Remember and never forget! (Click on the sermon title for a .pdf copy)
Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Luke 2:22-32
December 28, 2014
Remember and never forget!
That was Jean Kimball’s admonition to us, or rather, the Bible’s admonition, of which Jean was always reminding us! Remember and never forget what?
That we are part of the story. That we are part of God’s story.
And what is our part in the story? Did you hear what Isaiah said to Israel?
Arise! shine like the sun!
The glory of the Lord is shining on you!
You will be like a beautiful crown for the Lord.
Did you hear what Simeon said when he held the baby Jesus?
… a light to reveal your will to the Gentiles and to bring glory to your people Israel.
This is our part in God’s story. This is the purpose of God’s people. To reflect God’s glory. To shine so the world will see, so the world will see God. No one has ever seen God, but when God’s people shine like the sun …
We are like a beautiful crown for the Lord.
When we praise God with our lips,
when we praise God with our lives,
we are like a beautiful crown for the Lord.
When we praise God welcoming a stranger,
when we praise God giving dignity to the poor,
when we praise God making peace,
we are like a beautiful crown for the Lord.
When we love God with everything we are,
when we love our neighbors with everything we have,
we are like a beautiful crown for the Lord.
When God saves us,
when we know that we are what we are because God has saved us,
when we wear our new name proudly — “Saved by God!”
we are like a beautiful crown for the Lord.
We are like a beautiful crown for the Lord. Remember and never forget!