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The River ChurchSermons

Sermon · 19 Jul 2026

· Sunday, 19 July 2026 · 43:07 · 7,210 words

There is no public page for this message yet — the transcript below is the whole of it.

Psalm 136 is the focus of the talk, where the repeated refrain “His steadfast love endures forever” is examined as a picture of God’s covenantal love both in Israel’s history and in personal experience. The speaker asks listeners to recall moments in their own lives and recognize how God has been present, even in hardship. He challenges the audience to give thanks in every circumstance, trusting that God’s faithful love never quits. The message invites reflection on one’s story and the assurance that God’s love sustains now and forever.

What this sermon is about

Ranked by keyness against every other sermon in the corpus. Each one is a word this sermon actually said — nothing here was written by a model.

endure 71 forever 76 love 160 steadfast 30 sihon 13 psalm 40 remember 29 israel 23 og 8 jerusalem 10 tapes 4 king 16

Topics

Israel 6 Faith 2 Prayer 2 Salvation 2 Love 1 Hope 1

Scripture referenced 30

Verified against the transcript. A reference the recording does not support is never listed here.

Psalms 136 0:35 Psalms 135 1:14 Psalms 136 1:14 Psalms 120 1:23 Psalms 135 1:55 Psalms 121 2:18 Psalms 123 2:53 Psalms 128 3:16 Psalms 134 3:46 Psalms 135 5:30 Psalms 136 9:12 Romans 8:37-39 12:37 Deuteronomy 10:17 14:16 1 John 4:7-8 14:57 1 John 4:7-8 15:37 1 John 4:7-8 16:00 Psalms 136 17:41 Psalms 19:1-6 20:16 Numbers 21:21-35 26:27 Psalms 136 29:04 1 Thessalonians 5:18 33:17 1 Thessalonians 5:18 33:26 John 1 35:10 John 3 35:16 John 3:16 35:16 Colossians 3 35:36 1 John 4 35:36 1 John 4:7-8 35:49 1 John 4:16 35:54 Psalms 136 37:26

Transcript

Every word, as spoken, with the second it was said. Each word links to its own entry in the index.

Pre-service announcement — 7 lines, 0:35. Excluded from every count and search on this site, kept here so nothing is hidden.

Hi everyone, my name is Jules, and thanks for checking out one of our sermons today.

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You can also visit our website at theriverchurch.cc to learn more about us and what we have going on as a church.

Thanks again for joining us, and we hope that you are blessed by today's message.

So if you have your Bibles, turn to Psalm 136. That's where we're going to plant.

We've been in the Psalms for quite a while now.

We are learning just all the different ways that the different authors of the Psalms communicated to God,

David being one of the key authors of the Psalms.

There are Psalms of praise, lament, thanksgiving, trust, wisdom, Messianic Psalms.

There's historical Psalms, all kinds of different Psalms in the book of Psalms.

And we're looking at another Psalm today where we're not quite sure.

Who wrote it, but a lot of scholars believe it was written by King David.

It kind of has his fingerprints on it.

But it's actually one of two consecutive Psalms that have the same theme between Psalm 135 and Psalm 136.

But it's also the end of a section of Psalms from Psalms 120 to 134 that's called the Psalms of Ascent.

And so what would happen is the people of Israel would be called to go up to Jerusalem because Jerusalem is up on the hill.

It's a hill called Mount Zion, and it's up on the hill.

And worshipers would be going up the Mount Zion to Jerusalem to worship.

And they would sing these songs of ascent that would remind them who God is and what he's done

and who they were going to worship in Jerusalem.

And so these two Psalms, Psalms 135 and 136, are the end of that section.

They kind of serve as a let's wrap this all up type Psalm at the end of those.

But I wanted to read a couple of those Psalms.

They won't be on the screen behind me, but I want you to listen to what the people of Jerusalem would sing as they went up.

Or the people of Israel would sing as they went up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

Psalm 121.

