Walking Through the Psalms“My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!” – Psalm 108:1 (NLT)“Who Is YOUR Confidence In?” There was a great old story I heard years ago about a young man who was the guest preacher at a church. He was fresh out of seminary and was one of the top students in his class. As he stepped up to preach, he was brimming with confid...

Walking Through the Psalms“Those who are wise will take all this to heart; they will see in our history the faithful love of the LORD.” – Psalm 107:43 (NLT)“Remember the Love” Next September, our country will be marking the 25th anniversary of the attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center that happened on September 11, 2001. My guess is that it’ll be a pretty big affair. If you think abo...

Walking Through the Psalms“He sent out his word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.” – Psalm 107:20 (NLT)“Sending God’s Healing Word Your Way!” One of my first hospital visits I ever made as a young pastor was with an elderly man dealing with some respiratory issues. When I asked him how he was doing, he said he was doing pretty good for a man who had only been given six months...

Walking Through the Psalms“LORD, help!” they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He led them from the darkness and deepest gloom; he snapped their chains. – Psalm 107:13-14 (NLT)“My Troubles No Longer Have Me” I got an email a few years ago from a friend who was going through a horrible time. She has been battling with several cascading physical issues that sapped her st...

Walking Through the Psalms“Save us, O LORD our God!” – Psalm 106:47 (NLT)“A Call for Help” There was a sad and bizarre story in the news a few years ago about a woman who decided to go shopping…with SEVEN kids! That seems insane in and of itself. But rather than take them with her into the store, she left all seven in the car. They were ages 2-4! Two of the kids belonged to her, but the other five...

Walking Through the Psalms“Save us, O LORD our God! Gather us back from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you.” – Psalm 106:47 (NLT)“Don’t Fit In. Stand Out!” One of the great dangers of being a “chosen” people in a fallen world is that it becomes easier and easier to look and act like the “fallen” rather than the “chosen.” That’s why God frequently reminded ...

Walking Through the Psalms“He even caused their captors to treat them with kindness.” – Psalm 106:46 (NLT)“The Not-So-Obvious Miracles” Sometimes God’s blessings are not obvious. I asked a friend of mine in church some time ago about how his construction business was doing. He complained that they’ve been so busy that he hasn’t had a chance to get away to his land, where he hopes to eventually bui...

Walking Through the Psalms“Again and again he rescued them, but they chose to rebel against him, and they were finally destroyed by their sin. Even so, he pitied them in their distress and listened to their cries.” – Psalm 106:43-44 (NLT)“Pity, Not Punishment” I love action movies. Lots of shooting, lots of explosions, lots of martial arts fighting, that kind of stuff. I especially like action mov...

Walking Through the Psalms“The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them.” – Psalm 106:24 (NLT)“Do You Believe?” This Sunday, I’m preaching on faith. Hebrews 11:6 says that “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” For you to become the man or woman of God He has called you to become, you must believe. For you to fulfill the calling Go...

Walking Through the Psalms“But Moses, his chosen one, stepped between the LORD and the people.” – Psalm 106:23 (NLT)“Step Between” On June 5, 1989, in Tiananmen Square in China, one lone young man, carrying two shopping bags, stopped a line of a dozen tanks. It was the day after many student demonstrators had been killed. Tensions were high, and fear was in the air. But as the tanks rolled down th...

Walking Through the Psalms“They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull.” – Psalm 106:20 (NLT)“What’s Your ‘Golden Bull?’” What will you take for your God? What would you take to be willing to walk away from Him? How about a better job? A job with more money, more prestige, and more power. Would you be willing to compromise your character to have it? Would you be willing to t...

Walking Through the Psalms“So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it.” – Psalm 106:15 (NLT)“Thank God for Unanswered Prayers” Thank God for unanswered prayers! There are times that we really don’t want what we think we want because what we want is not going to do for us what we think it will do. (Say that 3 times really fast!) While in college, I worked with inner-cit...

Walking Through the Psalms“Even so, he saved them—to defend the honor of his name and to demonstrate his mighty power.” – Psalm 106:8 (NLT)“Even So Grace” A few years ago, a man came home to find two other men burglarizing his house. When the burglars saw him, they took off out the back door. The homeowner gave chase, catching the slower of the two in his back yard. That burglar then pulled a knif...

Walking Through the Psalms“There is joy for those who deal justly with others and always do what is right.” – Psalm 106:3 (NLT)“Do the Right Thing” Do the right thing. Do it even when you know you could cut corners and get by more cheaply. Do it even though you fully believe no one is looking, and there’s no way you could ever get caught. Do the right thing even when you’ve convinced yourself that...

Walking Through the Psalms“Then he sent someone to Egypt ahead of them—Joseph, who was sold as a slave.” – Psalm 105:17 (NLT)“God Is Already There” Wherever you go today, God is already there. Isn’t that a comforting thought? Psalm 105 reminds us that when the famine hit Canaan and the people had to turn to Egypt for food, God already had someone in place to help them. His name was Joseph. He had ...

Walking Through the Psalms“I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.” He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. – Psalm 105:11-12 (NLT)“God Can Do a Lot with Just a Little” Say this out loud: “God can do a LOT with just a LITTLE.” I want you to make that your mantra for today. We often look at the job, the need, the problem, or the odds. B...

Walking Through the Psalms“He always stands by his covenant--the commitment he made to a thousand generations.” – Psalm 105:8 (NLT)“A God Who Keeps His Word” Don’t you hate being lied to or deceived? Yet, you discover that in this fallen world, few people keep their word. You buy a car from a company that says the warranty covers it from bumper to bumper. Then something goes wrong, and they tell y...

Walking Through the Psalms“Search for the LORD and for his strength; continually seek him.” – Psalm 105:4 (NLT)“The Big ‘Little’ Difference” I remember hearing a speaker say one time, “There’s not a lot of difference between success and failure.” And that’s true. But those “little” differences are HUGE! Our verse today reveals that truth so well. The keyword in today’s passage is a word that can s...

Walking Through the Psalms“Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the LORD.” – Psalm 105:3 (NLT)“Claim His Name!” I think one of the most meaningful sermon series I’ve ever done was on the names of God. The names God revealed Himself by or was given by others were more than just labels. They were descriptions of who God is or what God has done. His names are the tapestry of His Character...

Walking Through the Psalms“Give thanks to the LORD and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.” – Psalm 105:1 (NLT)“The World Needs to Hear: God Still Works!” Many of you know I’m a basketball junkie. But as I was reading a few articles over the weekend, one jumped out at me. It was an article about the former superstar NBA player Allen Iverson. Iverson has been regarded...