Today is the day that the Lord has made and be glad in it. Amen. Today truly is a new day dawning for Peace Church. If you didn't know this, this year, Peace Church actually turns 60 years old. This June, we're going to have a worship night celebrating that, but we turn 60 this year. But I'll be honest with you.

Today feels like a new birth. Today stands as a testament to God's faithfulness to this church. Not just because, as Pastor John said, not just not just because we have more sticks and bricks or more steel and concrete and cement. Or not even because we have more space, what we have is a new opportunity, a new day dawning to do even more ministry in the name of Jesus Christ. That's who we are all about here. Amen. So let's celebrate today for what it is. It's a new day dawning. So let me ask you this. Who here is a morning person or who here is a night person? You're the first service. So I think I probably know, but let me just see real quick.

Who's here. The morning people. Yeah. Well, let me see night people. Where are you at night people? I used to think of myself as a night person. I used to be young and hip. I used to go to movies that started after eight o'clock PM. Crazy. If I'm not home by eight o'clock PM, I'm grumpy the entire next day. I, in my old age, I've become a morning person. Here's the point, whether you are. Hear me, every day is a day to be reminded

of all that we have through God and Jesus. Whether you enjoy the morning or night, every day is a reminder of God's goodness to us. So let's be reminded of that right here and right now. Would you please turn to the book of Lamentations. Lamentations chapter three,

if you wanna use the Bible to be provided, we always have those available for you. Grab those at any point. That's on page 873. Now, lamentations, what even is that word? It comes from the word lament.

What is a lament? Lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. You see, the book of Lamentations was more than likely it doesn't specifically say, but more than likely Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah and was written in response to the destruction of God's city, Jerusalem. In 586 BC, Babylon came in and destroyed God's city, Jerusalem.

We talked about this a few months ago, if you remember, if you're with us, when we walked through the book of Obadiah. Obadiah was also in response to the destruction of God's city. But what we see here is the prophet Jeremiah looks upon what's happened. He looks at the desolation of the city. In all likelihood, he's probably seeing people

carted off into exile. Jeremiah looks at what's happening, and he weeps, and he cries, and he laments over what's happening. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, this is an odd book. Lamentations is an odd book to preach from

on what is to be a day of celebration. But here's what I'd tell you. Here's what Lamentation reminds us of. Lamentation reminds us that it's not primarily the circumstances of our lives that causes us to give thanks to God. We give thanks to God for who He is and what He's done for us, and even more so now that we know the light of the gospel of Jesus.

So, whether we are lamenting over the fall of the city or we are celebrating a new sanctuary. We worship God for who He is. And so let's read our Bibles. Would you please stand if you are able for the reading of God's Word? The Word of the Lord, Lamentations chapter 3, verses 22 to 23.

Would you hear God's Word?

word. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Amen. This is God's word. Let's pray and we'll continue. Let's pray together. Father in heaven above, thank you for this new day dawning. A day that seemed like it was a long time coming. But father, by your good timing, it is here, here and now we pray, Father, that you would send the Holy Spirit to be with us now as we worship you and as we learn from your word for it's in Jesus

name that we pray these things and everyone said, amen and amen. You may have a seat. I'm curious. Have you picked out this seat as your new seat from here on out? I I'm really like right now my mind's really being messed with because I'm seeing nine o'clock people, nine thirty people sit where eight o'clock people sat and eight o'clock people feeling like you're not in the state. I'm just as disoriented as you are. I'm just saying that, OK? So today we're going to study God's Word. We are at the start of a new season, the dawning of a new day. This is a day to think about all

that we have in God every day. I want today to be a reminder of what you have every day in God. So let me give you this one main thought to work through here today, and it's simply this. This new day dawning reminds us of what we have every day in Christ, God's love, God's mercy, and God's faithfulness. And everyone said, Amen. So let's spend a few moments celebrating this by being reminded of what we have in Christ. And church, if you know me, you probably guessed I was going to preach from the Old Testament on day one of the new worship service.

