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Archive for the ‘Sermon Notes’ Category

August 21st, 2011 by craigbenno

Being an agent of hope in a pain filled world.

I recently preached a sermon titled “Being an agent of hope, in a pain filled world”  to the youth / young adults congregation at church. I thought you might like to have a listen to it. Let me know what you think.

 

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July 7th, 2011 by Jeremy

Sunday Sermon

I know a few folks clicked through last week from this site.  If you’re interested in hearing more from a Catholic preacher at a Presbyterian Church, you check out this Sunday’s sermon HERE.

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June 26th, 2011 by Jeremy

Sermon Audio from 06/26

So for anyone that hasn’t noticed, I’ve started a personal site where I post from time to time.  I posted the audio from my sermon at the First Presbyterian Church in Hammond (LA) this morning.  You can give it a listen if you’d like.

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May 23rd, 2009 by Joel

Jesus Christ is a Thief!

Sometime ago someone preached a sermon concerning the thief who seeks to steal our joy, our blessing, and our salvation. The problem is that in doing so, he failed to rightly divided the word of Truth, and ended up calling Jesus Christ a murderer -

Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. (Matthew 24:42-44 NKJV)

Can you see how simple the understanding of this verse is: Plainly, the Lord is the unknown that is coming to the Master (the rule of this world) to ‘steal away’ something, namely His people.

Not every word or phrase in the bible is used the exact same way – a point which we will not get into here – but in basing all things related to a thief on this:

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJV)

- If we base every time that the world ‘thief’ is used, we fail to rightly divide, and come away sounding foolish at best – and blasphemous at worse.

Look at this way – this world is not governed by God, so to take people out of this world, would be theft of the property of the adversary; the Church (I refer here to John 10) is the property of the Lord’s – His little flock – so anyone attempting to steal away a Saint is a thief.

But, seriously, just read the Bible.

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May 27th, 2008 by Joel

Sermon Notes 5/26 – Doctrine

Today, we read that many Protestants are converting to Catholic or Eastern Orthodox in droves and the reason that they give is that they desire something concrete. People are leaving the light weighted mega churches who teach only a good life and seeking something that is rooted to history. Protestants have focused on the manner of life, shouting from the rooftops throughout history “Faith Alone!” or as John Calvin said, “Sola Fide!” Their historical insistence that all one has to do is to in some way mention the name of the Lord and they are saved has eroded their denominational boundaries and is drawing everyone together into one fold, with no difference or distinction any more. How many times have we heard the sinner, justifying himself, say that it doesn’t matter what we believe, if we live a good life, we are all going to the same place? Although this is a recent invention, the seeds to this were sown centuries ago when people freely left the Doctrine of the Church and created their own doctrine.

We can find people that live lives of service, devoted to their fellow man in all religions. We can find good moral people that don’t even believe in God. They might have throngs of people mourning their death, but unless they lead a life in subjection to the doctrine of the Word of God, it was for nothing. If living a devout life was all it took, then Cornelius would have not needed Peter.

Doctrine – διδασκαλία (didaskalia)

1) teaching, instruction

2) teaching

a) that which is taught, doctrine

b) teachings, precepts

The etymology of the word ‘doctrine’ has it first being used to describe generic teaching about a subject, but by the time Paul wrote to Timothy, it came to mean ‘instruction on how to do something’. There is a difference that is rarely seen in the modern era. When we teach something, we do so in a very general format covering only the basics, but when we instruct, we get into the precepts and learn the minute details of how to do something. When Paul used Doctrine, he did not mean the everyday conversation about Christ, in that when a Saint speaks to a sinner, but the instructions of the Church.

In 1st Timothy 3:15-16, we read ‘But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.’

In this we come to understand that the Church itself is the column and stay of the Truth. The ‘Stay’ or keep of an ancient Castle was the place where the defense was kept, where the most prized possessions were, in a time of war, moved to protect them. Here we see Paul telling Timothy that the Church is the very place where the Truth is kept from invaders and those that would seek to destroy it.

