Playlist: Sermon Edition

I was gifted the trust of the pulpit for a gathering of our congregations, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), in Canadian Co. Oklahoma. These five congregations (First Christian Church Calumet, First Christian Church El Reno, Mustang Christian Church, West Point Christian Church, First Christian Church Yukon) gather for an evening fellowship dinner and worship during Advent and Lent. A theme for these worship services is selected. The theme for Lent is, “When did you start to sing a different song? ”

The texts are Psalms that are part of the weekly Lectionary reading during Lent. I was asked to offer some words on Psalm 63. My companion crafted the sermon summation:
“The psalm allows us to hear and name our desires and our fears/doubts, our joy and our pain. This psalm may help us recognize when we are dehydrated and need to find the Holy — wherever we do that — allowing us to sing a new song.” (Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison)

Several song lyrics were featured in the sermon as I stitched together some thoughts about Psalm 63 and how my life’s soundtrack has influenced how I hear, read, and experience the good news of God, and how the verses of my song have changed as I’ve grown older, but not up.

One way I approach the biblical text is remembering these are stories that can possibly help me learn something about how to bear the weight of:
longing,
questions, 
uncertainty,
relationship,
visions and dreams, 
joy, anger, and sadness.
Or, as the writer of Psalm 63 describes: thirst, looking, satisfaction, meditation, clinging, and a desire about what should happen to those who seek to destroy.

The summer between 6th and 7th grade, my family moved from deep northeast Texas to deep southeast Texas. I wasn’t happy about it.

But, I made some friends and went to church camp the summer between 7th and 8th grade with a changing tune.

I had grown up going to church and youth group. At summer camp (Camp Wildurr) I experienced the realness of God for the first time. I didn’t know I was thirsty. I left camp with some new verses in my song and the baseline that continues. “No one could change my mind but Mama tried.”


The thing about dehydration is that it can sneak up on you.
A headache is coming on.  It must be stress.
I’m fatigued.  Tired.  Maybe I need a little more rest. 
Cramping up a bit.  Need more potassium. 
I’m a little dizzy.  It may be allergies, an inner ear thing, or blood pressure.
I feel a little nauseous.  Something I ate must not be sitting well on my stomach.

Those are symptoms of dehydration, which can cause odd behavior and lead to more serious physical, mental, and spiritual health conditions.  It can alter your song.

There is a story from the movie, “The American President” that goes something like this. 
“People want . . . leadership, spirituality, meaningful existence, companionship, people want (fill in the blank . . .).  They’re so thirsty for it they’ll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there’s no water, they’ll drink the sand. People don’t drink the sand because they’re thirsty. They drink the sand because they don’t know the difference.”


When I read the Psalms, I think it’s a glimpse of the writers inner voice.   You know, the internal, ongoing dialogue about the experiences of a day, the memories and the feelings you carry, or the things you choose not to say.  The writers of the Psalms wrote their inner voice on behalf of their community and for themselves, trusting that God would receive it and be God.  Can you imagine your journal becoming a sacred text for someone?

Humans are not bifurcated, from a Hebrew bible perspective, though that is a nice rationalization for the good and evil we humans can commit. “It’s not my fault; the Satan made me do it.” (Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison, a Hebrew bible scholar and my companion, can help you understand this perspective and better translations of the Hebrew words hesed and nephesh.)

Psal 63
O God, you are my God, I seek you,
my life thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your fierce, restless love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.

My life is satisfied as with a rich feast
and my mouth praises you with joyful lips
when I think of you on my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.
My life clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.

But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword,
they shall be prey for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by (king or God) shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

When do you meditate on the Lord?  Do yourself a favor and get away from your social media, your news silo, and screen for an hour every day.  Find some silence.  Listen.  It can be scary.   What song is your internal voice shouting or whispering right now? 

“It’s their vault.”
“I’m not good enough?”
“I’m a good person.”
“They are a child of God.”
“I’m a child of God.”
“Why Me, Lord?”

The soundtrack in my life, the playlist, has many tunes that influence my song. It includes verses from two staples and a modern psalm.

Be Thou My Vision
Irish song (8th century); tr. Mary E. Bryne, 1905; versed by Eleanor H. Hull, 1912, alt.
Chalice Hymnal #595

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me, save that thou art
thou my best thought by day or by night,
waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with the and thou with me, Lord:
though my redeemer, my love thou has won,
thou in my dwelling, and I with the one.

Riches I heed not, nor vain, empty praise,
thou mine inheritance, now and always:
thou and thou only, first in my heart,
Great God of heaven, my treasure thou art.

Great God of heaven, my victory won,
may I reach heaven’s joys, O bright heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my heart, whatever befall,
still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

The powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.  I wonder what will bubble up for you?

, 03/24/2025. 1 Comment on Playlist: Sermon Edition. Category: Preaching Notes.

The Sacred Steps: Lent 3

Psalm 63:1-8

  • One might talk with the children about being thirsty.  What is that like?  Is anyone thirsty right now?  Though I am not fond of object lessons, it might help children think about how God can be present in them by talking of God as the water that helps them when they are thirsty.  Bring some water to share at the end.
  • You might take this opportunity to talk with the children about how the Psalms have inspired many hymns, secular songs, and art.  Spend some time with your hymnal and see how many of the “favorite” hymns of your congregation are based on a psalm.  You could talk to the children about that list.
  • One could have the children help create a prayer based on this psalm. Do a simple word- game with the children to create a prayer.  Roll out some paper on the floor.  Ask the children to draw a picture or write a word that they think of when they hear the following phrases: “walk in your ways, praise you, follow you.”  Create your own words or phrases from Psalm 63.  Post the banner somewhere in the sanctuary or church building.  If you or the preaching minister is a quick thinker, this prayer of words and pictures from the children could be used as part of the morning’s pastoral prayer.

Isaiah 55:1-9

  • This is an opportunity to talk with the children about knowing what is good for us versus what may be bad for us.  You may want to choose one or more of the commandments and talk to the children about how they help us all live together and with God.  If your congregation is following a Lenten theme you could incorporate this into the learning of what is good.
  • One could choose to set a table (maybe the communion table) and invite the children to join you there.  The conversation around the table could focus on God’s kingdom being like a place where all the food and drinks are free.  What would that be like?

I Corinthians 10:1-13

  • Talk with the children about what the biblical story is for you and for your expression of Christian faith.  These stories are supposed to help us know something about God.  Do you have a favorite story or two?  Do the children have a favorite story?  What do those stories teach?
  • Talk with the children about what it means to be an example for others.  You may have had this conversation with the children earlier, but it is a common biblical theme, and it is the responsibility of Christians to be examples in our living.  Thus, it cannot be visited too much with children.

Luke 13:1-9

  • Talk with the children about what the parables of Jesus are.  You could introduce the word “riddle” to the children and talk about what a riddle is supposed to do.  A couple of classic riddles that sound like children’s jokes. 
    1)  Where is the ocean the deepest?  [the bottom]
    2) What does an invisible person drink? [evaporated milk]
  • You could highlight this parable in Luke and talk with the children about your favorite parables.
  • This is an opportunity to introduce the children to the words “repent” and “repentance.”  Be ready with a simple, but not an oversimplified, definition to give them.  How does your congregation speak of repentance?  Is it a one-time change in heart, attitude, behavior, or do Christians practice repentance daily?  One option would be to talk to the children about the last time you “repented” or felt, “repentance.”  How is your example a teaching story that helps the children on the sacred steps think about times when they “repented” or felt, “repentance?”
, 03/18/2025. Category: SSCSJ.
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