I look up to the mountains.

Does my help come from there?

My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

He will not let you stumble.

The one who watches over you will not slumber.

Indeed, he who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you.

The Lord stands beside you as your protective.

The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night, nor the smoke in the air.

The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Psalm 123.

I lift my eyes to you, O God, enthroned in heaven.

We keep looking to the Lord our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master.

As a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.

Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy.

For we have had our fill of contempt.

We have made more than our fill of the scoffing of the proud and the contempt of the arrogant.

Psalm 128.

How joyful are those who fear the Lord, all who follow his ways.

You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.

How joyful and prosperous you will be.

Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home.

Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table.

That is the Lord's blessing for those who fear him.

May the Lord continually bless you from Zion.

May you see Jerusalem prosper.

May you see Jerusalem prosper as long as you live.

May you live to enjoy your grandchildren.

May Israel have peace.

And then finally, Psalm 134.

Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord.

You who serve at night in the house of the Lord.

Lift your hands toward the sanctuary and praise the Lord.

May the Lord who made heaven and earth bless you from Jerusalem.

Can you imagine coming up to worship God with your heart already fixed on him?

Now, this is kind of a bonus message this morning, but I couldn't get away from it.

When I looked at the Psalms of Ascent, I think this is a challenge to us.

Maybe why we don't meet God on a consistent basis is because we don't focus on him.

Think about how we all got to here this morning.

Did we have Psalms of Ascent in our minds as we came to church to meet?

Or was it everything else we had to do this week and today and what happened last week?

Usually on the way to church, if you have a family, that's when the kids are the loudest and the onriest.

And when husbands and wives have the most.

Spirited conversations, let's say.

Why do we think that is?

Because we're trying to come and focus on God and we have an enemy that doesn't want it.

Maybe we should be having Psalms of Ascent being thought of on our way to come and worship the Lord.

When we're coming to gather as a church, we're thinking about everything else typically.

But the people of God spoke about God, remembered God, focused on God, who God is, and what he'd done.

And they took their struggles to God.

They prayed to God as they ascended that Mount Zion to go up to Jerusalem.

I wonder if that would help us today.

That's a nice little sub-message of today's message.

But that's not what we're going to focus on.

Psalm 135 and 136 are connected because they serve as a type of appendix to the Psalms of Ascent.

It's a call to worship that talks about the history of Israel and what God had accomplished.

But before we do that, I want to take a quick trip down memory lane for all of us this morning.

What are some of the most impactful events that have happened in your life?

All the way back to childhood.

What are some of the most impactful things?

What are some of the things that have happened to you in your life?

It could be good, bad, or otherwise.

But what are some of those things?

What are some of the things that made you who you are today?

What about those special trips or those family events?

The time you made a move to a new city or the time you accomplished something you'd work exceptionally hard for?

What about the people that poured into you so much?

Who are the people that meant a lot to you and impacted you?

Again, it could be positive, negative.

But what does that look like for you?

For me, when I thought about that this week, I had a lot to think about.

I accepted Jesus with my mom in her sewing room at the age of three.

My dad was, I remember him being so mad at me at about age of eight or nine

that he slammed a car door so hard it shattered the glass and forever made me look at him differently.

How about repo men taking our cars at the age of 10?

Playing sports in elementary school.

A mom that always pointed me to Jesus.

A first grade teacher that loved me.

A third grade teacher that was strict.

Her name was Melba Boroff.

It felt like it belongs in one of those books, right?

The kids.

Her name was Melba Boroff.

I can see her face.

But she grew, but I grew, and I learned.

She was a good teacher for me in third grade.

And I moved to a different Christian school for middle and high school.

I toured the Midwest in 1992 with the Young Continentals.

I drove right by here on I-75 in 1992 as a 13-year-old kid.

Had no idea.

I shopped at the Oakland Mall.

When I got here in 2003, I went, wait a minute, I've been here.

Because it's like the steps that go up and down, right?

I just remembered it.