In Acts 2:42, Luke tells us, ‘And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.’

These very first converts, having no Tradition or great theologians to follow relied only on the very thing that the Apostles’ taught. Steadfast, as we all know, means to be steadfastly attentive unto, to give unremitting care to a thing and to continue all the time in a place. How could a steadfast commitment to the Doctrine that the Apostle’s taught be seen as a good thing if the Doctrine was meant to change?

The young man Timothy was told by Paul in 1st Timothy 4:6, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” Paul did not instruct Timothy to seek something new, or to seek a change, even slight, in the Doctrine of the Church, but to constantly bring the people back to it. In other words, bring the people back to the doctrine, don’t bring the doctrine up to the people.

In Paul’s second letter to the young minister, he encourages Timothy to “(2Ti 4:2-5) Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort[1] with all longsuffering[2] and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. ”

Throughout the history of the persecutions of the primitive Church, we read that those Saints where not killed for the way of life, but for their doctrine. We all know of Saul of Tarsus persecuted the Church not for the life that the Saints lived, but for the name and doctrine that they proclaimed. In Acts 5:28 We read of a trial before the Sanhedrin, where the Jewish leaders asked Peter and John, saying, ”Did not we straightly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” The Jewish leaders cared very little for the manner of life of the Church, but for their doctrine!

Around 113, the Roman ruler of Palestine wrote the emperor saying that it was not for their manner of life that he was persecuting them, but for their insistence that Christ was God and in the Roman mind, that made them atheists. During later controversies with the Trinitarians, the discussion never brought it self to the manner of life of those people that, like us, insisted that Christ was God, but always focused on their doctrine.

2Jn 1:9-10 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

The aged Apostle warns us that we have to have the doctrine of Christ or we have not God. If we do not stay in the Doctrine we loose God.

Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26-29

[1] Encourage, build up

[2] patience

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April 28th, 2008 by Joel

Sermon Notes – Easy Beliefism (4/27)

It took 300 years to fully develop the doctrine of the Trinity, some 1500 years to end the need for baptism, and 1900 years to come up with the sinner’s prayer

Heart (Kardia – Gr)

The heart is the chief of all organs in the body. If the brain goes into a coma, the heart can still function and the body still lives, but if the heart stops, then the body is doomed. The Jews understood the heart to be the seat of physical vitality, the source of religious and ethical conduct (1 Sam 12.20 – the place of true worship[1]) and the place where your true thoughts, your will, and your intentions can be found (Jeremiah 23.20[2]). This is why when God spoke of the new covenant, He said that He would write it on our hearts (Jeremiah 31.31[3]). The heart is the place that God will try us and where we will be proven by Him (Psalms 2.7, Proverbs 17.3, 1st Thess 2.4).

Rom 10:8-13 –

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach (Deut. 30.11-14[4]); That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

When Moses spoke, it was a word that had to be obeyed, here Paul preached a word that had to believed, relying upon faith and faith has to be grasped in the heart, which is evidenced when Paul focuses on the belief and the confession. God hardened the heart to the understanding (John 12.40[5]). Understanding of God does not come through the intellect, but through the heart. It is through the broken heart that we come to God (Psalms 34.18[6])

God set the heart aside because, being the chief organ, faith can be grasped there. It can be thought on there; we can be reached through it. And experience with God is never made in the rational mind, but the emotional heart.

Rom 10:8-13 –

But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach That if thou shalt (1)confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. (2) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

1. Just what does it mean to confess that Jesus is Lord? No Jew would do this that had not really trusted Christ, for Kurios in the lxx is used of God. No Gentile would do it that had not ceased worshipping the emperor as Kurios. The word Kurios was and is the touchstone of faith. In Romans 9.5, we read that Christ is God over all. Thomas called Christ his Lord and God. In 2nd Peter 2.1, the Apostle addresses his epistle to ‘them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ’. Paul tells Titus that we are to look forward to the appearing of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Apostle John calls Christ the only true God in the closing thoughts of his first letter. What does Paul mean? Paul says that you must confess that Jesus Christ is the same God of the Old Testament that the Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob worshipped.

