When things get chaotic, where do we find hope? The Book of Judges is in the Bible for a reason: to point us to and ground us in our hope in life and death, especially in times of chaos. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Christ in the Chaos
TEXT: Judges 1:1-19a
TITLE:   A Hopeful Start
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. The Supreme Sufficiency of God
2. The Unfailing Hope of Christ
3. The Irreplaceable Value of Unity

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Judges shows us how God forged a people for Himself in a chaotic time, described in the final words of Judges as a time when—Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. That was chaos then, and it’s chaos now. Doesn’t it seem like we live in a world that is more and more chaotic? Increasingly, everyone is doing what is right in their own eyes. So then, the question for believers is this—When things get chaotic, where do we find hope? The Book of Judges is in the Bible for a reason: to point us to and ground us in our hope in life and death, especially in times of chaos.”

“Today may be the happiest day of our series as we look at Israel’s response to the death of Joshua. As our sermon title suggests, it was A Hopeful Start. In this Hopeful Start, we find three unchanging truths that we must not lose sight of amid the chaos.”

“As we come to the Book of Judges, Israel was in crisis. Their leader is dead. The mission incomplete. The future very uncertain. What will Israel do? What would you do? Maybe you’re experiencing the uncertainty of life right now: 

• New season of life (marriage, fatherhood/motherhood, retirement, empty nest). 

• Uncertainty of the future (country, finances, health)

• Unimaginable loss (death of your Joshua, a towering presence and force for good in your life—father, mother, mentor)

Where do you turn? Where is your confidence? What is the source of your hope? Notice Israel’s response.”

“As successful and loved as Joshua was, Israel knew the true source of their fruitfulness and well-being. It wasn’t Joshua; it was the Lord. God had been faithful to Israel. He made promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He kept them. Joshua is gone, and that’s hard. But God has gone nowhere. He is right there with them. And he hears their prayer.”

“To some, verses 4-18 may seem like nothing more than geography and a list of military successes. More than mere geography, this list is what one commentator called Theological Geography. The cities, regions, people, details, and short sub-stories all matter. They happened in real space and time. They are world history. But it’s history and geography that reveals God's wisdom, assurance, power, and presence with His people.”

“Israel’s help and hope are not in an earthly hero; it’s in the eternal purposes and powerful presence of an Almighty God. But Israel lost sight of God. More and more, they drifted away from God to the world.”

“This point should not be lost on us. Judges is not about pagan nations—it’s about God’s people. This series is not about a chaotic world—it’s about the church. It’s about you and me. It’s about our pride and idolatry. It’s about our insatiable appetite to do what we think is right in our own eyes instead of turning to, trusting in, and following God.”

“GOOD NEWS: Judges doesn’t leave us to ourselves. Whether it’s the macro picture or the micro details, Judges reveals a merciful and gracious God who uses flawed and weak people to fulfill his purposes.” 

“When God’s people inquired who would go against the enemy, God said Judah. And now, the Lion of Judah has gone against our greatest enemy, Satan, and sin, and God has given them into his pierced hands so that we would be saved from the consequences of our sin—That battle has been won!”

“Our legacy isn’t found in a theological hero or a national identity. Our legacy is a gospel legacy. We are the fruit of Christ’s work on meant to impact a chaotic world. 
Q) How do we do that?  A) Together!”

“God put His finger on Judah to lead the way. But the battle against the enemy was going to be difficult. So Judah did not launch out alone; they fought the fight TOGETHER. As we have seen in 4-18, this strengthened the nation. Corporate unity is essential in Judges because it is a primary way we experience God’s sufficiency and faithfulness—TOGETHERNESS. The key to seeing Christ in the chaos is seeing the wonders of his love for His people.”

“Grasping the limitlessness of Christ’s love for us and God’s faithfulness to us is not something we can do in isolation. If left to ourselves, the fight for faith becomes chaotic because we become weak.”

“Judges happened long ago in a faraway land. But it couldn’t be more relevant for us today because, ultimately, it points us forward to Jesus and His coming kingdom where we live together as a shining light for the glory of God, renown of Jesus in the salvation of sinners, with eager anticipation of heaven!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Joshua 23:14
2 Samuel 7
Revelation 5
Ephesians 3:17-19

QUOTES:
Barry Webb - “Joshua made a great impact on his generation and left behind him people who worked together, called on God, moved at his command, and experienced his blessing….As Christians we all share in a far greater legacy. For the whole church of which we are a part is the legacy of Jesus Christ.”

Dale Ralph Davis - “The unity and fellowship of God’s people is not a wimpy idea weaker Christians dote on. It is an essential condition for experiencing the strength of our God.”

APPLICATION:
This is why Sunday matters more than you can imagine. When it comes to the chaos in your life, gathering with your church to pray, sing, serve, and sit under God’s preached Word brings clarity, faith, ammunition, and strength for the spiritual battle.

Our gathering is meant to proclaim and demonstrate the power and testimony of Jesus Christ as the one mediator between God and man, that all people would come to a saving knowledge of the gospel truth in the power of the Holy Spirit and to the praise of God’s glory. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Final Word
TEXT: 1 Timothy 2:8-15
TITLE:   Gathering God’s Way
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: When we gather as God’s people, we gather God’s way.

POINTS:
1. Humility Matters When The Church Gathers
2. Order Matters When The Church Gathers

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Scripture doesn’t tell us how to do everything when we gather, but it is clear on some things, including our God-ordained complementarian roles. Where Scripture is clear, we must be committed.”

“One would think this goes without saying, but there’s no fighting at church. Paul says anger and quarreling have no place in the household of God, especially when we gather to worship God.”

“Men like to duke it out, be it with fists or words. And don’t tell me to back down—I can fight a war of words for as long as I have to. A bit of hyperbole, but it’s true; men get angry. At times, we get loud. Other times, we quietly huddle in the lobby to grumble about music that’s too loud, a member that’s too different, or a pastor that’s too direct. Sometimes, our anger is silent. The anger and quarreling are internal. Paul says—STOP. Instead of fighting, pray with each other.”

“As men, we are called to lead the church in making it a gathering of peace, love, and unity.”

“That takes humility. Where there is humility, there will be peace. Humility means seeing others as more important than ourselves (Phillipians 2:3). Humility means looking to others’ interest (Philippians 2:4). Humility means being able to overlook an offense (Proverbs 19:11). Humility means having an eagerness to guard the unity of the Spirit in the body of Christ produced by the gospel (Ephesians 4:3).”

“Ladies, we live in a society that screams in your ear—You are what you look like! Botox, plastic surgery, fancy jewelry, and designer clothes. If you want to get noticed or feel like a woman, you’ve got to have it. If that external pressure wasn’t enough, you have the internal tendency to compare yourself with other women. Look at her—I wish I could pull that off. The Bible says something vastly different—It’s not about the outside; it’s about the inside. It’s about your heart. It’s about your motive. That’s the point of verses 9-10.” 

“If you dress to get noticed, no matter how long your skirt is or how loose your pants are, you are missing it —that’s pride. Fashionable clothes, nice jewelry, and that latest hairstyle aren’t sinful, but a self-centered, proud heart is.”

“Ladies, God desires you to come to church not to dazzle with your looks but to demonstrate the glory of Jesus with your heart by humbly giving yourself—look at 10—good works—serving and pointing others to Christ. This is a God-glorifying profession of godliness.” 

“First, what Paul is not saying. He is not saying women cannot pray or prophecy in the church (1 Corinthians 11:5). Nor is he saying women cannot teach other women (Titus 2). He is not saying women can’t speak up in CG or offer counsel to a man (Acts 18:26). Other NT passages make it clear that Paul is not prohibiting women from speaking PERIOD in church.” 

“Paul IS saying two things: 1) Women are not to teach the gathered church, and 2) Women are not to exercise authority over the gathered church. IMPORTANT: Teaching and exercising authority are two different and distinct activities. The text bears this out.”

“Biblical roles for men and women in the church are rooted not in the culture, tradition, or fairness but in the created order of Genesis 1-2.” 

“Some have interpreted this as women being spiritually weaker, less intelligent, or more gullible—Not true! This would imply that women are inferior to men, and Scripture never says that.” 

“Paul uses this fundamental and unchangeable distinction to encourage women—ladies, I hope you are encouraged—that as you persevere in embracing and walking in your unique God-ordained roles, stated in 9-12, contrasted to the Garden in 14, and exemplified in 15 by child-bearing, it is one evidence, along with faith, love, holiness, and self-control, of your new life in Christ. So Paul ends this teaching on roles in the gathered church by showing the destruction of not walking in their God-ordained roles, i.e., Eve’s deception, and the good of walking in those roles, i.e., perseverance and endurance in godliness and truth to the end when our salvation will be final and we will be with Jesus.”

QUOTES:
Thomas Schreiner - “In approaching Eve, then, the Serpent subverted the pattern of male leadership and interacted only with the woman. Adam was present throughout and did not intervene. The Genesis temptation, therefore, stands as the prototype of what happens when male leadership is abrogated. Eve took the initiative in responding to the Serpent, and Adam let her do so.”

APPLICATION:
- Men, are you an angry person? Are you angry with someone in this room? Humble yourself and pray for them, and watch your perspective and attitude toward them change. Go to them and humbly talk it out with another brother or pastor. There will be disagreements. We are sinners. But as men, we are called to lead the church in peacemaking and unity. 

-Ladies, what are you more aware of or concerned about on Sundays—your looks or serving others? Reflecting a particular image or reflecting your Savior? God doesn’t forbid your desire to look good at church. He made you way more beautiful than men! But God does want you to know that looking good is not where you get your identity and value. That comes from not what you can do to yourself but what Jesus has done for you in the gospel.

Today, the risen Jesus is building his church. As he does, he is redeeming our roles through truth and the Spirit. This means:

1. Men, because of Jesus, you can walk in your God-given roles of leading the church in humble peacemaking and prayer. Be encouraged and repent where you need to. God is merciful and gracious.

2. Ladies, because of Jesus, you can walk in your God-given role of doing good works with a submitted spirit. Be encouraged and repent where you need to. God is merciful and gracious.

