Staines Congregational Church Sermons

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,    the world, and all who live in it;2 for he founded it on the seas    and established it on the waters.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?    Who may stand in his holy place?4 The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,    who does not trust in an idol    or swear by a false god.[a]
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord    and vindication from God their Savior.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,    who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;    be lifted up, you ancient doors,    that the King of glory may come in.8 Who is this King of glory?    The Lord strong and mighty,    the Lord mighty in battle.9 Lift up your heads, you gates;    lift them up, you ancient doors,    that the King of glory may come in.10 Who is he, this King of glory?    The Lord Almighty—    he is the King of glory.

Psalm 22 and Psalm 23

Psalm 22
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?    Why are you so far from saving me,    so far from my cries of anguish?2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,    by night, but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;    you are the one Israel praises.[c]4 In you our ancestors put their trust;    they trusted and you delivered them.5 To you they cried out and were saved;    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm and not a man,    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.7 All who see me mock me;    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,    “let the Lord rescue him.Let him deliver him,    since he delights in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.10 From birth I was cast on you;    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,    for trouble is near    and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls surround me;    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.13 Roaring lions that tear their prey    open their mouths wide against me.14 I am poured out like water,    and all my bones are out of joint.My heart has turned to wax;    it has melted within me.15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;    you lay me in the dust of death.
16 Dogs surround me,    a pack of villains encircles me;    they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.17 All my bones are on display;    people stare and gloat over me.18 They divide my clothes among them    and cast lots for my garment.
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.20 Deliver me from the sword,    my precious life from the power of the dogs.21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
22 I will declare your name to my people;    in the assembly I will praise you.23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!24 For he has not despised or scorned    the suffering of the afflicted one;he has not hidden his face from him    but has listened to his cry for help.
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;    before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;    those who seek the Lord will praise him—    may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth    will remember and turn to the Lord,and all the families of the nations    will bow down before him,28 for dominion belongs to the Lord    and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—    those who cannot keep themselves alive.30 Posterity will serve him;    future generations will be told about the Lord.31 They will proclaim his righteousness,    declaring to a people yet unborn:    He has done it!
 
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters,3     he refreshes my soul.He guides me along the right paths    for his name’s sake.4 Even though I walk    through the darkest valley,[a]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 your goodness and love will follow me    all the days of my life,and I will dwell in the house of the Lord    forever.

Psalm 21

Psalm 21
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.    How great is his joy in the victories you give!
2 You have granted him his heart’s desire    and have not withheld the request of his lips.[b]3 You came to greet him with rich blessings    and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—    length of days, for ever and ever.5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;    you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings    and made him glad with the joy of your presence.7 For the king trusts in the Lord;    through the unfailing love of the Most High    he will not be shaken.
8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;    your right hand will seize your foes.9 When you appear for battle,    you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,    and his fire will consume them.10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,    their posterity from mankind.11 Though they plot evil against you    and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed.12 You will make them turn their backs    when you aim at them with drawn bow.
13 Be exalted in your strength, Lord;    we will sing and praise your might.

Psalm 19

Psalm 19
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God;    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.2 Day after day they pour forth speech;    night after night they reveal knowledge.3 They have no speech, they use no words;    no sound is heard from them.4 Yet their voice[b] goes out into all the earth,    their words to the ends of the world.In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun.5     It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.6 It rises at one end of the heavens    and makes its circuit to the other;    nothing is deprived of its warmth.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect,    refreshing the soul.The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,    making wise the simple.8 The precepts of the Lord are right,    giving joy to the heart.The commands of the Lord are radiant,    giving light to the eyes.9 The fear of the Lord is pure,    enduring forever.The decrees of the Lord are firm,    and all of them are righteous.
10 They are more precious than gold,    than much pure gold;they are sweeter than honey,    than honey from the honeycomb.11 By them your servant is warned;    in keeping them there is great reward.12 But who can discern their own errors?    Forgive my hidden faults.13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;    may they not rule over me.Then I will be blameless,    innocent of great transgression.
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart    be pleasing in your sight,    Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Psalm 18