2. The Apostles didn’t have Acts 2.38, but they had the same message. As a matter of fact, what Peter said during that Feast he got from the Old Testament, from the prophets. Peter preached right out of the prophet Joel 2.28-32. The prophet wrote, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” What then is the name of the Lord?

When Saul of Tarsus, the great persecutor of the Church, who hated the name of Christ, met the Lord on the road to Damascus, God sent him to a man named Ananias. Ananias told him to get up and go get baptized to wash his sins away, calling upon the name of the Lord. When those that heard the Apostle Peter questioned him on what they must do, he told them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. They did not question him after they had thought about it, but after the message had pricked their hearts.

In closing, I can think of no better prayer of the heart, than that of King David:

1Ch 29:10-20 Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding. O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own. I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee. O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee…

Some History:

The First Great Awakening.

One of the preachers named John Webb (1657-1750) began to misuse Revelation 3:19-30.

He said “Here is a promise of Union to Christ; in these words, I will come in to him. i.e. If any Sinner will but hear my Voice and open the Door, and receive me by Faith, I will come into his Soul, and unite him to me, and make him a living member of that my mystical body of which I am the Head” (Christ’s Suit to the Sinner, 14).

The mourner’s bench.

This first began to be used in 1741, by Eleazar Wheelock (1711-1779), founder of Dartmouth College, who put the lost people in the front of the building he was preaching in, he watched them during the sermon and used emotionalism to get them to obey his doctrine.

In about 1835 Charles G. Finney (1792-1875) picked up this practice and called it the “anxious seat” as part of his “new measures.”

Finney would take on the role of Jesus and say “will you let me into to feast with you?” with all eyes in the audience on the “sinner” they would be almost forced to respond with a yes. This was called conversion.

Finney made some enemies because of the use of the anxious seat. Calvinist’s like John Nevin (1803-1886) criticized his use of the emotional anxious bench.

So he defended its use “The church has always felt it necessary to have something of this kind to answer this very purpose. In the days of the apostles, baptism answered this purpose. The gospel was preached to the people, and then all those who were willing to be on the side of Christ, were called out to be baptized. It held the place that the anxious seat does now as a public manifestation of their determination to be Christians” (“Measures to Promote Revival” located at http://www.gospeltruth.net/1868Lect_on_Rev_of_Rel/68revlec14.htm).

Some began to notice that the anxious bench converts had a high drop-out rate. It was Dwight Moody who began to call the lost to the side into what he called the “inquiry room” where his trained counsels would pray with the person to “receive Christ,” but it was still not called the “sinner’s prayer.”

Billy Sunday began to call people to walk down the “saw-dust trail” to shake hands with him to be saved.

Finally, in the 1940′s, Billy Graham began to call people to say the “sinner’s prayer” for salvation.

Examples of the “sinner’s prayer.”

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward”

“Jesus, I believe and I need the salvation you have provided. Come into my heart, rule my life today, and show me how to live. Amen” (From the tract: “The Plain Gospel”).

“God, I’m sorry for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and ask you to forgive me. Thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for my sins. Jesus, I ask you to come into my life and be my Lord, Savior, and Friend. Thank you for forgiving me and giving me eternal life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen” (The Book of Hope, 53).

This is followed by the statement “If you prayed this prayer and meant it, you can be sure God has forgiven you and received you into his family.”

[1] And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;

[2] The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.

[3] But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

[4] For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do (obey) it.

[5] He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

[6] The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit

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April 10th, 2008 by Joel

Psalm 84: The Vally of Baca – Pt 3

(Psa 84:8) O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

(Psa 84:9) Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

The final conclusion is a prayer of hopeful remembrance. The Psalmist is asking for God to once again turn His face to him and bless him with a return to the courts of the Lord. It brings to mind 2 Chronicles 7:14-15, which reads:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.

