Embracing a Life of Repentance – Part 2

Psalm 25 July 16, 2023 preached by Pastor Doug Cooper Download Time of Reflection Quotations “A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin again after each stumble – because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, […]

Psalm 25

July 16, 2023

preached by Pastor Doug Cooper

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“A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin again after each stumble – because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out. The good news is we can take it one day at a time; in following Jesus He is slowly making us new, a process that will take us the rest of our lives and won’t be complete until we arrive and see His glorious face. We aren’t dependent on ourselves to be righteous, but rather by turning from ourselves to Him day after day we allow Him to perform His work on us, and through us.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British author, lay theologian, and Christian apologist.

“We need daily, personal, sincere repentance in the spirit of the gospel. Repentance that lays hold of the mercy of God in Christ. The kingdom of heaven is marked by repentance.”

~ David Dickson (1583–1663), Scottish minister and theologian

“The gospel is for every day and every moment. Repentance is to be the Christian’s continual posture.”

~ David Mathis, contemporary pastor and professor

“When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”

“May a merciful God preserve me from a Christian Church in which everyone is a saint! I want to be and remain in the church and little flock of the fainthearted, the feeble and the ailing, who feel and recognize the wretchedness of their sins, who sigh and cry to God incessantly for comfort and help, who believe in the forgiveness of sins.”

~ Martin Luther (1483-1546), German professor of theology, author and seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation

Psalm 25 (ESV)

1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, in you I trust;

let me not be put to shame;

let not my enemies exult over me.

3 Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

teach me your paths.

5 Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your steadfast love remember me,

for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

8 Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

10 All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11 For your name’s sake, O Lord,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

12 Who is the man who fears the Lord?

Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

13 His soul shall abide in well-being,

and his offspring shall inherit the land.

14 The friendship[b] of the Lord is for those who fear him,

and he makes known to them his covenant.

15 My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

17 The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

bring me out of my distresses.

18 Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

19 Consider how many are my foes,

and with what violent hatred they hate me.

20 Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!

Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for you.

22 Redeem Israel, O God,

out of all his troubles.