I was here after going, anyway, that was 1992.

That was a long time ago.

I had a youth pastor.

Sorry, I played basketball in high school, and I was the high school chaplain.

Totally changed my life.

My youth pastor and student council advisor, they helped me become who I am when my dad wasn't present.

I had a girlfriend in high school that also broke up with me before I went to college, right?

Before I went to college.

My dad died during the week I graduated.

I was in a college singing group, and I toured my freshman and sophomore years, and I had friends there.

And then I met my dad.

I met Jeannie my sophomore year, who is my wife.

I married her in 1999.

God brought Kylie in 2004 and Sydney in 2009.

Got my master's degree in 2010 at Liberty University.

These are just events, and I could go on and on and on.

There's a ton of things in my life that I could add to the list.

But what do your influences look like?

Where does your mind go?

Because we all have good and bad memories.

But the reality is, would you be the person you are today without those things, without those people, without those events?

How has all this shaped who you are and your identity?

It's good to remember what's happened in life.

And it's good to consider how God has been in the middle of it all, working for our good always, even in the hard.

Even in the hard.

And as we read this psalm today, remember this is an ending to the psalms of a sin.

It's meant to worship God.

But it's also a reminder of who God is and what he's done.

So I know we've already read it once.

I want to read it again.

Psalm 136.

It says this.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good.

His steadfast love.

endures forever. Give thanks to the God of gods for his steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks

to the Lord of lords for his steadfast love endures forever. To him alone who alone does great wonders

for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who by understanding made the heavens for his steadfast

love endures forever. To him who spread out the earth above the waters for his steadfast love

endures forever. To him who made the great lights for his steadfast love endures forever. The sun

to rule over the day for his steadfast love endures forever. The moon and the stars to rule over the

night for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt

for his steadfast love endures forever and brought Israel out from among them for his steadfast love

endures forever. With a strong hand and outstretched arm for his steadfast love endures forever. To him

who divided the Red Sea in two for his steadfast love endures forever and made Israel pass through

the midst of it for his steadfast love endures forever. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in

the Red Sea for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who led his people through the wilderness

for his steadfast love endures forever. To him who struck down great kings for his steadfast love

endures forever and killed mighty kings for his steadfast love endures forever. Sihon the king

of the Amorites for his steadfast love endures forever. And Og king of Bashan for his steadfast

love endures forever. And gave their land as a heritage for his steadfast love endures forever.

A heritage to Israel his servant for his steadfast love endures forever. It is he who remembered us

in our lowest state for his steadfast love endures forever. And rescued us from our foes

for his steadfast love endures forever. He who gives food to all flesh for his steadfast love

endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven for his steadfast love endures forever. There seems

to be a recurring theme here. It's what? I think that might be an important point in this passage.

It might be an important thing. Because the reality is, is the love that we see here, it's God's

chesed again. His chesed. So I gotta, gotta take that. Right. It's the chesed of God. It's his

unfailing love. His, his covenantal love. His love that, that makes a promise to us that will never

leave us or forsake us. It's his love that will last forever. And this, this phrase is translated

in different, in different, uh, translations of the scripture. The CSB says his faithful love

endures forever. The ESV, his steadfast love. NIV, his love endures forever. The NASB, his loving

kindness is everlasting. The Amplified, his loving kindness endures forever. The CEB, his God's

faithful love lasts forever. The Good News Translation, his love, God's love, or his

love is eternal. The King James Version, his mercyeth, no, his mercy endureth forever. And the

message, I like this one, his love never quits. Kind of brings it into perspective, doesn't it?

God's love simply does not fail. We have to know that today. Romans 8, 37 to 39,

knowing all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure

that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the

love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. What does nothing mean? Nothing. Nothing will separate

you. No matter where you are this morning, no matter what you've done, no matter where you've

been, you are loved. A God that will never stop loving you. You have to know that this morning.

