Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to Psalm chapter 38.
! Psalm chapter 38.
This is another Psalm of David, and you may have noticed a theme of this morning of lots of talking
! singing about sin and confessing sin. There's a reason for that. It's because our Psalm this morning
is a penitential Psalm. It's hard to pronounce, but it's a penitential Psalm, one of seven,
where David is praying for forgiveness for his sins. The title of the sermon is Helpless but
Hopeful, and the idea is all of us in our sin, we are helpless to deal with this problem of our sin,
but the gospel of Jesus Christ makes us hopeful that there is someone who can bear this burden
for us. So if you found it, Psalm chapter 38, when you found it, let's stand together in honor of the
reading of God's Word as I read this Psalm for us this morning. Psalm chapter 38.
He says,
There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation. There is no health in my bones because of my sin.
For my iniquities have gone over my head. Like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness.
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate. All the day I go about mourning, for my sides are filled with burning. There is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble and crushed. I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
O Lord, all my longing is before you. My sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs.
My strength fails me. In the light of my eyes, it is also gone from me.
My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.
Those who seek my life lay their snares. Those who seek my hurt speak of ruin and meditate treachery all day long.
But I am like a deaf man. I do not hear. Like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
I have become like a man who does not hear and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
But for you, O Lord, do I wait. It is you, O Lord, my God, who will answer.
For I said, only let them not rejoice over me who boast against me when my foot slips.
For I am ready to fall, and my pain is ever before me.
I confess my iniquity. I am sorry for my sin.
But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty, and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
Those who render me evil for good accuse me because I follow after good.
Do not forsake me, O Lord. O my God, be not far from me.
Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.
The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Father God, we pray once more as we open up your word and sit under the preaching of your word.
Lord God, would you speak powerfully through this psalm to convict us of sin
and to show us the depth of our sin, the ugliness of our sin,
so that we might call out in desperation to Christ, who has borne our sin for us
and his life and his death and his resurrection as our only hope.
We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Well, several years ago, our family had left town for a week or so to go on a trip, a family vacation.
We lived at the beach at this time, and so while we were gone,
we allowed some friends to stay at our house,
and we gave just a few simple ground rules for them while they were there.
Lock the doors on your way out.
Eat whatever you want.
Make yourself at home.
Our home is your home.
And, oh, by the way, please take out the trash when you leave.
When we got back home, our friends were gone.
Some of the food had been eaten, but pretty quickly we realized the trash was still there.
For several days, up to a week, the trash sat there unattended to.
Naturally, whatever was there in the trash had grown ripe.
It stunk worse than anything you could possibly imagine.
And worse than that, when we flipped on the lights, we realized it had attracted all sorts of bugs and roaches into our kitchen.
We were horrified when we came back into our house and saw roaches everywhere.
And so we did what we had to do.
We got to work killing the bugs.
We got to work freshening the air.
We got to work cleaning the kitchen as best as we could.
But the most important thing that we could do in that moment was get rid of the trash.
And take it outside.
Because the worst thing we could have done is to let that sit there and ignore it and let it continue to sit.
Because the longer it sits, the worse the problem gets.
And church, the truth is the same is true for our sin.
Our sin, if ignored or unattended to, if left unconfessed like trash that is left out in the heat,
it will not just go away on its own.
Sin that is not brought to the Lord and repented of.
It sits, it festers, it stinks, and eventually it welcomes all sorts of unwelcome consequences into our lives.
Here in Psalm 38 this morning, King David is dealing with the stench of his own sin.
He's dealing with the painful consequences of sin in his own life.
He bears it.
He sees it for as ugly and as foul as it is.
And so he cries out for help to the only one who is able to remove it from him.
But he cries out in confidence to his covenant God to bear his sin for him.
This is the main idea for us this morning.
It's this.
If our sin is unbearable, we must bring it to the one who is able to bear it for us.
We'll walk through the psalm in four parts together this morning.
This will be our outline if you're taking notes.
First, we will see the pain of bearing sin.
Second, we will see the personal effect of bearing sin.
Third, we will see the picture of the sin bearer.
And fourth, finally, we'll see the posture of the sinner.
First, we see the pain of bearing sin.
We see this in verses 1 through 8.
If you look there with me, starting in verse 1.
Here in verse 1, David is pleading with God to withhold his discipline from him.
