Time of Preparation
Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?
When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.
Assurance
In this third movement, we receive the good news of the gospel: we are forgiven.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.”
—Romans 5:1-2 (NIV)
Peace with God. That is the gift of the cross and the empty tomb. It means the distance between humanity and God has been bridged by the most amazing love in the universe.
And it is not a temporary peace. It’s not like our human truces, which are broken all the time, or our human cease-fires, which rarely live up to their name. The peace we have with God is eternal. That’s why Paul could write just a couple of chapters later:
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
—Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
That is the peace in which we now live, the grace in which we now stand. Child of God, know this truth and allow it to penetrate to the depths of your soul. Your sins are forgiven, your life has been made new, your peace is real and everlasting.
Today’s song sings of that peace. It is a simple, repetitious song declaring “There is peace where Christ is King.” Don’t let the simplicity of the song fool you, though—what it declares is remarkably profound.
SONG OF ASSURANCE: There Is Peace (lyrics here)