S7E26: Prayer for Thirst (A Journey Through Lent pt. 3)

Sermon #214

Lent is a time when we reflect upon our own sin which separated us from God. But why did Jesus have to go to the cross? Why was it necessary for the Son of God to be our perfect sacrifice in order to reconcile us to God? We look at Psalms 42 and 43 today for our answer. Our soul thirsts for the living God as a deer pants for streams of fresh water. There is a yearning within us for God that cannot be satisfied until we find our satisfaction in a relationship with God, and for that to happen we need to have our debt paid. It was not the nails that held Jesus to the cross, but God's love. These Psalms collectively describe our condition, they diagnose the causes, and then they prescribe a cure - and the cure is the cross.

Another note about the audio - during the recording of this sermon at Ebenezer UMC, my then-3 year-old son (Isaac) was running around the sanctuary doing what 3 year-old children do. So when you hear odd noises in the recording, it was probably Isaac playing with something. I have always believed in kids expressing themselves in the worship space. "Suffer the little children to come to me," Christ said, "For to such is the kingdom of God." If you have children in your worship that you think are "disruptive," try looking at them as God does.

Psalms 42-43

Recorded at Ebenezer UMC on March 12, 2017 (First published March 11, 2020)

S.D.G.