“the Whole Story” Series

“God Restores the Broken” – Psalm 51:13-19

Psalm 51:13-19


“Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;
then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.”

There was a tragic news story the other day involving an intoxicated woman who ran over and killed a law enforcement officer. As she was being filmed while being placed under arrest, she sobbingly exclaimed a rather pretentious apology. She realized her mistake but she just wanted to be spared of the consequences. She didn’t necessarily feel sorrowful for the person or family she had aggrieved. She was sorry that she got caught. We can probably all remember a time when we did something wrong and apologized because we wanted to escape the consequences or felt bad only because we got caught. But how often do we feel true remorse or sorrow simply because of who we have offended? The greater question is, when was the last time we were truly broken over our sin because we offended God? Even when we wrong others, we are ultimately sinning against God.

In Psalm 51, David paints a portrait of what true sorrow and brokenness looks like. He confesses his sin against God and pleads with God to show mercy on him. He wasn’t just trying to escape the consequences and we can see that here in verse 14- “Deliver me from the guilt”. David felt the weight of his sin and was burdened with unbearable guilt because of who he sinned against and he cried out to God to cleanse him, forgive him, and restore him, so that joy could be restored to his soul and he could praise God for who God is.

David really messed up. I mean like really bad messed up. But the good news is there’s absolutely no guilt great enough and no sin big enough that God’s grace can’t cover. And through David’s prayer, we see how God can restore joy to our brokenness. Let me tell you…there’s absolutely no sin in your life- past, present, or future that can ever escape the glory of God’s forgiveness and grace. BUT…we have to come to God with broken spirits and contrite hearts. God is not interested in pretentious and shallow apologies. God is not interested in us going to church to pay penance or trying to atone through our works, because no amount of church attendance or charity given will ever restore our brokenness and make us right with God. God doesn’t care about our attempts to bargain and make a deal with Him through our words. I, myself, am guilty of getting caught and trying to make a plea bargain with God – “God, if you’ll just get me out of this mess, I will serve you.” More than our words of sacrifice and offerings, God wants us to come to him and confess our brokenness and humbly offer our lives to Him. When we come to Him with broken spirits and contrite hearts, God WILL blot out our transgressions. God WILL cover us in His mercy and grace. God WILL restore joy to our souls. Do you believe that?

Humble yourself and come to God broken and I promise you He will restore you and give you abundant joy.

Use the HEAR method (see below) as you spend time with today’s passage and consider the following questions:

  • What guilt are you currently living with?
  • Who have you wronged?
  • What have you been caught up in?
  • What sin in your life do you seem to not be able to shake off?
  • Are you sorrowful and broken by your sin?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Zach Gallman

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“Bring Back the New Again” – Psalm 51:7-12

Psalm 51:7-12

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.”

___________________

“Bring back the new again, I want to see you again. 
Bring back the way it was, When we began. 