His faithful love endures forever in the middle of every situation. Now this song starts off by

giving thanks to God for the fact that he is good.

It's something we have to continually remember. The Hebrew word here refers to everything that

is pleasing in life. Every single thing. The things that are life-giving. Everything God

creates is good. And he's always good to us. He's good all the time. And we like to say that kind of

as a byline, but do we really believe it? He is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.

We have to remember that. That's the basis. It's too easy to take for granted. But he's also the

God of gods and the Lord of lords. Deuteronomy 10, 17 says,

God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God,

who is not partial and takes no bribe. He can't make deals with God. He's always good. He's always

good, even as a father who disciplines his children. And then in Revelation, talking about

Jesus, it says, on his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is who our God is. We give thanks to him because of who he is. And his love begins with him. Why? Because he is

love. He is love. 1 John 4, 7 to 8. I love this song or this verse. I don't know how many of them. I'm

going to date myself a little bit. This takes me all the way back to my, when I was like, I'm going

to say five to 10 years old. We used to have these cassette tapes. You all know what those are? Okay.

They're not eight tracks. I'm not quite that old. All right. But they're cassette tapes. They had

these two little holes. Anyway, and there was this cassette tape I had called Salty the Salter.

Some of you know who that is. He was a talking, walking blue with gold in

Boston songbook. He was a cartoon. And there was all these songs that were on this album

helping kids memorize scripture. And 1 John 4, 7 and 8 was one of them. It went like this. Beloved,

let us love one another, love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born

of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. Beloved,

let us love one another. 1 John 4, 7 and 8. I've known it since I was like seven

years old. But that's what this song, that's what this verse says, that God is love and love

becomes, love comes from God. I'll read the actual verse now. Beloved, let us love one another, for

love is from God. And whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love

does not know God, because God is love. There's a slight challenge there for us. We love because

God loved us first. If we don't love, God is not in us. We have to think about that, especially within our

culture that is at each other's throats all the time. And we're more worried about being right

than we are about loving somebody else. If love isn't in us, God is not in us, because God is love.

He defines love. Now, we have to also understand love is love and truth. You can't have love without

truth. Love is not a teddy bear. Love doesn't ever not say the truth just because you want it.

True love doesn't make you feel good all the time. But that's another message for another day.

God defines love. God defines love. And so it focuses on who God is,

and the first three verses. And the thing I love about this passage is it looks at different things

of Israel's history, who God is, what he's done, how we respond to him. But what's the basis?

In every single thing that the author writes, the foundation is God's love. Because there's

some things here that this author talks about of Psalm 136, maybe David. They're not fun things.

And we'll get to it. But because we don't know the history of Israel, we don't understand that some

of those two kings that are in there, they were jerks. But God's love was still the foundation,

even when it's hard. Something we have to remember as we talk about everything this morning.

So the main section of this psalm, from verse 4 to 25, focuses on the nation of Israel,

its history, and how God worked in their lives and their history. He is the God that created

everything, as well as the one who redeems us. God made everything that is. That's where he starts.

He made the heavens. He spread out the earth over the waters. He made the lights, the sun,

the moon, and the stars.

Man, if we'd remember that God is the creator, it should bring us perspective, right?

But it can be so easy to forget if we just focus on what's happening around us.

It's too easy to take it for granted. Because there are real implications that the creator

of the universe is your God. There's real implications of that. He's your friend if

you belong to him. The creator of the universe is your friend through Jesus Christ.

