Glynlea Grace United Methodist Chruch

SCRIPTURE

Psalm 85

LORD, thou wast favorable to thy land; thou didst restore the fortunes of Jacob. ² Thou didst forgive the iniquity of thy people; thou didst pardon all their sin. ³ Thou didst withdraw all thy wrath; thou didst turn from thy hot anger.

⁴ Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away thy indignation toward us! ⁵ Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? Wilt thou prolong thy anger to all generations? ⁶ Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice in thee? ⁷ Show us thy steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

⁸ Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints, to those who turn to him in their hearts. ⁹ Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. ¹⁰ Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will kiss each other. ¹¹ Faithfulness will spring up from the ground, and righteousness will look down from the sky. ¹² Yea, the LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase. ¹³ Righteousness will go before him, and make his footsteps a way.

FOCUS and FUNCTION

Focus: In Psalm 85, the psalmist acknowledges that God has already forgiven and

delivered Israel (verses 1-3) but then realizes that this deliverance is not yet

complete (verses 4-7). The Psalmist then reiterates God’s promise to continue

with Israel’s deliverance (verses 8-13). This Psalm accurately describes our status

as Christians. We have been forgiven of our sins and will go to heaven when we

die. That is done. In this way, we have been delivered. However, we are not yet

the loving people God created us to be. Steadfast love, righteousness and peace

have not yet fully manifested themselves in our hearts. God must continue to

change our hearts in order to complete our salvation.

This salvation became possible with the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus

Christ. It is through his life, death and resurrection that we have forgiveness of

sins. This is the completed portion of our salvation. As the Holy Spirit works on

our hearts, we become more like Jesus as we become less sinful and more loving.

This is the continuing portion of our salvation. During the Christmas season, we

celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Christmas is not about gifts,

parties, turkey dinners, decorated trees or even Santa Clause. Those things are

nice but they do not point towards what Christmas truly means. The true meaning

of Christmas is this: SALVATION IS AT HAND!!!!!

Function: To help the congregation understand the true significance of Christmas.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: Knee/hip replacement surgery

A. Knee/hip replacement surgery is both a one time deal and a process

· It’s a one time deal: The surgery is done in a few hours and it’s over, not to be repeated.

· It’s a process: After the surgery is complete, one must go through rehabilitation to re-learn how to walk. Even after the formal rehabilitation is done, the patient must continue to use his/her knees and hips to maintain their use. It is an ongoing process.

B. Salvation or deliverance works the same way. Whenever God delivers a person or group of people there’s always an initial, one time deliverance followed by a process of change

· The Exodus story

- Initial one time deliverance: God frees the Jewish people from Egyptian bondage

- Ongoing process: Forty years in the desert to learn how to be God’s people. This process continued on when the ancient Israelites entered the promise land.

C. Psalm 85 demonstrates salvation as being both a one time thing as well as an ongoing process

II. Psalm 85

A. Verses 1-3: Demonstrates the initial one time deliverance. God forgave the Israelites and delivered the. Perhaps this is a reference to when the Israelites were able to return to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity.

B. Verses 4-7: The Psalmist asks the Lord to continue to deliver them. Evidently, for some reason, the deliverance is incomplete. Perhaps this is a reference to the ancient Israelites still being under foreign rule when they returned from Babylonian activity.

C. Verses 8-13: The Lord promises that He will continue to deliver Israel and then describes what this deliverance will look like.

· Salvation is happening when peace, steadfast love, faithfulness and righteousness become evident in people’s lives.

· Salvation is a changed life/society that manifests peace, steadfast love, faithfulness and righteousness

III. Psalm 85 accurately reflects what happens when a person becomes a Christian.

A. Initial one time deliverance: Once a person repents and trusts in Jesus as Savior and Lord, he/she is forgiven of sins and will go to heaven. This becomes a done deal.

B. Ongoing process: God changes us into the loving people God created us to be. We become more and more loving, more and more Christ like. The evidence of this ongoing process is peace, steadfast love, faithfulness and righteousness. It’s a changed life.

IV. This salvation became possible with the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus

Christ.

A. It is through his life, death and resurrection that we have forgiveness of sins. This is the completed portion of our salvation.

B. As the Holy Spirit works on our hearts, we become more like Jesus as we become less sinful and more loving. This is the continuing portion of our salvation.

V. This is what Christmas is really about

A. Christmas is not about gifts, parties, turkey dinners, decorated trees or even Santa Clause.

B. The true significance of Christmas is this: SALVATION IS AT HAND!!!!! Salvation is made available with the coming of Jesus.

VI. Through Holy Communion we can experience this salvation

A. If you never repented and trusted in Jesus, come to the communion table, repent and place your trust in Jesus, and experience the forgiveness of your sins. You will become a new creation and begin the exciting and ongoing process of becoming more like Christ.

B. If you are already a Christian, come to the communion table and experience God’s ongoing salvation. As you partake of the bread and grape juice, the Holy Spirit will change your heart and make you more loving like Christ.