Dover Assembly of God
3.17.2019 | Psalm 86: Praise In Hard Times
Locations & Times
Dover Assembly of God
4790 Carlisle Rd, Dover, PA 17315, USA
Sunday 10:30 AM
Welcome!
Welcome to Dover Assembly of God! We're glad that you've joined us this morning. If you're on Facebook, we encourage you to take a moment to check in at Dover Assembly.
http://facebook.com/doverassemblyThis Week's Bulletin
March 17, 2019
Welcome to Dover Assembly!
We are so glad you have chosen to attend Dover Assembly this morning. It is not by accident that you are here. We believe that God has allowed you to be here so that you might receive all that He has for you. We pray you are blessed as you allow the Lord to work in your life.
THIS WEEK
Sunday
8:30 am ~ Pancake Breakfast
10:30 am ~ R.O.C.K. Children’s Ministries
10:30 am ~ Worship Service
1:00 pm ~ Spanish Service
3:00 pm ~ Worship Practice
Monday
6:30 pm ~ WOP Bible Study
Wednesday
6:30 pm ~ FAMILY NIGHT
Saturday
WOP Spring Conference
UPCOMING EVENTS
Men's Dinner
The guys will be going to Mission BBQ on Thurs. April 4 at 6:30. Please sign up in the lower foyer.
District Fine Arts - April 17-18
Katlynn Havens & Lakelynn Wilson will compete in Districts, which includes the states of PA & DE.
Youth Convention - April 18-20
This is the annual event that has been our fundraising goal. It’s a great weekend of fun, fellowship and spiritual transformation. Keep the teens in constant prayer to be open to what God has for them!
Easter Egg Hunt
Our annual egg hunt will be Sunday, April 14, following the morning service. We have sufficient plastic eggs, but are in need of small individually wrapped candy donations with which to fill them. Please bring all candy donations to the church and place them in the blue bucket in the foyer.
BODY NEWS
VBS
We would like to offer a VBS this year, but are in need of a person(s) who would be willing to lead and work this ministry. If you want to be a part of this, please fill out a blue card with your name and VBS and put it in the offering plate. If we determine that there is enough interest, we will have a kick-off meeting.
Online Giving
In the age of smart phones, websites, social media and electronic banking, our church wants to be sure that we are exploring every technology that will ultimately benefit the work of God here in Dover Assembly. We are currently in the process of acquiring the ability to donate electronically through our church app and website. You will have the ability to direct your giving to a specific department (i.e. Youth, WOP, BGMC, Children’s, etc) and receive full credit. This is to be an added convenience, not a replacement of our current method of collecting during our church services, because as with any convenience, this comes with a small cost. There is a small fee that is charged for each transaction that Dover Assembly will need to absorb. However, this company (Tithe.ly.com-that several A/G churches already use) offers the ability for you, the donor, to absorb those charges if you so wish. As we finalize this, we will provide more specific details.
In Sympathy
Pastor John Harman went to be the with the Lord on Monday, March 11. John and Mary Harman were active members in our church following his retirement from pastoring Windsor A/G. They had recently moved to New Jersey to be close to family. Continue to keep Mary and the family in your prayers.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
April 1 ~ Deacon Board Meeting
April 14 ~ Palm Sunday
April 21 ~ Easter
April 17-20 ~ Youth Convention/Fine Arts
May 6 ~ Deacon Board Meeting
May 12 ~ Mother’s Day
May 14 ~ Dover Township Meeting
May 19 ~ Graduation Service
June 2 ~ Girl’s Ministry Caping & Crowning
June 16 ~ Father’s Day
Sept 1-8 ~ Dover Fireman’s Fair
Sept 17 ~ “Fearless” Youth Event
Oct 5 ~ Dover Parade
PRAYER NEEDS
Please take time to review and pray for those on this list. Drop them a card or call to set up a time to visit. They will be blessed!
Shut-Ins
~ Helen S.
~ Beulah S.
Prayer Needs
~ Robin H.
~ Rose K.
~ Phil & Murina S.
~ Marian T.
Welcome to Dover Assembly!