David is dealing here with the wrath of God.
He says, O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath.
He says the Lord's discipline is like arrows that have gone into him.
He says his hand is heavy upon him.
His whole flesh is unsound, is unhealthy,
because of the indignation and the anger of his God.
He says there's no health in his bones.
And some see this as a literal sickness that David's dealing with here.
And it could be, or it could just be a poetic way of describing this top to bottom,
inside and out, entire agony that David is in.
Either way, it's clear to me, David is totally undone because of his son.
And so he prays, God, would you give me some relief from your wrath against me?
Can you just give me a break?
Can you let up a little bit?
And if you stopped reading here, you might think,
man, well this God is just a little bit mean, isn't he?
Why would this God do this to poor David?
And sometimes that's how people think and talk about God.
Why would a loving God pour out his wrath against his own creation?
Why would God be indignant and angry and full of wrath towards his own creation?
Why would he be wrathful?
And I can't worship a God like that.
I want to worship a God of love and kindness and mercy
who just loves us as we are, right?
The modern idea of God does not like psalms like this.
God is just presented as harsh.
We have to recognize two truths for this to make any sense to us here.
Two truths that the non-believer just completely ignores.
One, we have to remember the holiness of our God.
And two, we have to remember the horror of our sin.
The God of the Bible, yes, he is love.
Yes, he is gracious.
Yes, he is merciful.
Yes, he is kind.
And yes, he is just.
Yes, he is holy, holy, holy.
Yes, he is righteous.
A righteous God can no more overlook rebellion and wickedness
than a righteous judge could let the guilty go free.
And a holy God can no more wink his eye at sin
than a good parent can let his children go and run in the street.
Our God is holy, holy, holy.
And he is right to judge sin.
And he is right to discipline his children
when they want to drink poison or play with knives.
God is holy.
And the second truth is that we are not.
Not in and of ourselves, at least.
David understands that God is disciplining him for sin in his life.
This is not an act of hatred towards David.
He is not being harsh towards David.
This discipline is an act of love and kindness towards David.
David is a part of the sin that still remains in his heart.
David sees he needs God's help to cleanse him inside and out
from this weight of sin that he cannot lift.
He says, my iniquities have gone up over my head.
Like a heavy burden, they're too heavy for me.
He is sinking.
He's drowning in this recognition of his sin.
And several years ago, I went to dig up some hydrangeas
that had been there for who knows how long.
I mean, years and years and years.
They were just beautiful.
They were flourishing.
The owners were going to just get rid of them.
And Amanda would not let that stand.
And so we went with just a couple of shovels
and said, we're just going to dig these things up.
And I had completely underestimated.
The longer that bush sits there,
the deeper and the wider and the stronger
that network of roots goes,
you can't just spend an hour digging that thing up.
You got to, it took all day to get that thing unrooted from the ground.
The same is true with our sin.
David sees and he recognizes these foul words at the surface.
They find deep roots in the heart.
These impure thoughts on the surface,
they find deep roots down in the very soul.
Our sin is not just things that we do on the outside.
There are roots in our inner being.
It is by nature who we are,
apart from the grace of God and Christ.
It goes far deeper into the heart
and far deeper into the soul
than we can possibly begin to imagine.
David is beginning to see this
and you see how he's affected by it?
He is undone by this recognition of his sin.
He describes it as stinking and festering wounds,
like garbage that's been sitting out in the heat.
And so he says, verse 8,
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate.
All the day I go about mourning,
for my sides are filled with burning.
There is no soundness in my flesh.
I am feeble.
I am crushed.
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
And I wonder, friend,
have you ever experienced this
as you think about your own sin?
Have you ever been this affected,
the same way David is,
in recognition of the horrors of your sin?
Have you been undone
at the recognition of your sin against a holy God?
What I'm not asking you is,
have you ever not liked the consequences of your sin?
That's common to everybody.
Nobody wants to deal with the consequences of our sin.
That's not what I'm asking.
Now, R.C. Sproul, in his book,
The Holiness of God,
he says,
we all want to be saved from our misery,
but not from our sin.
We want to sin without misery.
The foremost spiritual law of the physical universe
is that this hope can never be realized.
Sin always accompanies misery.
My question for you, church,
is have you ever tugged at the visible,
external wrongdoing,
the fruit that's visible on the surface,
and pulled it all the way down
to the roots in your heart,
and been affected and undone
by the horror of your sin against a holy God?
