Sermons

Psalm 127

Big Idea: As We Trust In The Lord To Build The House We Can Rest In His Blessing Of It

Unless The Lord Builds It:

1) The Lord is the ultimate builder: depend on Him (v. 1-2)

2 wisdom warnings:
1) Without dependence on the Lord our working and watching is in vain (v. 1)

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:31

2) Without dependence on the Lord our activity and anxiety is in vain (v. 2)

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

2 antidotes for anxiety:
1) Trust the Lord to build it (v. 1)
2) Rest in the Lord as He watches over it (v. 1-2)

“Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.”
– Ecclesiastes 5:12

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
– Matthew 11:28-30

“Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.”
– 1 Peter 5:7

2) The Lord is the greatest Giver: delight in Him (v. 3-5)

2 Reasons To Delight In The Lord:
1) Because children are a blessing from the Lord (v. 3)

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
- Deuteronomy 6:6-9

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”
– Ephesians 6:4

The impact of faithfully stewarding the blessings of our children:
1) When neither parent attends church: 81% of children will likely not attend church as adults
2) When only the mother attends church regularly: 39% of children will likely attend church as adults
3) When both parents attend church regularly: 74% of children will likely attend church regularly as adults
4) When only the father attends church regularly: 67% of children will attend church regularly as adults

2) Because children are a source of security and protection from the Lord (v. 4-5)

“Honor your father and mother”
- Ephesians 6:2a

2 Corinthians 2:12-17

Big Idea: God’s Plan To Reach The People Around You With The Gospel… Is YOU!

1. God uses us in unideal circumstances. (12-13)

2. God uses us to spread His gospel. (14-17)

We are…
a. Not wandering, but led. (14a)
b. Not deodorant, but perfume. (14b-16)
c. Not paid salespeople, but satisfied customers. (17)

Psalm 126

Big Idea: Remembering What God Has Done Fuels Hope In What God Will Do When We Live On Mission For Him

“Missional Memory” means…

1) Remembering with joy what God has done. (1-3)

2) Resolving with hope to “GO" for God. (4-6)

Psalm 125

Big Idea: Even In A World Gone Crazy, God Secures His People

4 Comforts and a Caution:

Comfort #1: True believers are stable in the Lord. (1)

Comfort #2: True believers are surrounded by the Lord. (2)

Comfort #3: True believers are sustained through the Lord. (3)

Comfort #4: True believers are spoiled with the Lord. (4)

Caution: Make-believers will be separated from the Lord. (5)

Psalm 124

Big Idea: “Our Help Is In The Name Of The Lord!” (v. 8)

2 realities about living with the Lord on your side:
1. Living with the Lord on your side means living on the Lord’s side.
2. Living with the Lord on your side doesn’t guarantee a life of leisure.

Living with the Lord on your side involves…
1. Remembering the Lord in your circumstances. (1-5)
2. Rejoicing in the Lord and His sovereignty. (6-8)

3 reasons to rejoice in the sovereignty of God:
- Because the sovereignty of God protects our lives. (6)
- Because the sovereignty of God provides our escape. (7)
- Because the sovereignty of God preserves all things. (8)

Psalm 123

Big Idea: The Lord’s Mercy Sustains Us Faithfully When We Are Worn Out And Worn Down From Earthly Hostility And Adversity

The Sufficiency Of The Lord’s Mercy:

1) The problem: experiencing the ongoing scorn and contempt of the world (v. 3b-4)

How to persevere through earthly contempt:
1) Reset our expectations
2) Remember our Savior
3) Rest in God’s enduring faithfulness

“You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand… That all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hand.”
– 1 Samuel 17:45-47

4) Rejoice!

“Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that Christ is Jesus.”
– Acts 5:40-41

2) The solution: the enduring mercy of our sovereign Lord in the heavens (v. 1-3a)

In the difficulty:
1) Look up to the One enthroned and sovereign over every situation (v. 1-2)

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
– Hebrews 4:16

2) Cry out to the One Whose mercy is sufficient for every situation (v. 2b-3a)

Psalm 122

Big Idea: God’s People Gather Gladly With Appreciation For What He’s Done And Anticipation For What He’ll Do

1. God’s people gather with an attitude of gladness. (1-2)

2. God’s people gather with a posture of gratitude. (3-5)

3. God’s people gather with a longing for good. (6-9)

Psalm 121

Big Idea: Our Help Comes From The Lord, Our Maker And Our Keeper

Lift up my eyes to:

1) The Lord Who helps me (v. 1-2)

Look to the Lord because (v. 2):
1) The Lord is with me in it
2) The Lord is sovereign over it
3) The Lord will help me through it

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people, from this time forth and forevermore.”
– Psalm 125:2

2) The Lord Who keeps me (v. 3-8)

3 ways the Lord keeps us faithfully:
1) The Lord stabilizes us (v. 3-4)

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.”
– Psalm 37:23-24

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.”
– Jude 1:24-25

2) The Lord covers us (v. 5-6)

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.”
– Psalm 91:1-6

3) The Lord protects us (v. 7-8)

The Lord will protect us:
1) From all evil (v. 7a)
2) For all eternity (v. 7b)

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”
– Psalm 23:4-6

3) Throughout every moment (v. 8a)
4) Of every day (v. 8b)

Psalm 120:1-7

Big Idea: I Called And The Lord Answered

The God Who Answers:

1) Provides deliverance in my distress (v. 1-2)

“Then the Lord said, ‘I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land flowing with milk and honey…”
- Exodus 3:7-8a

2) Is trustworthy in my trials (v. 3-4)

“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
– Romans 12:17-19

3) Strengthens me in my sojourning (v. 5-7)

“Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions for the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”
– 1 Peter 2:11-12

My lament:
1) My turn to God:
2) My complaint to God:
3) My ask of God:
4) My trust in God:

1 John 5:13-21

Big Idea: Believing In Christ Gives Us Eternal Gospel Assurance Through Christ To Live Everyday With Confidence Walking With Christ

3 Gospel Assurances For Believers:

1) We know we have eternal life (v. 13)

2) We know God answers our prayers (v. 14-17)

If we ask anything according to God’s Will:
1) We know God hears us (v. 14-15)
2) We know God answers us (v. 15)

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
- Hebrews 4:16

3) We know we have a new way of life in Christ (v. 18-21)

Our new life in Christ:
1) We know we can have victory over sin (v. 18)

“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
– John 10:28

2) We know we have a new identity and family in God (v. 19)
3) We know God the Father and God the Son personally (v. 20-21)