And so we are. This passage, I want to pull out three things from these two verses. And the first one is this. This new day dawning reminds us of God's unfaltering love. Our passage starts out, always, if you have them,

keep your Bibles open. It says this, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. Now, if there's one thing that I need to work on in my life, if there's one thing I really need the Holy Spirit for, and men, you can tell me if you sympathize with this, if there's one thing in my life I really need help with,

it's patience.

I thought I was a patient man.

I thought I was a patient man until I had children. And then I just realized then how annoying it is to have to say the same thing twice. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Like in this day and age where kids' face are in a screen, you're trying to get their attention,

it's like trying to get the attention of a rock. Just not gonna happen. So you say, hey kids, go wash your hands, get ready for dinner.

Okay, now I have to say it twice.

Holy Spirit, now I need you. Kids, go get ready for dinner, go wash your hands. And like they're coming out of like comatose,

like what?

Don't make me say it a third time. I realized after having kids how annoying it is to have to say things multiple times.

I need God's patience.

But then I see the Bible and I see how many times God has to repeat himself until we get the message. God can't just say it once, he has to say it multiple times because guess what? You are just like kids with an iPad in their face. You need God to say it multiple times because for some reason we don't listen the first time. The verse says, the steadfast love of the Lord. It says that. And then look at the second

half. The second half of this one verse, the steadfast love of the Lord, it never ceases. God's word says it twice. The love of God is steadfast and it's unceasing. Do you hear this? God's love is unfaltering. It's enduring. It's endless. It's unwavering. His love for his people is something that does not tire. It does not grow weak. It does not falter. It's unstoppable. God has unfaltering love. Here at Peace Church, if you are new, hearty, hearty welcome to you. But one thing you need to know about Peace Church is that we will speak the truth here.

Amen? Now, listen, we always seek to do this in love. We speak the truth in love. We will not shy away from hard and unpopular truths. But again, I want to emphasize, we always seek to do this in love. So that's the motivation of our heart, to share God's truth in God's love.

And so, I just happen to believe it's more loving to be truthful. Anybody agree with me? It's more loving to be clear, even if it's hard to hear. And so let me give you a clear, hard truth that may be hard for some of us to hear this morning.

I'm gonna give you a truth bomb here.

Prepare your heart.

The greatest movie of all time is the Princess Bride. I don't care what you think. Facts are facts. Jack greatest movie ever produced in cinema. One of the best lines that comes from this movie is when Wesley, he saves princess buttercup. See the princess. I'm sure you've seen the movie. She was forced to be engaged to an evil prince, but she loves Wesley and he loves her. But she thought that Wesley had died at sea years ago. So when Wesley returns and he saves her

and he finds out that she's engaged to another man, he says to her, I told you I'd always come for you. Why didn't you wait for me? And she goes, well, you were dead.

Do you remember how he responds?

You see the movie, remember how he responds? This is amazing. This is the type of romance a man can get behind. He says this, he says, death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

My friends, that's the gospel truth right there. Death being unable to stop true love is seen most powerfully in the gospel. For God so loved the world that he sent his son to die for us so that we could be cleansed from our sins, that we might know

God's unfaltering love. Death only delayed Christ for three days. From the third day after his death, Jesus Christ rose from the dead in what is to date the most important event in all of human history. Death cannot stop true love. When Wesley says this, when he says to her, death cannot stop true love, Buttercup, the princess, responds by saying, I'll never doubt again.

My friends, the unfaltering love that God has given us, that we have seen through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, when you understand this, may you never doubt again. May you never doubt God's love for you. The cross is God's great I love you to a world that's rejecting him.

Lamentations chapter 3 verse 22 says the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. In this we see God's unfaltering love, but our verse continues. Verse 22 continues it says, his mercies never come to an end. Verse 23, they are new every morning. And that's the second thing we're gonna see. This new day, Donnie, reminds us of God's unfading mercy.

You don't have to be in a Bible study very long before you come across Lamentations chapter three. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. So back to you morning people who here loves waking up to the smell of a home cooked breakfast. French toast, maple syrup, bacon, sausages, cinnamon rolls.

