From Pastor Andrew’s Desk
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Greetings FCCBers,
I hope your week is going well! It was a joy last week to preach with my father and he really enjoyed being with all of you. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement to our family in their time here. Becky and I had fun getting some time to go out on a date this week and just out and about, the kiddos loved having “pop pop and grandma” around and we all got some good things done around the house :).
Also, please be praying for our baptism service tomorrow morning at 9:00 am at Stiles Pond. Feel free to stop by! Looks like we have six people being baptized! May the Lord guide this time by His grace. The total service should be brief, about 30 minutes or so.
This week is most likely our last week of an eight message series of “Summer in the Psalms.” I will miss preaching through the Psalms as they have impacted my life so deeply this summer in reading through and preaching them. What an amazing book! .I thought a good place to potentially end would be the most famous Psalm of all time……can you guess which Psalm this is? Psalm 23! We have all heard this Psalm read at funerals, and other key moments of our lives. What an honor to have the opportunity to preach it.
Psalm 23 is often identified as the “Shepherd’s Psalm.” It starts off by stating, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
The personal nature of this Psalm is so striking to me. David uses the possessive word of “my” to clearly indicate the relationship that exists between him and the Lord. How wonderful! David knew the Lord’s presence intimately as a sheep does the presence of it’s shepherd. Therefore, the Lord is truly the Good Shepherd to David in every way. And because the Lord is his Shepherd in providing this ultimate presence and comfort, David no longer needs to be in want. The word “want” speaks to a restless desire that is continually unquenched by the things of this world. When David was focused on the Lord as his shepherd everything else began to fade into the distance because his satisfaction in God was so deep. Then David speaks of the Lord who
makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
David doesn’t speak of the Lord making him work here, but rather making him rest. To lie down and enjoy the beautiful creation of the Lord. When was the last time you or I laid down like a fool in the green grass or by quiet waters and just loved it as we spent time with God! Take a minute this weekend and give it a shot. Come on- just do it, the weather will be beautiful! And enjoy being with the Lord and experiencing His grace! For then
He guides us in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.
For His sake He guides us. God makes us righteous in Christ for His own sake and for His renown. We just respond to this gift!
Then David shifts the focus for a bit by stating
even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. David now describes the valley of facing death. And this death can be understood as metaphorical of literal. The “valley of death” could describe a very low period in someone’s life and in those low periods it is easy to view God as distant. Pain has a way of having us feel utterly alone. Certainly when someone is at death’s door or overwhelmed by circumstances, fear is very real. In this tense moment David affirms that the Lord is his comfort and is with him. David will not fear evil or his enemies (v. 5) due to the Lord’s very clear presence in his life. May we have David’s confidence as we experience trials.
David concludes these beautiful Psalm with one of the most poetic lines in all of Scripture by stating surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house forever.
So now David can say with utmost confidence that these good things that come from God will always be with him, because he will always be with God. And his ultimate hope is eternal in his eternal home with the Lord. He longs to dwell in the house of the Lord for all of His days. Thanks be to God!
Psalm 23 is often cited at funerals or at death beds and rightfully so as it describes the presence of the Lord even in the midst of death and dying. Yet, I now have another suggestion for this Psalm after recently reading through it and preparing to preach on it. My suggestion is that Psalm 23 is truly a Psalm also for the living, because it shows us so clearly how to live a life that is content in God. So that when all has been said and done, we can say that we live for what mattered, we live our life for Him. And He carried us every step of the way for His honor and His glory! See you (Saturday at the baptism?) and Sunday! Blessings,
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Greetings FCCBers,
I hope your week is going well! It was a joy last week to preach with my father and he really enjoyed being with all of you. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement to our family in their time here. Becky and I had fun getting some time to go out on a date this week and just out and about, the kiddos loved having “pop pop and grandma” around and we all got some good things done around the house :). Also, please be praying for our baptism service tomorrow morning at 9:00 am at Stiles Pond. Feel free to stop by! Looks like we have six people being baptized! May the Lord guide this time by His grace. The total service should be brief, about 30 minutes or so.
This week is most likely our last week of an eight message series of “Summer in the Psalms.” I will miss preaching through the Psalms as they have impacted my life so deeply this summer in reading through and preaching them. What an amazing book! .I thought a good place to potentially end would be the most famous Psalm of all time……can you guess which Psalm this is? Psalm 23! We have all heard this Psalm read at funerals, and other key moments of our lives. What an honor to have the opportunity to preach it.
Psalm 23 is often identified as the “Shepherd’s Psalm.” It starts off by stating,
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
The personal nature of this Psalm is so striking to me. David uses the possessive word of “my” to clearly indicate the relationship that exists between him and the Lord. How wonderful! David knew the Lord’s presence intimately as a sheep does the presence of it’s shepherd. Therefore, the Lord is truly the Good Shepherd to David in every way. And because the Lord is his Shepherd in providing this ultimate presence and comfort, David no longer needs to be in want. The word “want” speaks to a restless desire that is continually unquenched by the things of this world. When David was focused on the Lord as his shepherd everything else began to fade into the distance because his satisfaction in God was so deep. Then David speaks of the Lord who
makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
David doesn’t speak of the Lord making him work here, but rather making him rest. To lie down and enjoy the beautiful creation of the Lord. When was the last time you or I laid down like a fool in the green grass or by quiet waters and just loved it as we spent time with God! Take a minute this weekend and give it a shot. Come on- just do it, the weather will be beautiful! And enjoy being with the Lord and experiencing His grace! For then
He guides us in the path of righteousness for His name’s sake.
For His sake He guides us. God makes us righteous in Christ for His own sake and for His renown. We just respond to this gift!
Then David shifts the focus for a bit by stating
even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. David now describes the valley of facing death. And this death can be understood as metaphorical of literal. The “valley of death” could describe a very low period in someone’s life and in those low periods it is easy to view God as distant. Pain has a way of having us feel utterly alone. Certainly when someone is at death’s door or overwhelmed by circumstances, fear is very real. In this tense moment David affirms that the Lord is his comfort and is with him. David will not fear evil or his enemies (v. 5) due to the Lord’s very clear presence in his life. May we have David’s confidence as we experience trials.
David concludes these beautiful Psalm with one of the most poetic lines in all of Scripture by stating surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house forever.
So now David can say with utmost confidence that these good things that come from God will always be with him, because he will always be with God. And his ultimate hope is eternal in his eternal home with the Lord. He longs to dwell in the house of the Lord for all of His days. Thanks be to God!
Psalm 23 is often cited at funerals or at death beds and rightfully so as it describes the presence of the Lord even in the midst of death and dying. Yet, I now have another suggestion for this Psalm after recently reading through it and preparing to preach on it. My suggestion is that Psalm 23 is truly a Psalm also for the living, because it shows us so clearly how to live a life that is content in God. So that when all has been said and done, we can say that we live for what mattered, we live our life for Him. And He carried us every step of the way for His honor and His glory! See you (Saturday at the baptism?) and Sunday! Blessings,
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