A wife’s complementarian role in marriage isn’t an old-fashioned tradition or a barbaric form of oppression. When a wife embraces God’s design for her in marriage, she serves and worships the Lord. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Final Word
TEXT: Ephesians 5:22-24
TITLE:   It’s Not About Your Marriage, Part 2
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: When a wife gladly submits to her husband, she worships the Lord.

POINTS:
1. A Horizontal Mandate
2. A Vertical Motivation

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”…nowhere in Scripture are the roles ever reversed. The husband is always called to loving, sacrificial, and understanding leadership, and the wife is always called to joyful submission to her husband’s leadership. That’s God’s Final Word on roles in marriage.“

“Clearly, 21 calls us to submit to one another. But unless that submission is qualified and defined, it would be chaos. That’s precisely what Paul is doing. Beginning with the wives, Paul shows how we submit to one another, not in a mutually absolute way, but according to the God-ordained roles and relationships we find ourselves in. So, Paul instructs us on Christ-exalting submission in different relationships, first wives to husbands, then children to parents in 6:1, and finally employees to employers in chapter 6:5.” 

“What does biblical submission look like? Wives, your role is to partner with your husband (and your husband only—context is marriage) as his helpmate. That is not a mindless task. Biblical submission does not mean you’re a doormat. You are not a silent partner without a voice.”

“True complementarianism doesn’t mean you’re forbidden to disagree with your husband or speak out apart from your husband. You’re not called to obey your husband, as children obey their parents. That’s hyper-complementarianism. It’s destructive. It’s unbiblical. It’s no complementarianism at all. It grieves the Spirit. If your husband is leading you into sin or stubbornly leading you into a supremely unwise situation—don’t submit! I appeal to you to reach out to your pastor. If you don’t feel physically safe, reach out to your pastor and get help. If you are married to an unbeliever (tricky), reach out to your pastor and get help.” 

“A marriage is a loving, intimate, covenantal union between a man and a woman, co-heirs with Christ, equal yet different to complement one another. That means there is a necessary interdependence and a great degree of mutual submission in marriage. For the wife (husbands, we need to hear this and lead our wives in this), that means using your strengths, skills, wisdom, understanding, and perspective to help your husband as he makes decisions and leads your marriage and home in a Christ-exalting direction.”

“To be clear, Paul isn’t saying wives are to submit to their husbands EXACTLY as you submit to Christ—that’s idolatry! Husbands, we have to be careful that we don’t lead our wives and have expectations of them that, in effect, cause them to idolize us. Ladies, before you are a Christian wife, you are a disciple of Jesus. And as a disciple of Jesus, you are called to an absolute and complete submission to Him. So when Paul says submit to your husband as to the Lord, he means: A wife submits to her husband as an expression of her submission to the Lord.”

“This means your marriage is not about your marriage. It’s about God filling the earth with the glory of His wisdom and the mercy of His love—through your marriage! That should bring us to our knees. But it should also flood our hearts with hope. The very thing at the heart of your marriage—the gospel—is powerful enough to transform any marriage, including yours.”

“Nothing is more critical, essential, and hopeful to your marriage than believing the gospel is powerful enough for your marriage! When you believe it, your marriage is a living parable that produces joy in your heart, shines truth to the world, and brings glory to God.” 

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Colossians 3
1 Peter 3
Titus 2

QUOTES:
Alexander Strauch - “The word submission can hardly be used in our culture without misunderstanding and strong disdain. It is loaded with negative, provocative connotations, yet submission is a biblical word and a Christian virtue. We cannot avoid it.”

Gary Ricucci - “The relationship between a husband and his wife is meant to be a reflection of Christ’s relationship with his church—a living parable of the supernatural union between Jesus and his Bride.”

APPLICATION:
1. Know your calling by studying it
2. Transfer the truth
3. Don’t be surprised when submission gets difficult

Here is the good news—Being a husband is not about how far we have come but how far Jesus went to enable, empower, and ensure that, though imperfect, we can be God-exalting husbands. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Final Word
TEXT: Ephesians 5:25-33
TITLE:   It’s Not About Your Marriage
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Husbands, and future husbands, your role doesn’t begin with a ring at the altar; it begins with Jesus atoning sacrifice on the cross.

POINTS:
1. A Sacrificial Love
2. A Purposeful Love

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”We have spent the last two Sundays in Genesis 2 learning marriage is designed by God to be a life-long commitment between a man who lovingly leads and a woman who joyfully follows as her husband’s helpmate. Sin has made that hard (Genesis 3:16). Instead of leading in love, the husband’s inclination is to dominate his wife. Instead of a joyfully submitted helpmate, the wife now wants to rule over her husband. And the result is a sky-high divorce rate, adultery as the norm, crushing spousal abuse, and lovers turned roommates. That’s just in the church! What’s the answer? …we have to get our eyes off the latest five steps to a better marriage, off love languages, off romantic idealism, off the idol of self-fulfillment, and back on Jesus.” 

“Marriage is vertical before it’s horizontal. It’s about you and Jesus before it’s about you and your spouse. It’s about the gospel. Marriage is a relational context meant be a living parable of Christ and the church.”

“…before we even have time to think about it looks like to love your wife, Paul says, get your eyes of yourself and LOOK UP.”

“A husband’s love for his wife is not culturally defined, experientially defined, or traditionally defined. It is Christologically defined. God wants your holy duty as husbands to be informed, motivated, and shaped by Jesus’ love for sinners beginning with the cross.”

“No one made him do it. It’s not something he deserved. Yet, submitting to his Father’s will to the praise of his glory, Jesus took the initiative and gave, not simply what he had—he gave himself.“

“This daily sacrifice involves a willingness to see your wife, a co-heir in Christ as more important than yourself, as well as a readiness to lay down all you hold dear to care for her. This daily sacrifice is about living with our wives in an understanding way, even when she refuses to do the same with you. We don’t lead and love our wives this way because they’ve earned it. If Jesus is our model, Jesus didn’t make us earn his love. He loved us when we were unlovable and he continues to love us despite our unlovability.”

“Husbands, and future husbands, your role doesn’t begin with a ring at the altar—it begins with Jesus atoning sacrifice on the cross.”

“We all know the saying—Happy wife makes a happy life. While there may be some truth to that, our call as husbands is to be concerned, not primarily for her short-term happiness, but for her long term holiness and ever-increasing satisfaction and joy in Jesus. There is no greater way we can lead our wives.” 

“Listen, as husbands, we do not, we cannot sanctify and cleanse our wives of their sin. It’s not us who presents our wives in splendor before the throne of God above. Jesus alone can and does do that. But we are called to lead, encourage, promote, and spur them on in holiness. As God’s primary instrument of grace in our wives spiritual lives, we are to be purposeful in this calling.”

“Men, we need heavenly help for our holy duty. And God gives it. He made us new in Jesus. He fills us with His Spirit. He stands by His promises to give us all things we need for life and godliness. And as we will see next week, He gives us wives, the perfect helpmates who, with their wisdom, love, and own obedience, help us grow in being the husbands God has called us to be.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Galatians 2:20
1 John 3:16
1 Peter 3:7
Philippians 2:3-4
Romans 5
John 17:17

QUOTES:
Martyn Lloyd-Jones - “We must start by studying the relationship between Christ and the church, and then, and then only, can we look at the relationship between the husband and wife.”

Gary Ricucci - “The role of a husband doesn’t begin at the altar…it begins at the cross.”

Larry McCall - “A husband who would love his wife as Christ also loved the church will begin by understanding that his love is a choice, made in spite of (not because of) his wife’s actions, attitudes or appearance.”

Gary Ricucci - “Our role originates in the gospel, is empowered by the gospel, and is perfected through the gospel. We can love and lead our wives because our Savior, Jesus Christ, loved us, gave himself up for us, and leads us each day in mercy and grace.”

APPLICATION:
Redemptive Questions for Husbands (taken from “Love That Lasts” by Gary and Betsy Ricucci):
- Do I faithfully pray for her, that Jesus Christ might be glorified in her and that she might know his love and grace?
- Do I love her enough to confront and correct her sin, especially recurrent patterns of sin, and then patiently and consistently lead her into fruitful and liberating repentance?
- Do I wash her with the Water of God’s Word (Ephesians 5:25-27), or do I compromise her growth in godliness because my pride, selfishness, or fear keeps me from this God-given responsibility?
- Do I lead her into active involvement and service in our local church?
- Do I constantly remind her of the gospel of grace and of God’s active goodness on our behalf?

Lord, use this text to make us more amazed at you while feeling more desperate for and dependent on you. 

Where are we to go for help regarding this cultural shift in the definition of what a man is, what a woman is, and, today, what True Marriage is? We go to the Word of God. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Final Word
TEXT: Genesis 2:24-25
TITLE:   True Marriage is the Handiwork of God
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins
BIG IDEA: True marriage is the handiwork of God.

POINTS:
1. True Marriage, by design, is between a man and a woman.
2. True Marriage, by design, is God's joining of a man and a woman.
3. True Marriage, by design, is made holy by God.

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”This is not just an American issue, but rather, the weakening of marriage through deconstruction and redefinition is a worldwide mankind issue - wherever the hearts of men and women have turned away from God and where they have been given over to the evil desires of the flesh, the collapse of that society has already begun.”

“Disorienting winds of doctrines are blowing strong wave after wave of this culture’s attempts to reimagine, redefine, reshape, and even remove what ‘marriage’ is. They can be disorienting and even become plausible. By God’s grace may the Word of God silence these waves, calm our hearts, and reestablish the TRUTH about ‘marriage.’”

“THE FINAL WORD on what true marriage is has already been spoken by God. True marriage is God’s handiwork. Marriage, biblical marriage… true marriage is God’s doing.”

“This could not be any clearer. The nouns and the pronouns involved could not be any clearer. If we are confused, and disoriented, and perplex about “what is marriage” the lack of understanding is us. The word of God is clear and understandable.”

