This is part of the worship series,
"Psalm 23"
Series Introduction
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5
Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10
Week 11 | Week 12
Week 10
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Abundance
“My cup runs over” (Psalm 23:5c, NKJV).
Weekly Email
At the table of our good host, we are given everything we need. His desire to nourish us is so great that he fills our cups to the brim and then some: the liquid sloshes onto the table and soaks into the tablecloth. This is a gesture of plenty, of abundance. “Drink your fill,” God says. “There’s more—so much more. Everyone who comes to this table has enough.” Perhaps this week you have felt the abundance of our God in the blessings that surround you: physical comfort, the relative safety of you and your loved ones, and the fulfilling work you occupy your time with. However, for some of you, perhaps your cup feels dry. Perhaps sorrow or exhaustion or stress or illness have filled your cup instead with something bitter and difficult to swallow. In that case, contemplate this verse in hope. We live in a world where some plates are full and others are empty; some cups run over and others have barely a drop to wet them. We look forward to a day when all cups run over, and we will enjoy them together in God’s new creation at the wedding feast of the Lamb.
Sermon
John 2:1–11 "More Where That Came From"
Sermon notes by Rev. Chelsey Harmon are available from the Center for Excellence in Preaching.
Children’s Message
[This message works well after a praise and thanksgiving song set. The craft pom-poms used as props could be exchanged for small bouncy balls or marbles.]
The songs we have been singing this morning, filled with praise and thanks to God, match our verse from Psalm 23: “My cup overflows.” An overflowing cup sounds messy, but the psalmist is trying to show us just how generous God is to him. There is so much to go around at this party that the host doesn’t worry about things spilling.
I’ve brought with me something to help us imagine a cup overflowing. I brought a cup, but I didn’t want to get the church too messy, so I’m using pom-poms instead of water or juice. Help me fill this cup to overflowing. What are some blessings God has given you?
[As children call out blessings, add pom-poms to the cup. Invite the congregation to contribute, until pom-poms overflow and spill across the table or stage. Alternatively, give each child a handful of pom-poms and pass the cup among the children, having them name a blessing and add a pom-pom to the cup each time it passes them.]
When we see this overflow of blessings, what should that make us do? That’s right: praise God! Thank God and let God know how wonderful he is. Let’s sing a song doing just that.
Song Suggestions
“Ten Thousand Reasons” Redman
"Blessed Be Your Name" Redman and Redman
Prompts for Reflection
Poetry Writing Prompt: Consider writing a haiku this week (or several—they’re short!) about some blessing(s) God has given you. A haiku is three lines of poetry. The first line is five syllables, the second is seven syllables, and the third is five syllables. Done well, a haiku can call up an image in precise and spare language, so it works well to jog your memory during weeks that your cup might feel dried up. Faith Practice: Gratitude
Here are some examples:
|
|
|
| Art and poetry © 2022 Bethany Besteman, Used by permission | ||
Prayer Prompt: If your heart is more likely to cry out “How long, O Lord!” rather than “My cup runs over!”, consider using Psalm 13 as a prayer guide this week. It’s a short psalm of lament and petition that nevertheless ends with the psalmist moving toward praise. Here is the psalm with some places interspersed for you to add your own specific needs and laments before God:
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
Tell God where you felt God’s absence and express how hard it was to feel alone.
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
Tell God what specific thought patterns or griefs or anxieties weigh on you.
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Share with God any relationship troubles you are having or any obstacles you face.
Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
Tell God your fears. From your point of view, explain why your petitions need answering.
But I trust in your unfailing love;
Pause. Breathe in; breathe out. Tell God you are willing to trust him and submit to his will.
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
If you are able, call to mind and to heart the peace of God’s saving grace and thank him.
I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
If you are able, call to mind and heart other blessings God has given you. Name them and thank God for them.
—Psalm 13 NIV
Family Activity Prompt: Find a clear cup (glass or plastic) and cut strips of colored paper. Write blessings God has given you that day on those pieces of paper, crumple them into balls, and place them in the cup. You can do this in one sitting or before or after dinner every day this week. Watch as the cup fills and overflows. Faith Practice: Gratitude
Revised Common Lectionary
Psalm 23
Years A, B, C: Easter—Fourth Sunday of Easter
Year A: Season after Pentecost—Proper 23 (28)
Year B: Season after Pentecost—Proper 11 (16)
John 2
Year C: Epiphany—Second Sunday after the Epiphany
