, and we were discussing things. He never would ask me what I
was going to preach from or anything, but we talked in generalities. And as we were talking, he said
something to the effect of, I always try to avoid Isaiah 53. I wouldn't
go there, not knowing that I was preaching from Isaiah 53 the
very next morning. This chapter, from everyone I've known through
my life, everyone I've read, has a special affection for this
chapter. And when it comes to this chapter,
it seems to have the effect upon us that Moses heard, draw not
nigh hither, put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place
whereon thou standest is holy ground. Somehow, We can read the various
accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John of our Lord's actual
suffering and crucifixion. From the Garden of Gethsemane
to when he gave up the ghost and the absolute awe, the wonder
of that event just doesn't capture us quite like it does in these
verses. And all I can figure is that
in the Gospels, in those four books, there is not one place
that we go from Gethsemane all the way through. You have to
get a little piece over here. Then you have to jump over there
and get a little piece from there. And you kind of have to put it
together. You can't just sit there and
read it straight through. But here. In twelve short verses,
Isaiah recorded the declaration of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ from his incarnation to his glorious, victorious ascension. Verse 1. Who hath believed our report,
and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? The Law and the
Prophets testify of Christ. Our Lord came in the flesh, and
though He did many miracles before them, yet they believed not on
Him. Why do we because we maintain that we are
not barren. Elizabeth, as a child, I'm sure
never thought she would be barren. As a young married lady, I'm
sure she continued to think, there's still time. I might yet
have a child. But at last, she was made to
know in her heart I am barren. Not because someone told her,
but because it was revealed to her. I am barren. When she was emptied, when she
had nothing of herself to look to, then, at the time appointed,
she conceived. As long as we are able to look
at ourselves. As long as we are able to look
and we say, there's some work, some response, some act that
lets us say, I'm really not all that bad. We will never fall down and sue
for mercy. We'll continue to say, There's
still time. Got a little bit left in me.
There's something good about me. As long as we have some false
refuge, we reject the word of God, which says all, A-L-L, all,
including this one. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. To whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed? To all those sovereignly, lovingly
elected, to those chosen of God, who also declared to Moses I
will be gracious. To whom I will be gracious. Verse 2. For he, our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, for he shall grow up before him. Who is him? And aren't you so
glad it doesn't say them? He didn't grow up under the observation
of us, under the observation of mankind. He grew up before
Him, the Father of God. We observed Him. We watched Him
when He came. And we saw no beauty about Him.
we despised and rejected him. But the Father of God declared,
this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Verse two, for he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant, not as a great oak tree, not
as a magnificent cedar of Lebanon, but as a tender plant, lowly,
meek, and mild. For he shall grow up before him
as a tender plant and as a root out of a dry ground. Dry ground,
barren ground, he came to where we are. We are barren, he came
in our likeness. We are of the earth, and he made
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men. For he shall grow up
before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground,
he hath no form nor comeliness, And when we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. As that verse comes to a
close, does your heart break with mine? Do you think back
to all those years that you wallowed in sin and unbelief, finding
no beauty in him who has now been made unto you altogether
lovely. Verse three, he is despised and
rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and
we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and
we esteemed him not. None of us, not one of Adam's
children, not one of us in this building, no one that will ever
hear this message is excluded here. He is despised and rejected
of men. We cried out with our father
Adam, we will not have this man reign over us. He is a man of sorrows. The sorrows that this man endured,
our sinful minds can't even come close to imagining. He laid aside
his glory. The ancient of days became a
baby. He, the creator, the sovereign
of all, submitted himself to the rule of sinful man. He walked. The holy God who hates
all workers of iniquity, who is of purer eyes than to behold
evil and canst not look on iniquity, he walked. with us, among us
sinners. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid as it
were our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. The Lord God of eternal glory
came and walked as a creature among his creations. For what
cause? Verse five. But he was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. Hold your place
here and turn to Romans chapter 5. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
us because peace could not be found. Romans chapter 5, verse 12. By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned. In another place we read men
loved darkness rather than light. Sin and righteousness, sin and
holiness, Light and dark, life and death, diametrically opposed,
there is no peace. Mankind, in and of self, will
not and cannot bow to God's sovereignty. Over a couple pages to Romans
8, verse 7, We will not and cannot bow to
God's sovereignty, verse 7 of Romans 8, because the carnal
mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the
law of God, neither indeed can be. But our Lord came to abolish
in his flesh the enmity to break down the wall of partition between
God and men. In short, he came to make peace." The peace is broken back in Isaiah
53. The peace was broken, necessating
the redemption. Our redemption, that peace was
broken by us, by the creature, not by him. And we see that in
verse six. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. It's glorious to think that he
came But how did he come? We looked at that this morning.
He wasn't forced. There was no law. He came willingly,
cheerfully, humbly, completely. Verse seven, he was oppressed
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. In eternity,
knowing all that would be required of him, When the call went out,
whom shall I send and who will go for us? Lord Jesus Christ
went forth and said, here am I, send me. When they came to
Gethsemane's garden to take him, the Lord Jesus Christ went forth
and said, I am. Verse 8. He was taken from prison and
from judgment, and who shall declare his generation? When
the false accusations came, he didn't answer them. He didn't
defend himself. It was to this hour he had come
that he might make peace and heal his people. He came willingly. He came purposefully. He came
cheerfully. He came completely. He gave himself. He who we read in verse 9 had
done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth, was
taken by wicked, sinful hands, nailed to a cross to shed his
blood, and he laid down his life. We read the wages of sin is death. Death can only come where sin
is found. So how does our Lord suffer?