“The Word of God NEVER provides or allows for any other definition. We have to add to or take away from the WORD in order to find another definition - we have to completely reject God and what He has said in order to get what we want.”

“We cannot underestimate the influence of our culture on our thinking regarding marriage! We have about 196 countries in the world today - almost 20% have legalized homosexual marriage, just in the past 6 years! 7 years ago - ZERO, as of today, 34!”

“The mention of the man and woman both being “naked” causes us to begin to back up and recoil… the mention of even the thought of marriage being without shame causes us to wonder how this is even possible. Moments of shame regarding our own marriages and the shamefulness that we have witnessed in other marriages cause us to doubt that God has made marriage to be free from shame. But marriage, by design, is holy and beautiful and this is God’s doing.”

“In God’s design, the institution of marriage is untouchable. It is undefiled. He sees it all, and nothing in the purity of and sanctity of marriage is vile… nothing about it is vulgar… nothing debased. True marriage is from Him, it is through Him, and it is to Him. It truly is Holy Matrimony! The undefiled complement of the man and woman pours forth His image as a testimony to His nature and goodness to the world both in their covenant of marriage and the marriage bed.“

“God has made it possible for marriages, that are completely exposed by the “nakedness” of their sin, to be made holy again and no longer be ashamed. The Holiness of True Marriage is redeemed by the Gospel and for the Gospel.”

“We must reject same-sex unions as being somehow part of a redefined marriage. Same-sex unions, by definition, are enemies of the Gospel! YET the joyful hope is that the Gospel offers repentance and forgiveness to these same individuals. Jesus truly is the Redeemer after all!”

“May we behold the beauty of True Marriage designed by God! May we behold the beauty of the Gospel as it shines bright through marriages that are between men and women made by God, joined together by God, and made holy by the blood of Jesus.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Leviticus 18:22, 20:13
Genesis 19:1–10
Judges 19:1–30
Romans 1:18–32
1 Corinthians 6:9–11
1 Timothy 1:8–11
Mark 10:7-9
Ephesians 5:31-32
Hebrews 4:14-16

QUOTES:
Kevin DeYoung - “Sexuality in the context of heterosexual marriage is not only good but exclusively good. Only heterosexual marriage relationships can show forth the complementary design of men and women. According to the apostle Paul, one of the purposes of marriage is to show forth the mystery of Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32). If marriage can be construed as a man and a man or a woman and a woman, what is left of the glorious mystery of Christ and the church? We are left with only Christ and Christ or church and church.”

APPLICATION:
Wonder and marvel at God’s design!

 Q. Do you feel ashamed in your marriage today?

Is your marriage in a time of need for mercy and grace? The greatest counsel I can offer is not a program, is to point you to the Gospel that removes shame and redeems your marriage. The Holy Spirit has the power to remove the shame in your marriage! Don’t grow weary in your marriage! Get help.

Q. Is what is happening in our world disorienting and confusing to you?

Persist in the Truth. Don’t wait to be re-grounded in sound doctrine. Do you believe that God reigns? Is His word truth? Don’t grow weary – Continue to pursue good!

Q. Do you long for the removal of the shame of sexual sin? 

Come to Jesus, the ONE WHO CAN TAKE IT ALL AWAY AND RENEW YOU!

The gender you were born with is the handiwork of God, and no matter what you declare or do, you can’t change it. But there is another gender battle being fought in our culture and churches: What is true masculinity and femininity? Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Final Word
TEXT: Genesis 2:18-23
TITLE:   Equal Yet Different: True Masculinity and Femininity
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: True masculinity and femininity are experienced when men and women cherish and embrace their God-given roles in the home and church. 

POINTS:
1. God created Adam before Eve
2. God formed Eve out of Adam
3. God created Eve for Adam

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”The gender you were born with is the handiwork of God, and no matter what you declare or do, you can’t change it. But there is another gender battle being fought in our culture and churches: What is true masculinity and femininity?”

“[However] you choose to say it, our culture has a one-word response—TOXIC! Sadly, we live in a society actively erasing, not blurring; blurring is yesterday’s news, erasing any sense of gender differences. To even consider differences is increasingly intolerant and intolerable. Even in the church, the glorious truth of Complementarianism is rapidly becoming extinct.” 

“Our website says: We believe it was God’s glorious plan to create men and women in His image, giving them equal dignity and value in His sight while appointing differing and complementary roles for them within the home and the church. I pray we will never loosen our grip on our Complementarian Convictions. That is the focus of our current series and our text today: men and women are equal yet different.”

“This Created Order matters. In the OT, the firstborn assumed the leadership role in the family for his generation. In general, that pattern remains today.”

“In verse 7, we read that God formed Adam out of dust and breathed life into him. But Eve was created differently. Woman originated from man. God fashioned her from Adam’s rib. That matters for two reasons. First, they had equality in nature and personhood. Look at Adam’s description of Eve in verse 23—bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Unlike the animals, the woman shared Adam’s human nature, created in the image of God. Second, being fashioned differently than Adam highlights the difference in roles.”

“Up to this point in the creation narrative, we are used to hearing, and it was good. God creates, and it is good. So it is a bit jarring to hear God say—It is not good. In this case, the ‘not good’ is man being alone. It’s not that God miscalculated or underestimated Adam’s ability. God’s design was always man being completed by woman.”

“Adam was lord of the earth, created and called by God to represent and glorify Him through the stewardship of His creation. But he needed a helper. God brought all the animals to Adam, but none of them were fit to help. None were his equal. None shared his nature. None caused affections to grow in his heart. Dogs may be a man’s best friend, but they don’t complement us.”

“God put Adam in a deep sleep and formed Eve out of his rib to be his helper. This is the first description of the woman’s role in the Bible. It implies Adam was lacking something. Being alone was not good for him; he needed someone to assist and support him. He needed a helper, notice the end of verse 20—fit for him.” 

“Eve was not a male. She was not a clone. Her biology and body were different. Her psychology was different. Her physiology was different. Yet, the woman was not inferior to Adam. She shared his nature as bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. She bore the image of God. She was what no other living creature could be—his perfect helpmate. The first woman was created FOR the first man.”

“God is redeeming gender differences through the gospel. This reality reflects the relationships within the Trinity, where we find an eternal equality of personhood and deity, yet with different roles, particularly in redemption.”

“As we allow our minds and hearts to be shaped by Christ’s loving sacrifice for us, we will increasingly embrace that we no longer belong to ourselves but to Jesus, commissioned and empowered to live for his glory, and our gender roles in marriage and the church will follow. Jesus is our authority, our hope, our strength.” 

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
1 Timothy 2:12-13
1 Corinthians 11:8
1 Corinthians 11:9

QUOTES:
John Piper - “At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships….At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive, and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a women’s differing relationships.”

Alexander Strauch - “Since the dawn of human civilization, men, not women, have primarily ruled society. Is this by chance? Or is it by design? Why are women seeking liberation and not vice versa? Genesis 2 provides the answer: from the beginning, the Creator shaped the human clay in patriarchal form, not matriarchal or egalitarian form. Adam was the first patriarch.”

Danvers Statement - “Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse. In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husband’s leadership. In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men.”

APPLICATION:
Husbands, the gospel calls you to lead your wives and families with diligence, understanding, initiative, and gentleness, working hard to support and provide for your families. Wives, the gospel claim on your life is to willing and joyfully submit to your husbands with respect, responding to their leadership as you help him build a godly home. When you think gospel mission—this is part of it. It is the fruit and effect of allowing Jesus’ love for you to pour out into your relationships as a light in the darkness.

As men, we stand in grace to lead, protect, and provide. As women, you stand in grace to help, strengthen, and complement. This is True Masculinity and Femininity.

Friends, take courage. Stand in grace. Remain firm in your faith. Model biblical gender with joy. God has clearly spoken. While heaven and earth, culture and governments will all pass away, The Final Word of God remains forever. It’s good. It’s right. It’s beautiful. It’s loving.

Transgender ideology is dangerous, destructive, and demonic. It is consuming our culture and creeping into our churches. What do we do? In the words of the Dean of SG Pastor’s College, Jeff Purswell—Stay close to your Bible and the cross. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: The Final Word
TEXT: Genesis 1:26-27
TITLE:   Your Gender is the Handiwork of God
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. God Created Us
2. God Created Us in His Image
3. God Created Us Male and Female

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”That’s what this series is about, taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. God has spoken The Final Word on gender.”

“Your gender is not the work of human hands, the result of social constructs, or the fruit of perceived reality. It is the perfect handiwork of God.”

“God created man. This is the starting place of self-understanding, the Creator—creature relationship. I am not an accident. I did not evolve. I am not self-made. God created me. That means I am not my own. I am dependent on God. I am accountable to God. This is the reality that transgender ideology ultimately denies.”

“We are a living analogy of God. Imperfect because of sin, yes, but still image bearers of the divine being redeemed by the power of the cross and sanctification of the Spirit.”

“This understanding of man is significant. It means humans are set apart from the rest of creation as the object of God’s special care. Our dignity, worth, value, and equality as individuals are rooted in the reality that we are God’s image bearers.”

“Given verse 28, where God commands man and woman to be fruitful and multiply, the gender terms in verse 27 have a literal connection to the male and female reproductive organs. Not only does this make gender essential to humanity, but it also reveals the intentionality of God in our biology, something Scripture repeatedly emphasizes.”

“The phrase ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made’ is more than a statement of God setting his people apart in the womb. It points to His creative, intentional, invisible hand in developing a baby from beginning to end.”

“You can make many changes, but you cannot change your DNA. You cannot be born in the wrong body. There is no spectrum. Social constructs are not determinative.” 

“God’s handiwork should be a source of wonder and awe! Yet, for many, it is not. Why? Two words: sola affectus or feelings alone. Transgender ideology is the idolatry of subjective feelings. We live in a society, outside and inside the church, where what you feel is who you are. Fickle Feelings have become the authority regardless of science, biology, or theology.” 

“Good News! 

• God has spoken into the chaos and confusion with the first and final word: You are who I created you to be—and I never make mistakes! 

