Sermons from Good News: Restore your soul.

Note before sharing the sermon: Oh boy, do I need this (the truth of the contents from the sermon below). I'm a little behind on posting sermons and devotionals. Christmas was good. It also was quiet, out of necessity. Although I didn't anticipate having my first Christmas as a married man without being able to see others (aside from attending church) - FWIW, I think I may be continuing a newer family tradition - I will say that my time with my wife has been special. Two of our shared love languages are touch and quality time, and both our first Thanksgiving and Christmas as a married couple has allowed us to soak in our love languages together. Sure, there's a disappointment in not being able to see family or close friends, but the tradeoff is being able to really just be with each other. It's a joy.


Church 12/18/2024

Sermon message:

Thesis: Restore your soul.

Psalm 23:3A

He restores my soul;

God restores our souls.

Soul = our mind, our emotions

Restore = make fresh, replenish, rekindle.

Fires repel darkness.

When the fire isn’t burning as bright there’s more darkness, and it unfortunately attracts the devil. A fire burning bright repels the devil.

1 Peter 5:8

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Ways to restore our fire:


Point #1: Go to a quiet or secret place.

Mark 6:46

And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray.

Luke 5:16

So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.

Matthew 14:23

And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.

Point #2: Gather with other believers.

[Note: our pastor made a note that this is not meant to be a contradiction of the first point. We need to do both: withdraw ourselves to a quiet/secret place to be alone with God, and to be in fellowship with others. My note: I think far too often people tend to do one or the other and fail to balance both. Unfortunately, I've tended to skew either way at different points in my life.]

Hebrews 10:25

not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

The Day = the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 4:16

So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

Point #3: Learn to listen.

Sometimes we get so busy or wrapped up in whatever we are doing that we cannot hear God.

James 1:19

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;

John 12:49-50

49 For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

Point #4: Return to first love.

Revelation 2:1-5

1 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write,

‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

Note after sharing the sermon: What was interesting was that, after reading the above passage to the congregation, our pastor was quick to note that this rebuke, particularly the "remove your lampstand from its place" line, did not correlate to loss of salvation. His take was that a church would no longer be a church of our Lord Jesus Christ but rather simply an organization. That said, he did also stress the importance of not losing our first love to the point of God taking away our status as church being true and obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ, that this still is paramount.

Last night as I was falling asleep, I found myself reciting parts of Psalm 23 including the verses that says: "He restores my soul..." I say this not to boast (because honestly, I rarely have done this practice of reciting what Bible verses I do know to help me fall asleep) but to share with you, the reader, that this does work. For some who really have issues falling asleep at night, you might need to recite many more verses or repetitions of the same verses that you hold close to your heart. In such cases, it's not that the Bible didn't or doesn't have power to bring you peace (because it truly does), but rather you just need to keep on doing it.

And a friendly reminder for any nonbelievers that read this blog:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6, NKJV

In other words, give your lives to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior today. Receive Him into your heart, confess Him as your Lord and Savior to others, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead after he was crucified. (Romans 10:9)