PPGR for Easter (example of my full preaching outline)

Passage: Psalm 16

Keyword: Refuge

Main idea: Because Christ was not left in the grave, we have a refuge that guarantees our joy in the presence of God forever.

Anchor illustration: A god who takes for himself vs. a God who gives of himself

Pre-lectio:

Today’s sermon will be from Psalm 16.

We all long for joy, don’t we? Why? Because life is hard. We are bombarded with pain and misery everywhere we look…another illness, another loss, another war, another thing to fear.

Is this fear warranted? Yes it is. But where do we find shelter? Where do we go for safety? Is it even possible to find joy in the midst of it?

King David understood this. He lived with real danger. He hid in caves. He was surrounded by death. He was constantly searching for refuge…for a place of safety.

Psalm 16 is a song, likely sung, that answers that question. It shows us where true refuge is found and where joy is guaranteed.

And if you are experiencing pain or fear today, you are not alone. David knew it. We know it. And Jesus Christ entered into it.

Today, I want you to see that there is a guaranteed refuge. There is real and lasting joy. And it is guaranteed to us because Christ’s body was not left in the grave to decay. He rose from the dead on the third day…on Easter morning.

Let’s listen carefully to find this joy from Psalm 16.

Principle: God is our refuge (vv. 1-3)

Anchor: The true and living God has been and always will be a giving God who offers permanent refuge in himself.
God preserves us as OUR refuge (vv. 1-2): God is truly good, and even in trouble is OUR Yahweh (I Am) Adonai (Master)
God is a refuge for his holy ones (v. 3a): God cares for his people that he has set apart for himself, they are his chosen people, a kingdom of priests.
God delights to be a refuge for his excellent ones (v. 3b): Though the Psalmist sees God's people as the magnificent ones and delights in them, as speaking for Christ by the Spirit, this is God's view and thus he loves to be our refuge.
Transition: But the problem is that…

Problem: We take refuge in false gods (v. 4)

Anchor: The gods of David's time and the gods of our time promise refuge, but they demand ultimate dedication to them, yet can never give permanent refuge.
We run after other gods for refuge (v. 4a): The world tries to find refuge in false gods. They seek this through pursuing other gods like fame, success, money, pleasure, etc.
We pour out offerings for refuge (v. 4b): The gods of this world never give—they only take. They demand everything, and in the end, they leave us with sorrow and death.
We are consumed by their false offer of refuge (v. 4c): Our desires are often wrapped up in the gods of this world and so we constantly think and speak of them.
Transition: Though these gods only take from us and give nothing in return, except sorrow and death…

Gospel: Jesus died and was not left in the grave to guarantee our refuge (vv. 5-10)

Anchor: Jesus is the eternal God in the flesh who doesn't demand our dedication to give us refuge, but gives of himself, bearing our curse without a refuge so that we might have our refuge in him and it be guaranteed by his resurrection.
Jesus made the Lord his chosen portion and cup (vv. 5-7): Jesus perfectly made God his refuge, living in God's provision at all times, and yet his portion was counted as a sinner and he drank the cup of wrath that we deserved on the cross.
Jesus had the Lord before him even on the cross (v. 8): Jesus was unmoved in his love and dedication to God, even while being mocked, scorned, and hanging shamefully on the cross, bearing our judgment, curse, and shame, and yet was never shaken in his commitment to dying on our behalf.
Jesus trusted the Lord to raise him from the dead (vv. 9-10): For the joy set before him, Jesus endured the wrath of God on the cross, his whole being rejoicing in the salvation he would provide for us, dwelling secure in God's promise that he would not be abandoned by God, but would rise again on the third day without his body seeing corrupted to guarantee our refuge in God.
Transition: Because He was not left in the grave, our refuge is secure. And because we have believed in him and received him by faith, we are united to him, and thus have died with him and risen with him, and so, receiving his Spirit…

Response: We are guaranteed to live in his joyful refuge forever (v. 11)

Anchor: And now, this God who gave himself on the cross for us, gives himself to us by living in us by the Spirit, and enabling us to walk in his life, joy, and the pleasure of his eternal presence.
Jesus, the life-giving Spirit, reveals and leads us on the path of life because of his resurrection (v. 11a): Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, now gives us His Spirit—and by His Spirit leads us on the path of life.
Jesus, because of the resurrection through His Spirit, produces His joy in us—even in suffering (v. 11b): The Spirit that now lives in us because of Christ's resurrection, produces Jesus' life in us so that we live in his joy even amidst suffering, for Jesus is always with us (Ps. 23).
Jesus' presence in us through our resurrection in him is the ultimate pleasure (v. 11c): It isn't that Jesus fixes our problems and removes our sufferings in this world, but rather, that he himself, with us because we have died with him and risen with him, is pleasure and so we have his pleasure always.
Application: Instead of choosing a portion with the wicked, seeking worldly wealth and pleasure, living and striving to build security or a refuge for ourselves, we, by the Spirit, see God as our true portion, as our inheritance. We are reminded that we are united to Christ and are seated with him in heavenly places and thus, in Christ all things are ours. So, we live to make him our reward and our portion. Instead of pursuing false gods and being in sorrow when they crumble, like when our health fails, by the Spirit we live with God as our life, joy, and pleasure. As the Spirit reminds us that Christ's very life failed on the cross for our sake, but he lived in the joy of the Lord and in his presence, we look to Christ's presence with us even in our valley of the shadow of death. Instead of seeing God's people, the saints, as a problem and irritation to avoid, we see them as our delight, because Christ made us all his delight. The Spirit reminds us that we all share one Christ, and we are all in union with him, so we delight to be with God's people, see them as the marvelous ones, and live our life in Christ together.
Conclusion: Because Christ was not left in the grave, we are not abandoned, not in suffering, pain, or trials. We have a refuge that cannot be taken from us. If you have not experienced Christ's resurrection and are being controlled and manipulated by the gods of this world, Jesus, who gave himself for you, dying, and rose again, offers his life to you so that you might die to the penalty and power of sin, and be resurrected so that one day you are free from the presence of sin in your resurrected body. If you know the power of the resurrection in you, today you have received a reminder that it is no longer you that lives, but Christ, the resurrected One who lives in you. His presence can give you joy during sorrow. So, go with confidence. Believe, live, share the good news that Christ is risen from the dead. Death and the grave could not hold him, and because of this we have the guarantee of the presence of God with us, we have the path of life, the fullness of joy, and pleasures forever and ever.