• God has spoken into our darkness and depravity through the light of Jesus Christ, who, through his perfect life, death, and resurrection, is our unfailing identity and self-worth: I created you. You turned from me. But I am redeeming you because I love you! Come to me with your gender dysphoria and misplaced longings.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Job 10:8,11
Psalm 119:73
Psalm 139:13-16a
Jeremiah 17:9
2 Corinthians 10:5
Ephesians 4:15

QUOTES:
Herman Bavinck - “The entire world is a revelation of God, a mirror of his virtues and perfections; every creature is in its own way and according to its own measure and embodiment of a divine thought. But among all the creatures, only man is the image of God, the highest and richest revelation of God, and therefore head and crown of the entire creation.”

James Hufstetler - “You are the result of the attentive, careful, detailed, creative work of God. Your personality, your sex, your height, your features are what they are because God made them precisely that way. He made you the way He did because that is the way He wants you to be….Your genes and chromosomes and creaturely distinctives are what they are by God’s design.”

The Gender Revolution - The ordinary processes of human development within the womb are not merely biology responding to chemicals as guided by our DNA. While this is true, it’s so much more. Starting from the womb, God creates you to be a sexed person. He gives you the biology of either a male or a female.”

Christopher Yuan - “Being created in the image of God and being male or female are essential to being human. Sex is not simply biological or genetic, just as being human is not simply biological or genetic. Sex is first and foremost a spiritual and ontological reality created by God. Being male or female cannot be changed by human hands; sex is a category of God’s handiwork-his original and everlasting design.”

Carl Trueman - “People who think they are a woman trapped in a man’s body are really making their inner psychological convictions absolutely decisive for who they are; and to the extent that, prior to “coming out,” they have publicly denied this inner reality, to that extent they have had an inauthentic existence.”

APPLICATION:
1. Put on humility by getting help from your pastor if you struggle with your gender.

2. Pursue with compassion those caught in the evil destruction of transgender ideology

We should hate with a passion transgender ideology. It’s demonic. It denies God. It destroys lives. It is a false gospel. But we should be compassionate toward those who are captive to it.

Jesus breathed his last, and then breathed again, that we (having new breath… who have new life)... that we would now and forevermore Praise Him! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 150
TITLE:   Praise the Lord
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins

POINTS:
1. Where (Vs 1)
2. Why (Vs 2)
3. How (Vs 3-5)
4. Who (Vs 6)

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”The combination of “in his sanctuary” and “in his mighty heavens” proclaims the great truth of the omnipresence of God. Here on earth (WHERE HE IS) and in the heavens (WHERE HE IS). The songwriter is preaching the implication of the Doctrine of God in that He is fully present everywhere at the same time! SO WORSHIP Him HERE and Praise Him THERE!”

“There is no place where we can go where it is not THE place to Praise Him, and there is never place where we are to fall silent and turn away and cease to Praise Him. Remember who the ULTIMATE SONG WRITER OF PSALM 150 is! God Himself is preaching the Doctrine of Himself. I am here and I am there! Praise Me!”

“Why are we to Praise Him? ANSWER - Praise Him for what His has done and for He is!” 

“The reason we Praise Him is for His previous mighty deeds, ongoing mighty deeds, and anticipating His future promised mighty deeds!”

“At each GREAT moment of salvation where God revealed His might and did mighty deeds, they stopped and worshipped - as if refusing to go on without giving Him glory! WHY would they STOP? Passing through the Red Sea - They stopped and worshipped! Time and time again they would stop and celebrate God’s faithfulness, His Salvation, His Provision.  Passing through the Jordan River - They stopped and built an altar of remembrance and worship Him! They STOPPED to glorify their Great God and who had saved them! And YET we have a greater reason to STOP AND WORSHIP! The Cross! …There is no greater place to stop and Praise Him than the Cross!”

“Jesus breathed his last, and then breathed again, that we (having new breath… who have new life)... that we would now and forevermore Praise Him!”

QUOTES:
John Pulsford, in "Quiet Hours." 1857 - “Each of the last five Psalms begins and ends with… "Praise the LORD." And each Psalm increases in praise, love, and joy, unto the last, which is praise celebrating its ecstasy. The… heir of God, becomes ‘eaten up’ with the love of God. He begins every sentence with ‘Praise the LORD,’ and his sentences are very short, for he is in haste to utter his next ‘Praise the LORD,’ and his next, and his next. He is as one out of breath with enthusiasm, or as one on tiptoe, in the act of rising from earth to heaven. It is as though the soul gave utterance to its whole life and feeling… in these words.”

C.S. Lewis - “It has all the cheerful spontaneity of a natural, even a physical, desire… They are glad and rejoice. Their fingers itch for the harp, for the lute and harp – wake up, lute and harp! –; let’s have song, bring the tambourine, … we’re going to sing merrily and make a cheerful noise. Noise, you may well say. Mere music is not enough… Let us have clashing cymbals, not only well tuned, but loud, and dances too.”

Boice - ““Let’s be done with worship that  is always weak and unexciting.”

Derek Kidner - “His glory fills the universe; his praise must do no less.”

APPLICATION:
Do you see it?  

Where will we Praise Him? - Jesus it the sanctuary and He rules the mighty heavens!
Why will we Praise Him? - Jesus is the ultimate reason
How will we Praise Him? - Jesus did not hold anything back when He gave himself up for us, so, with everything that have, let us Praise Him!
Who will Praise Him? - Jesus People! We belong to him now - Praise Him!

Don’t just go out determined to do this! Human determination will not be sufficient. BUT, we hope in the power of the Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit, to do so, the Spirit reminds of what Jesus has done, reminding us the great things that He as done! There is no condemnation! - Ps 150 is not a rod of correction, but rather it the lifter of our heads.

Make no mistake, Psalm 138 is not empty adoration. Today is not a pep rally. Whatever David’s 10,000 Reasons were, Psalm 138 reveals three of them to us. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 138
TITLE:   10,000 Reasons
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Whatever reasons we think we have to not sing God’s praises, the reasons of Psalm 138 will fill our hearts with grateful praise.

POINTS:
1. Praise God for who He is
2. Praise God for what He has done
3. Praise God for what He will do

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”In Psalm 138, we encounter a man whose heart is filled with thankful praise to God. David worships God with his whole heart. His heart is not undivided before God. He is not preoccupied with his troubles or business affairs. He holds nothing back from God. His mind, affections, expressions, and entire being are wrapped up in praising God.”

“If you want to know what David was like, look no further than Psalm 138. I think David would have loved the song 10,000 Reasons. I think he would have belted it out as he wandered the palace. Not because he loved a catchy tune; because he had 10,000 Reasons to offer his whole heart in grateful praise to God. David had so many reasons to sing god’s praises with thankfulness. Make no mistake, Psalm 138 is not empty adoration. Today is not a pep rally. Whatever David’s 10,000 Reasons were, Psalm 138 reveals three of them to us.”

“David’s thanksgiving and praise are a response to two aspects of God’s character: His Loving Kindness and His Faithfulness.”

“God is a God of perfect, unfailing, unconditional love. When we say God is love, we aren’t just saying He is kind, merciful, and gracious; we are saying He is committed to loving His people infinitely and endlessly. God’s love for you never wavers. It never weakens. It never wavers because God Himself never changes.”

“In Christ, God has lavished his loving kindness on you. He has poured out His mercy and grace on you. He is committed to you because He loves you steadfastly and enduringly. As it says in Romans 8:39—Nothing, not your weak faith last week or your blatant sin this week, nothing can separate you from His love!”

“This is a stunning statement. God has such a high estimation of His Word; He regards it as He regards His name. God says I put my name, character, and glory on the line through my Word. If my Word proves to be false, I am false.”

“There is a tendency for us to diminish the value and authority of God’s Word. Whether it doesn’t dovetail with our feelings on a matter, it doesn’t speak to our circumstance as we hoped, or culture creep drowns it out, we can be guilty of depreciating God’s Word in our lives to our spiritual peril. …We don’t worship the Bible. We worship God. But the Bible is God’s self-revelation. He reveals to us what He is like. So we must regard the Scriptures, not higher than God does, but as high as He does.”

“I heard someone say that we need to listen to ourselves less and preach to ourselves more. I believe with all my heart that the fruit of dwelling on the character of God is a heart filled with thankful praise and worship that transcends any circumstance.  God is that wonderful. He is that glorious. He is that satisfying.”

“God hears your prayers. God gives his full, undivided attention when His people call on Him. He is never too busy for you. He is never uninterested in you. He is never running from you. God hears and answers the prayers of His people.”

“Remember this: Sometimes, the most significant answer to your prayers is not the disappearance of your trial but the spiritual strength to walk by faith with thanksgiving and praise to God in your situation.”

“Think back to all of God’s faithfulness to you in the past. Will He not continue? Of course, He will. He will because of Who He is. So you can be confident about your future. The future is the third reason David praises God with his whole being.”

“We all have 10,000 reasons and more for our hearts to be strengthened and filled with thankful praises to God today. We can never, and we will never, run out of reasons to worship God. And they all begin here: Jesus Christ, who he is, what he has done for you, and what he will do for you.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 8:39

QUOTES:
James Montgomery Boice - “It would be as if God is saying, “I value my integrity above everything else. Above everything else, I want to be believed”

John Newton - “When I see Thee as Thou art, I’ll praise Thee as I ought.”

APPLICATION:
So how do we respond? Whether it’s for the first time for salvation or for the thousandth time for sanctification, we come to Jesus with our whole hearts and humbly acknowledge that we are lowly and yet he regards us. 

Like David, we determine, despite our circumstances, not worried about what we look like, how we sound, or what anyone thinks, to sing our Savior’s praises. We have so many reasons to sing and He is worthy of them all!

Are you quiet inside? Have you learned to trust and hope in God from your most basic need to your greatest fear? Psalm 131 is a gift because I want that for my life, and I know you do. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 131
TITLE:   The Secret To Contentment
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: The more we look away from ourselves to Jesus, the more content we will be.

