January 18, 2015
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Worship Theme: David’s
Dream
Psalm 139:1-6,
13-18 NIV
Psalm 34:8 NIV
“Dream As David
Did. . . ”
Prayer
for God’s word to come from my mouth and that His word would be heard through
me or in spite of me. . .
When I awake. . . I am
still with you. . .
Have
you ever woken up from a dream. . . a nightmare. . . and was so happy that it
was only a dream? It is such a relief that it was only a dream. There are those
dreams that we have that seem all too real to us. But there are those other
dreams that are so wonderful that when we wake we are a little disappointed
because it was only a dream. We wake up to a real world with all its
dysfunction and chaos. . .
I
remember one dream I had when I had surg. once. I had dreamed that someone was
hurting my friend and cat Fiona. It was horrible. I remember waking and
screaming that someone had hurt her. I was so relieved when Ray ushered her
into the bedroom and she was well and fine, not hurt at all. It was so real. . . I was so glad that it was a dream and not a
reality.
In
the verses I read from Psalm 139. . . David had the same feeling of it only
being a dream but when he woke he realized it was not a dream but reality. Well. . . David really wasn’t sleeping but
hidden. . . pondering. . . meditating. . . about God and His goodness and there
was no sadness or disappointment within his meditating. . .
So.
. . why was there no disappointment in his musing? Well because he realized
some amazingly awesome facts about his God’s character and love. We too can feel the same amazement because
it is not how God feels about. . . cares for. . . knows about. . . David but it
is also for all of God’s creation. . .
1.
He
and we are known by God. (vv.
1-6) God searched him and us. God cares enough to know us, to be interested
enough to want to get to know who we are and what we are. We are not some kind
of “unknown creature”. We don’t have to be afraid of being known by God. He
already knows us and loves us any way. He knows our fears and failures. . . our
struggles and afflictions. . . We can
trust God because of His compassion and forgiveness. I know you by name and you are mine. . . God knows our comings and goings. He knows all
about us because He cares enough to search us and know all about our
intricacy’s and design. David was careful to do God’s will and knew God would
see his devotion to Him. . . the love he had for Him. We too can rest assured that God sees our love and devotion to Him as
He searches our innermost parts. . . God
knows our thoughts. . . even those that may not be quite according to His will
but praise God He is patient with us and is willing to allow us to grow in
grace, faith and trust in Him. As we grow and ask God to show us our “growing
areas” God is happy to oblige. He wants
us to grow. . . He wants us to learn. . . and He is more than happy to help in
the process because it really is a process. . . isn’t it. . . ? God loved us
into being by breathing the breath of life into us. . .
2. We are created by God.
(vv. 13-16) God not only is aware of where we go, what we do and what we think,
He also knows us creatively. We are part of His creation. . . .His creative
order. . . part of His plan since the beginning of time. There is a purpose for
everything and everyone one. Everything
created is of sacred worth. We may not see it at first but that doesn’t matter.
God never makes mistakes and never creates “junk”. We may go through our “dark night of the soul” but we can trust that
God is working out His plan as He was in the beginning and is now and
forevermore shall be. . . We can not
only trust the God of knowledge and insight but we can trust the Creator of all
we see. . . all that was. . . all that is . . . and all that will ever be. God loved us into purpose by ordaining the
days of our lives. . . The Good News for David and for us is that it was
not. . . is not. . . a dream. Time and time again. . . if we really think about it. . . God has shown Himself reliable. .
. God has “proven Himself” to be worthy of our trust and praise. We don’t have
to wake from the dream. . . we can live the dream of David. As sure as the sun
will shine. . . as sure as the world revolves. . . as sure as time goes on. . .
God is there. Just think about that for a moment. The only sure thing we have
is God’s love and providence. . . the only sure thing we have is that God will
never leave of forsake us. . . the only sure thing we have is the forgiveness
we receive from God. God loved us into
relationship and forgiveness by the work He did on the cross so long ago. . .
Are
you dreaming the dream as David did or are you still waiting for the nightmare
to end? Do you trust in the One who knows every detail of your life or do you
trust in the world around you full of chaos and uncertainty? Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed
is the one who takes refuge in him.
Amen!
Psalm 139:1-6,
13-18
Psalm 34:8
sermon “Dream
As David Did . . . ”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation
blog
“God’s
Whisper” blog
Children’s
Message
Mystery box
-
a dream catcher (Erica)
by Pastor Ruth
Foss
Prayer of
Thanksgiving
Stetson
Memorial United Methodist Church
January 18,
2015
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See all 35,490+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
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