August 23, 2026

You can find the order of worship and songs here.

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In Isaiah 51:1–3 the LORD says, "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD…" But who are these people the LORD addresses here? They are the same people who said in Isaiah 49:14 "The Lord has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." They were living through national and personal crises. Sometimes crushed hearts voice despair with words that sound like unbelief. But while despair and unbelief can sound similar, they are not the same thing. Their very struggle to hold on to God, long after many have mocked the very idea of trusting God, is precious to God. The Servant says to them, "Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD…"

The LORD knows their terrible struggles, and speaks to sustain them: "Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him." Dreams are for the young. When God called Abram and Sarai, they were already old and their barrenness too undeniable. They no longer even daydreamed about having a child. The best they could wish for was for one of Abram's servant to become their heir. But God promised Abraham, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them…So shall your offspring be." And Abram "believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness."

And now the LORD says "Look to Abraham…" What is impossible with man is no hindrance to God. 51:3 "For the LORD comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the LORD". God will bring life where there is none, and fruitfulness where there is only barrenness. Wilderness will become like Eden and "joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song." The sense that we are at the end of our road, that the future is only bleak and hopeless, is paralyzing. But do you think the LORD who made a nation of people out of an old barren couple even knows the meaning of words like "impossible" or "hopeless"? By no means!

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Growth Resources

In August we are reading "Flourish: How the Love of Christ Frees Us from Self-Focus" by Lydia Brownback. See also 12 for 26.

Announcements

The mid-week Bible study will resume in September with Daniel.

Sunday school lessons will resume in September.

Thank you for your continued support of Grace Fallbrook (PCA). Your loving support makes the proclamation of the gospel and the building up of the saints possible. Please visit gracefallbrook.church/give and click on "Give Online Now." You will be directed to the PCA Foundation where you can give towards Grace Fallbrook (PCA).

This Week's Prayers

Please email your prayer request by Thursday to include it in the list for the upcoming week — info@gracefallbrook.church