POINTS:
1. Contentment’s Enemy
2. Contentment’s Evidence

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Though Psalm 131 is only three verses long, we cannot underestimate the difficulty of its claim on us. Christian contentment is a hard lesson to learn. It’s not natural. It needs to be learned. God must work in us. There is a reason Jeremiah Burrough's great work on contentment is titled The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.”

“Regardless of your circumstance, the bigger God becomes, the smaller you become, and the greater your peace will be, come what may..”

“David is familiar with a proud, noisy heart. But notice verse 2—But I have calmed and quieted my soul. David knows a thing or two about pride. But by the time he writes this Psalm, he has learned to put contentment’s greatest enemy to death and find true contentment and peace in God.”

“David continues in verse 1—my eyes are not raised too high. You could translate this —My eyes are not haughty. Haughty eyes reveal proud and noisy hearts. Haughty eyes are an expression of self-righteousness.”

“Haughty eyes are not happy for others; they are envious of others. Haughty eyes don’t look to serve others; they expect to be served by others. Haughty eyes don’t recognize God’s grace in others; they are sinfully critical of others. Haughty eyes are not patient and gracious with others; they are quick to anger and harsh with others. Haughty eyes make for a noisy heart. Constant competing, controlling, comparing, keeping up the image and covering up the faults. It all saps your joy and suffocates your contentment in Christ.”

“There was so much David did not understand. There was so much he wanted to understand. Read the Psalms. But David learned and determined to control his occupation with understanding all that God was doing in his life and the timing in which He was doing it. He chose to (verse 2) calm and quiet his soul before the Lord instead of arrogantly trying to figure God out.”

“Like a child weaned from his mother, being content with who we are in Christ and what God’s will is for us because we know the God who did not spare His only Son for our salvation also promises to give us all things we need. There may be much we desire to be, have, and know, but we are content knowing God is in us, with us, and for us.” 

“In verse 3, David stops talking to God and talks to us. He gives us the secret to contentment—Hope in the Lord. Turn away from the horizontal comparing and striving; turn away from the thousand mysteries of your life to what you know to be true about God's good and everlasting love for you and Hope in the Lord.”

“It’s paradoxical: Because of Jesus, you can resolve to be calm and quiet. At the same time, he is your calm and quiet. It’s not in self-sufficiency that you will find contentment; it’s in Christ’s sufficiency. He is the living Word that reveals God’s steadfast love to you and forever redeems you to Himself. He is utterly worthy and trustworthy of all your hope.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 130

QUOTES:
James Montgomery Boice - “Psalm 131 is one of the easiest of all psalms to read, but its lesson is one of the hardest to learn.”

Sinclair Ferguson - “Contentment is the fruit of a mindset that understands its limitations. David did not allow himself to be preoccupied with what God was not pleased to give to him. Neither did he allow his mind to become fixated on things God had not been pleased to explain to him. Such preoccupations suffocate contentment. If I insist on knowing exactly what God is doing and what He plans to do with my future, if I demand to understand His ways with me in the past, I can never be content until I am equal with God….Christian contentment, therefore, is the direct fruit of having no higher ambition than to belong to the Lord and to be totally at His disposal in the place He appoints, at the time He chooses, with the provision He is pleased to make.”

Anslem - “I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe, that I may understand.”

APPLICATION:
Where is your hope today? 

David is very general; no particulars—Hope in the Lord. This is where I believe it is no accident that Psalm 131 is linked to Psalm 130.

Hope in the One whose word is unfailing. Hope in the One whose love for you is steadfast. Hope in the One who erases your sin and declares you righteous, giving you eternal pardon in heaven. God is not frantic, anxious, or out of control. He has an unthwartable plan for every second of your life. 

1. Identify where pride exists in your life and repent
   God is merciful—Run to Him!

2. Let what you believe shape your understanding, not the other way around
   God’s plan for your life is unthwartable, His love toward you is unfailing, and His power at work in you is unmatchable, whatever your circumstances.

3. Pursue Jesus passionately
   You cannot produce contentment in the Lord; you pursue it. We pursue a calm and quiet soul by pursuing the one who not only gives us hope but is our hope—Jesus Christ.

It’s easy to forget who we are in Christ, why we exist, what we are called to, how we are able to live for Jesus, and where this is all going. We need to be coached up in Christ. We must be encouraged, challenged, and spurred on in our faith and walk with God. Psalm 100 does that by coaching us up. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 100
TITLE:   A Fountain of Unstoppable Praise
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: When God's unfailing love rules our hearts, unstoppable praises will pour from our lives.

POINTS:
1. God Created Us
2. God Redeemed Us
3. God Keeps Us

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Our lives are living fountains of something. What? The more we know God. The more we pursue Christ. The more we rely on the Spirit. Our lives will be a fountain of unstoppable praises, not to us but to the glory of God.”

“In just five short verses, we find seven clear imperatives. These are not suggestions. They are not optional. They are not negotiable. They are not debatable. They are commands. From singing and serving to gathering and giving to thinking and thanking, God says—Do these things. At the same time, these seven imperatives do not stand alone. They are attitudes of the heart—outward expressions of an inward heart disposition toward God.”

“We don’t just make a noise; we Make a JOYFUL noise. The Hebrew word there means glad shout as a king’s subjects would do as he entered their presence. We don’t merely serve with our gifts; we Serve the Lord with GLADNESS. We don’t merely gather together on Sundays; we Enter His gates with THANKSGIVING. Actions and Attitudes.”

“It reminds us that faith takes root in our hearts but enters through the mind. Our thanksgiving, serving, singing, and gathering are intelligent. Our faith is not blind. It’s not subjective. We live how we live before God because we know and continually know something objectively true—Our God, the God of the gospel, He is God!”

“It is impossible to truly know ourselves apart from knowing God as Creator and ourselves as His creatures. The denial of this reality creates tremendous deception and chaos.”

“…when, Christian or not, we lose sight of the Creator/creature relationship; we become gods in our own eyes, which has enormous implications for how we live. We have ourselves to thank. We serve ourselves. We are accountable to no one. Glory belongs to us. What do we need with God?“

“Now He is not only your Creator; He is your Abba Father. You are His adopted sons and daughters. In His wisdom, this is the imagery God chose to describe His relationship with you—what a gift! …You don’t just know God intellectually; you know God intimately.” 

“We praise and thank God with our lives because of what He has done—He has made us, and he has saved us. But there is one more reason—God is faithful to keep us.”

“God is always in control of your life. The righteousness and blood of Jesus is always sufficient for your salvation. The Spirit that lives in you can always do more than you can ask or imagine. And this will never change because God never changes, and He has promised to keep you until the end. In Christ, God will never leave you nor forsake you. He will always be good to you. He will always love you! He will always keep you—all the way to heaven!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Romans 12:1
Psalm 23
Hebrews 4:14-16

QUOTES:
James Montgomery Boice - “It is only when we know God as our Creator that we know ourselves as His creatures and find ourselves appropriately thankful to Him.”

John Stott - “What can our worship be but joyful? Away with funeral faces and doleful dirges! Joy, gladness, and singing are to be the accompaniment of worship.”

James Montgomery Boice - “If there is no other reason why we must be thankful to God, it is because He has both made us and redeemed us. No one should be more thankful to God than the sheep who are cared for by the Good Shepherd.”

APPLICATION:
Are you waiting for God to do something to be thankful to Him? Are you waiting to be convinced that our gathering should be a noisy celebration from the heart? Are you waiting for a particular blessing to unleash your unrestrained praises to God? The wait is over. God created you, and He redeemed you—Let the praises begin!

The Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever. When that reality rules our hearts, unstoppable praise will pour from our lives.

If we’re honest, you and I wrestle with the dilemma of Psalm 73 more often than we might want to confess. If we really examine our hearts as we listen in to Asaph’s account, whether it’s just a tiny momentary spark or a raging forest fire in our hearts, we all can relate to what happened to Asaph. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 73
TITLE:   Envy, Honesty, and Refuge
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: God alone empowers honest confession and provides a soul-satisfying refuge.

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Asaph gives us a Psalm every believer can and will experience and relate to!”

“Psalmist begins with a truth about God – He’s good to His people. He mentions the heart 6 times in this Psalm and we will see how important it will be for us to guard our hearts. As one author succinctly wrote “The state of the heart determines whether a man lives in the truth, in which God’s goodness is experienced or” … What we see next is the “or” for every believer.”

“Key phrase…but as for me. Joshua’s famous line “as for me and my house …” Like a bookend Asaph will repeat this phrase at the end of the Psalm – he will be in a very different frame of mind as God empowers him at the heart level to move FROM one place TO another.”

“Asaph is not the only one in Scripture to be bothered by the apparent prosperity of the wicked compared to the challenges of the godly. David in Psalm 37 answers this question with encouragement to wait. Like the grass, the wicked will fade and like green plants, they will soon die. Job similarly inquired and regretted it. He got no answer from God and got schooled in the reality that mere man cannot even answer even one of God’s manifold ways much less God’s ways with the righteous and the wicked. After three chapters of God’s relentless question of Job, he says in Job 42:3 '“Surely I spoke of things I did not understand…” More than just nodding our heads that Scripture deals with a tough question, today we will experience a refreshingly honest Psalmist that in the words of one author “might just provide the most perceptive treatment of this theme in all of literature.”

“In v. 17 there is a definitive transition in Asaph’s testimony. We encounter probably the most important word in this testimony from Asaph. Not only is it a crucial turning point for Asaph, but it’s also vital for every believer to grasp what God is revealing here. Asaph said he was weary UNTIL. Until something changed. UNTIL there was some movement in his heart. What was the turning point in his heart? He says – UNTIL I went into the sanctuary of God.”

“There’s nothing magical about walking into the place we worship on Sundays. But what makes the sanctuary for Asaph and the sanctuary for you and me special is the promised presence of God’s active presence. It moves God’s people from one place to the next. Asaph’s heart is moving from weary to a different place. CJ Mahaney says it even more succinctly, ‘The transforming effect of a divine  perspective.’”

