Mt. Lebanon United Presbyterian Church     
 
Pastor Tim Janiszewski - "The Journey Isn't Over"

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Messages of Grace

(Past Recorded Sermons) 














 
This Sunday
June 12, 2016



Sermon Title:
"When You Feel Far from Home"



Scripture:
Psalm 120
Picture
June 9, 2016
 
Dear MLEPC Members and Friends,
 
The Journey Isn't Over is the name of our summer sermon series (June 12--August 28), which will be based on Psalms 120 through 134. Why this name for the series? If you look at the title to each of these psalms, you'll see the words "A Psalm of Ascent." These psalms or songs are thought to have been sung by the people of God as they journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the three great feasts of Israel--Passover, Pentecost, and Rosh Hashanah or New Years. The Jewish people had a habit of always saying that they were traveling "up" to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple because it was situated at a high elevation and it figuratively was a place of highest worship. So the people sang these Psalms of Ascent as they made their way up to the City of God.
 
As we shall see, these psalms are about much more than passing the time as religious pilgrims travelled up to Jerusalem for high festival days of worship. They are about life itself. We travel on a journey through this world with the desire that, at its conclusion, we shall ascend to the Presence of our Savior Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God our Father. We therefore need to make these "songs of the road" into ones that we sing as we walk through our lives to our intended final destination--the New Jerusalem of God coming down from heaven (Revelation 3:12, 21:2).
 
There is one striking difference between Jewish pilgrims taking a trip up to Jerusalem and our making our journey through life. The ancient travelers knew when their trip would conclude as they saw coming into view before them the gold plated roofs of the Temple on Mt. Zion, glistening in the sun. We however don't know when our life's journey will end. It may come after length of days for many who live long into their eighties and nineties. It may arrive in mid-life, as was the case for our church member Tori Campbell who recently died at age 46. And for some, it comes far too soon as we remember young people and children who pass early from this world. For some of us who read these words, our journey may not be over for decades; for others it may be imminent.
 
As we make our way through these summer Sundays with the Psalms of Ascent, I encourage us to think about our life's journey. As long as we live, the journey isn't over, and these psalms can help us to travel well each day. But let's always travel with the end in view. We are preparing along the way to come before God, in whose Presence we look to celebrate with festival joy forever and ever.
 
Are you getting ready to journey? Then please join us on Sunday morning all summer long!
 
Pastor Tim

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