The Trails Church

Psalm 56 provides a song to sing when we feel pulled between fear and faith. Though David is surrounded by enemies in hot pursuit of his life, he purposefully puts his trust in God. Here we learn not only how we might trust God in the face of fear but are also given reasons why we should. We will outline our passage with two great comforts drawn from this text that are meant to either calm your current fears or prepare your heart for the next time you might say, “When I Am Afraid.” These twin comforts are: 1. My God is With Me, and 2. My God is For Me.

Psalm 55 is a prayer of David as the burdens of life pressed down hard upon him. While he honestly sings of the sting of being betrayed by a close friend, he also sings of the healing balm of his faithful God. As we explore this song where David describes a specific situation in his life, my prayer is that it would both instruct and equip each of us in many situations in our lives how to, “Cast Your Burden on the Lord.” We will organize our thoughts under three headings: 1. The Wings of Prayer, 2. The Cry of Deliverance, and 3. The Heart of God.

1 Peter 2:4-5 contains an inspiring description of the identity and purpose of the church. After anchoring us in the glorious gospel, the apostle builds a framework for the church to understand the role and responsibility we have been given. These verses construct a concise understanding of what it means for us to be God’s “Spiritual House.” We will organize our thoughts under three headings as we survey these blueprints to discover how the church is: 1. Built on the Foundation of Christ, 2. Shaped into a Spiritual House, 3. Fashioned into a Royal Priesthood.

Here is David, once again, facing adversity not of his own making, and as a gift to us, we have a window into how David dealt with this adversity before God. Tim Keller said in an interview that the psalms can essentially be summed up in “Lord, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not my will but thine be done… except the psalms give you 150 versions of how you actually get your heart to be able to say that.” That is obviously too broad a brush; not all psalms fit under that rubric, but many do, and we are certainly in a stretch here that fit perfectly. So that is what we will look at this morning - we will look at this righteous man, fleeing for his life, betrayed by people that he’s done no wrong, and we’ll look at how he responds to it and ask what we should learn from it. We will walk through this under three main headers - first, “A Righteous Man’s Prayer” in verses 1-3, then “A Righteous Man’s Confidence” in verses 4-5, and finally, “A Righteous Man’s Praise” in verses 6-7.

Guilty Hearts on Trial: Psalm 53 (1) An Accusation is Made – 53:1, (2) A Witness is Called – 53:2-3, and (3) A Verdict is Rendered (almost) – 53:4-5

Psalm 127:1-2 teaches us that God is the builder, protector, and sustainer of our lives and our life together as a church. It contrasts two ways of living, one overflowing with God’s grace and another that is plagued with anxious toil. We will shape the sermon by two prayers, benedictions to pray for each of us individually and for our church collectively. 1. May the Lord Build us and Bless Us, 2. May the Lord Keep Us and Give Us Peace.

Psalm 52 is a song written by King David when all around seemed to be marked by suffering and sorrow. People he loved were killed, people who hated him prospered, and evil appeared to have won the day. In this moment, David reminds himself and us of the steadfast love of God, the perfect justice that one day will come, and confesses his desire to bear fruit in his life. I have titled this Psalm “Like a Green Olive Tree,” a phrase found at the end of our text and will outline the passage by the divisions you will notice on the page tracing three specific themes: 1. The Root and the Fruit, 2. A Harvest of Judgment, 3. Flourishing in Every Season.

Acts 8:26–40 contains a God-ordained, Christ-exalting, Spirit-led gospel conversation between two people. The path of the Philip the Evangelist is crossed by an Ethiopian eunuch in a search to understand Scripture. The result is nothing less than remarkable as Philip shares “The Good News About Jesus.”

In Acts 8:4–25 contrasts two kinds of spiritual work: one in which the Spirit of God blesses the effort and the other which the Lord resists. These verses detail the beginning of the Gospel spreading into Samaria and the joy that it brought and reveal that those who desire to minister to others in the power of God must do “The Lord’s Work in the Lord’s Way.” We will outline our study by looking first at 1. The Joy of The Lord’s Work, second 2. The Necessity of the Lord’s Way, and finally 3. The Continuing Work of the Lord.

In Acts 7:54-8:3, Stephen becomes the first martyr of the Christian church. Enraged by his message, the religious leaders of Israel stone him and widespread persecution sweeps through the infant church. Yet, in the darkness of these moments, light breaks through clouds. This text shines the first light of Scripture on Saul (who later becomes Paul) and the church is said to scatter – taking with it the good news of the gospel. As we look at part two of this account of Stephen’s life and death, we will focus our attention first on The Stoning of a Messenger, and second, The Seed a Martyr.