Thoughts On Sunday's Sermon

REFLECTION

It is always immensely edifying to interact with our Lord in the pages of the Psalms. It seems I almost always find them far richer than I originally expected, and so I am regularly surprised by our Lord whenever I find Him in the pages there.

Enter Psalm 121...what a rich text this is!

The flow of the text moves like this...

- Why does the psalmist look up?
- He looks up because he recognizes he needs help that he cannot find within himself
- Who does he find when he looks up?
- He finds the Lord when he looks up.
- Is the Lord able to help?
- Yes, the Lord is qualified to help like no one else.
- Why is the Lord qualified to help?
- He is qualified most foundationally because He is the MAKER of heaven and earth.
- He is further qualified because He is the ever alert WATCHMAN.
- How does the Lord help?
- The Lord helps by KEEPING.
- What does the Lord keep?
- The Lord keeps my MATERIAL NEEDS (He is the shade upon my right hand)
- The Lord keeps my SPIRITUAL NEEDS (He keeps me from evil.)
- The Lord keeps my PHYSICAL NEEDS (He keeps my life.)
- The Lord keeps my DIRECTIONAL NEEDS (He keeps my going out and my coming in)

So the questions everyone of us must ask are these...
-Do I trust Him with these areas of my life?
- Will I give Him control of these areas or will I hold on to them and try to direct them myself? - Do I believe He is MORE QUALIFIED than I am to direct my life?

MEDITATION

- I've always understood there were philosophical and scientific perspectives on the creation, but I'd never really thought about the theological implications of the creation. It was challenging for me to meditate on the way I understand creation and how that understanding impacts how I relate to God. In the pages of Scripture we read things like this...

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth
Isaiah 65:17

- God states that he will make new heavens and a new earth...but how is that possible if he didn't make this one?

For thus says the Lord,who created the heavens(he is God!),who formed the earth and made it(he established it;he did not create it empty,he formed it to be inhabited!):“I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Isaiah 45:18 (ESV)

Do you see how intimately connected are God's assertion of Lordship and His creative work? Can he truly be Lord over something if He didn't make it?

CORRECTION

I made this statement on Sunday in the sermon, and I wish I'd further clarified it.

"How can I believe God can make new heavens and a new earth if He didn't even make this yucky one?"

I should be clear that I don't believe God made this one yucky. He made it "very good." He made it "perfect." Our sin made it "yucky." The point was simply that if I don't believe God made this one, how can I possibly believe He could make a new one that will be infinitely better?

Welcome to the Blog! Hope to see you back soon!

How did God speak to you in the sermon on Sunday? What questions do you have?

Enjoying the Journey,
Pastor Dave