Boulder Creek Community Church

Psalm 23 A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the pre...

Stephen Mealing brings us a meditation verse 3 of Psalm 23... specifically, the phrase, "His names sake".

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me The “rod” was also used to protect the sheep from other animals. The rod was a club about 2 feet long with a knob on the end of it about the size of one’s fist. It was used to ward off enemies such as a bear or a lion because with one quick blow you could put to death such an animal. The “rod” is also described in the book of Proverbs for discipline (Prover...

“I will fear no evil… for you are with me”. This is where David stops telling us about God… and starts talking to God! When a kid has a nightmare… he wants to BE WITH his mom and dad… Jesus often withdrew to a quiet place! Why…? We have lost the art of silence and solitude… Both God in the OT and Jesus in the NT assure us that one thing we can always count on… God will be and IS with us! And He’s...

One more day in the valley of the shadow of death... dealing with depression holistically is essential! Can may want to use it in your life, but depression is a real battle for many and we MUST learn to partner with God in fighting against it spiritually, psychologically, through good counsel, physically through sleep, diet and exercise and even physiologically through medication if needed.

I’m told there really is a valley of shadows... David probably led his sheep through the valley of the shadow of death as he was growing up. As you look in the Bible, the term “valley” also refers to all kinds of rough times in life. * Joshua talks about the Valley of Calamity * Psalm 84 talks about the Valley of Weeping * Hosea talks about the Valley of Trouble * The reference to a valley in Ps 2...

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His names sake...

The Empty Tomb

A communion Good Friday Service. We'll walk through the Last 7 Words of Jesus. 1. “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.” (Luke 23:34) 2. “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43) 3. “Dear woman, here is your son.” (John 19:26) 4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34) 5. “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28) 6. “It is finished!” (John 19:...

Matthew 27 - 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. The Soldiers Mock Jesus 27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in h...

John 18 - 4 Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” 5 “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said. 8 Jesus answered, “I told you...

"Take this cup from me..." Cup was a metaphor for God's wrath... we might struggle with that concept... that God gets angry. It doesn't fit our nice, good teacher, image of Jesus in our Western Culture. But if we stop and think about it... we really need and want a God of wrath.

Luke 22 - 9 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” 41 He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthe...

What happened between the "green pastures" and the "still waters"? Life is lived often between these two places... For David, this would probably have been the desert. Desert is a common biblical theme where we are challenged to relate to God through faith... not our feelings. God sometimes leads us to the desert... to make us thirsty. How's your soul? We live in a loud... fast... and distracted w...

He leads... The invitation of the Good Shepherd is to be led... That's not as simple as it seems! In fact, it can be risky, dangerous and even unpredictable at times! But... if we trust the good shepherd, and surrender to him, it will be good.

Psalm 23:2 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” In the original language, the concept is that the Shepherd causes us to lie down and lean against Him. Only sheep that are full... unafraid... and trust the Shepherd can lie down. This is a picture Where there is both delight and plenty. “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be...

Imagine a life without lack... “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Psalms 23:1 ESV “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” Psalms 23:1 NLT “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.” Psalms 23:1 NIV What you have in your shepherd is greater than what you don’t have in life. You have grace for every sin... you lack nothing. You have an anchor for every storm... you lack nothing....

God is not only his shepherd, he’s a good shepherd. And he is your shepherd! And even more astounding is the fact that the good shepherd became a sheep and sacrificed himself for you. A lot is made of sheep being stupid… And that may be true! Nevertheless your God wants you to see him as your good shepherd. That means he will lead you and guide you provide for you and even hold you close to his he...

Today we spend a little bit more time looking at who Yahweh is and who he is for you. Today I read Psalm 29 and in 11 versus “LORD” is used 17 times! David wants to remind his people in a time of crisis and in a time of uncertainty that God is more powerful than anything they can imagine. And that power is available to gods people.

God first revealed his proper name, Yahweh to Moses. When Jesus used God’s proper name “I am“ he was making an astounding claim on his identity! Jesus is the full and complete revelation of who God is and what God is like. Most people project on to God what they imagine him to be like. Doesn’t it make sense that if God is really God that he would sometimes disagree with us or contradict us? We mus...

Whenever LORD appears in the Hebrew Scriptures, the writer is referring to the proper name of God. It signifies nearness, closeness, intimacy and that he is a God who even shelters us.