“Asaph confesses his sin with vivid truth and refreshing honesty. He’s embarrassed as he looks back and observes how quickly his heart went to places that could have led him to disastrous actions. Asaph’s conclusion? Listen to how God-centered his confession turns. Marvel at the movement of his heart FROM where he was TO his proclamation TO preaching truth to himself.”

QUOTES:
James Montgomery Boice - “The wicked seem to do well in this world, much better than the godly and this is not what we would expect in a moral universe directed by a Sovereign God. If God is in control of things, the plans of the wicked should flounder. They should even be publicly punished. The godly alone should prosper.”

APPLICATION:

PSALM 73 WARNS:
It warns believers to live aware we can slip. Living in this fallen world and especially in times of suffering can tempt all of us to LOOK/SEE others and begin to doubt  God’s goodness towards us. Envy creeps in. We all have different things we SEE – we’re created to be interpreters – and quickly we are venting or accusing God or making angry charges vs. God. Our complaining is never morally neutral.  

Part of being warned is increasing our understanding that we need one another. - we can help one another run to God’s goodness instead of doubting it exists. We can help one another guard our thoughts so we don’t slip into the abyss of self-pity.

PSALM 73 COMMISSIONS: 

It commissions us to tell unbelievers of their end. (v. 18-20 & 28b.) Unbeliever – The Bible says you’re living in a dream. You’ll wake up one day and all will evaporate. You will be destroyed in a moment. Jesus died so that He might tabernacle  with you.

PSALM 73 ENCOURAGES: 

It encourages us to intentional sanctuary thinking. The transforming effect of a divine perspective – that’s what happened to Asaph. In Christ, we have the power to see things through a divine perspective. But it starts with asking the question – WHAT CURRENTLY INFLUENCES ME MOST?
How is your local Church influencing you? Pastors that God has put in your life to shepherd your soul, members that you know and they know you!  

To grow in sanctuary thinking let’s maximize all God is doing in your Church as the primary influence to your sanctuary thinking. Think PRIMARY not EXCLUSIVE  when you choose what things to listen to and influence you.

PSALM 73 PROCLAIMS: 

What does Psalm 73 proclaim? THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD FOR BELIEVERS – The all-sufficiency of knowing God. NOTHING in heaven or earth will satisfy. Only the good of knowing we can be near God, our refuge, our place of deep satisfaction in this world while we await being in His physical presence.

Psalms are a treasure for the Christian. All of them, including imprecatory Psalm 58, are the holy words of Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit. Like the rest of Scripture, Psalm 58 is authoritative over and profitable for our lives. We can’t cancel them. So what do we do with them? Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 58
TITLE:   The Gospel and Imprecatory Psalms
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: The gospel turns our imprecatory prayers into impassioned pleas for God’s saving mercy as we trust Him to do what is just in His eyes.

POINTS:
1. A Portrait of the Wicked
2. A Prayer Against the Wicked

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”We will walk through the passage to understand it in the original context, then look at a few ways the gospel shapes how Psalm 58 can function in our lives.”

“Who are the wicked? At the end of 1, the word gods is translated from a Hebrew word that can mean mighty one or ruler. In the immediate context, the inscriptions of the surrounding psalms lend to this; they are Saul and the officials who support his mission to murder David. In general, they are the ungodly rulers in Israel and, beyond that, leaders opposed to God and His people.”

“Notice how David goes from heart to hand. In their hearts, they devise wicked plans. Their evil actions are thought out. In other words, their wicked governance is who they are. And with their hands, they deal out—dispense, mete out—their evil hearts on others. David paints a picture of calculated evil executed with business-like ruthlessness and efficiency.”

“By the time we get to verse 6, David is outraged at the wickedness and evil he sees. He does not opt for a passive shrugging of shoulders or civil diplomacy. He reigns down curses from above using rich imagery.”

“So how should we think about David’s prayer? Carefully, humbly, and like every other part of Scripture and life, through the lens of the gospel.”

“There is great continuity between the Old and New Testaments. There is also appropriate discontinuity and for one overarching reason: The Gospel. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus changed everything.”

“As Christians, we don’t pray for the damnation of sinners; we pray for their salvation. We pray for the demise of their evil work, which, by the way, the gospel is the ultimate answer, but we don’t pray for their personal damnation. We pray God protects us from suffering at their hands, but we don’t pray He strikes them dead instantly. As far as we are concerned, no one is out of the reach of God’s saving grace. He alone knows and determines who he saves.”

“This is worth remembering. Hating sin is an act of righteousness. But do we hate our sin as much as we hate other's sin? We should have burned. We lived opposed to God in every way. Remembering the depths of our depravity produces a humility that produces gratitude for grace and compassion for the lost—yes, even the wicked who rule over and oppose our Lord and Savior with their position and power.”

“The gospel comes with a promise—eternal justice. Those in Christ will live forever with him in heaven as their reward. All who reject Jesus will pay the price of their sins forever in hell. We must keep our eyes on heaven. A day is coming, if not in our lives, when Christ returns, when the Lord will have His vengeance on the wicked.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 5:43-44
Luke 6:28
Galatians 6:9

The extraordinary nature of David’s repentance matched the extraordinary nature of his sin, and he understood that he desperately needed the extraordinary work of transformation that only God had the power to perform! Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 51
TITLE:  Repentance and Renewal
PREACHER: Tom Wilkins

POINTS:
1. A radical repentance
2. A radical renewal

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”[In verse 1,] David cries out for God’s pardon in repentance. But we quickly realize that this repentance is not simple. It is not short. David, at length, and in-depth seeks God’s forgiveness, God’s release, God’s pardon… because his sin was extraordinarily grievous!”

“You’ve heard it - sin is sin. (almost a ‘get-over-it’ attitude). But one sin is not simply the same as another. They vary in gravity and quantity, in both light and grievous consequences. The resulting damage is little in some cases and almost irreparable in others!”

“Second Samuel 11 and 12 is a must-read to begin understanding the horror of David’s sin and the beauty and power of God’s grace and mercy.”

“His sins were many. His sins were grievous. He was trying to hide them. OUR sins were many. OUR sins are grievous. WE are trying to hide them.”

“David’s repentance reveals that his sins are ever before him AND the following consequences taught him that he had sinned ultimately against God alone (2 Sam. 12) “you have utterly scorned the Lord”), that his sins were a great evil in God’s sight, and that God was completely justified in His words and judgment!”

“In David’s radical repentance, he calls out for these things that only God can provide and finally would provide through His Son, Jesus.”

“God's very Son will become David’s substitute and bear David’s sin, ALL OF THEM, on his own body on the Cross! Jesus will be broken for him. Jesus will shed his own blood for David’s guilt… for OUR guilt. Everything that David needs in his repentance will flow from the Cross of Christ. Every blow of the hammer to remove the engraved list of his and our sins was replaced with every blow of the hammer that drove the nails into our Savior’s hands and feet!”

“Sinners forgiven by Him and sinners given new life from Him become sons and daughters who bring Him much delight. He delights in what he has done first (the gracious forgiveness and the giving of new hearts) before anything that we can offer. We live again!!! We’ve been forgiven and born again! BROKEN and Contrite Men and Women sing aloud and God is truly worshipped and praised!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Hebrews 11:13

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “My revolts, my excesses, are all recorded against me; but, Lord, erase the lines. Draw thy pen through the register. Obliterate the record, though now it seems engraved in the rock forever: many strokes of thy mercy may be needed, to cut out the deep inscription, but then thou has a multitude of mercies, and therefore, I beseech thee, erase my sins.”

Charles Spurgeon - “A great sinner pardoned makes a great singer!”

APPLICATION:
The longer your wait to repent, the longer the list of transgressions grows - don’t wait any longer!

Has sin so gripped you that your original love for God has now turned to question Him, doubting him? Cry out to God for the miracle of the restoration of your spirit that can again marvel at your salvation - the return of JOY after Pardon and Purity!

Though written 3000 years ago, Psalm 47, the exclamation point to Psalm 46, could not be more relevant for us today. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 47
TITLE:  He Is Worthy
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: There is only one true God and He is no ordinary king.

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”The psalmist is giving a poetic beatdown to the nations’ gods. Yahweh is not one god of many. He is the Most High, the Great King over all the earth. As such, He is to be feared, that is acknowledged, served, and praised by all people everywhere.”

“[God] may be patient, but He will not stomach any rivals. Any person who refuses to turn to him in repentance and faith will be judged eternally. But He is not a tyrant. He is merciful. And His people know this personally.”

“Not once. Not twice. Not three times. Not four times. FIVE times the psalmist summons people everywhere to praise God. We are meant to feel the weight of the repetition. We need to feel the weight of the repetition. We can never praise God sufficient of His glory and majesty as the great king over all the earth.”

“The psalmist is saying, there is a day coming when God’s love and mercy and grace will not be for Israel only, but the Gentiles as well—all the peoples of the earth. Those who were once strangers and aliens to the covenant people of God will be brought near and made part. This week read Ephesians 2 and see how verse 9 fleshes out.”

“Jesus fulfilled Psalm 47 by becoming our great king of all the earth. His coronation was on a cross where justice and mercy met to make all people everywhere, regardless of their nation, tribe, and tongue the people of God. so that all men everywhere, Jew or Gentile, could belong to God by faith.” 

“People everywhere are searching for meaning and purpose. They can’t find it so they rage inside. Their rage is so strong it bubbles out of them in things like sexual perversion, addiction, violence, and power trips. And in its own way, Psalm 47 says—Be still and know that I am King. Rest your weary hearts in me, the great king over all the earth.”

“Psalm 47 unequivocally and unapologetically teaches us that our King is so great the praises that begin in the heart cannot be contained by the heart—they are expressive.”

“Let SGC be known for a joyful and noisy celebration on Sundays. Let it be orderly, but may it not be muted and lifeless. May it declare the glory of our King Jesus. Is He worthy of our loud praises—He is!”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
2 Samuel 6:15
Galatians 3:7-9
Galatians 3:13-14

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “What jubilation is here, when five times over the whole earth is called upon to sing to God. Never let the music pause. He never ceases to be good, let us never cease to be grateful. Strange that we should need so much urging to attend to so heavenly an exercise.”

