September
8, 2002
For
Such a Time as This:
Living
in Light of September 11th
Fears of Children –
1960’s:
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Animals
n
Dark Rooms
n
Strangers
n
High Places
n
Loud Voices
Fears of Children – Today:
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Parental Divorce
n
Nuclear War
n
Lung Cancer
n
Pollution
n
Violence at School
When
the World is Falling Apart – Psalm 2
1. It’s not wrong to
ask God “why?”
Psalm 2:1-3
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples
plot in vain?
The kings of the earth take their stand and
the rulers gather together against the Lord and
against his Anointed One.
"Let us break their chains," they
say, "and throw off their fetters."
2. Realize that God is
in control.
Psalm 2:4-6
The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
Then he rebukes them in his anger and
terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have
installed my King on Zion, my holy hill."
3.
Know that God wants to be personally involved in
your life.
Psalm
2:7-9
I will proclaim the decree of the Lord: He
said to me, "You are my Son; today I have
become your Father.
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your
inheritance, the ends of the earth your
possession. You
will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash
them to pieces like pottery.”
4. Be a person of
wisdom and action.
Psalm
2:10-12
"Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned,
you rulers of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with
trembling. Kiss
the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in
your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him."
When
Stresses are Greater than Strengths – Psalm 46
1.
Begin with the One who is the Beginning and
the End.
Psalm
46:1
"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble."
2.
Resolve to face life with faith not fear.
Psalm
46:2-3
"Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and
the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains
quake with their surging.
Selah"
3.
Realize the comfort of God’s indwelling
presence.
Psalm
46:4-7
"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall; God
will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he
lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of
Jacob is our fortress.
Selah"
1
John 4:4
“The
one who is in you is greater than the one who is
in the world.”
Romans
8:31 “If
God is for us . . .”
4.
Remember God’s power over the
past,
the present and the future.
Psalm
46:8-9
Come and see the works of the Lord , the
desolations he has brought on the earth.
He makes wars cease to the ends of the
earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,
he burns the shields with fire.
Hebrews
13:8
“Jesus
Christ is the same
yesterday
and today and forever.”
5.
Be still and know God.
Psalm
46:10-11
"Be still, and know that I am God; I
will be exalted among the nations, I will be
exalted in the earth.“
The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of
Jacob is our fortress.
Selah"
Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the
highest place and gave him the name that is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth,
And every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father.
-
How intimately do you know
God?
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Are you growing in your
intimacy with the God who died to make this
relationship possible?
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Are you trusting him with your
future?
When
the World is Falling Apart
When Stresses are Greater than Strengths
God is:
n
a refuge
n
a strength
n
an ever-present help
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