I take it, and I alone it seems, that when the Psalmist refers to the God of Jacob (instead of the three Patriarchs) that he might just have in mind Jacob’s separation from his homeland, God’s promise to bring him back (Gen 28:20) and how God brought him once again to the house of the Lord (Bethel)

(Psa 84:10) For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

‘Courts’ here is the same as in verse 2. Here again, to be even in the outer reaches of the tabernacles of God is better than to dwell with the wicked. The Psalmist would rather be a servant (again, Prodigal Son) in the house of his God, then to be well thought of. The phrase is literally, “I choose to sit at the threshold.” Reminds one of the woman with the blood disease who only desired to touch the hem of the garment of Christ. For those separated from God, just a glimpse, a taste, or a touch of God seems better to them than all that they have around them.

(Psa 84:11) For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

The Lord is the source of light and warmth and brings Creation to life. He will give mercy and honor and will hold back nothing that we need if we walk undefiled.

(Psa 84:12) O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Thus the completion of the Psalm, summed up with a single line. Had David walked undefiled before God and kept God as a refuge, hope, trust, then he would not have been separated from God.

Again, we turn to Isaac Watts:

The Lord his people loves;
His hand no good withholds
From those his heart approves:
From pure and pious souls
Thrice happy he,
O God of Hosts,
Whose spirit trust
Alone in Thee!

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April 9th, 2008 by Joel

Psalm 84: The Valley of Baca – Pt 2

(Psa 84:4) Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

Here the author calls those that are in the House of the Lord (tabernacle/temple) happy or blessed, as the KJV translates. עֹוד gives it’s meaning as continually. The house dwellers are continually praising God. This brings to mind what John saw in his Apocalypse 7:15 where those that come out of great tribulation are around the throne serving the Lord day and night, or continually. The Septuagint has the phrase: ‘They will praise you for ages of ages’ – quite literally, forever.

How unique is the perspective of the man separated from God! And how his heart longs for perfection.

(Psa 84:5) Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

The prophet Isaiah told us that those who will wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. David, when committing the sin with Bathsheba, failed to find the strength that God had previously given him. Now, he was suffering because of that. Now, he son had thrown him out of the palaces and had started a civil war. David knew full well that a man’s true strength lies with God, not in armies or even within himself.

In 2 Corinthians 12:9, we read of God’s response to Paul’s prayer

“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness”.

Throughout Scripture we find that God is presented as our strong tower, our refuge, our consolation.

“in whose heart are the ways of them”

Consider the esteemed lyricist, Isaac Watts, when he wrote:

O Happy souls that pray
Where God appoints to hear!
O Happy men that pay
Their constant service there!
They praise thee still
And happy they,
That love the way

Happy, says the Psalmist, is the man who has found strength in the Lord, and who loves the way of God. This entire Psalm is reflective of a journey, whether it is David’s, pilgrims or even ours. Our heart must be given over to the highways of God, to travel them, and to find strength for the journey.

(Psa 84:6) Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

הבכא can be translated as weeping or tears, but the theory is also that it relates to a balsam tree that excretes sap (hence weeping). All the translation theories that I have seen point to the same idea, that of weeping or tears. It is no far stretch of the imagination to see that Psalmist here is conjuring up a painful journey. If it is indeed the arid valley where travelers are hard pressed to find life sustaining water, then so be it; however, the image is still the same: When traveling through such a place, the righteous will make it a source of strength.

מעינה rightly means fountain or spring. It is the spring that the weary traveler sets down in to refresh himself, or renew his strength in pressing toward the city of God. Perhaps in the valley of weeping, when the tears are flowing, you should use those tears and grow from them. You should make them into a fountain. God has already promised us that He would never leave us nor forsake us.