Derek Kidner - “From the first word to the last, this communicates the excitement and jubilation of the enthronement, and the king is God himself. And more than poetry; this is prophecy, whose climax is exceptionally far-reaching.”

James Montgomery Boice - “Let’s be done with worship that is always weak and unexciting. If you cannot sing loudly and make loud music to praise the God who has redeemed you in Jesus Christ and is preparing you for heaven, perhaps it is because you do not really know God or the gospel at all.”

APPLICATION:
Did you need urging this morning to sing praises to God? That’s a spiritual red flag you should pay attention to. Ask yourself these questions:

Is Christ your king today? Is Christ a King worth your kingly praises?

Sometimes the application is so clear in the text, you can’t ignore it. Here’s what is clear in Psalm 47: Christian worship, by that I mean what we do for 25 minutes every Sunday, is meant to be a noisy celebration. 

When we gather, we sing. Our singing is joyful obedience. Our singing matters to what is happening outside of Sunday mornings because what we do in here shapes and informs what we do out there.

That moment of rushing through the elements to your car or a building, slamming the door behind you, and though the storm is still raging outside, suddenly you have a sense of relief, calm, and safety that makes the storm fade away even as it rages on outside. That’s the picture of Psalm 46. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 46
TITLE:  Our Mighty Fortress
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

POINTS:
1. God’s Protection in Times of Trouble
2. God’s Presence in Times of Trouble
3. God’s Pronouncement for Times of Trouble

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Everyone runs for safety in a storm. The question is, when the storms of life rage around you, where do you run? Where you run makes all the difference. Where you run reveals where your heart and hope is.”

“Whether to comfort you in a current storm or prepare you for the coming storm, Psalm 46 comes to us as a strong friend, encouraging and compelling us to seek refuge in God.”

“God is our refuge - A refuge is a place of safety. It’s where you go to be protected and free from danger. God is likened to a fortress we can run to in the storms of life—He is our safety.”

“God is our strength - In God, we have not only a place of safety; we find the strength to face our circumstances and sufferings. The power to persevere and deal with the storms of life is not a natural strength—it's supernatural.”

“God is our very present help in trouble - The word present could also mean well-proven. The point is God is a faithful and sufficient help in our time of need. He is always with you, not merely to assist you, but He is your safety and strength, sufficient for any troubles you experience.”

“Trials and troubles expose our weaknesses. Often times we allow them to isolate us—No one understands or cares—so we clam up and don’t show up at church or CG. Fear has a way of setting in. And when fear sets in, we become irrational. Objective truth, the very thing we need most in the moment, is usurped by subjective and often self-centered feelings and emotions. This is Satan’s work of deception; fear proves we have believed his lies.”

“The river signifies God’s provision for and presence with David. Just as David could walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear in Psalm 23, he could face the trembling mountains and roaring seas of life without fear. It’s like being in the eye of a tornado—peacefulness as the storm roars all around you.“

“Nowhere did God speak louder than at the cross. In Jesus' death and resurrection, the power and penalty of sin were melted away for all who put their faith in Jesus. Do you feel weak and scared? Do you feel strong and secure? Either way, you can do nothing to melt away the power of sin and death. It is the one battle that matters and the one battle you cannot win. But Jesus did.”

“To be still and know that God is God is to mortify your anxiety; cease in your self-sufficiency; stop trying to carry your burdens alone; stop interpreting your life apart from God. Let God be God. Recognize Me for who I am.”

“…the claim of Psalm 46 on our lives goes beyond the storms of life—it also speaks to our tendencies toward joy-robbing condemnation. Condemnation is a form of pride that says—I just need to do better. When we sin, godly conviction turns our eyes upward to our Savior. Condemnation turns our eyes inward to our efforts. That’s pride. Here's the thing: Romans 8:1 says, “There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Why? Because the very sin that condemns us has been dealt with at the cross.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 130:5
Hebrews 10:24-25
2 Corinthians 10:5

QUOTES:
Charles Spurgeon - “God is our all in all. All other refuges are refuges of lies and all other strength is weakness….Our only impregnable, accessible, delightful place of retreat is our God.”

APPLICATION:
Where do you need to Be still and know that God is God?

Our struggles, suffering, and fears need something bigger and better that puts them in their place. The problem is we turn to so many other things to ease our worries and pains. In doing so, we are like the raging nations and tottering kingdoms. But in Christ, we have another way to deal with life in a fallen world. We have a Mighty Fortress, an unfailing bulwark of protection and provision. But how do we get there:

• Wait on the Lord through prayer and the Word

• Prioritize Sundays even when you don’t feel like it

• Preach truth to yourself more and listen to yourself less

In just six verses, 118 words, David’s song puts us on the right path by proclaiming God’s intimate knowledge of and unfailing love for us. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 23
TITLE: The LORD is MY Shepherd
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Scripture is filled with pictures that help us understand God and apply what we know about Him to ordinary life. We call them metaphors. They are a gift from God. One of the Bible's most common and powerful metaphors is the imagery of God as a shepherd.”

“David’s shepherd is no ordinary shepherd—The LORD—all caps is the personal and holy name of God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3—Yahweh, the great I AM.“

“David’s shepherd is the one who has always existed, who brought all things into existence and keeps all things existing. The one Isaiah 40 describes as measuring the waters that cover the earth in the hollow of His hands and the one who consults no one because He knows everything. The one Job 38 describes commanding the elements of weather and creating the boundaries of the sea. The one Psalm 8 declares has set the stars into place—all 200 billion trillion. The one Proverbs 16:33 says controls even the cast of the lot (flip of a quarter). This is no ordinary shepherd.”

“David does not say ‘the’ shepherd. He doesn’t even say ‘our’ or ‘Israel’s’ shepherd. David says—The LORD is MY shepherd.”

“No one should be more grateful than a Christian. We should have a monopoly on gratitude.”

“Notice how David changes from ‘He’ and ‘his’ (5 times in verses 2-3) to ‘you’ and ‘you're’ in verse 4. Instead of talking about God, David speaks directly to God. The valley of death brings us into an intimacy with God that the green pastures of 2 do not.”

“The dark valleys elicit fear in us. It’s not the darkness that is so scary; it’s being in the darkness alone. David does not fear the dark valleys of life because he knows his shepherd is with him. His rod and staff comfort him.” 

“Psalm 23 makes it clear—no sheep that belongs to this shepherd is ever alone or will ever be lost. And if you have put your faith in Jesus, the Great Shepherd, you are never alone, you are always being cared for, and you will never be lost.”

“David’s life was filled with dark valleys. At times those valleys left him feeling like God had abandoned him. But David knows the truth: those dark valleys brought him closer to his shepherd. So it is with us. Bad things happen in our lives. But, in the words of Romans 8—God works all things for the good of those who love him…If God is for us, who can be against us…nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” 

“Whatever is happening in your life today is because God is pursuing you with His goodness and mercy through them. He is bringing you into closer intimacy, a greater likeness, a deeper trust, and a more abiding joy in Him through your dark valleys. What can be better than that?!”

“Through the hardships of your life, your shepherd is pursuing and preparing you to—end of verse 6—dwell with him forever. No more sin. No more suffering. No more sorrow. No more distractions. No more dark valleys. Only the greenest of green pastures, the stillest of still waters, and the most exquisite feast—all in his glorious presence! That’s only possible because God’s goodness and mercy have pursued you in His Son, Jesus.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
John 10

QUOTES:
Timothy Laniak - “To truly understand God, the metaphorical phrase, God is my shepherd, is necessary, not just nice.”

Dale Ralph Davis - “It is precisely in the commonplace and familiar scenes of life where we see our Savior’s constant provision. We love him because he does not just meet us in the critical times but in the common times. We know he will be at work for us on Tuesday and the day after that, though there may be nothing dramatic about them.”

John Calvin - “Faith does not promise us length of days, riches, and honors; but is contented with the assurance, that however poor we may be in regard to present comforts, God will never fail us.”

APPLICATION:
Do you know the shepherd of Psalm 23, or are you just familiar with him? Perhaps you know him, but you have become familiar with him. Today is the day to be restored to your shepherd.

Look at the heading with me—A Maskil of David. A Maskil probably refers to a song. Psalm 23 is meant to be sung. We are going to end by singing to our shepherd. But don’t just sing—praise him. Repent before him. Thank him. He is the good shepherd whose goodness and mercy shall pursue you all the way to the eternal house of the Lord.  

The legacy of David is no matter how hard life was, he always looked up, remembering, resting, and rejoicing in the goodness of God. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 22
TITLE: A Hard Life Is No Match For A Good God
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: Life is hard, but God is good. And Jesus is the proof!

POINTS:
1. Life is Hard
2. God is Good

SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes are taken from the pastor’s notes.
”Unlike Psalm 8, where David was at the height of his relationship with God, Psalm 22 finds David at the opposite end of the spectrum. David is in deep despair. In his mind, his situation has become bigger than life itself, and God is nowhere to be found. To be sure, David has not lapsed in his faith, as we will see in a moment, but his heart HURTS so much that he feels God has abandoned him.”

“I think verse 6 sums it up for David—I am a worm, not a man. In Scripture, a worm is a metaphor for judgment and destruction. So deep is his anguish David doesn’t even feel human. Life is Hard; just ask David.”

“In 2 Samuel 12, David’s adultery cost him the life of his son. In 2 Samuel 13, David’s daughter Tamar was raped by her brother, Amnon. When Tamar’s other brother Absalom found out, he killed his brother Amnon. In 2 Samuel 14-18, David’s son Absalom attempted a coup against him, only to be killed in battle against him. In 1 Samuel 18-30, David, promised to be King, was forced to live in a cave instead of a castle because the man he looked up to and respected, Saul, was hell-bent on killing him.”

“We love to identify with David in his lament, and we should. But too often, we justify our struggles with God and try to whitewash our sinful attitudes toward God by saying—Look at David in the Psalms! But wearing his feelings on his sleeve before God is not the legacy of David. The legacy of David is no matter how hard life was, he always looked up, remembering, resting, and rejoicing in the goodness of God.” 

