Psalm 46, Mark 10:23-27
June 4, 2017
preached by Doug Cooper
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Time of Reflection Quotations

“One of the signs that an object is functioning as an idol is that fear becomes one of the chief characteristics of life. When we center our lives on the idol, we become dependent on it. If our counterfeit god is threatened in any way, our response is complete panic. We do not say, ‘What a shame, how difficult,’ but rather ‘This is the end! There’s no hope!’”

~ Timothy Keller (1950-present), American pastor, theologian and apologist

“The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.”

~ Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), author and teacher

“In contemporary American culture, our slavery to the fear of death produces superficial consumerism, a fetish for managing appearances, inauthentic relationships, triumphalistic religion, and the eclipse of personal and societal empathy.”

“In an attempt to manage or reduce our anxiety, we are driven to embrace distractions, entertainments, and comforts.”

~ Richard Beck, author and Professor of Psychology at Abilene Christian University

“All the money you earn, all the stocks you buy, all the mutual funds you trade–all of that is mostly smoke and mirrors. It’s still going to be a quarter-past late whether you tell the time on a Timex or a Rolex. No matter how large your bank account, no matter how many credit cards you have, sooner or later things will begin to go wrong with the only three things you have that you can really call your own: your body, your spirit, and your mind.”

~ Stephen King (1947-present), American novelist and short-story writer

“I am young now and can look upon my body and soul with pride. But it will be mangled soon, and later it will begin to disintegrate, and then I shall die, and die conclusively. How can we face such a fact, and not live in fear?”

~ Jack Kerouac (1922-1969), author and pioneer of Beat literature and culture

Sermon Passage

Psalm 49, Mark 10:23-27 (NIV)

Psalm 49
¹   Hear this, all you peoples;
listen, all who live in this world,
²   both low and high,
rich and poor alike:
³   My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
⁴   I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
⁵   Why should I fear when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
⁶   those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their great riches?
⁷   No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
⁸   the ransom for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—
⁹   so that they should live on forever and not see decay.
¹⁰ For all can see that the wise die,
that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
leaving their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,
though they had named lands after themselves.
¹² People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
they are like the beasts that perish.
¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in
themselves, and of their followers, who
approve their sayings.
¹⁴ They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem me from the realm of the  dead;
he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶ Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷ for they will take nothing with them when they
die, their splendor will not descend with them.
¹⁸ Though while they live they count themselves
blessed—and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹ they will join those who have gone before them,
who will never again see the light of life.
²⁰ People who have wealth but lack understanding
are like the beasts that perish.

Mark 10

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

²⁴ The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it isto enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

²⁶ The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”