That should change our perspective all the time, no matter what we face. We're grounded in his love,

rooted in his love, and we're a friend of the creator of the universe. If he really is the

creator, what does that mean as he works in your life? What does that mean as we go through everyday

life? You've got to think about how that would apply to maybe what you're going through right

now. It's why there's always hope in God. It's why the Israelite people never had to lose hope,

even in the middle of captivity and a

foreign land with a king that wanted their destruction. Because the creator of the universe

is their friend. And through Jesus Christ, he's your friend. Because Jesus died on the cross for

our sins, and every single one of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And we

deserve death. We deserve separation from God and everybody we ever know. But God has given us his

son in our place, and he's given us the gift of eternal life. If we would call on the name of the

Lord, that we would call him our Lord, and we believe that God raised him from the dead, you

can be saved right where you are. And if you would call on the name of the Lord, and we believe that

God raised him from the dead, you can be saved right where you are. That's the gospel, my friend. You can be saved where you are. And why do you do that? Because he loves us. Because he loves us. And God's creation bears witness to show how awesome he is. God's love sustains all he created. In Psalms 19, 1-6, it says,

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor other words whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out throughout all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

If hidden in them, he has set a tent for the sun,

which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber

and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

Its rising is from the end of the heavens

and its circuit to the end of them.

And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

His creation gives him praise

and we're called to praise him as we remember who he is.

And I gotta tell you, seeing the sunset and sunrise,

I saw more sunsets than sunrises in Montana,

but, because I'm not a morning person,

but they were beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

I think every day, one of our girls,

my brother was still, I'm including Jeannie

as one of my girls, right?

One of them was taking a picture of a sunset or a sunrise

because it was just stunning, absolutely beautiful.

It was beautiful.

His creation brings him praise.

We're called to praise him as we remember who he is.

But then he goes into God saving his people.

He saved his people.

The writer of the psalm now recalls

how God saved his people from Egypt.

He starts with how God struck down the firstborn of Egypt.

That was...

It's not something that God necessarily wanted to do,

but the reality is, is the pharaoh hardened his heart.

He wouldn't let the people go.

There was wailing in Egypt that night

because the firstborn of every household

that did not have the blood over their doorposts

and the angels that passed over their homes

was quite called Passover in Jewish history.

Every firstborn died that night, wailing in Egypt.

But this final plague on Egypt would free the people

from their captors

because God heard the cry of his people.

And then we're reminded of God's complete rescue of the people.

He brought Israel out of Egypt.

God's strong hand and outstretched arm

that never abandoned his people.

He divided the Red Sea

and the people passed through it.

Can you imagine what that would have been like?

I've often wondered.

He got two walls...

I mean, the walls of water on the side.

I don't know if you've seen the movies

or Prince of Egypt

or maybe the really old one,

the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston,

the one that had the two VHS tapes.

Anytime my mom pulled out

that or the King of Kings with two VHS tapes,

I'm like, we're going to be here a long time.

Those movies were three or four hours long, right?

Again, I'm really dating myself today.

I don't know what I'm doing to myself.

But the walls of water on both sides

and the Israelites, that took faith by itself.

But I've often wondered, as you're walking along,

did fish just go...

and land on the ground?

They just swim along and oh my goodness,

it's dry now, right?

I don't know.

Did they hit like a force field type thing?

I've often wondered.

I think of weird things sometimes

when I look at what practically happens in Scripture.

But they walked through on dry land.

And then God took care of Egypt for good

when Pharaoh tried to follow them on the same path

and God closed the water on top of them.

God took care of his people

and the foundation was that his faithful love

endured forever.

And as these people were coming up to worship God,

they had to remember who God is and what he did.

The people of God remembered the works of God

so that they could continue to worship God.

And so many times,

that is our problem.

We forget the works of God.

And so we don't worship him for who he is.

Why is it so easy to forget what he's done?

I'm telling you, man,

I get frustrated with myself all the time for that.

A new situation comes up that quite honestly,

let's be honest,

it's not new,

but it feels new.

And I don't like it.

Something happens and I don't like it and I get frustrated.

And then I focus on that and the circumstances

and how I think it's a change.

And God, where are you?

And then about a week later,

I kind of go,

oh, this is kind of like what happened.

And what about 10 years ago?

And God didn't tell me then either.

But I spent a whole week stressing about it.

I forget what God did

because we don't consistently remember it.

We don't build the altars in our lives

to remember what God has done.

