Key Truth: We are called to lament, fast, pray, and worship to help us repent and cry out to the Creator along with the suffering chorus of Creation with hope in Christ.  

Introduction:

What does repentance look like outwardly in your life?

The Communal Call to Lament, Fast, Pray, and Worship:

Joel 1:13-14

“The current temporal judgment anticipates the great coming Day of the Lord. The servant of the Lord who knows the certainty of this divine sentence must lead the way with a response of personal repentance and prayer.”

Palmer Robertson, Prophet of the Coming Day of the Lord: The Message of Joel

Which means of grace do you make use of to aid you in repentance?
Have you practiced these with other people or invited other people into the process of repentance?

The Call to Cry Out to the Creator in the Suffering Chorus of Creation:

Joel 1:15-20

“All living creatures look to God for their food….The lowing and bleating of the cattle in their distress become their prayers to their Creator; it is joined to the prayer of the prophet himself (1:19). The locust plague had subjected that land, once flowing with milk and honey, to want, privation, and futility, so that the whole creation groans in its suffering, looking for redemption….If the ‘dumb’ animals could recognize the Creator’s judgment and might turn to him in prayer, could not Israel?”

Raymond Dillard, “Joel” in The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical & Expository Commentary, ed. by Thomas Edward McComiskey

Which way do you run when disciplined by your Heavenly Father?
Which Scriptures do you turn to comfort amidst God’s gracious discipline?

Application: 

Joel 1:13-20 teaches us that we are called to:
- lament, fast, pray, and worship to help us repent in Christ
- cry out to the Creator in the suffering chorus of Creation with hope in Christ

Baptism:

Genesis Blackman

Benediction:

Revelation 21:3-4