Sermon – Psalm 31 – My Rock and My Fortress

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon – Psalm 31 – My Rock and My Fortress

May 18, 2014

People have used the Book of Psalms for thousands of years to learn how to pray. Even Jesus prayed using the psalms. One of the psalms he prayed while suffering on the cross was Psalm 31. We too can turn to this psalm when we seem to be facing insurmountable obstacles and we need a rock and a fortress. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Lord Jesus, as I serve you this day, let not my heart be troubled. Help me to believe with conviction that you are with me, and I am in you, and you are in God. Amen.”¹

Christians today are being persecuted in Syria. As that country is torn apart in civil war Christians are being forced to convert to Islam. “Sister Raghad, the former head of the Patriarchate School in Damascus, who currently resides in France, told Vatican Radio how she personally witnessed jihadi rebels terrorize Ma‘loula, including by pressuring Christians to proclaim the shehada—Islam’s credo that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger—which, when uttered before Muslim witnesses transforms the speaker into a Muslim, with the death penalty for apostasy should the convert later “renege” by returning to Christianity. According to the nun, those Christians who refused to embrace Islam were killed in atrocious and violent ways that cannot be described. If you want examples, they crucified two youths in Ma‘loula for refusing to proclaim Islam’s credo, saying to them: “Perhaps you want to die like your teacher [Christ] whom you believe in? You have two choices: either proclaim the shehada or else be crucified.” One of them was crucified before his father, whom they also killed.”²

Christians are suffering in this world. And whenever this happens the church turns to Psalm 31. Let's join in.

Psalm 31:1-24 In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. ² Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. ³ Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. ⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. ⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

Here we have a prayer of someone who is suffering. Maybe someone is suffering from a serious illness. Maybe someone is suffering from severe loneliness. Maybe someone is suffering from a threat or persecution or imprisonment. Whatever it is, the person praying is one of great faith and so complains to God about it. Deliver me. Listen to me. Save me. Redeem me. We pray to God at times like these because God is in control. Our suffering happens with God's will. God knows it will happen before it does. Only God can help us. And so believers for thousands of years have taken their complaints to God. Let's listen to the complaint of the psalmist.

⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief. ¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. ¹¹ Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors; I am a dread to my friends-- those who see me on the street flee from me. ¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery. ¹³ For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side; they conspire against me and plot to take my life.

^{There is no easy answer for any of this. The question, “Why does God allow the pious to suffer?” goes unanswered. It seems to go against God's good and gracious will. God's behavior is too difficult for us to understand. But even in our apparent hopelessness God remains our only hope and to him we address our complaints in prayer. Let's go back to the psalm.}

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." ¹⁵ My times are in your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. ¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love. ¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD, for I have cried out to you;

So even in the midst of our questions and doubts we turn to God. We ask God why he forgives the guilty while allowing the innocent to suffer. We remind God of his promises. We remind him of his previous blessings. We remind God of his desire that his name be honored. We ask God for help. And we wonder when it will come. There is no good answer for this in the psalms. Our only answer is Jesus Christ, because he is the one who prayed this prayer for us as he suffered on the cross. Listen again.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you. ²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues. ²¹ Praise be to the LORD, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city. ²² In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.

^{When we experience suffering we pray to Jesus Christ, who knows all about suffering and so understands what we are experiencing. But Jesus does far more than just listen to our prayers. He is with us as we take these prayers to God. There is no suffering on earth where Jesus is not suffering with us and praying with us. So whenever we suffer we can trust in Jesus. Jesus Christ is faithful and will stand with us in our suffering. Without Christ all we have is ourselves. With Christ we have great confidence because God has entered into our own suffering. So what should we do when we suffer. Let's go back to the psalm.3}

²³ Love the LORD, all his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. ²⁴ Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.

So be filled with trust and confidence that Christ is with us in our suffering. We are free to love the Lord. We are strengthened and filled with hope. And our hope is in the resurrection when God will create a new earth where all suffering will one day come to an end. Let's pray.

O Lord, we pray for all Christians experiencing suffering. We pray for the Christians in Syria who are being forced to convert to Islam. We pray for the Christian school girls in Nigeria who were kidnapped and forced to convert. We ask that you confront this evil and protect the faithful wherever they are. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 156.

