Sermon life chapters

Setting: Contemporary Worship
Length: 37:54

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Occasion: This is a sermon at a church where I had a consulting relationship.
Title: The Growing Feelings of a Young Father or Life Chapters of a Father
Main Scripture: Psalm 127
Main Topics: father's day, parenting
This sermon begins with a spontaneous inside joke about me being "Darren Higuchi".
Please don't be confused, it's Pastor Tae preaching.

As you listen, select, copy, and paste the following outline:

A song of ascents

Of Solomon

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
its builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchmen stand guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat-
for he grants sleep to those he loves.

3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD ,
children a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

-this set has 2 parts
            -part 1 – vs.1-2
            -part 2 – vs.3-5
            -note the space in the Bibles between v.2 and 3

-look at part 2

-here in v.4-5, the focus turns to the father
-cf. v.5 “man”
-and so, it will be appropriate on Father’s Day to focus on vs.4-5
-read it again…
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

-here, the father is a young man

-the worship song describes children as “arrows”
-children born to fathers are…

“like arrows”, v.4

-now, let me stop what you are doing
-you are picturing arrows in your minds, right?
-stop doing that right now
-I am not going to show you a picture of an arrow
-because I don’t want you to picture it
-but here, it gives us the picture of an arrow…..but why can’t we picture it

OT images were more functional than visual

-don’t picture children as arrows
            -arrows being long and slender….and sharp at the point
                        -feathers on the back…
            -that would be a mistake
            -think about the function of arrows

* don’t ask what it looks like, ask what it does

-what does an arrow do?

-think about the warrior (the archer standing there)

2 Basic feelings of an Archer (father)

1. confident, v.4

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

2. happy, v.5

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.