How does he die upon that cross? Verse four, surely he hath borne
our griefs and carried our sorrows. As he hung upon that cross, we
beheld him in our natural sinful state. And we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus,
a man of sorrows, our sorrows. A man acquainted with griefs,
our griefs. The man who grew up before God
in perfect righteousness, who alone declared, I do always those
things that please Him. This man, who knew no sins, bore
our griefs, carried our sorrows, was wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities, endured the stripes, shed his blood,
and verse 9, and made his grave with the wicked. He laid down
his life. How? How can it be that the Son
of God, life himself, died upon a tree? Luke 1 37, for with God nothing
shall be impossible. not even the salvation of this
wretched sinner. Verse 10. Yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. Who
bruised him? The Roman soldiers that nailed
him to that cross? Yeah. The government of Rome? They lifted their hand against
him. The religious leaders? Most certainly. The multitude crying, crucify
him, crucify him. They bruised him. We bruised him. Are you represented by the soldiers?
Perhaps. By the government? maybe, by
the religious leaders, might be there. If somehow you escape
those, you will not escape the multitude, crying, crucify him,
crucify him. We were there. Mankind, we did
as we wanted, and we bruised him. But before we were allowed
to do so, It is the Lord who was pleased to bruise him. As
Peter declared in Acts 2, Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of
God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God
did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know. Him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain. Jesus Christ our Lord came in
our likeness, walked in perfect righteousness before God as a
man, took upon himself the sins and griefs of his people, is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, shed his blood, laid down his
life, and somewhere, somewhere amongst all that was happening
upon the cross, he, our atonement, satisfied the law, justice, holiness,
mercy, truth, and grace on our behalf. Yet it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. He hath put him to grief, when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. His precious name is
Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, sovereign, divine, God,
Jesus, man, Savior, Christ, the mediator between God and men. As the high priest of old went
into the Holy of Holies once a year with the blood of the
sin offering, our high priest, Lord, entered into the presence
of the thrice holy God, bearing the blood of the man, Jesus. The man without spot or blemish,
the innocent substitute victim, and his sin sacrifice was accepted. At High Priest, being a type,
being a picture of what Christ would accomplish, Once the sin
offering was made on the mercy seat, he returned to the people
from within the Holy of Holies, showing that the atonement had
been made for another year. It wasn't when he entered. It
wasn't when he went in behind the veil. It was only when he
came out. that the people knew the atonement
had been made for another year. So our Lord, on the third day,
arose. Verse 10. Yet it pleased the
Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. Having carried our sins far away,
having covered them in his own blood, he robed us in his righteousness
and for Christ's sake. We are accepted in the Beloved. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his
soul unto death. And he was numbered with the
transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession
for the transgressors. having satisfied the law and
the prophets, having fulfilled righteousness, having endured
the cross, despising the shame, having accomplished salvation
for his lovingly elected people, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
back to glory, wherefore God also hath highly exalted him,
and given him a name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue
should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. Saying, O barren, thou that didst
not bear, our Lord declared, Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Are you burdened? Does the weight of being found
acceptable in God's sight weigh heavy upon you? Are you struggling
with sin? Come to Christ. Sue him for mercy. Beg him to cause you to know
that you are barren before him. For if he reveals to us that
we are barren before him, He also reveals to us what he bore
for us. And just in case you're like
me and you need it pointed out very plainly, we cannot in this
flesh please God. But thanks God, our Lord Jesus
Christ pleased him. Listen to what he has borne for
us that we barren before God did not bear. He hath borne our
griefs. He hath carried our sorrows. He bore our wounds. He bore our
bruises. The chastisement of our stripes
he bore. The Lord hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all. Our judgment, our death, he bore. Our grave, he entered. Verse 12, he bare the sin of
many and made intercession for the transgressors. Saying, O
barren, thou that didst not bear, for the Lord, your King, your
God, has borne all away. now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise
God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. Amen. Thank you, Obie. Let's have a
word of prayer. O most high and heavenly, most
righteous Father, Lord God Almighty, we come to you through your blessed
Son. Thank you for this message that
we've just heard. What a gospel it is. How marvelous
it is. Lord, all Praise and honor and
glory be to thy blessed holy name. Pray that you would engrave
what we've heard on our hearts. Let us to never forget it. Lord, we pray for traveling mercies
as Obi and his family goes home, as our pastor and Sister Shirley
make their way back to us. Lord, may we also have others
who are traveling. Pray that you keep your hand upon them.
Keep us all, Lord, or we won't be kept. We ask that you bring
us back together to hear your gospel again here in just a few
days. Lord, thy will go forth and be done as it is in heaven.
For Christ's sake, amen. Let's all try to sing together
hymn number 117. 117. I think we've sang it before. I
think it's been a while. He was wounded for our transgressions
He bore our sins in His body on the tree For our guilt He
gave us peace From our bondage gave relief And with His stripes, and with
His stripes, our souls are healed. He was numbered among transgressors. We did esteem him forsaken by
his God. As our sacrifice he died, that
the law be satisfied. And all our sin, and all our
sin, and all our sin was laid on You. Had wandered we all Had wandered
Far from the fold Of the shepherd of the sheep But he saw us where
we were On the mountain bleak and bare and with us home and
brought us home and brought us safe number his generation, who shall
declare all the triumphs of his cross. Millions dead now live
again, periods follow in his train. You're dismissed. We'll meet again Wednesday
evening, Lord willing. As far as I know, Pastor and
Sister Shirley will be back with us again.