Sermon
Thirsting for God
Theme
Just as our body thirsts for water, our soul thirsts for God.
Object
Two pictures -- a deer and a lion. (If you can find them, toy or stuffed animals would be better than a picture.)
Scripture
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Psalms 42:1-2
I have a couple of pictures to show you this morning. The first one is a picture of a deer. I think the deer is one of the most beautiful of all of God's creations. The deer is so graceful and can run very fast. It is very important for the deer to be able to run fast. Do you know why? It is because of the animal whose picture I am going to show you next -- the lion. The lion is a natural enemy of the deer because the lion wants to have the deer for dinner. I don't mean that he wants to have him "over for dinner." He wants to HAVE him for dinner! I sometimes watch the Discovery channel on TV. They quite often show movies of the lion chasing a deer. During the chase, the deer becomes very hot, tired and thirsty. After escaping from the lion, he is panting for breath and searching for a cool stream where he can refresh himself.
You and I have a lot in common with that deer. The Bible tells us that Satan is our enemy and that he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Yes, the Devil wants to destroy us! You and I must be on our guard and when he tries to destroy us, we must run from him just as fast as we can go. Sometimes in our day to day struggle to stay alive, we become tired. Like the deer, we want to find a safe place to rest and refresh ourselves. Psalms 42 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." That is why we are here this morning. We have come to this safe and quiet place to be refreshed by the Living Water that comes from God.
Lord, we are tired and thirsty this morning. Fill us with the water of life and send us out refreshed and renewed.
