Sermons on Psalms (Page 5)
Sam, Nate, Mack and Papa
Sam, Nate, Mack and Papa 2nd Sunday of Epiphany 1 Samuel 3: 1-10 January 17, 2021 Psalm 139: 1-6, 13-18; John 1: 43-51 The human brain is a wonder. The mind and its ability to capture ideas and concepts. And perhaps its greatest ability is that no one can perceive the thoughts of another person. Our thoughts are truly our own until we choose to share them in one way or another. No other person knows what truly goes on…
Christmas Has Just Begun
Psalm 148 December 27, 2020 Colossians 3:12-17 I want you to imagine that you are going to a really wonderful concert. You’ve been standing in line for a long time, and the outside speakers have been playing music from the featured group to really get you in the mood for the concert. Vendors have been moving up and down the line, selling souvenirs that focus on this concert, and your whole group is loaded up with fun items. The expectations…
To See the Blessings
Psalm 100 Ephesians 1:15-23 There’s an old song I know, much-loved but not much-used any more. The refrain goes like this: “Count your blessings, Name them one by one; Count your blessings, See what God hath done; Count your blessings, name them one by one; Count your many blessings, See what God hatch done.” See what God has done. We’re coming up to Thanksgiving Day here shortly—a day with plenty of traditions and expectations—a day when many of our familiar routines will…
The Joy of Labor
The Joy of Labor 13th Pentecost Psalm 105:1-6 August 30, 2020 Romans 12:9-21 Most of you know the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and how they disobeyed God and basically got kicked out of the Garden. Eve was told that her punishment would be that her pains in childbirth were going to be increased, and Adam was now going to have to earn his food with hard labor. His punishment is described like this: “Cursed is…
Sent to Foreigners – Joseph
Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 Last week, I talked about our Family of Faith—a family that stretches back for thousands of years. We have lots of characters in our family, some embarrassing events, and a number of miraculous events—but our Scriptures are full of this family history! Today, I want to talk about an early event in the life of our family, one that shows how to put the FUN in dysFUNctional! And I want to explore how God can use EVEN…
Empowered Despite Grief
Empowered Despite Grief 9th Pentecost Psalm 17:1-7, 15 Matthew 14:13-21 Friends, you and I are one chapter in a l-o-n-g story—the story of God’s work in this world. There have been some pretty embarrassing chapters about our spiritual ancestors—painfully recorded in Scripture. And there have been some funny moments—like when Peter saw Jesus walking on the water, and asked him to call him out of the boat and walk on water as well. When he suddenly realized that he was walking on water, he started…
Trustworthy Shepherd
Trustworthy Shepherd 4th Easter Psalm 23 John 10:1-10 Have you ever been a shepherd? How about a pretend shepherd in a nativity play, all dressed up in an old bathrobe with a piece of cloth on your head and a tall staff in your hand? In our church family, not many of us have ever actually tended sheep, but the lexicon of our faith is rich with shepherds! In the Old Testament, we have some big characters who tended sheep. Moses was tending…
The Joy of God with Us
The JOY of God-With-Us 4th Advent Isaiah 7:10-16 Ps. 80:1-7, 17-19 Matt. 1:18-25 Those of us who have had toddlers remember a phase our kids went through. I call it the “I do it!” phase, because kids begin to understand that they are capable of things they were never able to do before, and they INSIST on doing them! “I do it!” It’s an important step in the continuous process of becoming independent and creative. However, there are milestones along the…
A Snapshot of Heaven
A Snapshot of Heaven 22nd Pentecost Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21 Luke 20:27-38 I know that many of you are already familiar with the story of little Colton Burpo. When he almost died in surgery, he reportedly took a little trip to heaven and got a glimpse of what awaits us! He was so little, the memories of his experience came out in brief snippets over a period of many months. He says that, while in heaven, he met members of his family…
With Understanding Comes Life
November 3, 2019 With Understanding Comes Life 21st Pentecost Psalm 119:137-144 November 3, 2019 Luke 19:1-10 Have you noticed how human beings have a tendency to “pigeonhole” other people? You know, find a little box in which we can neatly place others according to their “category.” I was talking to some pretty savvy high school students 10 or 12 years ago, and I asked them to identify the different groups they saw on campus. Here is a sample of their list…
Chained to the Rock
Chained to the Rock 20th Pentecost Psalm 65 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 While I was serving in Elko, I was invited to be a guest speaker at a class at the local community college, Great Basin College. The class was entitled “The Meaning of Life.” This seminar group had been reading a variety of sources, and talking at length about what gives life significance and, of course, how they could live life more deeply. I was asked to come and share “the Christian perspective”…
Godliness and Contentment
September 29, 2019 Godliness with Contentment 16th Pentecost Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Sept. 29, 2019 Luke 16:19-31 If I had to name ONE thing that describes what Christian Faith is all about, I would have to say IT’S ABOUT LIVING THE GOOD LIFE! Really! Think about it—all of the concepts and components, all the principles and promises, all the encouragements and examples point in the same direction: how to “live large” in every aspect of life! After all, Jesus did say “I have come that you might…