Listen here. I don't know how anyone can wake up in a bad mood when you wake up to the smell of a home cooked breakfast and all God's people said, amen. My friends, you wake up to something even better than a home-cooked breakfast every single morning. You wake up to God's new morning mercies every single day.

How could you ever wake up in a bad mood? When we wake up, we wake up to God's new morning mercies. They are new every day. Now, listen here. This doesn't mean that every day is going to be the best day of your life. Certainly not.

But what it does mean is that you wake up and the first thing you can know is that God has given you new mercies. Not old mercies, new ones. New ones that you need for this new day. And what's mercy? Mercy is getting what you do not deserve. What we do deserve is God's judgment for our sins, but what we get instead is God's goodness from his heart in the form of mercy. We get mercy from God. What we get is a constant reminder of God's love for us in the gospel and strength through the Holy Spirit. But listen here, don't forget the context of our passage. Don't forget what's

going on here. This passage was written after a foreign army came in and decimated God's country, God's people's country and the capital city. This passage was written as men, women, and children were probably being exiled, carted off in slavery, exiled into a new land, something they never, ever wanted, something they feared. How can Jeremiah say in the midst of this? How can he say his mercies never come to an end? They are new every morning.

I'll be honest with you. If I was part of that group back then, and this was happening to me and Jeremiah comes on the scene and says, God's mercies are new every morning. I'll be honest with you. I'd be like, hey, yo, Jeremiah, nothing about what you are saying or writing feels true right now.

I don't feel God's mercies. In fact, I feel God's absence. My friend, this is where we must remind ourselves of something about God's mercies. And somebody who said it best was Pastor Paul David Tripp. I'm going to read you what he said about this passage.

He said, mercy not only meets you in your struggle, but guarantees that someday your struggle will end Mercy is what this sin broken world groans for Mercy triumphs where justice can't if God only offered justice. No one would run to him Isn't it is the knowledge of his mercy that makes us honestly face ourselves and gladly run to him Sometimes these new morning mercies come on days like today, where we stand in joy and happiness and celebration, a day marked by newness and gladness. But sometimes those mercies come on different

sorts of days, not on glad days, but gloomy ones. And in those days, we have to remember this one thing, the gospel, the gospel, where God's love, justice and mercy collide. And it's called grace. And we see this through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and therein lies our hope, no matter what the day brings. The gospel shows us this one last thought,

that God has unfailing faithfulness to us. It's unfailing. Verse 23 says, great is your faithfulness. Or probably, how it should be said, great is thy faithfulness. It's almost like it should have been written

in the old English, right? When Jeremiah's world has literally fallen apart, he is writing a book of sorrow and lament that will echo through the ages. And yet in the midst of this, Jeremiah still says, great is your faithfulness,

great is thy faithfulness. And yes, it reminds us of that old him. Great is thy faithfulness. Oh, God, my father, there is no shadow of turning with thee. Thou changes not thy compassions. They fail not as thou has been thou forever will be great is thy faithfulness. Morning by morning, new mercies I see. Did you know that that him draws his inspiration right from this passage. Do you understand what we are saying, what we are singing when we say, great is thy faithfulness?

It's unfailing. It will not fail you, meaning God will never fail or compromise his promises towards us, his love that he's given to us, the hope that he extends to us. Not even death could stop God's faithfulness towards us. We can stand here in a new room that God has most certainly provided for us. We can confidently say, Lord, great is your faithfulness. But I'll tell you now, this new room was built

to declare that the tomb is empty. That is why we are here. And if you wonder about God's faithfulness, it is seen through the resurrection of Jesus after he gave up his blood so that we could have life forever more. When Christ died, it was a dark day, but that dark day led to a new day dawning, where three days later, when the love of God, the truth of Christ, and the hope of salvation was made secure in his resurrection. Yes, Peace Church family and friends, I most certainly say to you on this day, this new day dawning reminds us of what we have every day in Christ, God's love, mercy, and faithfulness.

Amen. Amen.

Let's pray.

And then we'll celebrate this love, mercy, and faithfulness by having communion together. And then we'll celebrate this love, mercy, and faithfulness by having communion together. Let's pray together.