The Mountain of the Lord
His Mountain, His House
“My house, my rules”. Have you used this phrase with your children? Or, heard it as a child? When it is employed, it usually means an end to a disagreement. The parent has established they are not interested in changing the rules and the child is, most likely, disappointed.
The house of the LORD has a similar situation. The rules to live there are simple, listed in just ten commandments handed down from Sinai, but we cannot satisfy them on our own. No one ever did, and no one ever will except for the promised son of man, Jesus Christ. Not to mention that we are continually tempted to live by our own rules; driven by the instant gratification of earthly pleasures and selfishness.
Fortunately, that same LORD has given us another path; a narrow one that leads to salvation. This path leads us back to Zion and Jerusalem, the “city of peace”. If you look at Jerusalem today, you might not think it is a city of peace. Speaking politically or militarily you would be right. But two thousand years ago the God of Jacob earned, on the cross, peace between us and God. This peace surpasses all our understanding.
It is only at Zion that we find this all-encompassing, eternal peace. God has opened his house to all nations, forgiving all who believe. It is a beautiful promise given of unconditional love on His part.
Thanks be to God for his mercy!
Here is today’s sermon text from Isaiah 2:
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be lifted up above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say:
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall decide disputes for many peoples;
and they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord.
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Announcements
Bible Study: Our midweek Bible study meets Wednesday at 7 pm via Zoom. Sunday morning Bible study starts at 10 am.
Advent Vespers: The midweek Vespers will be held online this year. The time remains the same: Wednesdays at 7 pm. If you need the link, please email Andrew.
Voters Meeting: The next one will be held on December 11 at 3:30 pm via Zoom. This meeting will hold an election of officers and a budget proposal for 2023.
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Prayer requests. Bring your prayer requests to Pastor Jenson, Deacon Poe, or Loyd Harris (bulletin typist). They will be printed in the bulletin and prayed for in the Sunday service. The deadline is Tuesday. Remember to obtain permission if you bring a prayer request on behalf of another person.