That is not to make light of any situation that one is going through. Look what the Psalmist was going through. He had been separated from the city of God and could not worship Him in the place that He had appointed. David, presumably, had been exiled and was running for his life as his own son pursued him. He was in the midst of a civil war. He was at a pretty low point in his life.

When Paul and Silas was thrown in prison, instead of accepting defeat or recanting, they began to sing and we know what happened then. That was their Baca. That was their fountain.

“the rain also fills the pools”

גם ברכות יעטה מורה has several different suggested meanings. The Septuagint renders it: ‘The lawgiver will give blessings.’ Some render the Hebrew as, ‘The instructor will cover in blessings’. Some authorities render it as early rain. To a simple reader such as I, I can see the beauty and edification of both meanings. Since the giver of all blessings, and he who pours the rain (Joel 2:23) is God, it really makes no difference on how you translate it; the meaning is the same – In that Valley of Weeping, when you journey through and your tears start to flow, make it a moment of rejoicing and you will receive your blessing.

(Psa 84:7) They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

Or, from victory to victory, from army to army, from company to company. The meaning is that those who walk victoriously through the valley will go from victory to victory, winning and overcoming. On the final victory, the overcomer will appear in the city of God, to sing and worship God continually, without anymore valleys.

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April 8th, 2008 by Joel

Psalm 84: The Valley of Baca – pt 1

This is my first attempt at exegesis of an OT passage, at least for this blog, so if you want to offer any helpful comments, let me know!

Some have called this one of the most difficult Psalms to translate; something that I will not even attempt to do, Hebrew being a weakness. It is filled with some vague phrases, but overflowing with powerful images. Some have suggested that David wrote this during his exile, having been overthrown by his son Absalom. To those who would suggest such a thing, it is easy to see that this was written on the way back to Jerusalem, perhaps even resting in a place called Baca. Some see this as the same valley in Judges 2:1-6.

It has also been suggested that this is a Psalm sung on the way to the Tabernacle, perhaps as a pilgrimage tune. Some Muslims refer to Baca as the valley of Bakkah where the first mosque was built. To them this is Mecca, and the Psalm relates to the journey there.

I see it as a journeying Psalm, perhaps on the way to the Tabernacle or the Temple, but written by one who has been separated from the city of God for some time. (See Psalm 137) We know that the Ark of the Covenant resided in Jerusalem when this Psalm was written. (v7). We also know that the author, presumably David, was not at Jerusalem and somehow kept from getting there. This is why I would suggest, along with a few others, that this was written during Absalom’s civil war.

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

(Psa 84:1) How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

The word משׁכנותיך rightly means ‘beloved’ as opposed to ‘lovely’, as if the tabernacles (perhaps everything surrounding the center of divine worship) was tenderly love. Granted, no matter the material state of the building, wherever the people of God meet, it is still a beautiful place, something to be loved, but the meaning here is that the tabernacles of God is beloved, something to cherish.

(Psa 84:2) My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

Here the writer speaks longingly of the outer courters of the tabernacle/temple, where all manner of people may visit. To me, the simple reader, I see the write longing to the point of exhaustion to be even in sight of the house of God, to be included even among the strangers of Israel. I am reminded of the Prodigal Son who sought only to be a servant in the house of his Father if he could but be home again!

I live in West Virginia, and when I have to travel for extended periods of time, I start to long for home. When I was out in Indiana for a while, I missed the mountains so much that I would take a different path or go into Kentucky just to feel closer to home.

I know that when I am far from the Lord, and I begin to long, I do what I can just to get another taste of the goodness of God. How far was David away from the city of God that he was willing to settle for just being in the courts, where everyone was allowed?

David says that his לביand his בּשׂר cries out for God. This is his entire being. With every ounce, his inner man and his outer man, he sought his God, and longed for that city.

(Psa 84:3) Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

I know from what I have read that the Hebrew here is a bit confusing as is the logic of what David is saying. The altar was considered holy, so who would permit birds to nest there? How could they with the constant activity in that area?

