Additional content related to Deliverance
Exodus 16:2-15
Illustration I was recently watching a TV show with my 4-year-old and, at one point, an item begins to ring. The main character picks up the top part, connected to the bottom part with a curly wire and speaks into it. On the main, bottom part, there is a circle with numbers, almost like a…
Exodus 14:19-31
Illustration The story of the exodus is a potent motif for shaping the story of oppressed people. In the US context, we know this from the way the story was used in songs written by enslaved people. “Go down Moses and tell old Pharaoh, ‘let my people go.’” Harriet Tubman, who famously led hundreds to…
Exodus 3:1-15
From the banks of the Nile to a parched mountain (the literal translation of Horeb), we find Moses settled into the humble lifestyle of a nomadic shepherd just about as far from Pharaoh’s court as humanly possible. The King James tells us that, as the curtain rises on this scene, Moses is hanging out with…
Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22
Psalm 107 was originally a liturgy of thanksgiving offered at one of Israel’s great festivals, as evidenced by the opening call to give thanks and the repeated refrain, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.” The theme of this thanksgiving is the often-repeated word, hesed,…
Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b
Psalm 105 is clearly an historical Psalm. It traces the five stages of Israel’s early history, from the promise of the land to Abraham to the possession of the land under Joshua. Indeed, the entire Psalm, like that history, is driven by that covenantal promise made to Abraham and rehearsed here in verses 8-11 (where…
Psalm 91:9-16
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Psalm 91 is a profession of God’s protective care. It’s a deeply beloved psalm, particularly by people who find themselves under some kind of duress. In fact, the church father Athanasius reportedly told a colleague, “If you desire to establish yourself and others in devotion, to know what confidence…
Psalm 54
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Psalm 54 is a prayer for God’s deliverance from enemies who wish to harm or maybe even kill the poet. Perhaps not surprisingly, then, it also contains a strong tone of lament over enemies’ mistreatment of the poet. This lends Psalm 54 an air of honesty that sometimes seems…
Preaching Connection: Deliverance