Honestly, probably we as parents

don't do a great job reminding our kids

and telling our kids the stories of how God provided

and what God did in our family

at different times in different places.

We don't write it down.

We don't recall it.

And we forget to thank God for it.

But this is what they're doing here.

This is what the author

is encouraging the Israelites to do.

And then it gets to the section

where they're reminded of the kings,

the mighty kings that fell before God

when they tried to stand up against God and his people.

Sihon of the Amorites, Og of Bashan.

Weird name, Sihon and Og.

Sounds like they belong in the Lord of the Rings.

A little bit, right?

But if we don't, if we can,

if we just waltz right past that,

and this is what we do in scripture to our detriment.

We read something like that.

I go, Sihon and Og, okay, cool names.

And I'm just gonna move on.

We gotta know what is being talked about here.

Because what happened with,

Sihon and Og are both in Numbers 21 verses 21 to 35.

And for the sake of time,

we're not gonna read it this morning.

But I do wanna give you the summary.

So Sihon, the king of Amorites,

Israel was in the wilderness

'cause it's the book of Numbers.

And so the book of Numbers

is when they're spending the 40 years in the desert,

wandering to get to the promised land

because they'd already screwed up.

They had already told God,

we don't want what you want for us.

We're gonna do it our way.

And so now we're gonna wander for 40 years.

And a whole generation of people of Israel had to die

before they made it to the promised land.

And so as they're going through the wilderness,

they are nothing more than a nomadic people.

They might be a million or two strong, but they're nomads.

They're not known for their army.

They're not known for owning land.

They just are going around

trying to aimlessly find a place.

And everybody around them, their God had forsaken them.

People in Israel knew that they were under judgment.

And so Israel sent messengers to Saint King Sihon

asking for a peaceful passage to his land.

They're like, we'll stay on the highway.

It's the king's highway.

We won't touch your fields.

We won't touch your wells.

We would just like to go through the land.

Sihon refuses, gathers his entire army

and marches out in the wilderness to attack Israel at Jahath.

Israel's in trouble.

They have no other path through.

But Israel defeats Sihon in battle,

takes possession of his land and occupies his capital city.

This is a big deal in the nation of Israel.

It's a, it's a seminal moment for them.

Then after that, after defeating Sihon,

Israel turns north to the region of Bashan and Og.

He's known in scripture as the formidable giant in stature.

He marches out with his entire army to face Israel.

God explicitly tells Moses, do not fear him,

for I have given him into your hands

with all of his people and his hands.

Well, good thing they had just seen Sihon being taken over.

And so they're like, okay, I think we can do this.

Israel completely destroys Og and his sons,

his entire army leaving no survivors.

And they take possession of his fertile land.

See, these two victories were massive milestones for evil

because prior to this,

they were a nomadic people.

Now they have a place.

Now they'd have land.

And it became a legendary shorthand for God's faithful.

And it shows up in repeated reminders,

all through scripture, again, here in Psalm 136,

to prove that God can tear down any giants

standing in the way of his promise.

What's the foundation of it again?

The steadfast love he is.

This is no small thing for the people of Israel.

And the Israelite who reads this knew exactly

what the writer was talking about.

We don't.

This is a back to back.

Bible study 101.

To understand God's word, we have to look back.

Og and Sihon, those are weird names.

I should probably find out what happened in these two stories.

That's a great thing.

That's how we learn God's word.

We have to dig into it a little bit more.

These victories made it clear to the people

that God was in control.

Honestly, it would be like the US winning the World Cup.

Well, let's make it more like Cape Verde winning the Sihon.

World Cup, this is my time of the year.

I've been watching a lot of good stuff.

Go Spain today, that's all I gotta say.

But it's something that we would never forget.

Never expect to happen.

And yet Israel overthrew them.

Then we move on and we're reminded

that God never forgets his people

when they're in a low estate.