“The word ‘Yet’ in verse 3 represents an interruption in David’s focus. He has shifted from the grief of his situation to the God of his salvation. I have this situation going on in my life, Yet, God is holy, and notice the second half of verse 3—He is enthroned on the praises of Israel. Translation: God is worthy to be praised in good times and bad times.”

“In his grief, David stops himself—he takes his thoughts captive—to remember his God (My God 3x in verses 1-2) is FAITHFUL.”

“Problems over—No. Enemies gone—No. Suffering ceased—No. Eyes fixed on the Lord—Yes! David doesn’t ignore his feelings. They are real. But, he does not allow his emotions to rule him. David knows where the battle begins, in the mind, and he takes his thoughts captive. Using the language from Psalm 8, he becomes more mindful of God—His faithfulness and sovereignty—than his circumstance. And that leads him to worship, even in woe.”

“Psalm 22 teaches us that Life is Hard, but God is Good. And the highest expression of God’s goodness is Jesus. The One who took care of your greatest need at Calvary by offering himself for your forgiveness, righteousness, and salvation.”

“This is why we can say, in even the hardest trial—I am doing better than I deserve. I deserve God’s wrath—Yet—I have full pardon in Christ. Christ was forsaken so you could be accepted. This spiritual reality gives perspective on our hardships.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 27
2 Corinthians 4:16
2 Corinthians 1:9

QUOTES:
John Calvin - “David gathers together the examples of all past ages, in order thereby to encourage, strengthen, and effectually persuade himself, that as God had never cast off any of his chosen people, he would be one of the number of those for whom deliverance is securely laid up for him in the hand of God.”

John Bloom - “At the crux of history, there was a moment when God was God-forsaken. And he was forsaken for you and me….God became the object of God’s wrath to eternally remove our curse, that we might become the objects of God’s eternal mercy.”

APPLICATION:
- Where do you need a “Yet” inserted into your life? Where do you need an interruption in your focus?

Psalm 22 is for all of us. But I believe there are some here God is particularly concerned with. Your eyes are on you, your problems, and your solutions. The Lord’s word to you today is—Look up and find your hope in life and death in Jesus. Whatever you think you need most—you need Jesus more!

Three weapons for the fight:

• Prioritize the Psalms (begin this week with Psalm 23)

• Prioritize gathering with your gospel-preaching church

• Prioritize Christ-centered counsel with your pastor

God’s transcendent yet intimate presence will be fully realized when His Son Jesus returns. However strong or weak your faith is today, Psalm 8 sings this perspective-altering and life-transforming truth to your heart. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 8
TITLE:   The Stars, Babies, Jesus, and Me
PREACHER: Derek Overstreet
BIG IDEA: The God who stands high above it all lives right here in your heart!

POINTS:
1. The Majesty of the Lord
2. The Meaningfulness of Man

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”I have no idea where David was when these thoughts entered his head, but as he surveys creation, gazing up at the star-filled sky, he has a moment where he recognizes that God stands above it all. As majestic and glorious as creation is, all of it reflects His far greater majesty and glory. Its very existence is a praise of His glory.”

“David takes us from the grandeur of the universe to the smallest and most vulnerable expressions of humanity.”

“Q) What do stars and babies have in common? A) God’s majesty and glory. The heavens proclaim God’s glory, and so does the baby’s first weak and helpless cry.”

“David now does something unexpected. He shifts from the Majesty of the Lord to the Meaningfulness of Man.”

“Nothing in all of God’s creation reflects God’s majesty as you do.”

“The world needs to hear this. The lost you are reaching out to need to know this—human beings matter to God. He created us to take pleasure in Him, and He takes pleasure in us. But Rom 1 says we choose our glory.”

“David says the work of setting all those stars in place and sustaining them in place is, look at it in 3—the work of your fingers. Translation—Effortless. Oh Lord, Our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

“The transcendent God who creates and sets and sustains the universe is with you. David’s language is intentional and weighty: The idea of being mindful of man is to be constantly aware of him. The Hebrew word translated care means visit (KJV) or come near. The language is unmistakably intimate. The God who stands above the heavens makes His presence with you. He has you on His mind. He is constantly and continually aware of you and everything happening in your life. While He sustains 200 sextillion stars, He is, at the same time, personally and powerfully working all things for your good.”

“God’s care is never in the abstract. It is never at arm’s length. God comes into your reality. He comes into your existence with unfailing love, divine power, and eternal purpose. You exist for something infinitely far greater than all this. God has prepared an eternal dwelling place for you. Jesus will return, and you will live with him in perfect glory forever.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 19:1
Hebrews 2:6-9

QUOTES:
Dr. Geoffrey Simmons - “How can you hear a baby’s first cry and not believe in the miracle God has produced? At nine months after conception, the baby's brain sends a hormone through the placenta into the mother's pituitary gland. Although it’s a complicated chemical, its message is simple: I’m ready; It’s time. All the baby’s complex systems—lungs, heart, gastrointestinal, nerves, brain—are ready to make it on their own, but the baby’s skull is not yet fused, so it can be pliable enough to fit through the birth canal. As the process starts, the baby’s adrenal glands add a shot of stress hormones to the baby so it can bear the stress of the delivery. The child will not breathe until it's cleared the birth canal. If it breathed too soon, it would suffocate; if it waited too long, it would suffer brain damage. And just before the mother and child separate, the newborn gets a last-minute blood transfusion through the placenta and the umbilical cord that the placenta has stored till this very moment that has just exactly the right chemicals and nutrients for the baby to survive the first moments.”

Charles Spurgeon - “In the sky, the massive orbs, rolling in their stupendous grandeur, are witnesses of his power in great things, while here below, the lisping utterances of babes are the manifestations of his strength in little ones. How often will children tell us of a God whom we have forgotten.”

John Calvin - “David expressly celebrates the special favour which God manifests towards mankind; for this, of all the subjects which come under our contemplation, is the brightest mirror in which we can behold his glory.”

APPLICATION:
Are you wondering if God cares? Are you wondering if you have any worth in such a big world? Are you wondering where you fit into it all? Good news—Psalm 8 solves the puzzle for you. Hebrews 2 says Psalm 8 sings the song of the gospel to your heart. The One who set all the stars in place came near to you in Jesus.

The first cry of baby Jesus in a dark and dank manger thundered into a fallen world that the same transcendent God who made it all is not only mindful of you but has come to care for and make you right with Himself. The final words Jesus uttered as he hung suspended between heaven and earth, bearing your sin and paying the price of your measureless debt—It is finished—are yours by faith and set you free in Christ.

If there were three words that captured the essence of this Psalm and the essence of God’s plan it would be Pursue and Proclaim. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.

SERIES: Sermons in the Psalms
TEXT: Psalm 67
TITLE:  Blessed to be A Blessing
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: God pursued you so you could proclaim Him

POINTS:
1. GOD’S BLESSINGS TO US
2. GOD’S BLESSINGS THROUGH US

SERMON EXCERPTS:
”As you read your Bible, you begin to see over and over that this has been God’s plan from the beginning. As Abe Lincoln said he found something in the Psalms for every day of the year – today we are going to find the essence of God’s purposes RIGHT HERE IN the Psalms!”

“If you’re not a believer in Jesus, your starting point is to ask God for grace.  The Psalmist’s prayer is asking for God’s continuous grace, His sustaining grace.  The best saints and the worst sinners unite in their need for grace.  Grace is God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Grace is unmerited favor. Properly understanding Grace is the death to any approach or legal case one desires to make before a Holy God.”

“God forgives, then He gives.  That’s how God works. He reconciles us to Himself. He cannot give blessings to you until the grace of God has arrested you.”

“Now notice the object of the Psalmist prayer for grace. May God be gracious TO US.  This is how we know the Psalmist is talking about the people of God.  This is why when we read our Bible’s we need to be careful to not overpersonalize the Scriptures. God blesses and is gracious to each one of us personally but makes us a part of the people of God.  Every believer personally experiences God’s WORK OF GRACE but most of Scripture addresses us as a group – the Psalmist to the people of Israel and now the Psalmist to you and I as the Church.“

“God’s purpose in creating the world, creating you and I, has always been to make Himself known.”

“God pursues us so we can proclaim His name!  How do we know this is for us?  How do we know God’s plan hasn’t changed? The OT is the NT concealed – the NT is the OT revealed. We know this applies to us because the NT reveals God’s plan to pursue a people for Himself that will proclaim God’s ways to others.”

“If there were three words that captured the essence of this Psalm and the essence of God’s plan it would be Pursue and Proclaim.”

ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Luke 2:14
Numbers 6:24-25
Genesis 12:1-3
Galatians 3:7–8
Galatians 3:16

QUOTES:
Abe Lincoln - “[The Psalms] are the best. I find something in them for every day of the year.”

Martin Luther - “[The Book of Psalms], it’s the Bible in miniature.” 

Derek Overstreet - “God’s shining face represents His presence to bless and prosper.  Like the sun shining down on the harvest causing things to grow and be healthy and bear much fruit, so God shines His face upon His children, pouring out His grace and blessing.”

Dane Ortland - “In Jesus and His work on our behalf, we see the length to which God would go to draw men and women everywhere into the blessing of enjoying the radiant face of God shining down on them.”

C. H. Spurgeon - “Ignorance of God is the greatest enemy of mankind, and the testimonies of the saints, experimental and grateful, overcome this deadly foe. God has a set way and method of dealing out mercy to men, and it is the duty and privilege of a revived church to make that way to be everywhere known.”

APPLICATION:
What are you known for?  What do people know about you? 

How can you be more strategic and intentional in your evangelism? 

1. As a Church, we are going to begin sharing our “who told you” testimonies?  Begin to think about and write out your story.  Who did God bless so they could bless you – make God’s ways known to you?

2. Begin thinking in terms of “Pursue and Proclaim” God’s purpose in the world is to pursue a people for Himself that make Him known to the nations.  That happens as you consider who God may have you pursue to position yourself for proclamation.