David has.
But his misery doesn't stop there, does it?
Sin not only impacts us individually,
what we see in our second point
is that it also impacts all of our relationships.
Sin separates.
And so second,
we see the personal impact of bearing sin.
We see this in verses 9 through 14.
With the anguish and this pain
is enough in and of itself,
but here we see that David is experiencing
these consequences of sin
in his personal life as well.
These are the roaches and the flies
and the lingering stench
that comes from not taking out the trash.
In verse 9,
we see his relationship with the Lord
is impacted.
His relationship with God
is now one of longing
and deep sighing.
His prayers are marked
by this need for relief.
I mean, these are prayers
of confidence, by the way.
These are the prayers of someone
who is in covenant relationship
with the Lord.
Notice how he calls God
by his covenant name.
Oh Lord,
oh Lord my God.
This is a prayer to Yahweh.
This is the covenant name of the Lord.
David knows that this God
is a God who is the Lord.
The Lord slow to anger
and abounding in steadfast love
and faithfulness.
He is a covenant-keeping God
who will not abandon his people.
And it's this special covenant relationship
that bids David come
in confidence to the Lord.
And church, of course,
we are also invited to come
and bring our burdens on him.
But don't you wish
that we didn't have to pray this way?
Listen to how David speaks with God.
He says,
Oh Lord,
all my longing is before you.
My sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart throbs.
My strength fails.
The light of my eyes has gone out.
Church, of course,
it is good and right
for us to call out
to the Lord in our misery.
But how much better would it be
to not have to do that at all?
Now don't you long for a time
when your relationship with God
wouldn't be marked by these pleas
for deliverance
and for this sighing over evil
and this groaning
over all the effects of sin
in your life?
Don't you long for a time
when you can be driven
to your knees
to pray in adoration of God
and not just quickly coming to him
for help because of sin
and all its effects?
So often our prayers
are clouded by our struggles
with sin.
And again, this is the impact
of living in a fallen world.
Romans 8 tells us this,
that our experience here
in a fallen world
is marked by groaning.
Indeed, it says,
the whole creation
has been groaning together
in the pains of childbirth
until now.
And not only the creation,
but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits
of the Spirit,
groan inwardly
as we wait eagerly
for adoption as sons,
the redemption of our bodies.
Have you ever wished
that your conversations
with God in prayer
were less about the mess
of sin in your life
and in this world
and in your relationships?
Do you ever wish
that your mind went quickly
to praise and to adoration
and less quickly
to sighing and longing
and groaning over sin
in your life?
The good news is,
one day,
we will not groan anymore.
The Gospel tells us this,
but here and now,
our conversations with the Lord
are often marked
by this groaning
because of our sins.
Not only this,
but David's relationships
with his friends
are also impacted by sin.
Verse 11, it says,
My friends and my companions,
they stand aloof
from my plague.
My nearest kin,
his family,
stands far off.
David is experiencing
abandonment
and isolation
and separation
from loved ones.
He's experiencing loneliness.
His closest companions
have left him.
His own family
stands far off.
It's hard not to think
of the rebellion
of David's own son,
Absalom.
And church,
I know that some of you
can relate.
Have you ever seen sin
wreak havoc on the relationships
in your life?
Have you ever seen sin
wreak havoc on the relationships
with your closest family members
and your loved ones?
Have you ever seen it
separate you
from those who you thought
nothing could ever come
in between us?
David experiences this tension
in his personal relationships.
He is abandoned.
His own kin stands far off,
but he's not completely alone.
His companions abandon him
and at the same time,
guess what happens?
His enemies draw near.
Those who seek my life
lay their snares,
he says in verse 12.
Those who seek my hurt
speak of ruin
and meditate treachery
all day long.
He says in verse 19
that his foes are vigorous
and mighty and many.
It says in verse 20
that they stand to accuse him.
Now this is interesting.
That same root word
where we get accused
is the same root word
where we get the name
for Satan.
The accuser.
The adversary
who loves to stand
and accuse God's people
day and night.
All of this again
is the impact
of living in a fallen world.
Have you ever experienced
the distance of friends
and the nearness of enemies?
Have you ever experienced
the isolation
and the loneliness
of living in a fallen world
and experienced
the nearness
of hateful people
who want to tear you down?