He never forgets us when we're struggling,

when we're frustrated, when we're humiliated,

when we need rescue from others,

when we need rescue from our foes,

and even when we need rescue from ourselves.

He doesn't leave us in our lowest state.

Have to know this with God's steadfast love

enduring forever.

God's love marches forward on behalf of

His love marches forward on behalf of his people.

He provides for his people.

And then finally we see, give thanks to the God of heaven

for his steadfast love.

Because of all of this, we give thanks to God.

So as we walk away this morning, I want us to walk away with this.

Because God's love never quits, we can give him thanks in every circumstance.

His love never quits.

I don't care what you're going through right now.

I'll be honest.

There's times in life that I'm like, God, are you even there?

You really love me in this situation.

I understand some of us might be carrying some really heavy burdens this morning, but

I want you to hear this this morning.

His faithful love endures forever.

No matter what is happening in our lives, whether we feel it or not, his love never

It won't forsake you.

We need to give thanks to God.

How can that, or should that change how we live?

Commentator summarizes Psalm well, from the beginning of creation to the climax of redemption,

from the, from the first making of the heavens to the final inheritance.

The saints, all is to be seen against the backdrop of the love of God.

That love is both indestructible because it's covenant love and boundless because it endures

As you look around all that he's made and follow through all that he's done at every

point, the Psalm is saying covenant love did it's God's love that does it every step of

the way.

So how do we respond?

So it's how do we give thanks to God?

How do we respond to all of this?

How do we respond when he works or when we feel he's not working and we have to cling

to truth anyway.

That everything belongs to God.

Everything belongs to God.

Every good and perfect gift comes down from the father of lights.

We have to remember that we have to take stock of our lives and remember who God is and be

thankful because he's good.

He's the God of gods.

He's the Lord of Lords.

First Thessalonians 5:18 says, give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will

of God in Christ Jesus for you.

You want to know what God's will is?

First Thessalonians 5:18.

Let's get that on the screen.

Give thanks in all circumstances.

That's God's will.

Now remember this.

We're not being told to give thanks for all circumstances because what we're doing is

we're remembering that God's faithful love endures forever, even in a tough circumstance

and we're giving thanks to God in it, not necessarily for it.

And yet there hasn't been a thing in my life and that entire list, both good, bad and ugly

that I look back and I go, I can't thank God for how he used it in my life because I wouldn't

be who I am today.

If I didn't go through the things that I went through, I wouldn't be the father.

I am the husband.

I am the pastor.

I am.

the bad and the ugly, far from perfect. We have to remember also God's position over us. A commentator

said this well too, there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which

Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry, mine. He owns it all. He has it all. We have a song

that talks about that. We sing that. We can give thanks. Why? He may have it all, but here's the

thing. His faithful love endures forever. And then we have to remember that God's love never fails.

I've been saying it. His chesed will never fail you. How do we know this? It's shown in what

Jesus has done for us. He is the word made flesh in John 1. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. He has

redeemed us in John 3. John 3, 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son,

that whoever would believe in him, they would not perish, but they would have eternal life.

Praise God. Jesus is love made flesh. It's the love of God made flesh for us. He has redeemed

us. He sustains creation in Colossians 3. He holds everything together. And he is love, 1 John 4,

7 and 8. You didn't clap. Come on, guys. You got to clap at the end of that. No, just the two. Just

the two. Just the two. Remember the song, 1 John 4, 7 and 8. Clap, clap. That's how it goes. All

right. Anyway, 1 John 4, 16 says this. So we have to come, or we have come to know him to believe

that love, believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in

God, and God abides in him. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in him. God is love, and

God abides in him. So I want to leave us with a question this morning. Well, a couple. Does God

work in your life? Does God work in your life? If he does, how do you know it? How do you know it?

