Forest Park Church Sermons

In this psalm, we encounter four groups who found themselves in exile, each facing different conditions because of their rebellion against the Lord. Each group cried out to the Lord in their trouble. Because the Lord is good and His steadfast love endures forever, He did not abandon them but delivered them. Thus, the psalmist calls the people of God to respond to the Lord’s deliverance with thanksgiving and meditation on His steadfast love.

Psalm 96 reminds us that God is worthy of our worship not only because of what He does, but because of who He is. It calls us to delight in His greatness, share the hope of His salvation with others, and rest in the confidence that He reigns over all things. Even in an uncertain world, we can rejoice knowing that our righteous and faithful King is in control and will one day make all things right.

The psalmist laments his separation from God and his life among his enemies. He longs for the Lord, wrestles with the thought that God may have forgotten him, and cries out for vindication so he can return to the Lord's presence. This psalm teaches us, in difficult circumstances, to long for the Lord, remember his provision, and address our souls with the truth of the gospel. For the Lord is present in our difficult circumstances, and ultimate deliverance and joy are found in His presence. 

The doctrine of the Trinity is the most important doctrine that many never think about, and for many it seems like a very confusing math problem. Yet from Scripture we learn that God is one; there is only one God. But God reveals Himself in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, yet the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, and the Spirit is not the Father. Why does all this matter?

Psalm 46:1–11 reminds us that God is our sure refuge andstrength in every circumstance. When life feels unstable and the world around us seems to be falling apart, God remains present, powerful, and unshaken. The psalm calls us to trust Him instead of our fears, knowing that He is sovereignover nature, nations, and every challenge we face. Through Christ, we find ultimate security, peace, and hope. Rather than running to temporary sources of comfort, we are invited to make God our dwelling place, resting in His presenceand remembering His promise: “The Lord of hosts is with us.”

Psalm 32 is considered a penitential psalm with wisdomelements. It is also a thanksgiving psalm, as the worshipers give thanks to God for the joy of having their sins forgiven. The range of emotional experience spans sorrow that leads to confession and joy and thanksgiving when forgiveness is experienced, which in turn leads to worship. We will learn that only the forgiven are joyful, and thus we must confess our sins freely.

Psalm 1 serves as the gateway to the entire book of Psalms, emphasizing that the goal of worship is covenant faithfulness when God’s people embrace God’s covenant instruction. There is a stark contrast between two types of people, two fruits, and two outcomes. We will learn that the truly happy person recognizes that he receives God’s grace. Because of God’s initiating grace, he meditates on God’s law, a gracious gift that shapes his life. 

What is God? A question that everyone answers differently. For some, God is an inexpressible feeling, a small voice, or an invisible force or energy. However, for God to be truly God, we do not define Him; He defines Himself. Through His word, God tells us that He is the creator of everyone and everything. If that is true, we must submit to God’s rule and authority, depend on Him to sustain us, and worship Him alone. 

The reader of the book of Proverbs has been continually instructed to find this woman called wisdom. He might be asking himself, “Who is she? What is her name? Where can I find her? How does she live?” The poem in Proverbs 31 shows us what this woman called wisdom looks like by more accurately depicting what she does through the way she lives. We will learn four principles for how wisdom lives in everyday life. 

There is a false perception that growing in wisdom requires doing or participating in the extraordinary. But what if wisdom is not found in the extraordinary, but in the mundane, ordinary parts of life? What if growing in wisdom can be part of your ordinary, boring life? It can, and we will learn that growing in wisdom requires diligence in the mundane.