We are so glad you have chosen to attend Dover Assembly this morning. It is not by accident that you are here. We believe that God has allowed you to be here so that you might receive all that He has for you. We pray you are blessed as you allow the Lord to work in your life.
THIS WEEK
Sunday
8:30 am ~ Pancake Breakfast
10:30 am ~ R.O.C.K. Children’s Ministries
10:30 am ~ Worship Service
1:00 pm ~ Spanish Service
3:00 pm ~ Worship Practice
Monday
6:30 pm ~ WOP Bible Study
Wednesday
6:30 pm ~ FAMILY NIGHT
Saturday
WOP Spring Conference
UPCOMING EVENTS
Men's Dinner
The guys will be going to Mission BBQ on Thurs. April 4 at 6:30. Please sign up in the lower foyer.
District Fine Arts - April 17-18
Katlynn Havens & Lakelynn Wilson will compete in Districts, which includes the states of PA & DE.
Youth Convention - April 18-20
This is the annual event that has been our fundraising goal. It’s a great weekend of fun, fellowship and spiritual transformation. Keep the teens in constant prayer to be open to what God has for them!
Easter Egg Hunt
Our annual egg hunt will be Sunday, April 14, following the morning service. We have sufficient plastic eggs, but are in need of small individually wrapped candy donations with which to fill them. Please bring all candy donations to the church and place them in the blue bucket in the foyer.
BODY NEWS
VBS
We would like to offer a VBS this year, but are in need of a person(s) who would be willing to lead and work this ministry. If you want to be a part of this, please fill out a blue card with your name and VBS and put it in the offering plate. If we determine that there is enough interest, we will have a kick-off meeting.
Online Giving
In the age of smart phones, websites, social media and electronic banking, our church wants to be sure that we are exploring every technology that will ultimately benefit the work of God here in Dover Assembly. We are currently in the process of acquiring the ability to donate electronically through our church app and website. You will have the ability to direct your giving to a specific department (i.e. Youth, WOP, BGMC, Children’s, etc) and receive full credit. This is to be an added convenience, not a replacement of our current method of collecting during our church services, because as with any convenience, this comes with a small cost. There is a small fee that is charged for each transaction that Dover Assembly will need to absorb. However, this company (Tithe.ly.com-that several A/G churches already use) offers the ability for you, the donor, to absorb those charges if you so wish. As we finalize this, we will provide more specific details.
In Sympathy
Pastor John Harman went to be the with the Lord on Monday, March 11. John and Mary Harman were active members in our church following his retirement from pastoring Windsor A/G. They had recently moved to New Jersey to be close to family. Continue to keep Mary and the family in your prayers.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
April 1 ~ Deacon Board Meeting
April 14 ~ Palm Sunday
April 21 ~ Easter
April 17-20 ~ Youth Convention/Fine Arts
May 6 ~ Deacon Board Meeting
May 12 ~ Mother’s Day
May 14 ~ Dover Township Meeting
May 19 ~ Graduation Service
June 2 ~ Girl’s Ministry Caping & Crowning
June 16 ~ Father’s Day
Sept 1-8 ~ Dover Fireman’s Fair
Sept 17 ~ “Fearless” Youth Event
Oct 5 ~ Dover Parade
PRAYER NEEDS
Please take time to review and pray for those on this list. Drop them a card or call to set up a time to visit. They will be blessed!
Shut-Ins
~ Helen S.
~ Beulah S.
Prayer Needs
~ Robin H.
~ Rose K.
~ Phil & Murina S.
~ Marian T.
Download the Dover Assembly app!
Connect with Dover Assembly as we connect to God, build people, and offer hope. Keep up to date with the latest news and events, watch our latest videos, and more all within our app!
https://doverassembly.com/app
Last week we began our look at Psalm 86. We were able to make it through verse 6.
We know it is a psalm of David and we know that he was in some kind of hardship. Maybe from people, but it doesn’t really give any specifics.
One of our main points last week was this . . .
We know it is a psalm of David and we know that he was in some kind of hardship. Maybe from people, but it doesn’t really give any specifics.
One of our main points last week was this . . .