“How did I miss the road? When did I lose the glow? 
Where did the wonder go? Bring back the new again.”  
    Gordon Jensen, “Bring Back the New Again”
I was introduced to this song on a youth retreat when I was in high school and it put words to a feeling that I had experienced on more than one occasion. And as a minister, I have spoken to more people than I can count who have expressed a similar sentiment. “I want to go back to that feeling I had when I was a new believer. Where did that go?” 
I believe that God gives us that initial exhilaration at ‘spiritual birth’ not only as a byproduct of having the weight of sin lifted off of us and the acceptance into His eternal family, but also to carry us through the initial bumps that jounce us out of any naive thoughts we might carry that life will be nothing but smooth sailing now that we’ve crossed over to the Lord’s team. Once we get past that misconception, we no longer depend on our feelings to remind us of God’s love and our unshakeable place in His grasp. 
And though our spiritual standing isn’t based on our feelings moment to moment, there is a noticeable difference in the feeling we have when we are right relationship and fellowship with the Father. It’s like sliding your tongue over your teeth right after getting your braces off! 
I imagine David, in deep thought after his gut check with Nathan, wondering how far he had wandered from the zeal of that young shepherd boy, passionate about His God. In this psalm of repentance, David knew he needed a total spiritual overhaul and in order for that to take place, he needed a time of deep cleansing. 
David referenced a desire for ritual cleansing. A purification ritual tied to worship was the sprinkling of hyssop dipped into water over a person. This was an outward symbol of cleansing. We do something similar in our worship when we come to the altar and kneel or follow through in believer’s baptism. 
Secondly, he asked God to turn away from his sin. He recognized that only God could get their relationship past this roadblock. There was nothing David could do on his own. 
And finally, David asked that God cleanse him within, something beyond ritual, that would make his heart pure again and renew his joy once more.  
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • Do you resonate with the longing to feel the ‘new’ again? How important are your feelings to your faith? 
  • Is there something outward that you can do to start the process of renewal? Have you been baptized as a symbol of dying to yourself and humbly submitting yourself to new life in Christ? Have you kneeled at the altar to pray for revival for yourself and for Belmont? 
  • Have you accepted Christ as your savior – the only way for God to truly cleanse you from sin?
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jon Price, Associate Pastor

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“Pleading ‘No Contest'” – Psalm 51:3-4

Psalm 51:3-4

“For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.”

We are guilty in our culture of gauging the seriousness of a sin based on who it impacts and what immediately discernable damage it brings. In our tendency to let ourselves off the hook for poor and selfish decisions, we rationalize that what we’ve done is no big deal, having little to no effect, and harming no one. We may claim special circumstances that in our estimation pull our action out of the sin category into a more gray area of acceptability. 
David may have told himself at each step in his sin that what he was doing was ok. 

“I was just out on my roof, looking over my kingdom, and happened to see this beautiful woman.” 
“As King, I’m within my rights to get pretty much anything I want and no one will question me.”

“If I bring in Bathsheeba’s husband from the battlefield and give them the opportunity to spend time together, this little inconvenience will be covered up.”
“Uriah isn’t working with me and he’s left me no choice.”
“I’ve made all of this ok by marrying Bathsheeba.” 

But after David was confronted by the prophet Nathan, he repented and changed his tune completely. He came face to face with all that he had done and pleaded ‘no contest.’ He wouldn’t be fighting the punishment or justifying his actions anymore.  

When we acknowledge that our sin is against God, we are doing away with the concept of a ‘victimless crime.’ Any sin is a choice against God and His rule in our life. Any sin is swerving off the path of God’s best for us and anything we hit in our path is on us. To say that our sin is against God isn’t a denial of the damage we’ve done to others, but an increase in the offense’s weight by seeing it as done against the highest rank – God Himself. And God Himself is the one that determines what is sin, not culture and not circumstances.  

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • What sin have you justified or minimized that needs to be seen as against God and repented from?
  • Thinking honestly to yourself, what consequences have you noticed in these areas from choosing less than God’s best? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jon Price, Associate Pastor

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“Own It” – 2 Sam 12:1-7a

2 Sam 12:1-7a

“And the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man!”

Talk about an awkward moment! Nathan was right and David was caught!

I won’t dare spend the time counting how many times my self-righteous attitude denied the magnitude of my sin compared to others. I would be embarrassed to know how many times I did not own my own faults. My mind doesn’t have the capacity to remember all the times someone had to call me out before I admitted to guilt.

Thankfully, in this moment, David owned his guilt and God began to restore Him. David experienced in real-time what He asked from God in Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!”

Open your heart for God to do a search and if you have any sin, own it. If someone calls you out, own it. Don’t hand your guilt to someone else. It is yours to give to God.

Hey! This gives me a great sermon title with three points. Title: My Bad. Points: Open your heart, Own your sin, Obtain God’s grace. Tight! Huh?

