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Psalm 20

Preaching
A Journey Through the Psalms: Reflections for Worried Hearts and Troubled Times
Preaching the Psalms Cycles A, B, C
Everyone wants a protector. It is, as young people are fond of saying, a "no brainer." Life is no bowl of cherries and despite our New Testament Jesus and his calls to love and forgiveness, we are not fooled. We know that enemies abound. We all know that everyone could use a protector. Whether it's women who suffer and die from the scourge of domestic violence or homeless people set upon by amoral attackers, a protector is needed. Whether it is workers stripped of their pensions by corporations recording record profits or students no longer able to pay for their education, a protector is needed. Whether it is a youngster in the grip of sexual abuse or the angry, unjust accusations of coworkers or community members, a protector is needed.

Around this troubled globe there are countless scenarios where we can say that a protector is needed. Indeed, the list is so long that the heart grows numb in the reading. Yet, the truth is clear. A protector is needed.

The psalm describes this protector with words that warm our spirits. So powerful is this protector that even the utterance of God's name is protection (v. 1). This protector will fulfill our desires and see our plans come to fruition. This protector will provide us with the victory. This protector is the real deal. Incredibly, this protector is so powerful that we are to abandon our weapons and defenses and place our total trust in him (v. 7). What's that? Come again?

Ah. There's the rub. We want the protection. Who doesn't? But letting go of our own weapons? Abandoning our own right to protect ourselves? That's a bit of a different story. Only a fool surrenders his or her weapons and defenses. For too many of us, the MGM voice of Moses echoes in our souls. They will have to pry our weapons from our "cold, dead hands."

It seems that we would have it both ways. We want the protection, but find it hard to trust the protector. We want the benefits of the relationship, but none of the costs.

This psalm finds us in an all too familiar place. Trusting, really trusting in God just isn't our strong suit, is it? How does that old World War I song go? "Praise The Lord And Pass The Ammunition"? That really isn't what God has in mind for us, is it?

So let us live into the questions. How can we take that giant step of faith? How can we cease to depend upon our puny defenses and trust wholly in God? What will it take for us to release all the baggage we carry and to throw our hearts and souls upon the mercy and wonder of God?

Tough questions. Tougher answers. But in community, in commitment, in forging ahead in faith, they just might be found.
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John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity.

Note: You will need to select six children to play roles in this activity. If you have a smaller group, you might ask some older youth or even adults to play the parts of the two attackers and the man being attacked. I will give suggestions for how they can play their roles, but feel free to help your children make the story as fun and memorable as you can. I have used boys and girls in the various roles, but you can change those however you want to change them.

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The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
For July 13, 2025:
  • Samaritans Among Us by Dean Feldmeyer based on Acts 2:1-21. Samaritans were despised and dismissed by the original audience who first heard Jesus tell this parable. Who are the Samaritans in our lives and how does this parable apply today?
  • Second Thoughts: The Helpers by Katy Stenta based on Amos 7:7-17.

StoryShare

Frank Ramirez
I say, “You are gods,
    children of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals
    and fall like any prince….”
(vv. 6-7)

There have been any number of brother-sister acts that achieved a measure of fame. Take the Carpenters, famed for their singing, musicianship, and songwriting skills. Also worthy of mention are John and Joan Cusack who have acted together in over sixteen films.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
An ancient legend tells of a remote mountain village where people used to send their senior citizens out into the woods to die. The villagers had an eye to the future; they felt that those beyond a certain age would only slow down progress or use up valuable resources to no economically profitable end. Those who reached a certain age weren’t “put out to pasture” or “put out of their misery”; they were simply put out of other people’s way.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82
The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is more than 2,700 feet high—over half a mile tall. It has 160 floors and is twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City. It is home to the world’s fastest elevator which reaches speeds of forty miles an hour. The Burj Khalifa also hosts the world’s highest outdoor observation deck (on the 124th floor) and the world’s highest swimming pool (on the 76th floor).

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Mabel hummed a familiar hymn tune as she made her way to church. She always enjoyed her Sunday morning walk. It was one of the few times she felt safe to walk alone through the inner city, for she knew nobody would be up at 7.45 in the morning. Today was a particularly beautiful morning, with blue sky, warm sunshine, and the song of a few intrepid blackbirds who still inhabited the city.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Often, a distinction is made between the pastoral or priestly work of the church and the prophetic work. Pastoral care has to do with the care of souls, the offering of comfort in times of loss. The priestly character of pastoral work seeks to mediate the presence of God to those who are hurting.

Schuyler Rhodes
Trusting is never easy. Even in the best of relationships, people step into trust slowly. There is wariness -- questioning -- worry. What happens if trust is betrayed? What if this doesn't work? Sometimes it's like a dance. We step in and out of trust, moving to the rhythms of fear. For many, the routine is achingly familiar. Indeed, it's not easy to trust.
John Jamison
It was back in the days when the railroad was the most common mode of transportation. There were automobiles, and some airplanes, but the steam locomotive was the way most folks traveled and the way that most of the goods were distributed around the country. After dinner, people sat in the drawing room and listened to the radio programs, fading in and out from some faraway location, over the magical broadcasting signal.
Robert Leslie Holmes
Not many tourists to Washington, D.C., look for the Federal Bureau of Standards offices. It's the Capitol and the White House, the Supreme Court Building or the Smithsonian most of us want to see when we go there. Yet, at the Bureau of Standards offices something very important is stored, something that impacts your life and mine every single day. Have you ever bought the materials for a new project? When you did, most likely you purchased so many inches or feet or yards. Or, you stopped to buy gasoline for your car and purchased it at a certain price per gallon.
David O. Bales
I have the two best jobs in the world. I teach social studies at Leon Griffith Junior High School (a fairly small junior high) and I am Sunday School Superintendent at Calvary Presbyterian Church (an enormous church school). Each job is my vocation. I tell people that at school they'll find my room where the halls cross. At church they can look but probably won't find me. I'll be in someone's classroom. At each job I practice what I most deeply believe: it's how you see the world that determines how you respond to it. I'll give you an example, actually, two examples.
Erskine White
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
(Stuart K. Hine)

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