Psalm 23:1-3

To Delete: Outline

Do not exceed 25 minutes, they’re tired!!!

Establish theme early!

Cast vision for the weekend!

Get people excited for the rest of the weekend

Use two to three engaging illustrations.

Have only one or two main points.

End with a reflective thought to carry on into the weekend.

Pray expectantly for the weekend.

Intro

Hey!!!!

It’s late, but God’s going to move tonight.

Intro Psalm 23 as one that needs no introduction.

But it is one that needs a little bit more re-engagement.

Discontentment in General:

Comparison

I don’t have as much … money, friends, success, respect… as this person or that person.

he fear of missing out on what others have… dissatisfaction

Unfulfilled Expectations

I should have it figured out by now.

Loneliness and Relational Struggles

Feel unseen, unloved, or lacking deep friendships… feeling like everyone around you doing alright and you’re falling through the cracks.

Seasons of Waiting

Waiting on a spouse, or a job, or a move, or an opportunity

Burnout and Exhaustion

Overworking to prove your worth or value

Lack of purpose or direction

You feel stuck or unfulfilled

Discontentment in God:

Unanswered prayers — “Is God really listening to me?” “Does God really care?”

Spiritual dryness — feel distant from God because reading Scripture feels robotic, empty

Sin and Shame -— “Why haven’t you just taken this from me, God? I don’t want it?!”

Spiritual Isolation — “I’m all alone, and there’s nobody to truly help me walk through this life.”

In all of these, what I hope you walk away with this evening, and even as you head into the rest of the messages this weekend is that:

God IS Leading You

And my hope, my prayer for you this weekend is that those of you who entered this room feeling:

Discontent and Insecure

Restless and fearful

Weary and anxious

Unsatisfied and uncertain

My hope is that you would leave with a renewed perspective that helps you to be Content and Confident.

As we dive into Psalm 23, we’ll learn why we can trust God in His provision for us, and why we can be confident in His love, and mercy, and goodness toward us.

Open your Bibles to Psalm 23.… Let’s Go!!!!

We’ll read the whole thing, but we’ll focus tonight on verses 1-3.

Let’s learn some cool things about God.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

We chase and we chase and we chase after mountaintop highs, but God forces you to lie down beside still waters. Beside quiet waters.

Quiet waters aren’t on the mountaintops. Snow melt always goes downhill and it gathers in the valleys.

God leads to the mountaintop on occasion, but the majority of life is lived in the valley.

Verse 3: He leads me on the paths of righteousness (the right paths)

straight, direct paths, leading to the end --> Green pastures, where there is rest and victory.

“What looks like a winding road to us is really a straight line to God.” - Pastor Nate

Illustration about a line?

Boot camp? Hiking past the barracks. We were SO CLOSE to the finish line, all we had to do was turn left, but we kept going.

God did this with Israel too. They were RIGHT outside the promised land, but God kept them in the desert for 40 more years because they needed more preparation; they weren’t ready to be done yet.