I prefer this reading: (combining verse 2 and 3) My soul longs, yea, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my flesh cries out for the living God, even for your altars, O LORD of Hosts, my King and my God! Even the sparrow has found a house and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.

This preamble, as it where, sets the stage for the rest of the Psalm. We see the writer, presumably David, on a journey, perhaps exiled from the very city of God, barred from worshipping the one true God where He had chosen to place His Name. Surrounded by many others (the same could be said for pilgrims) perhaps even a court full of servants, he was solitary; he was alone.

No matter the circumstances imposed by perception on the Psalm itself, a few things are clear:
1.) A separation, whether spiritual or physical exists between the author and Zion (v7)
2.) A great longing, a deep seated emotional attachment to Zion exists in the author’s heart.
3.) The author is going back to the city of God.

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March 31st, 2008 by Joel

What is the Church – Sermon notes

Church: Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. -Easton’s

Psa 48:1-14
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. (2) Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. (3) God is known in her palaces for a refuge. (4) For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. (5) They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. (6) Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail. (7) Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. (8) As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever. Selah. (9) We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. (10) According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. (11) Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. (12) Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. (13) Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. (14) For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.

Isa 2:2
And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

Isa 26:1-2
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. (2) Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in

Isa 33:20
Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. (Remove not the ancient landmark!)

Isa 54:1
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD. (2) Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; (3) For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.

(Amos 7:7-8 contrast the two plumblines) (Eph 2:11-22) (The name is not Christian, that was a name applied by the heathen)

Other thoughts:
Psalms 87, Rev. 22:14-15

Genesis – She is the Garden of Eden, where God walked with Adam in the cool of the evening.
Exodus – She is the Promised Land
Leviticus – the heavenly example of the earthly tabernacle
Numbers – Israel in the wilderness always attacked
Deuteronomy – she is the Lord’s portion and the lot of his inheritance
Joshua/Judges – she is worth fighting for, and the choice for a family
Ruth – a gentile who forsook all to follow God
The Kingdoms and the Chronicles – she is the mighty kingdom, the temple and the hope.
Ezra – she is worth coming home to
In Nehemiah – she is the great walled city, rebuilt by the King’s decree
In Esther she is the loyal wife raised up at the moment to save God’s people.
In the Job, David and Solomon, she is Zion, wisdom, our mother, our strong tower, and the assembly of his saints
In Solomon’s Song she is the bride of God.
In Isaiah she is the obedient and faithful wife, a branch of God’s planting, she is sought out and a city not forsaken
In Jeremiah she is the new covenant.
In Lamentations she is repentant and the perfection of the whole world

In Ezekiel she is a city with a watchman, listening for the trumpet.
In Daniel she is the kingdom that breaks all others, the stone cut without by hands.
In Hosea she is saved and loved by her husband.
In Joel, she is God’s mighty army and his heritage
In Amos she is the rising tabernacle of David and the plumb line
In Obadiah is the ambassador among the heathen
In Jonah she is God’s unquestionable reason.
In Micah she is God’s justice.
In Nahum she is God’s remembrance.
In Habakkuk she is the work among the gentiles.
In Zephaniah she is the restoration.
In Haggai she is the glory of the latter.
In Zechariah she is the holy mountain
In Malachi she awaits her Messiah.

In Matthew she is a city set on a hill
In Mark she is the kingdom of God
In Luke she is the people of God

In John she is the vine and the flock of the shepherd
In Acts she is in the upper room.
In Paul she is established, strengthened, set aright – she is protected, overseen and guided.
In Hebrews she is past, present and future
• the tabernacle, the temple and heaven
• she is the city of the living God
• she is can be approached, touched, and lived
In James she has a holy name.
In Peter she is the ark, the priesthood, and a people purchased for redemption, she is Joy unspeakable and full of Glory.
In John she is the elect lady.
In Jude she is that common salvation once fore all delivered to the saints

In Revelation –
She is the bride
The one going up
The one coming down
She is tried, true and perfect.
She is triumphant
She is home.

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