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4/2/2023 Worship Service and Sermon from Brick Lane Community Church in Elverson, PA.

Scripture: Psalm 126
Title: We Are Glad!
Worship Leader: Mike Culbert
Speaker: Wendell Stoltzfus

Notes:

Introduction: "He never committed a pleasure"

A. Ellen Glasgow's father
B. Martin Luther's colleague

1. We are glad! (v. 3b)
A. Psalm 126 is a Luther-type psalm
B. In the Bible, the chief characteristic of the Christian pilgrimage is gladness and joy
i. Not the gladness of lightheartedness

2. Joy Past (vv. 1-3a)
A. In the OT, there are many times where God restored His people in hopeless situations
B. The ultimate fulfillment of these verses comes later, with Christ

3. Joy Future (vv. 4-6)
A. In this psalm, two images express the joy or anticipation in a seemingly hopeless situation
B. The joy of anticipating what God is going to do--based on what God has already done--comes in the context of the pain, suffering, loneliness, of life in this fallen world

Conclusion: Joy Present
A. First Application: Psalm 126 teaches us how to read the Bible
B. Second Application: A thought exercise
-Think of a giant scale
-On one side, put all of your stinking circumstances
-On the other side, put all that God has done for you in Jesus Christ
-See which side outweighs the other -Consider that all the stuff on the hardship side is part of your preparation for God's eternal kingdom
C. The Verdict found in God's Word: "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18)

#Psalms #suffering #joy