We come to the end of our sermon series the week after Easter, a series that began exactly one year ago. It’s fitting that the service today will focus on some of the very same themes: the reliability of Scripture, and the proclamation of the good news. In the first chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we heard Christ proclaimed as the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecies (Mark 1:1-2) and saw John the Baptist’s preaching to “all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem” (Mark 1:5). This morning we will sing of the “firm foundation” we have in “His excellent Word” (How Firm A Foundation), and declare that God’s Word is our “chief delight” (How Shall The Young Direct Their Way—Psalm 119). We’ll also sing from Psalm 47, a psalm which looks forward to the gathering in of all nations, which begins to be fulfilled with the disciples who “went out and preached everywhere,” following Jesus’ ascension. The hymns which close the service, I Waited Patient For The Lord—Psalm 40, How Sweet And Awful Is The Place, and To Our Redeemer’s Glorious Name, leave us with a charge: given the reliability of Scripture and the command to proclaim its message, we must be bold to share the Gospel ourselves. With His help, let’s “spread His works of grace abroad,” as we “long to see Thy churches full,” until every heart with gladness can say, “the Savior died for me.” —Henry C. Haffner
Key Words: Believe, Unbelief, Go, Proclaim, Signs, Spoken, Preached
Keystone Verse: And He said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15)