2http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/christians-crucified-again-for-refusing-islam-4/

3Sermon drawn from: Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Psalms: the Prayer Book of the Bible (Minneapolis, MN: Augsberg Fortress, 1974), 46-49.

Sermon - Psalm 23 - When the Ship Goes Down

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon - Psalm 23 - When the Ship Goes Down

May 11, 2014

I am continuing today with my sermon series on the psalms of Easter. These are psalms that remind us of the promise to all who believe in Jesus Christ that they will be resurrected from the dead to live eternal life. Today we will look at our favorite of these psalms, the 23^rd. But first let's pray.

Generous God, thank you for the gift of this new day. Help us to watch for your signs and wonders in the world today, and fill our heart with gladness and generosity, that we may generate good will wherever we go. Amen.¹

The Rev. Robert J. Bateman immigrated to America from England in the 1880s. He was a missionary and evangelist. His passion was to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the poorest people. He would go from town to town, find the poorest neighborhood, and preach the gospel from the back of a wagon. In 1896 he arrived in Knoxville TN and began his work among the poor in a section of town called the Bowry. While in Knoxville, Bateman founded the People's Tabernacle. There the poor could find food, shelter, clothing, and strong advice. Bateman was attempting to transform a neighborhood from one of whorehouses and gambling parlors into one that glorified God.

Rev. Bateman eventually left Knoxville and ministered in other towns before settling in Jacksonville Florida to continue his work. In February of 1912 he returned to England for the first time since he left to check out some mission opportunities. These didn't pan out so he returned to his work in America aboard the ocean liner, Titanic.

According to his sister-in-law, who was traveling with him, Rev. Bateman, on Sunday, April 14, conducted the only worship service on the ship. After it hit an iceberg, Rev. Batemen helped his sister-in-law get in a lifeboat and gave her his Bible, the only Bible to survive. Several weeks later his body was recovered from the Atlantic. His Bible was returned to his wife who gave it to Baxter Seminary. It was on display this past week at the Titanic Museum as part of their celebration of the National Day of Prayer. Actors portrayed the frightening scene on board the Titanic that day. And rose petals were placed around the Bible in memory of Rev. Batemen.^{2 3}

Rev. Batemen was filled with faith, but he went down with the ship. We will never know what he said or did or thought in those hours while he waited for certain death. We have all experienced the death of loved one. And we know that one day we too will one day die. So what should we do and think and feel as we approach our own deaths?

There are some who will approach death in fear. They fear the unknown. They wonder if the next life will be better or worse than this one. So they resist death for as long as they can. Others approach death with resignation. They convince themselves that there is nothing after death. When they die, they believe their life is finished. But we who believe, as we approach death, we are filled with peace because we know that the next life will be fill with joy. We die in the confidence of the resurrection to new life. We know that even though we will die, we will live again resurrected, in the Kingdom of God coming to earth. We are so certain of this that we memorize and say over and over again the 23^rd psalm.

Psalm 23:1-6 ^NIV Psalm 23:1 A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, ³ he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The psalmist is saying that the God we worship takes care of us the same way a shepherd cares for his sheep. God gives us food to eat, water to drink, and safe places to stay where we are protected from predators. But he does far more than keep us alive physically. He is concerned about our feelings and behavior. He wants us to experience joy through obedience of his commands.

When we approach death God wants us to know that he is with us throughout the process. He does not want you to be afraid. Rather he wants you to know that the Good Shepherd is there to beat back death with his rod and staff. To help us remember this he invites us around the communion table and his Holy Word.

As David approached death he was comforted by all this. He was certain that God's goodness and mercy would not abandon him in the grave. This was based on his strong faith in the creator's ability to recreate our bodies in the resurrection. The promise of eternal life gave him confidence and he was able to approach death with joy. His life was not finished. He had nothing to fear, because God was with him. This is the assurance that we have as believers in Jesus Christ. We have nothing to fear from death because Jesus defeated it. Our Good Shepherd will guide us all the way to new life.

I 'd like to finish with a final story. In my first year as a pastor I was invited to Montevista Grove to lead worship in their nursing home. Montevista Grove is a community of retired Presbyterian pastors, church workers, and their families. I knew many people there from my internship at Pasadena Presbyterian church. And I looked forward to this opportunity. When I arrived the director of the nursing facility told me what to expect. He said that I should not expect any response from the congregation because most were in various stages of dementia and would have no idea what was going on. About a dozen people in wheel chairs were brought into the room where I has ready to preach on the 23^rd psalm. As I preached it looked like most of them had fallen asleep. But I decided to try something. I asked them to say with me the 23^rd psalm. At which point everyone in the room responded by saying it from memory. They weren't asleep.

