02/11/2025
The Shepherd, the King, and the Rescuer
God has got a long list of names, but some of those names are better than others. There is a small child who thought God’s name was Harold since the Lord’s Prayer includes the phrase “Hallowed be thy name.” When you think of all the scriptures that are most likely to be memorized you would have to include Psalm 23, The Lord’s Prayer, and John 3:16. The danger for us is our tendency to focus on the wrong thing.
We are likely to fall in love with the poetry of the 23rd Psalm and ignore the shepherd that poetry describes.
We focus on the King James English which we use in our version of the Lord’s Prayer and forget the King of Kings whose Kingdom is coming soon.
We focus on being rescued from ‘perishing’ and overlook the one who has gone to such great lengths to rescue us.
If the 6th chapter of Matthew’s gospel teaches us anything, it teaches us that our God loves us with the intimacy and unconditional love of a Father or Mother; that God is not yet done with setting this world in order because God’s kingdom is not yet present here as it is there in heaven; God provides for his children; God gives us what we need to resist temptation and avoid evil; and that God is God and we are lucky enough to reflect his glory in all that we do and say.
The Lord’s Prayer is meant to be prayed, of course. But it is also meant to be a statement of faith in who God is and what God wants for God’s children. Find a copy of Matthew 6:5-15 that is simple and plain and make it a part of your daily quiet time. With each line say, “This, O Lord, I believe.” And when you are done, “and this, O Lord, is how I plan to live out my life.”
Archived Posts
There is a challenge when it comes to preaching the Word of God.
Preachers are called to open up and interpret the word—inspired and written down thousands of years ago—and make it relevant to a very different world. On top of that there’s a degree of persuasion that goes along with the process.
What Jessica Really Meant to Say in Her Sermon…
When Jessica or Rick or a guest preacher takes the pulpit it’s hard for me to write a One More Thing Blog. I can’t share with you what didn’t make it into the sermon because I have no idea, not having written or delivered it.
Jesus Keeps On Ruining Funerals!
I didn’t have anything this last week that didn’t end up in the sermon. No catchy illustrations that didn’t make the cut. No theological insights that slowed down the main point. No one can ruin a funeral like Jesus. Told as I saw it and that was it. So I did some quick research and I thought I’d share just a reminder of what Easter is all about.
When I Don’t Get To Give My Benediction
Yesterday’s sermon talked about how we are in the thrall of self-centeredness—caught in a system that rewards those who climb to the top, even when you have to climb on the back of others. I talked about a famous sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, ....
Some Good Quotes that I Didn’t Get To Last Sunday
I have been working out of Adam Hamilton’s excellent book, Why Did Jesus Have to Die? And when I find something that says what I want to say more succinctly and expressively than I can, I like to quote it...
Good Stuff that Didn’t Make the Cut
I liked what I’d put together below, but ran out of time to share in Sunday’s sermon. Remember we were talking about the Old Adam and the New Adam, Jesus.
One More Piece of Unsolicited Advice
I had one too many examples yesterday. Here’s the "Ask Pastor Tim" scenario that didn’t make the cut for Sunday’s sermon: (read more)