God Has Always Been There

A sermon idea based on Psalm 71:1-6.

Psalm 71:1-6 NRSV

[1] In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. [2] In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me. [3] Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

[4] Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel. [5] For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth. [6] Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.

Angle

The relevant topic I would be addressing, based on this text…

God has always been with you, knowing you, and preparing to be a refuge for you.

Anchor

Information about the text that matters to the message…

The message of this psalm is a simple one. God has always, always been with me.

In this message, I would take extra time to invite people to reflect on how God may have been present with them, even in the midst of suffering…

  1. During their “youth”
  2. From “childhood”
  3. From “the womb” (the circumstances happening before they were ever born)

And then, build the bridge between, if he was present with you then, being a refuge and a safe place, he will continue to be a safe place for you now and into eternity.

Application

The big call-to-action in the message…

Focus on the aspect of God’s care in which he is known as being a refuge and a place of safety in the middle of a hard life, a hard world, and a hard time.

 


About the Cover Art: Photo by Mael Balland via Unsplash.

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