The 23^rd psalm is the favorite psalm for most Americans. The reason for this was that in the Civil War so many men died and their were so many funerals that pastors and congregations would say it over and over again. It became the way we verbalize our hope in the resurrection from the dead. It gives us great confidence as we approach death. And so we continue to use it in funerals and memorial services to this day.

So remember there is no reason to fear the grave. God is with you. God will guide and protect you. And God will preserve your soul in heaven until the glorious day when all thing on earth are made new in the resurrection.

Let us pray. And join with me if you can.

Psalm 23:1-6 ^KJV Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. ⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Creator God we thank and praise you for gift of life. And we thank and praise you for the gift of Jesus Christ who will lead us to eternal life in the recreation of our world. Be with us as our Good Shepherd through all of this. This we pray in his name. Amen.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 151

2http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/05/preacher-handed-this-to-his-sister-in-law-right-before-the-titanic-sank-and-its-still-around-102-years-later/

3http://www.metropulse.com/news/2012/apr/11/knoxvilles-most-intimate-connection-titanic/?print=1

Sermon Psalm 116 Answered Prayer

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Psalm 116 Answered Prayer

May 4, 2014

I am continuing today with my sermon series on the Easter Psalms. These are Psalms that the early church used to try to understand the biblical foundation of the resurrection of Jesus which they experienced. They would gather on Sunday mornings to remember what Jesus had said and done. Then, after work, they would gather again to share in a communion meal. We are still doing these things. Today we will look at something that we all want. Our topic is “answered prayer”. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

Lord Jesus, your rising from tomb heralds the dawning of life eternal as the dawning of this day holds the possibilities of life anew. Open my eyes to the signs of your resurrection and confirm in my heart

the power of your amazing love, that I may with confidence sing “Alleluia.” Amen.¹

Let's start with a wonderful story of answered prayer from Guidebooks magazine.

“Wrapped presents, homemade knit stockings, fresh-baked goods—I ran through a mental checklist of all the things I needed to bring to my son’s for Christmas Eve. Despite my recently acquired walking cane, I’d wheeled everything from my apartment to the car in a shopping cart.

Just because I lived in a retirement community didn’t mean I needed help getting ready for Christmas. I slammed shut the trunk. Ready to hit the road!

Moving to the retirement community had been a big change, although not as big as when I left Germany for America after World War II. I no longer had space to host Christmas Eve dinner. Fortunately, my son and his family lived nearby and had offered to pick up the torch.

I drove along, smiling at the thought of the young grandchildren’s happy faces when they saw all the goodies. On the radio, Bing Crosby sang “White Christmas.” Outside, the icy wind howled and the sky was laden with snow clouds, but I felt warmed by the Christmas spirit.

I was a few miles from my son’s when the engine made a funny sound. It coughed, sputtered, coughed again. That doesn’t sound good. I quickly turned the wheel and pulled over to the grassy median on my left. Or tried to. I came to a stop with the rear of the car still sticking out into the fast lane.

The gas pedal didn’t respond. Then I noticed the glowing orange icon on the dashboard display, and the gas tank needle. Empty.

How could I have neglected to keep an eye on my gas gauge? Me, who didn’t need any help? Why hadn’t I listened to my children’s pleas to get a cell phone?

“Mein heilig Schutzengel,” I prayed in German. Angel of God, my guardian dear. Cars honked. Drivers were impatient to get where they were going. I got out to flag someone down. Someone slowed to warn me to get out of traffic. Another, irate, yelled, “Call the cops!” Everyone else zoomed by at 60 miles per hour.

I stood there, leaning on my cane, shaking with cold and fear, almost in tears. The sky was getting dark. They’ll be wondering where I am. Could I walk to a service station? I’d have to cross the four-lane highway at the very least. What do I do?

Just then, a gray compact car pulled up. A man behind the wheel, a woman in the passenger seat. The woman got out and hurried toward me. She was of medium height, roundly built, her oval face framed by dark, wavy hair. She seemed to shimmer, surrounded with an aura of light.