Or the nearness
of your own sinful flesh
and sinful desires?
Or the nearness
of the enemy himself,
Satan,
and all who belong
to his kingdom
who want to tear you
away from the truth
and rip you away
from enjoying
the joy of walking
with the Lord?
If you are in Christ,
I can assure you,
you will experience
all of this.
You will experience
the painful agony
of seeing your own sin
for what it is.
If you are in Christ,
you will experience
the pain of isolation
and loneliness
and betrayal.
You will experience
the dangers
and the trials
and the temptations
of the enemy
against you in this life
if you are in Christ.
The question then,
church,
is where can we go
with our sin?
Where can we turn
with our sin?
We must bring our sin
to the only one
who is able
to bear it for us.
So third,
I want you to see
the picture here
in this psalm,
and it's this.
Christ Jesus
is the sin bearer.
Christ Jesus
is the sin bearer.
David,
in his suffering,
and even in the way
that he handles
his suffering here
by silently enduring,
by acting like
a mute man
who gives no answer
back for the accusations
against him,
by entrusting himself
to God,
he is pointing us
forward to the
great son of David,
Jesus Christ,
who suffered for us.
And we've seen,
haven't we,
time and time again
how these psalms
in many ways
are the prayers
of Christ Jesus himself.
But I want to ask you
this morning,
how can Jesus pray
this prayer?
How can Jesus Christ
pray like this?
How can the sinless,
perfect son of God
speak as a sinner
under the wrath of God
enduring the agony
of the full weight
of bearing sin?
How can he pray
as a sinner
experiencing loneliness
and abandonment
and the closeness
of his enemies?
Church,
he can pray like this
because this is exactly
what Christ has endured
for us.
Jesus Christ
suffered for sin,
not his own,
the sins of
all his people.
As Jesus prayed
in the garden
of Gethsemane,
we're told that he was
in so much anguish
that he sweat blood
as he prayed
to the Lord
and asked if it were
at all possible,
would you remove
this cup from me?
And yet,
what did he say?
Yet not as I will,
but your will be done.
He prayed that if at all
possible,
God would relieve him
from this discipline,
from the sharp arrows
of his wrath
and relieve him,
remove this indignation
from him.
But even so,
Jesus knew
that this was
the eternal plan
of God
for the salvation
of sinners like us.
And so he set
his face like flint
to go to the cross.
Jesus took upon himself
the full weight
of all the ugliness,
of all the sin,
of all of his people.
There is,
here's a theological term
for you,
there is what we call
a double imputation
that happens
at the cross of Christ
for all of God's people.
Through faith in Jesus,
when you put your faith
in Christ,
all of his perfect
righteousness
and all of his
sinlessness,
all of the blessings
that he has earned
by his perfect obedience,
all of that
comes to us
by faith.
It is credited to us
into our account.
And,
at the same time,
all of our sin,
all of our mess,
all of our weakness,
all of our stench,
all of our iniquity,
all of that
comes to him.
He bears it for us
and takes it away.
He made him
who knew no sin
to become sin
for us
so that in him
we might become
the righteousness
of God.
There is a
two-way becoming
in the gospel of Christ.
This is what makes
it such good news.
We no longer
bear our sin.
He does.
And we're not
left in neutral.
We are made
perfect in the sight
of God
by faith in Christ.
And so,
Jesus,
he prays this prayer
not because of his own sin
but as the sin bearer.
He prays this prayer
as the one
who has endured
the wrath of God
for sin,
not his own.
But in our place,
he prays as the one
who endured
the betrayal
and the abandonment
of his closest companions
as Peter denies him
three times
as his disciples
flee at his arrest.
He prays this prayer
as the one
who allowed his enemies
to overtake him
and nail him
to the cross.
He prays as the one
who, like David,
did not open his mouth
to defend himself
but rather silently
endured suffering
as he waited faithfully
on the vindication
of God.
I always marvel,
church,
at how Isaiah
talked about this
700 years
before it happened.
You see this glorious truth
so clearly
in Isaiah 53.
I want to read
this long passage to you
but listen,
listen for those
common themes here
in Isaiah 53.
700 years
before Jesus
went to the cross,
here's what he says.
He was despised
and rejected by men.
A man of sorrows.
Acquainted with grief
as one from whom
men hide their faces.
He was despised
and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne
our griefs.
