All are welcome at Napoleon United Methodist Church. In preparation for this Sunday's service consider the words of Isaiah 59:1-20.
Sin, Confession and Redemption
59 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his
ear too dull to hear.2 But your iniquities have separated you
from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that
he will not hear.3 For your hands are stained with blood, your
fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken falsely, and your
tongue mutters wicked things.4 No one calls for justice; no one
pleads a case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments,
they utter lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to
evil.5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an
adder is hatched.6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they
cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are
evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.7 Their feet
rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They
pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.8 The
way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their
paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who
walks along them will know peace.9 So justice is far from
us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but
all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep
shadows.10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our
way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were
twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.11 We all growl
like bears; we moan mournfully like doves.We look for justice,
but find none; for deliverance, but it is far away.12 For our
offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our
iniquities:13 rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning
our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering
lies our hearts have conceived.14 So justice is driven back, and
righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the
streets, honesty cannot enter.15 Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and
was displeased that there was no justice.16 He saw that there
was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to
intervene; so his own arm achieved salvation for him, and his
own righteousness sustained him. 17 He put on righteousness
as his breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; he
put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in
zeal as in a cloak.18 According to what they have done, so will
he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will
repay the islands their due. 19 From the west, people will fear
the name of the Lord,
and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.
For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of
the Lord drives along. 20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to
those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares
the Lord.
THE WORD OF GOD, FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD. THANKS BE TO GOD.
Sin separates people from God. Is isn't that he is unable to draw people back to him and save them, but he required repentance (see verse 20). How is having sin in your life similar to being blind (see verses 9-10)? In the last verses, what promise does God offer to those who repent?
