Revive Us Again

Sermon Text

Will you not revive us again, so that your people may rejoice in you?
—Psa. 85:6

There is an urgent need for revival in this new millennium. At the 2001 Annual Conference, the worship services will focus our attention on the need for revival in God's church in our time.

Over the years, revival brings out the fact that God often acts in unusual ways. He promotes revival and keeps it going through people who sometimes regard themselves as unimportant in God's church. This involves every member of the church everywhere. Those who are fortunate enough to be involved in what God is doing must be people of brokenness, humility, repentance, and utter obedience.

Someone has written . . .
• Churches grow warmer through fellowship.
• Churches grow deeper through discipleship.
• Churches grow stronger through worship.
• Churches grow broader through ministry.
• Churches grow larger through evangelism.

Our individual and united prayer should be, "Lord, revive us again so that we may be warmer through our fellowship, deeper through Spirit-led discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through our ministries, and larger through our evangelistic efforts."

In the name of our Lord and Savior, every member of the Church of the Brethren—young, middle-aged, and senior—is called to commit to a life of radical Christian discipleship. Let us be challenged to place Christ first and foremost in our lives and to make him truly the sovereign of our hearts. When God's fire is burning in our hearts, healing and restoration take place. We develop a thirst for things of the Lord and a stronger desire to reach out and touch others in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ. When sin and complacency find a comfortable resting place in God's house and among God's people, we become ineffective and no longer what our Father intended us to be.

God can do it again! Let revival begin in me and you and spread to every one of us. Let us pray that God will revive us again as we . . .

• Reach out to the poor and the disenfranchised.
• Become actively involved in speaking out against child abuse, spousal conflicts, and all forms of violence.
• Listen more intentionally to God's voice as he calls us to ministry.

The songwriter wrote:
Revive us again, fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
Hallelujah! Thine the glory, Hallelujah! Amen;
Hallelujah! Thine the glory; Revive us again.

Phill Carlos Archbold
Annual Conference Moderator