07/03/2023
The Lord is my Constant Companion
Each week we are featuring a prayer that sets an
example for the answered prayer we are emphasizing. This
week we’ve got a prayer, based on the 23rd Psalm, which is
called: The Lord is my Constant Companion. I invite you to
make this prayer yours as you ask for God to give you peace.
You, O Lord, are my constant companion.
There is no need that You cannot fulfill.
Whether Your path for me points
to the mountaintops of majesty
or to the valleys of suffering,
continue to be by my side.
I hold You to Your promise to be beside me
when I walk the dark streets of danger,
even when I flirt with death itself,
I know You will not leave me.
When the pain is severe, Lord,
Be near with Your comfort.
When the burden is heavy,
Help me to lean upon You
And not try to carry it by myself.
When depression darkens my soul,
touch me with joy.
When I feel empty and alone,
fill my aching heart with Your power.
My security is in Your promise
to be near to me always,
and to remind me, over and over,
that You will never let me go.
Amen.
Archived Posts
Gandhi and the Sugar
I wasn’t preaching Sunday, Reverend Jackie Chandler was. And she talked about the power of influence you get when you practice what you preach. This famous illustration came to mind. It fits Jackie’s points quite well. Enjoy!
Not Just for Parents
Our current sermon series is about How To Talk Parent, but it doesn’t require any of us to be parents to appreciate the bits of wisdom OUR parents shared with us growing up.
If Not Higher
Here’s a story I wanted to use when talking about ‘what you do when no one is looking’ yesterday. It’s a wonderful illustration of what Jesus was saying in Matthew 6:1-6—do what you do because of who you want to be, not so that others will take notice and praise you.
The Perfect Church
There is an old joke about the perfect church. We talked just a little about the perfect pastor, but turnabout is fair play. It goes like this:
The Clothes You Wear
Sunday I talked about Joshua the High Priest having his filthy clothing replaced by a cleaned and beautiful garments. I also used the illustration of a boy becomes a dragon—who ‘wears’ dragon scales—and is stripped of those scales in order to be restored to a boy. In fact, I could have done the whole sermon around all the clothing imagery in scripture.
What just missed the cut for Sunday’s Sermon
Naaman’s servants may actually become one of the hidden gems of the sermon. They say, essentially: “If the prophet had told you to do something difficult, you would have done it.”
One of the Longest Benedictions I Ran Out of Time to Share
Maybe you know the story of how Joseph and Mary accidentally left Jesus at the gas station on their way home from Jerusalem. Well, not the gas station bathroom in Jesus’ case. Joe and Mary are far down the road before they realize Jesus isn’t with them...