He has carried
our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed him
stricken,
smitten by God
and afflicted.
But he was pierced
for our transgressions.
He was crushed
for our iniquities.
Upon him
was the chastisement
that brought us peace
and with his wounds
we are healed.
All we like sheep
have gone astray.
We have turned
everyone
to his own way.
And the Lord
has laid on him
the iniquity
of us all.
He was oppressed
and he was afflicted.
Yet he opened
not his mouth
like a lamb
that is led
to the slaughter
and like a sheep
that before its shears
is silent.
So he opened
not his mouth.
By oppression
and judgment
he was taken away
and as for his generation
who considered
that he was cut off
out of the land
of the living
stricken
for the transgression
of my people.
And they made his grave
with the wicked
and with a rich man
in his death
although he had done
no violence
and there was no deceit
in his mouth
yet
it was the will
of the Lord
to crush him.
He
has put him
to grief.
When his soul
makes an offering
for guilt
he shall see
his offspring
he shall prolong
his days
the will of the Lord
shall prosper
in his hand.
Out of the anguish
of his soul
he shall see
and be satisfied
by his knowledge
shall the righteous one
my servant
make many
to be accounted
righteous
and he shall bear
their iniquities.
Do you hear
the gospel church?
He
becomes
sin.
we
become
righteousness.
He
takes
God's
wrath
so that we
receive
God's
pleasure.
He
becomes
like us
so that we
might become
like
him.
This is
the gospel.
If you
have ever
felt the
agony
of your
sin
take heart
and know
that
Jesus
has felt
it.
If you
have placed
your faith
in him
you need
not fear
the wrath
of God
against your
sin because
he has
born it
for us.
And if we
suffer in a
fallen world
as we all
do and we
all will
the Christian
can do so
in hope
and confidence
that we are
following our
Savior through
suffering and
into glory.
So fourth
and finally
let's consider
then in him
the posture
of the
secure
center
the posture
of the
secure
center
we'll see
this in
the rest
of the
passage.
I see
four postures
here in
David's
heart as
we close
that we
in Christ
can imitate
and look
there with
me
verses 15
through 22
the first
posture of
the heart
is a
posture of
hope.
Verse 15
David says
but for you
oh Lord
do I wait
it is you
oh Lord
my God
who will
answer
for I said
only let
them not
rejoice
over me
who boast
against me
when my
foot slips.
In this
moment of
pain and
anguish
what does
David do?
He calls
out to
the Lord.
He puts
his hope
entirely
in the
Lord
just as
Christ
on the
cross
entrusted
himself
entirely
to the
Father
and waited
patiently
for this
moment of
vindication
so now
all of
Christ's
people
in our
suffering
and in
our
pain
we can
also
endure
and hope
that if
we're
in
Christ
we
too
will
one
day
be
vindicated
raised
up with
him
the enemy
will not
rejoice
over us
because God
has already
triumphed
over him
at the
cross
of Christ
posture
number
two
the second
is a
posture
of
desperation
he says
in verse
17
I am
ready
to fall
my
pain
is
ever
before
me
and
this
is
again
a
complete
recognition
of his
inability
and his
misery
and again
this is
absolutely
crucial
church
I got
to ask
you
if you've
ever
gotten
to this
point
of
helplessness
before
the
Lord
do you
realize
God
does
not
help
those
who
help
themselves
that is
not
true
you will
not find
that in
your
Bible
God
does
not
help
those
he
is
not
favoring
those
who
are
capable
and
strong
and
those
who
just
need
a little
bit
of
dusting
off
and
then
they'll
be
good
no
our
God
raises
the
dead
to
newness
of
life
you
must
recognize
that
you
are
dead
in
your
trespasses
and
sins
have
you
recognized
your
complete
inability
to
climb
your
way
out
of
your
sin
and
to work
your
way
to
God
into
his
pleasure
out
of
his
wrath
that
you're
completely
unable
to do
anything
at all
apart from
his grace
at work
in you
third
posture
it's a
posture
of
repentance
posture
of
repentance
you know
some
of the
ways
that
people
tend
to
deal
with
their
sin
is
either
just
to
ignore
it
pretend
like
it
doesn't
exist
don't
tell
me
about
that
I'm
fine
the
way
I
am
or
maybe
they
minimize
it
it's
not
that
bad
I'm
not
as
bad
as
the
next
guy
at
least
my
neighbor
is
way
worse
off
than
I
am
logs
and
specks
or
to
blame
someone
else
for
their
sin
it's
a
victim
mentality
well I
did
that
because
you
did
this
I
am
who
I
am
because
this
system
is
rigged
against
me
I
hit
you
because
you
bothered
me
it's
not
my
fault
it's
your
fault
at
the
end
of
the
day
let
me
just
give
you
another
option
here
I
know
that
this
is
radical
and
crazy
but
let's
just
try
something
here
it
is
full
confession
and
admission
and
repentance
look
what
David
says
in
verse
18
he
sees
the
weight
of
his
sin
he
sees
his
total
helplessness
and
he
says
I
confess
my
iniquity
he
owns
!