Before I could say a word about my predicament, she called to me. “Go back and sit in your car. We’ve come to help you.”

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!” I shouted. I did as she told me.

She came to my window. “You’ll be all right,” she said. “We’ll get enough gas for you to drive to a station.”

I watched the gray car drive off. After a minute, it returned, and the woman stepped out carrying a red gas can. She opened my gas cap and poured.

“How can I thank you?” I called to her. “Let me pay you for the gas.”

She shook her head.

“You’re like my guardian angel this Christmas Eve,” I said.

She laughed, finished pouring, and handed me the empty gas can. “Here, keep this in your trunk. Someday you can help someone else.” Then she leaned in the window and gave me a feather-light hug. “Merry Christmas. We’ll watch out for you as you pull back into traffic.”

I guessed everyone needed help some time, old and young alike. I started the engine and pulled into the lane. “I’m okay!” I called out, and looked back to wave good-bye. Only the gray car was gone. That’s when I wondered. How did they know gas was what I needed? I’d never told them.”²

This story brings us to today's question. What do you do when prayers are answered? When a loved one survives a car accident, or when a parent survives surgery what do you do? For the answer to this let's turn to the 116th Psalm.

1 I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. 2 Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came over me; I was overcome by distress and sorrow. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “Lord, save me!”

So the psalmist was near death. There was nothing the doctors could do. Death seems to be only option. But the psalmist tried one more thing, more powerful than anything the doctors have, she prayed to God.

This is what we do whenever we face hopeless situations. Whenever our health fails, or a relationship ends, or a job is terminated, we turn to God in prayer. Sometimes God allows bad things to happen to accomplish his greater purpose. But sometimes God answers our prayers. Then what do we do? How do we respond to answered prayer? The psalmist puts it this way

12 What shall I return to the Lord for all his goodness to me? 13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. 14 I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.

So the psalmist has promised to do three things in response to answered prayer. First, she will lift up the cup of salvation. This refers to the Passover meal when the Hebrews would remember how God had answered their prayers by freeing them from slavery in Egypt. This is what Jesus and his disciples were doing on the night before he died. So for Christians, raising the cup of salvation is what we do around this table. In communion, we remember how God redeemed us from slavery to sin. And like the psalmist, we too should respond to answered prayer by joining with others in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.

The second thing that the Psalmist promised to do is to pray in the presence of God's people. So our response to answered prayer must be to come to church where we pray for each other. That's why we have a time each Sunday to share both our joys and concerns. With our joys we can express our gratitude for what God has done for us.

And the third thing the psalmist has promised is to keep her vows. In our prayer life we not only express to God what we need, but we also pledge to be faithful followers. The proper response to answered prayer is to do what we said we would do in prayer. Fulfill our promises to God.

So there are three things that we should do when God answers our prayers. We come to church to express our gratitude in the presence of other believers. We gather with other believers around this table in communion with our Lord. And we keep our promises to God. Do these things and live a blessed life of answered prayer.

Father in heaven, we love you so much for all the prayers you have answered. We pledge to keep praying and remembering your son's sacrifice in this assembly of your people. We pray this in your sons name. Amen.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 147.

2http://www.guideposts.org/angels-on-earth/guardian-angels/aaa-angels-always-on-alert?page=full

Sermon Psalm 16 Security and Confidence

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon Psalm 16 Security and Confidence

April 27, 2014

In the weeks, months and years that followed Jesus' resurrection from the dead his followers tried to make sense of what they had experienced. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was an experienced reality in their lives. Their Bibles, a Greek translation of the Old Testament, was the bedrock of their faith. They would gather on Sunday mornings to bring together what they remembered about Jesus and to study what the Bible said. They were led in this by the Apostles. Both Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul preached early sermons on Psalm 16 to help the people of God understand the biblical foundation for our belief in the resurrection of the dead. Today we will do the same thing, but first, let's pray.

Holy One, you have made known to me the ways of life and have promised to fill me with the gladness of your presence. Keep me mindful of your guidance and your promise as I travel through this day,that my heart may be glad. Amen.¹

Psalm 16:1-11 ^NIV Psalm 16:1 A miktam of David. Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. ² I said to the LORD, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."

