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…
- During their “youth”
- From “childhood”
- 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.