it!
And
he
says
I'm
sorry
for
my
sin
this
is
his
full
commitment
just
to
bring
it
all
to
the
feet
of
Jesus
and
openly
confess
I
can't
do
anything
about
this
would
you
please
doesn't
John
tell us
didn't we
read this
morning
if we
confess
our
sin
he
is
faithful
and
just
to
forgive
us
our
sin
and
to
cleanse
us
from
all
unrighteousness
the
Lord
is
far
more
willing
to
forgive
than
we
are
to
confess
!
Martin
Luther
says
that
the
whole
Christian
life
is
one
of
continual
repentance
Cornelius
Plantinga
Jr.
he
says
recalling
and
confessing
our
sin
is
a
little
bit
like
taking
out
the
garbage
once
is
not
enough
do
you
have
something
to
take
to
him
this
morning
David
confesses
and
repents
and
then
lastly
fourth
David
responds
with a
posture
of
faith
this
is
trust
church
and
dependence
and
this
is
what
it
means
this
is
what
it
looks
like
to
be
a
Christian
to
be
a
Christian
is
to
recognize
the
depths
of
your
sin
to
bring
it
fully
to
the
Lord
to
say
I
can't
do
anything
about
this
and
then
in
full
trust
and
faith
to
hand
it
him
and
say
you
got
to
deal
with
it
and
to
know
in
faith
that
Christ
has
dealt
with
it
at
the
cross
so
that
now
in
him
you
can
call
upon
the
Lord
with
confidence
in
any
and
every
trial
just
as
David
does
to
know
that
nothing
can
separate
you
from
the
love
of
God
in
Christ
Jesus
your
Lord
look how
he
prays
!
He
says
do
not
forsake
me
O
Lord
my
salvation
that's
a prayer
of
faith
from
someone
who
is
desperate
for
the
help
of
his
God
church
we
have
the
privilege
this
morning
of
seeing
this
type
of
recognition
of
sin
and
repentance
and
faith
this
morning
in
the
waters
of
baptism
we
get
to
see
the
stench
of
the
old
and
dead
man
buried
with
him
in
baptism
washed
clean
and
raised
to
walk
in
newness
of
life
and
in
just
a
moment
we're
going to
get to
hear
James
and
Alyssa's
testimonies
I want
you to
listen
as they
share
for those
same
common
themes
of
hope
and
desperation
and
confession
and
repentance
and
faith
in
Christ
and
then
we're
going
to
go
out
and
see
that
new
life
and
that
new
joy
and
that
new
freedom
from
the
faith
as
they
prepare
to
come
forward
I
want
to
ask
you
again
is
there
any
sin
in
your
life
that
needs
to
be
brought
to
the
Lord
this
morning
is
there
any
trash
that
needs
to
be
taken
out
Jesus
Christ
our
sin
bearer
has
come
to
take
it
away
and
we
rejoice
to
know
our
sins
they
are
many
but
praise
God
his
mercy
is
more
let's
pray
together
Father
we
thank
you
for
the
good
news
of
the
gospel
that
starts
with
the
bad
news
that
all
of
us
have
sinned
against
you
and
the
bad
news
that
our
sin
is
more
than
we
can
bear
but
Father
the
good
news
is
that
Christ
has
come
to
bear
it
for
us
and
so
we
pray
Lord
would
you
work
in
us
a
heart
of
repentance
and
faith
in
Christ
Jesus
the
only
hope
for
sinners
like
us
and
we
pray
we
would
live
in
the
joy
and
the
freedom
of
being
made
new
in
him
we
pray
this
in
Jesus
name
amen