King David, writing a thousand years before Christ, affirmed the trust he put in God. He knew that God had preserved his life and would continue to do so. He knew that God was the source of all his blessings, wealth and power. He rejoiced in the promise God had made to him that his descendants would sit on his throne forever. David's relationship with God was so strong, he felt confident and secure. And he wants us to know that if we follow this path we too will be richly blessed. Let's listen to what David says.

³ As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. ⁴ The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips.

So, those who put their hope in God can expect to live securely, confident of God's blessings. But those who do not follow God and run after worthless idols cannot be so sure. If you put your hope on your money, you could lose it. If your hope is on your business or farm or job, it could go bankrupt. If your hope is on relationships or good health, these can fail. Our only source of hope, the only thing we can count on is God and God's faithfulness. So, how can we put our hope on God. Let's get back to David.

⁵ LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

God gives us confidence and makes our lives secure by giving us boundaries. If we live according to God's rules and do what he tells us to do then we will have less fear and feel more secure. But if we do what our culture tells us and we pursue wealth and power and processions then we lose our feeling of security because we may lose what we have. We have a choice. Let me tell you a story.

According to one of Grimm's fairy tales, “A man was a soldier, but when war ended, his parents were dead, and his brothers had no place for him.

A green-coated man with a cloven hoof appeared to him and offered to make him rich if he would for seven years not cut his hair, clip his nails, bathe, or pray, and wear a coat and cloak that he would give him. At the end, if he survived, he would be rich and free. If he died during the time, the devil would have him. The desperate soldier agreed and the devil gave him the green coat telling him he would find its pockets always full of limitless money and then a bearskin, telling him that he had to sleep in it and would be known as Bearskin because of it.

Bearskin set out, and gave much money to the poor that they would pray for him, to live out the seven years. After several years, he grew so revolting that he had to pay heavily to get any shelter. In the fourth year, he heard an old man lamenting and persuaded him to tell his tale: he had lost all his money, did not know how to provide for his daughters and could not pay the innkeeper, so he would be sent to jail. Bearskin paid the innkeeper and gave the old man a purse of gold as well.

The old man said that he would marry him to one of his daughters in gratitude. The oldest ran away, screaming, from the sight. The middle one said he was worse than a bear that had tried to pass itself off as human. The youngest one agreed to fulfill her father's promise. Bearskin gave her half a ring and promised to return in three years. Her sisters ridiculed her at length.

At the end of the seven years, Bearskin found the devil again and demanded he fulfill his promise. The devil then proceeds to bathe Bearskin, clip his nails and cut his hair until he is as good as new. Bearskin then demands that the devil say the Lord's prayer. The devil warns Bearskin not to push his luck as he has already won their bargain and disappears.

Clean and with his money, he dressed himself as a fine gentleman and went to the old man's house, where the older sisters served him, and his bride (dressed in black) showed no reaction to him. He told the old man that he would marry one of his daughters. The two older sisters ran off to dress splendidly, and Bearskin dropped his half of the ring into a wine cup and gave it to his bride. She drank it and realized that he was her bridegroom. They married.

Upon realizing who he was and what they gave up, one sister hung herself in rage and the other drowned herself. The devil knocked on the door to tell Bearskin that he had gotten two souls for the price of one.”²

So much for relying on the Devil to give us everything we want. Their are always strings attached. But scripture tells us there is another way of living. We can put God first. Listen again to David's psalm.

7 I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure.

Praise God and obey his commands. That's what you do to live a confident and secure life. God will always be with you, blessing you richly. But how do we know this to be true? What's the proof? Let's go back to David.

10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

The promise we have of eternal life, through the resurrection of the dead, is what gives us our confidence and security. We know that nothing will harm us because not even death has power over us. Even if we die we will live in the glorious resurrection. And we know this for certain because Jesus was resurrected from the dead.

So don't put your faith in things other than God because these things increase your fear. Hold on to what gives you security and confidence. Put your hope in God and his promise of eternal life. Praise God and obey his commandments. And live secure lives with confidence in the resurrection to eternal life. Let's pray.

Father in heaven keep us from following gods that deceive us. We are tempted to follow money, possessions, and power as ways to get what we want. But what we really want is confidence and security. So remind us again and again that confidence can only be found in your faithfulness. We pray this in your son's name. Amen.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 142.

2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearskin_(German_fairy_tale)