Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:02 Welcome to Lent Meditation and Worship with Westside Church during this lentin season. Meet us here each day as we read scripture, worship, and rest in the presence of God together. Know that as you listen today, you are doing so with others, whether in the same places you are not. And we pray that the Holy Spirit permeates the places we each find ourselves in right now. For more resources and to find each week's prayer and song, visit westside church.org/lent. Let us start today by clearing our minds and opening our hearts to what the Lord wants to speak to us through His word. Take a deep breath in and out, and another in and out.
Speaker 1 00:01:00 One of the reasons we observe the season of Lent is to prepare ourselves as Easter approaches through repentance. It is a time when we come face to face and grapple with our own brokenness and sinfulness our humanity. And again, recognize our great need for a savior. Life is a rollercoaster with a lot of ups and a lot of downs that we can lose ourselves in to participate in Lent as a season of self-reflection. And repentance gives us space to reintegrate our bodies and souls in light of the view of the gift Jesus bestowed upon us a second chance, an eternal life. Our God is the God of second chances. God's people spent centuries walking away from him and then coming back just do it all over again. And yet he still wouldn't leave them or us in the dark alone. Jesus came to earth to bring us into the light with him. And even as we continue to sin day after day, we are given another opportunity to choose differently, to choose life, to choose the way of Jesus. In Psalm 51, we read as David grieves, his own sinful choices, the cry of his repentant heart and his ask for a second chance. David sin irreparably changed his and other people's lives and he still comes before the Lord. Not only asking forgiveness, but also for a changed heart. Let's read Psalm 51 together.
Speaker 1 00:03:03 Look on me with a heart of mercy, oh God, according to your generous love, according to your great compassion, wipe out every consequence of my shameful crimes thoroughly Wash me inside and out of all my crooked deeds. Cleanse me from my sins. For I am fully aware of all I have done wrong and my guilt is there staring me in the face. It was against you and only you that I sinned for. I have done what you say is wrong, right before your eyes. So when you speak, you are in the right. When you judge, your judgments are pure and true. For I was guilty from the day I was born, a sinner from the time my mother became pregnant with me. But still you. Long to enthone truth throughout my being in unseen places deep within me, you show me wisdom. Cleanse me of my wickedness with hiss up and I will be clean.
Speaker 1 00:04:16 If you wash me, I will be wider than snow. Help me hear joy and happiness as my accompaniment. So my bones, which you have broken, will dance in delight. Instead, cover your face so you will not see my sins and erase my guilt from the record. Create in me a clean heart, oh God, restore within me a sense of being brand new. Do not throw me far away from your presence and do not remove your Holy Spirit from me. Give back to me the deep delight of being saved by you. Let your willing spirit sustain me. If you do, I promise to teach rebels your ways and helps sinners find their way back to you. Free me from the guilt of murder, of shedding a man's blood, oh God, who saves me. Now my tongue, which was used to destroy, will be used to sing with deep delight of how right and just you are. Oh Lord, pry open my lips that this mouth will sing joyfully of your greatness. I would surrender my dearest possessions or destroy all that I prize to prove my regret. But you don't take pleasure and sacrifices or burnt offerings. What sacrifice I can offer you is my broken spirit because of broken spirit, oh God, a heart that honestly regrets the past. You won't detest.
Speaker 1 00:06:00 Are you ready for a second chance? Sometimes we feel as though we are outside of the grace of God that we don't deserve the second chance. But let me remind you here today, you will never be outside the grace of God. He has forgiven and will continue to over and over again. Take courage today. Bring your sins before him and accept the forgiveness and grace he gives so freely. Let's step into freedom together today. Will you pray with me? Righteous God In humility and repentance, we bring our failures in caring, helping, and loving. We bring the pain we have caused others. We bring the injustice on society of which we are a part to the transforming power of your grace. Give us the courage to accept the healing you offer and to turn again toward the sunrise of your reign that we may walk with you in the promise you have willed for all the children of the earth and have made known to us in Christ Jesus. Amen. Amen.
Speaker 2 00:07:38 Everything before you I created
Speaker 0 00:08:01 Me
Speaker 2 00:08:03 Heart bringing you my broken heart, asking for a brand new God. I, to me, uh, he's extravagant. He's a, he's extra. You welcome eyes.