How can you be certain? These aren't questions I want you to just think about real quick. I want

you to sit with these this week. Has God worked in your life? How do you know it, and how can you be

certain? I want to encourage you. It's through remembering what he has done and giving thanks

for it. At the beginning of this message, I ask you to consider this question. I ask you to consider

important things in your life, influential moments and people, and I gave a whole list,

and I had an idea. So I don't know what your thinking is of AI. I use AI for research. It's

a great research help for me, often. And so I went in, and I said, hey, I want you to take all this

list of things that I'm remembering of how God worked in my life, and I want you to write it in

the spirit of Psalm 136. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his love endures forever. Give

thanks to the God of gods, his love endures forever. To the one who met a little boy in a

quiet house, his love endures forever. And now with me and my mom in her sewing room to save my soul,

his love endures forever. To the one who stood with me in the tension of a broken home,

his love endures forever. When earthly fathers let their anger shatter the glass,

his love endures forever. And when the repo man came at 10 years old to take the cars,

his love endures forever. To the one who gave me a mother who always pointed my eyes to Jesus,

his love endures forever. Who gave me a first grade teacher to fill my heart with love,

his love endures forever. And a strict third grade teacher because he knew I needed to grow,

his love endures forever. To the one who watched over me on elementary back chops and sports

fields, his love endures forever. Who moved my steps to a new high school for middle and high

school, his love endures forever. And sent me to tour the Midwest with the Young Continentals in

1992, his love endures forever. To the one who let me lace up my sneakers to play high school

basketball, his love endures forever. Who called me to be a chaplain and speak his truth to my peers,

his love endures forever. And placed a youth pastor and advisor in my life

to shape who I had become, his love endures forever. To the one who comforted me through

the sting of a high school heartbreak, his love endures forever. And carried my broken heart the

very week of graduation when my dad died, his love endures forever. He did not leave me an orphan

in my grief, his love endures forever. To the one who put a new song in my mouth with the college

singing group, his love endures forever. Who surrounded me with deep friends on the road,

his love endures forever. And led me to cross paths with Jeannie during my sophomore year,

his love endures forever. To the one who joined our hands in holy marriage in 1999, his love

endures forever. Who breathed life into our home and made us a family, his love endures forever.

Bringing Kylie to our arms in 2004, his love endures forever. And completing the joy with Sidney in 2009,

his love endures forever.

To the one who sustained my mind to graduate from Liberty University, his love endures forever. Who

has anchored my identity through every struggle with weight and worth, his love endures forever.

And has kept my roots deep in the soil of his grace for nearly 30 years of ministry,

his love endures forever. Oh give thanks to the God of heaven, his love endures forever. We need

to remember who God is and what he's done. We need to take a look at our stories and see his hand in

our lives. I wish I could say life's always gonna get easier. It's not. It's a roller coaster. There's

ups and downs and twists and turns and things we don't expect. But we have a God who holds us in

the palm of his hand, who is love, who's the creator of the universe, and his faithful love

endures forever. Can't forget that. I don't know, maybe you should take your list and throw it into

AI and see what it pops out. That meant a lot to me. That meant a lot to me. Maybe it did to you

too. How do we know that God works? We look back to see how he has. How do we know that God works?

We know that he will work because his faithful love endures forever. Write that somewhere. Put it

in, put it on your heart. Get it somewhere that you will remember it. Because again, because God's

love never quits, we can give him thanks in every circumstance. I don't know where you are this

morning, but as you walk out these doors, I say it every week, this is why. You are loved. It should

change us because his faithful love endures forever. Let's pray. God, we thank you for your

love. We thank you for how you love us, for how you work, for what you've done, for what you're

going to do, for who you are. And I pray if there's anybody here that doesn't yet know you, God, I pray

they would call on the name of Jesus Christ to be saved right where they sit. God, for the struggling

heart this morning, I pray that they would remember that your faithful love endures forever.

Pray that they would come back to you, bring their suffering to you, their struggle to you. And I pray

that all of us would remember how you have worked, that you do work, and you will work, and you do

not forsake us.

Because you are love, and the love that you show us endures forever. In Jesus' name we pray.