David was asking for joy before the answer to his prayer came.
God wants us to have joy in our lives where we are, not waiting for some miracle or answer to prayer, or even some drastic change in your circumstances before we are able to have joy.
If we wait until those things happen, we will look back and realize we have wasted some years while we wait.
Now we are going to pick it up at Psalm 86:7 . . .
God wants us to have joy in our lives where we are, not waiting for some miracle or answer to prayer, or even some drastic change in your circumstances before we are able to have joy.
If we wait until those things happen, we will look back and realize we have wasted some years while we wait.
Now we are going to pick it up at Psalm 86:7 . . .
This is a pretty confident statement. It wasn’t a question or said with some doubt attached. He is definite that when he calls upon God, God will answer.
When we pray do we have that confidence? Are we that assured that God will answer?
The next verse gives us the reason for this confidence.
When we pray do we have that confidence? Are we that assured that God will answer?
The next verse gives us the reason for this confidence.
The first reason is because David knows God’s word. He is simply repeating what he learned from his study. This is a reference to Exodus 15.
Knowing God’s word is paramount to having confidence in what you know about God.
It is one thing to believe something because you were told it by a teacher, or a parent, or a preacher, but it’s quite another to believe it because you searched it out.
People tend to believe people in positions of authority without doing any study on their own.
David is acknowledging that God is the only true God and that anything else that props itself up as a god has no power and is nothing.
It is one thing to believe something because you were told it by a teacher, or a parent, or a preacher, but it’s quite another to believe it because you searched it out.
People tend to believe people in positions of authority without doing any study on their own.
David is acknowledging that God is the only true God and that anything else that props itself up as a god has no power and is nothing.
Two Things to Note:
1) It is useless to cry to those that cannot hear or answer. When people pray to false gods, they are wasting their time. When people pray to saints, they are wasting their time. The bible clearly tells us that we pray to God thru Jesus.
2) If we begin to believe that prayer doesn’t work, then we will stop doing it.
1) It is useless to cry to those that cannot hear or answer. When people pray to false gods, they are wasting their time. When people pray to saints, they are wasting their time. The bible clearly tells us that we pray to God thru Jesus.
2) If we begin to believe that prayer doesn’t work, then we will stop doing it.
This one sentence tells us that God is the only one who can effect change in your life thru prayer and that as we pray, HE WILL DO IT!
The second reason is that David had personally experienced this power during his exile in the wilderness for 10 years.
Our natural tendency is to forget those things over time. When we do not remember those answers to prayer, our faith that God will answer again diminishes.
But if we are able to recall every answered prayer, it bolsters our faith and trust that God will do it again. David not only knew what God’s word said about the majesty and power of God, he experienced it personally.
Notice the order: First he knew God’s word, then matched his experience up with that. He did not try to make God’s word match his experience.
Our natural tendency is to forget those things over time. When we do not remember those answers to prayer, our faith that God will answer again diminishes.
But if we are able to recall every answered prayer, it bolsters our faith and trust that God will do it again. David not only knew what God’s word said about the majesty and power of God, he experienced it personally.
Notice the order: First he knew God’s word, then matched his experience up with that. He did not try to make God’s word match his experience.
This is a continuation of his acknowledgment of how great God is and that there is none like him.
All the nations were made by God.
All the nations were made by God.
This is also a reference to Jesus’s divinity.
If Jesus created everything, he obviously didn’t create himself, so he must be eternal as well.
Second, everyone that He created will come and bow down and worship God.
David knew there would be a time when this would happen. This actually will happen at the end.
If Jesus created everything, he obviously didn’t create himself, so he must be eternal as well.
Second, everyone that He created will come and bow down and worship God.
David knew there would be a time when this would happen. This actually will happen at the end.
If God is this powerful and majestic, do you not think that our little prayers are nothing for him to accomplish?
What is the most impossible for man to accomplish? Salvation.
In three of the gospels, Jesus said this about salvation...
What is the most impossible for man to accomplish? Salvation.
In three of the gospels, Jesus said this about salvation...
Let’s look at this for a minute...when some friends lowered a paralyzed man through the roof, what happened?
