Sermon for June 14th, 2020

Psalm 86

A Prayer of David.
1 Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3 be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all day long.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
    abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my cry of supplication.
7 In the day of my trouble I call on you,
    for you will answer me. 
8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    nor are there any works like yours.
9 All the nations you have made shall come
    and bow down before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
10 For you are great and do wondrous things;
    you alone are God.

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may walk in your truth;
    give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
12 I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14 O God, the insolent rise up against me;
    a band of ruffians seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to your servant;
    save the child of your serving girl.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
    so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psummer of Psalms - Psalm 86

Two men both died on the same day and went to heaven. One was a pastor, and the other was a taxi driver. When the taxi driver reached the pearly gates, he introduced himself, and was immediately welcomed with great fanfare and loud cheers, then he was shown to his heavenly mansion. Next in line was the pastor--he introduced himself, and was greeted with...polite applause, and then was shown to his heavenly apartment. This clearly wasn't what he expected, and so at the earliest opportunity, he found St. Peter and asked if there had been some sort of mix up. "I served God faithfully for 50 years, preaching every Sunday and taking care of my flock. And that taxi driver--I knew him--he was the worst driver in the entire city! What's the deal?

St. Peter calmly replied, "Look Reverend--here in heaven we go by results. When you preached to your congregation, people fell asleep and thought about what was for lunch. But when that taxi driver drove people, they prayed to God for salvation!"

• There can be no lasting recovery from serious trauma unless the pain is named and lived through.
• How to confront hateful people: The battle is waged and won within, and within the hated, rather than the hateful.
• v.11 - Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth;

• Calling out to God
• Acknowledging who/how I am
• Acknowledging who/how God is
• Asking God to help me
• Thanking God for what God has done