4.3.31 6.25.2017 Remember Psalm 77
Secret to a Super Summer • Sermon • Submitted
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· 39 viewsConstructive memories of God's dealing with His people help us to integrate our persona story, with all of it's questions and concerns with the arc of His redemptive story.
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Life can confuse and conflicts us filling our minds with questions and anxieties . Asaph the Psalmist understood and articulated this challenge to faith.
I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
The slower pace of summer allows for more reflection & remembrance.
The slower pace of summer allows for more reflection & remembrance.
Summer is full of days set aside for such deliberative actions.
Summer is full of days set aside for such deliberative actions.
It is up to each of us to use that time of reflection constructively.
2 Engage: Recently I came across a quotation by American author Tobias Wolf that captures our dilemma "Memory is the story. Memories are what makes us." Quoted on The Writer's Almanac 6.19.2017
2 Engage: Recently I came across a quotation by American author Tobias Wolf that captures our dilemma "Memory is the story. Memories are what makes us." Quoted on The Writer's Almanac 6.19.2017
• 2 Engage: Recently came across a quotation by American author Tobias Wolf that captures our dilemma "Memory is the story. Memories are what makes us." Quoted on The Writer's Almanac 6.19.2017
Recently I came across a quotation by American author Tobias Wolf that captures our dilemma
"Memory is the story. Memories are what makes us." Quoted on The Writer's Almanac 6.19.2017
"Memory is the story. Memories are what makes us." Quoted on The Writer's Almanac 6.19.2017
What about your story?
What about your story?
Do you reflect on the Biblical Saga of God’s love and allow it to frame your story?
Do you reflect on the Biblical Saga of God’s love and allow it to frame your story?
Or are you so caught up in trying to fly solo that you neglect the bigger faith story we each can be a part of.
Our story
Our story
• 3 Expand: Our story. God’s story. The process of redemption is the process of bringing the two stories together as one.
God’s story.
God’s story.
The process of redemption is the process of bringing the two stories together as one.
The process of redemption is the process of bringing the two stories together as one.
• 4 Excite:
This is possible when our doubts,
This is possible when our doubts,
our anxieties, our questions;
our anxieties, our questions;
everything about our story
everything about our story
collapses into HIS Story.
collapses into HIS Story.
As you remember the past to form the present, as you contemplate the crisis and chaos of contemporary life, how will God's story form your story?
As you remember the past to form the present, as you contemplate the crisis and chaos of contemporary life, how will God's story form your story?
• Explore: As you remember the past to form the present, as you contemplate the crisis and chaos of contemporary life, how will God's story form your story?
•Explain: Asaph provides three reminders to help us weave our story into God's
Explain: Asaph provides three reminders to help us weave our story into God's
▾ Sermon Body
1 The Work of God. vv 11-12
1 The Work of God. vv 11-12
1 The Work of God. vv 11-12
1 The Work of God. vv 11-12
1 The Work of God. vv 11-12
1 The Work of God. vv 11-12
1.1 The story of God's work in our life requires that we participate in God's ongoing story… "wonders of old". 11
1.1 The story of God's work in our life requires that we participate in God's ongoing story… "wonders of old". 11
1.1 The story of God's work in our life requires that we participate in God's ongoing story.
1.1 The story of God's work in our life requires that we participate in God's ongoing story.
1.1 The story of God's work in our life requires that we participate in God's ongoing story… "wonders of old". 11
1.1 The story of God's work in our life requires that we participate in God's ongoing story… "wonders of old". 11
I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process 12
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process 12
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process 12
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process 12
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process 12
1.2 Making God's story our story is a long-term process 12
I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
1.2.1 The questions considered in vv. 1-10 are not easy. We are tempted to understand before we have adequately wrestled with the questions. Till we do that we are not really allowing God's story to be our story.
1.2.1 The questions considered in vv. 1-10 are not easy. We are tempted to understand before we have adequately wrestled with the questions. Till we do that we are not really allowing God's story to be our story.
1.2.1 The questions considered in vv. 1-10 are not easy. We are tempted to understand before we have adequately wrestled with the questions. Till we do that we are not really allowing God's story to be our story.
be our story.
1.2.1 The questions considered in vv. 1-10 are not easy. We are tempted to understand before we have adequately wrestled with the questions. Till we do that we are not really allowing God's story to be our story.
1.2.1 The questions considered in vv. 1-10 are not easy. We are tempted to understand before we have adequately wrestled with the questions. Till we do that we are not really allowing God's story to be our story.
1.2.2 Remember…Remember…Ponder…Meditate.
1.2.2 Remember…Remember…Ponder…Meditate.
1.2.2 Remember…Remember…Ponder…Meditate.
2 The Way of God. 13-15
2 The Way of God. 13-15
▾ 2 The Way of God. 13-15
▾ 2 The Way of God. 13-15
• 2.1 Holiness. 13
• 2.1 Holiness. 13
2.1 Holiness.
2.1 Holiness.
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
2.2 Relationship.
2.2 Relationship.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I take counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,
lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
2.2 Relationship.
2.2 Relationship.
• 2.2 Relationship. 14
• 2.2 Relationship. 14
You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
• 2.3 Redemption. 15
• 2.3 Redemption. 15
2.3 Redemption.
2.3 Redemption.
You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
▾ 3 The Wonder of God. 16ff
3 The Wonder of God. 16ff
3 The Wonder of God. 16ff
3.1 Of all the wonders of God's creation…
3.1 Of all the wonders of God's creation…
A Miktam of David.
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
A Prayer of David.
Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
from men by your hand, O Lord,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
I love you, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.
The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from the man of violence.
For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
• 3.1.1 The trembling deeps...
3.1.1 The trembling deeps...
• 3.1.2 The flashing lightening and pounding thunder...
3.1.2 The flashing lightening and pounding thunder...
• 3.1.3 Whirlwinds and earthquakes-
3.1.3 Whirlwinds and earthquakes-
• 3.2 His shepherding of His people is the most significant. 20
3.2 His shepherding of His people is the most significant.
3.2 His shepherding of His people is the most significant.
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Zion!
May he remember all your offerings
and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah
May he grant you your heart’s desire
and fulfill all your plans!
May we shout for joy over your salvation,
and in the name of our God set up our banners!
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!
Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;
he will answer him from his holy heaven
with the saving might of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand upright.
O Lord, save the king!
May he answer us when we call.
Remembering and Receiving the Story...
Remembering and Receiving the Story...
▾ Shut Down:
We remember what God has done so that in participating in His story…ours comes into clearer focus.
We remember what God has done so that in participating in His story…ours comes into clearer focus.
• 1 We remember what God has done so that in participating in His story…ours comes into clearer focus.
• 2 Our seeking after answers, our wearying search for significance only finds resolution in the wonder of redemption-rooted in His way-His greatest work of all.
Our seeking after answers, our wearying search for significance only finds resolution in the wonder of redemption-rooted in His way-His greatest work of all.
Today you can choose to be a part of this story. Your questions can be answered your anxiety eased your longing satisfied. Of all He has done and will do-nothing compares with shepherding His people and redeeming their stories.
• 3 Today you can choose to be a part of this story. Your questions can be answered your anxiety eased your longing satisfied. Of all He has done and will do-nothing compares with shepherding His
people and redeeming their stories.