Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Prayer will be held at the Noah home.

Remember our meeting to discuss the building on Thursday evening at 7:00 at the church. There will be no vote, and the discussion will be limited to members only, but non members may attend as observers.

The grace of God is astoundingly shocking. God rescues broken and weary sinners and heals them. The reason they were broken and weary was because of their rebellion, and yet instead of abandoning them in their rebellion, He sets them free and then comforts them. This reality is revealed in our scripture focus this week – Isaiah 61:1-11, where the goodness and mercy of Jesus Christ continues to be explained. In the previous chapter, the Lord described the future blessings He was going to heap upon His people, during the era of the new covenant. Now he introduces the One who will be bringing these blessings and how these blessings will affect them. Notice that Jesus Himself makes it clear that He is the fulfillment of this passage of scripture in Luke 4. This chapter reads like the servant songs in 11:2; 42:1; 49:8; 50:4; 52-53. Notice also that the chapter breaks into two main divisions. First, what the Lord Jesus will do with His people in verses 1-3 and second, what the people will do as a result of His power working in them in verses 4-11. These same themes are carried on into chapter 62. 

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The songs we will be singing are as follows:

• Joy to the World
• Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus
• By Grace Alone
• Come, All Ye Pining
• Man of Sorrows