Psalm 18[a]
For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
1 I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,    my shield[b] and the horn[c] of my salvation, my stronghold.
3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,    and I have been saved from my enemies.4 The cords of death entangled me;    the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;    the snares of death confronted me.
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;    I cried to my God for help.From his temple he heard my voice;    my cry came before him, into his ears.7 The earth trembled and quaked,    and the foundations of the mountains shook;    they trembled because he was angry.8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;    consuming fire came from his mouth,    burning coals blazed out of it.9 He parted the heavens and came down;    dark clouds were under his feet.10 He mounted the cherubim and flew;    he soared on the wings of the wind.11 He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—    the dark rain clouds of the sky.12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,    with hailstones and bolts of lightning.13 The Lord thundered from heaven;    the voice of the Most High resounded.[d]14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,    with great bolts of lightning he routed them.15 The valleys of the sea were exposed    and the foundations of the earth laid bareat your rebuke, Lord,    at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;    he drew me out of deep waters.17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,    from my foes, who were too strong for me.18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,    but the Lord was my support.19 He brought me out into a spacious place;    he rescued me because he delighted in me.
20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;    according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;    I am not guilty of turning from my God.22 All his laws are before me;    I have not turned away from his decrees.23 I have been blameless before him    and have kept myself from sin.24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful,    to the blameless you show yourself blameless,26 to the pure you show yourself pure,    but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.27 You save the humble    but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.28 You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;    my God turns my darkness into light.29 With your help I can advance against a troop[e];    with my God I can scale a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect:    The Lord’s word is flawless;    he shields all who take refuge in him.31 For who is God besides the Lord?    And who is the Rock except our God?32 It is God who arms me with strength    and keeps my way secure.33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;    he causes me to stand on the heights.34 He trains my hands for battle;    my arms can bend a bow of bronze.35 You make your saving help my shield,    and your right hand sustains me;    your help has made me great.36 You provide a broad path for my feet,    so that my ankles do not give way.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them;    I did not turn back till they were destroyed.38 I crushed them so that they could not rise;    they fell beneath my feet.39 You armed me with strength for battle;    you humbled my adversaries before me.40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,    and I destroyed my foes.41 They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—    to the Lord, but he did not answer.42 I beat them as fine as windblown dust;    I trampled them[f] like mud in the streets.43 You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;    you have made me the head of nations.People I did not know now serve me,44     foreigners cower before me;    as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.45 They all lose heart;    they come trembling from their strongholds.
46 The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!    Exalted be God my Savior!47 He is the God who avenges me,    who subdues nations under me,48     who saves me from my enemies.You exalted me above my foes;    from a violent man you rescued me.49 Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;    I will sing the praises of your name.
50 He gives his king great victories;    he shows unfailing love to his anointed,    to David and to his descendants forever.

His Love Endures Forever - Psalm 16

Psalm 16
A miktam[a] of David.
1 Keep me safe, my God,    for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;    apart from you I have no good thing.”3 I say of the holy people who are in the land,    “They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”4 Those who run after other gods will suffer more and more.    I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods    or take up their names on my lips.
5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;    you make my lot secure.6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;    surely I have a delightful inheritance.7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;    even at night my heart instructs me.8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.    With him 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,10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,    nor will you let your faithful[b] one see decay.11 You make known to me the path of life;    you will fill me with joy in your presence,    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
 
Acts 2:22-33
 
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[a] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:
“‘I saw the Lord always before me.    Because he is at my right hand,    I will not be shaken.26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;    my body also will rest in hope,27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,    you will not let your holy one see decay.28 You have made known to me the paths of life;    you will fill me with joy in your presence.’[b]
29 “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Psalm 15

Psalm 15
A psalm of David.
1 Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?    Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,    who does what is righteous,    who speaks the truth from their heart;3 whose tongue utters no slander,    who does no wrong to a neighbor,    and casts no slur on others;4 who despises a vile person    but honors those who fear the Lord;who keeps an oath even when it hurts,    and does not change their mind;5 who lends money to the poor without interest;    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things    will never be shaken.

Psalm 12 and Psalm 14

Psalm 12[a]
For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;    those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.2 Everyone lies to their neighbor;    they flatter with their lips    but harbor deception in their hearts.
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips    and every boastful tongue—4 those who say,    “By our tongues we will prevail;    our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,    I will now arise,” says the Lord.    “I will protect them from those who malign them.”6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,    like silver purified in a crucible,    like gold[c] refined seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe    and will protect us forever from the wicked,8 who freely strut about    when what is vile is honoured by the human race.
 
Psalm 14
For the director of music. Of David.
1 The fool[a] says in his heart,    “There is no God.”They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;    there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven    on all mankindto see if there are any who understand,    any who seek God.3 All have turned away, all have become corrupt;    there is no one who does good,    not even one.
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;    they never call on the Lord.5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,    for God is present in the company of the righteous.6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,    but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!    When the Lord restores his people,    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Why Lord? - Offload to the Father

Psalm 10
 
1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,who are caught in the schemes he devises.3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;in all his thoughts there is no room for God.5 His ways are always prosperous;your laws are rejected by[b] him;he sneers at all his enemies.6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;trouble and evil are under his tongue.8 He lies in wait near the villages;from ambush he murders the innocent.His eyes watch in secret for his victims;9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.He lies in wait to catch the helpless;he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;they fall under his strength.11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;he covers his face and never sees.”
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.Do not forget the helpless.13 Why does the wicked man revile God?Why does he say to himself,“He won’t call me to account”?14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;you consider their grief and take it in hand.The victims commit themselves to you;you are the helper of the fatherless.15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;the nations will perish from his land.17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.

Easter Sunday - Does it really matter to you? - There's no excuse now!

Mark 15:37-16:8
 
37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[a] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph,[b] and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
The Burial of Jesus
42 It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.
Jesus Has Risen
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.[c]