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Does your soul long for the courts of the Lord? (Psalm 84:1-12)

Mark BarnesMark Barnes, April 11, 2018
Part of the Knowing the Presence of God series, preached at a Midweek Meeting service

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https://www.bethel-clydach.co.uk/sermons/?show&file_name=2018-04-11-BS.mp3 Download
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Psalm 84 (Listen)

To the choirmaster: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

84:1   How lovely is your dwelling place,
    O LORD of hosts!
2   My soul longs, yes, faints
    for the courts of the LORD;
  my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to the living God.
3   Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
  at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
    my King and my God.
4   Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever singing your praise! Selah
5   Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6   As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    the early rain also covers it with pools.
7   They go from strength to strength;
    each one appears before God in Zion.
8   O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
9   Behold our shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!
10   For a day in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11   For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
    the LORD bestows favor and honor.
  No good thing does he withhold
    from those who walk uprightly.
12   O LORD of hosts,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you!

(ESV)

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We love sharing our faith with others, but we also know from our own experience that many people need time and space to think through the message of the Bible for themselves. So if you want to explore what Christianity offers, we think you'll find Bethel a great place to do that. If you want to just listen, that's fine. If you've got questions, we'll do our best to help. If you've problems that no-one else seems to be able to help with — perhaps a bereavement, family crisis, or spiralling debts — then you'll find Bethel a place where you can not only get emotional and practical support, but spiritual help, too.
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“I started to see I wasn't the nice guy I thought I was”

After I retired I missed spending time with people and thought I’d find some sort of community in a church. I was quite nervous about going by myself. Eventually, when I did go to Bethel, it was quite reassuring. There were even people on the front door to welcome me. Listening to the preacher came as a bit of a shock though. He said no-one was good enough to go to heaven. I thought that as long as your good deeds are more than your bad you’ll be fine and go to heaven but this wasn't what God said in the Bible. I started to see I wasn't the nice guy I thought I was. God was on my mind more than ever and I knew I needed him so I started to go to Bethel regularly. I often thought about the wrong things I’d done in my life and wondered if God really wanted me.
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