I enjoy preaching the Psalms.
I especially enjoy being able to preach a Psalm that is meaningful to me.
Psalm 139 is one of those Psalms.
I used the New Living Translation for this one.
Below you will find links to the entire service, the SoundCloud audio, a reading of The Runaway Bunny (mentioned and read in the sermon).
Maybe there is something to encourage you along your faith journey.
Peace,
Rev. Deb
‐------------------------------------------------------------------
“Completely Known”
Psalm 139 (NLT)
July 19, 2020 (7th Sunday after Pentecost)
St. Elmo UMC (FB Live)
Psalm 139 (NLT)
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!
7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night-
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night-
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of
my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
17 How precious are your thoughts about me,
O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!
19 O God, if only you would destroy the
wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
‐------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
THANKS
BE TO GOD.
‐------------------------------------------------------------------
Completely known. As I read through Psalm 139, this is what
comes to my mind. I am completely known
by the One who created me.
Being “completely known”—how does that
feel?
Do those words strike fear? Bring comfort? Or a little bit of both? It may depend on who completely knows us,
right?
Who CAN completely know us when we don’t
really completely know ourselves?
What does it mean to be completely known?
How does it feel to be completely known?
Today’s Scripture gives us an idea of what
it means and how it feels to be completely known, doesn’t it? What can we glean from it?
Let’s take a closer look.
Verse 1 acknowledges that our hearts have
been examined. Our inner most part is
known.
Verses 2 and 3 let us know that we are
known regardless of what we are doing or where we are.
Verse 7 acknowledges that we might desire
or attempt to flee and hide. “Where can
I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee
from your Presence?” (NIV) To run, to
flee, to hide--that is natural. Yet the
One who created us, knows us well. We
are not able to hide.
Verses 8-11 let us know that we cannot go
beyond the presence of the One who created us, that not even the darkness will hide us. There is NOWHERE we can go that we are not
known.
Because of one’s past in life or even in
the church, that might be a rough road right there. Hearing that you aren’t able to hide from the
One who created you could be a scary thing.
I recognize that. However, I
invite you to allow the possibility that the One who knows you best and who
created you seeks you out because of love.
We are not able to hide from our Creator because our Creator loves us,
not because of any other reason. With
that reminder, maybe there is comfort in recognizing that you can be exactly
who you are, as you have been created to be and that you have no reason to
hide. You are loved. You are beloved. If you have hidden and/or are hiding, you are
loved. You are beloved.
Verse 13 reminds us that we have been
created and knit together. That is
known.
In verse 14, there is recognition of being
fearfully and wonderfully made. “Thank
you for making me so wonderfully complex!”
We could spend a lifetime on that 1
verse. How many of us truly thank the
Creator for our weirdness, our uniqueness, our complexity? It takes a lifetime to understand that our
uniqueness is truly a gift and there is only one of us. That the things we think are weird, odd,
complex, etc. are a part of us, a part of our DNA. There are things we can change and make
better. Always. We can separate those things from our
uniqueness. It’s something to think
about. What about you is truly a unique
gift, that without YOU we would be missing a piece of the puzzle?!?! Think about it. Let’s learn to celebrate our uniqueness
rather than wishing it away.
I want to share a children’s story with
you this morning. When I first learned
about this story, it was introduced to me by Evelyn Laycock, a Lay Speaker and
teacher in our Holston Conference. She
taught a class I took and introduced this book, connecting it with Psalm
139.
The reading time is short: about 3
minutes. The book is by Margaret Wise
Brown.
As you listen to this story, where do you
find yourself in it?
[After reading the story, show a heart and
read it…]
[heart inside book reads: I love you
because I created you. I knit you
together in your mother’s womb. You are
mine forever. You are beautiful to me. Love, God.”]
Recognizing that any analogy has its
stretching point, there is something to be gleaned from this story. Think about how this story connects with
today’s Scripture of Psalm 139.
Personally—there are many times I’ve
run—from God and others. I didn’t want
to be seen. I didn’t feel lovable. I didn’t understand that the Creator created
me, knows me, and loves me. Often—loves
me anyway. I am still learning to accept
the creator’s love.
The final verses in today’s passage are
this:
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
In closing today, as our prayer time, I
want to share three Psalm Prayers with you.
Two are from The Upper Room
Worshipbook, numbers 350 and 351.
The last one is written by Jerry Webber, who is at Chapelwood UMC in
Houston, TX. I invite you to join me in
a spirit of prayer as you hear these prayers.
Let us pray.
Psalm 139 Psalm Prayers from the Upper Room Worshipbook
350
Loving and
tender Creator,
you knit us into being. You truly know us.
You
forever love us.
Praise to
you at morning’s light.
Praise from
heavenly heights,
praise all our days.
Wonderful
is your love. Amen.
Adap. by
Larry Peacock
351
O Creator
God,
we thank you that though we may run, we
cannot hide from you.
There is nowhere we can go that you are
not with us.
We praise
you for the power of your presence
every moment of the day and of the night.
We place
our lives into your safekeeping.
In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.
Adapt. by
Jo Hoover
Jerry Webber's Psalm Prayer from Sometimes an Unknown Path: “A psalm for
wherever the journey leads”
O Lord of light, You shine the searchlight
of Your love into my life;
You illumine my life with Your brightness;
You know everything there is to know about where I go,
what I do,
and who I am.
Sometimes I walk a well-trod path,
and sometimes I venture out where there is no trail to follow.
Wherever I am, You find me,
in order to guide my steps.
Though my journey may seem frightening to
me,
it is not unknown to You.
Even when I don’t know my way,
I am not lost to You.
You are in front of me and You are behind
me,
surrounding me with love wherever I go.
Your strength and peace are constant
companions,
as if You laid a hand on my shoulders Yourself,
as if You were closer to me than my next breath.
I can’t go anywhere to be away from You.
I can’t shake Your encompassing Spirit.
Whether I go to the heights or the depths,
to the east or to the west,
You are still present to me.
I may soar with the eagles or be in the
deepest agony,
and even then Your hands hold me fearlessly;
You embrace me in determined love.
Amen.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINKS:
YouTube Service:
SoundCloud Audio Link
The Runaway Bunny
No comments:
Post a Comment