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • Has someone ever confronted you about a sin in your life? How did you respond? 
  • Have you ever prayed Psalm 139:23, that God would search you and know your heart? Take some time to do that this morning. 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Pastor Stephen Williams

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“The Danger of a Lazy Attitude” – 2 Samuel 11:1-5

2 Samuel 11:1-5


“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

“It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

A common characteristic of social media is that we typically post only those things that put us in a good light – vacations we’ve taken, promotions at work, weight loss, our kid’s achievements. I’m sure that if King David had indulged in a Facebook account, we would see posts about his mighty victories, the slaying of a giant, and lines from some of his most popular psalms. Of course, his relational status would read: “It’s Complicated.” But this part of David’s life would have been kept far away from the spotlight. It would have never made it to Instagram or on his Facebook timeline. 
It’s been said that Idle hands are the devil’s tools. The narrator here makes sure to point out that David isn’t where he’s supposed to be. It seems he’s been resting on his past successes and has drifted from his calling and purpose to lead God’s people. It’s in this unguarded and lazy posture that David sets himself up for a very dark chapter in his life. It’s in this state that he begins to make one poor choice after another. Like falling down a flight of stairs, the eventual stop at the bottom is going to end in a lot of pain and brokenness.  
When a person hits bottom, one of the common questions is, “how did I get here?” This type of trip isn’t made in one or two steps. Instead, it begins with an unguarded and unfocused attitude. 
As Cain began to ruminate and compare his offerings with that of his brother Abel’s, God noticed his attitude and gave him a warning. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Genesis 4:7
A lazy and unfocused mindset can leave us unaware of the Enemy sneaking from behind, ready to give a nudge down those stairs. 
A few weeks ago, we talked about the significance of what we do in the ordinary days of our life. “What we do in our shepherding days directly impacts the outcome of our giant fighting days.” David had grown lax and squandered his normal days. And now he was about to be clobbered by a giant of his own making.
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following items: 
  • How important is mindset? How does your mindset prepare you for victory or defeat? 
  • Look up Romans 12:1-2. How does this passage relate to today’s text? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jon Price, Associate Pastor

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“How to Repay a Wrong” – Romans 12:19-20

Romans 12:19-20

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”


When someone wrongs me, my first response is to MAKE. THEM. PAY. 
I don’t want to get even. I want to get ahead, to the point that they would think twice before messing with me again. I want the word to spread, “Don’t mess with Jon, he’s CRAZY!” Of course, this doesn’t fit nicely into how a minister should behave, so I keep that part of me hidden away. It’ll be our little secret. 
But, being a man of the Word, the verse above clearly gives me a pass to go scorched earth on someone if they wrong me, right? Well, not so much. If you leave off the last phrase for a second (for by doing so…) and just read the first part, it’s clear that it’s God’s place alone to hand out judgement and punishment. In fact, we are commanded to love our enemy by helping them in their time of need. 
So what gives with the burning coals comment? When in doubt check the context. In Paul’s day, people kept fires going in their homes to warm, give light and cook their meals. A responsible person kept the fire going and had plenty of wood and coal on hand to add to it as needed. It was irresponsible to let the fire go out and shameful to have to go to a neighbor to ask for a piece of lit coal to get theirs going again. 
To heap burning coals on someone’s head painted a picture beyond simply meeting a need. It showed generosity and restoration of dignity. And to do this for an enemy would take a type of love that could only be explained through God’s transforming power. This would completely destroy an enemy, by making them a friend. 
How wonderful that by turning in the opposite direction of our natural inclination, we can steer an enemy into the hands of a loving God! This is what it looks like to live and love like Jesus. 
While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions:
  • Have you ever responded to a wrong in the manner that Paul suggests above? If so, what was the outcome? 
  • Can you name a friend that at one time was an enemy? What’s the story there?
  • Who is someone that you can heap coals on this week? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Jon Price, Associate Pastor

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