Aug 23, 2020
Galatians 1:1-5
Paul, an apostle—not from
men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father,
who raised Him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who
are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the
present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father,5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. In
his commentary on Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Martin Luther has
this to say of verse three: “These two words, grace and peace,
comprehend in them whatsoever belongeth to Christianity.”
This morning, we’ll be reading and singing quite a bit about grace and peace. The Gospel Invitation from 2 Corinthians declares, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We respond with the familiar O For A Thousand Tongues To Sing, praising God for the “triumphs of His grace.” As we sing Psalm 98 and Psalm 40, we remember that the Lord deals with His people in “grace and truth,” and we promise to “spread His works of grace abroad.” After we confess our sins, we again turn to the psalms (Psalm 85; God Be Merciful To Me—Psalm 51) for reassurance that the Lord will blot out our sins “in boundless grace.” The service closes with a beloved hymn by John Newton, which reminds us that “t’was grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home.” Because of this Amazing Grace, we can truly have a “life of joy and peace.” Only by the grace of Christ’s redeeming blood can we sing the “songs of peaceful Zion” (Alleluia! Sing To Jesus). As Robert Lowry puts it in Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus, “this is all our hope and peace.” —Henry C. Haffner
Key Words: Raised, Churches, Grace, Peace,
Deliver, Will, Glory Forever
Keystone Verse: Grace to you and peace. (Galatians
1:3)