Jesus was telling them that healing was easier to happen than forgiving their sins.
He did the hardest thing by forgiving the man, thus saving him. Healing was easy by comparison.
Who have you been praying for? What hard-hearted person is been on your prayer list for years?
God is powerful enough to do what we feel is impossible...bring that person to Christ.
He did the hardest thing by forgiving the man, thus saving him. Healing was easy by comparison.
Who have you been praying for? What hard-hearted person is been on your prayer list for years?
God is powerful enough to do what we feel is impossible...bring that person to Christ.
David is just repeating what he has already declared.
How often do we repeat our prayers or our worship of God? Holy, Holy, Holy
Repetition is the mother of learning.
Now David begins to focus on his own walk.
How often do we repeat our prayers or our worship of God? Holy, Holy, Holy
Repetition is the mother of learning.
Now David begins to focus on his own walk.
After God answers David’s prayer, David wants to keep up his relationship with God. He doesn’t want to fall away as soon as God meets his current need.
How often do we cry out to God for a need and as soon as He answers it, our prayer time diminishes? Whew, thanks God, I’ll be back when I need something else.
David doesn’t want to be that guy.
Lord, after you bless me, continue to teach me, let me know your truth and give me an undivided heart.
And let me have the fear of the Lord. We aren’t afraid of God.
How often do we cry out to God for a need and as soon as He answers it, our prayer time diminishes? Whew, thanks God, I’ll be back when I need something else.
David doesn’t want to be that guy.
Lord, after you bless me, continue to teach me, let me know your truth and give me an undivided heart.
And let me have the fear of the Lord. We aren’t afraid of God.
Biblical fear is “reverential trust”. We revere God and trust him in all areas. When we do that, we have the beginning of our knowledge of God.
Young children innately trust their parents. And they get “funny” around people they don’t know. Babies and toddlers have no reason not to trust their parents and that trust allows them to learn what they need to know.
Our trust in what God will do should overcome our fear of what may happen.
David wanted that part of himself to grow.
Young children innately trust their parents. And they get “funny” around people they don’t know. Babies and toddlers have no reason not to trust their parents and that trust allows them to learn what they need to know.
Our trust in what God will do should overcome our fear of what may happen.
David wanted that part of himself to grow.
Knowing that you hear me, and knowing that you will answer me and that you are powerful enough to do anything that seems impossible to me, I will praise you with all my heart and glorify your name.
And because I trust in His perfect goodness, I will not take the time to worry and fret about it, but I will spend that time praise and worshiping you.
Even before I see the answer to this prayer or need, I will praise you.
Hebrews tells us to . . .
And because I trust in His perfect goodness, I will not take the time to worry and fret about it, but I will spend that time praise and worshiping you.
Even before I see the answer to this prayer or need, I will praise you.
Hebrews tells us to . . .
David was praising God without having his needs met yet.
This ties back to having joy before the answer -- To offer a sacrifice of praise, is to choose to believe that in spite of circumstances, God is still good and worthy of praise.
This ties back to having joy before the answer -- To offer a sacrifice of praise, is to choose to believe that in spite of circumstances, God is still good and worthy of praise.
This psalm was written after his problem with Bathsheba and Uriah. He knew how much he had been forgiven and how he deserved to be cast out.
He understood how great God’s love for him was in that he was forgiven of such a vile act. He knew what he deserved and God forgave him.
How great is God’s love?
How great is God’s love?
Everyone of us is or was in the same boat as David. Our sins deserved the same punishment. To be cast out into utter darkness.
We are just as guilty as David was. And in need of the same love and forgiveness that David received.
If we know Jesus and our sins have been forgiven, we should praise God simply for that, if nothing else. . .
If we don’t know Christ, then we still stand guilty before God. And need the same forgiveness that is offered to all.
We are just as guilty as David was. And in need of the same love and forgiveness that David received.
If we know Jesus and our sins have been forgiven, we should praise God simply for that, if nothing else. . .
If we don’t know Christ, then we still stand guilty before God. And need the same forgiveness that is offered to all.
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http://doverassembly.com