The King’s Chosen One
Stetson Memorial UMC 9/21/25
Dear, Stetson Memorial UMC families, this past week we have been praying, singing, and reading the Psalms together. I was especially joyful at our leadership retreat last Wednesday. We played icebreakers and laughed together. While playing Bingo, we learned fun things about each other. Now we know Rick grew up on a farm. Jean is left-handed. And Dee doesn’t usually read books—so we encouraged her to read Scripture instead!
But most of all, when we read Ephesians chapter 4 about the unity of the Body of Christ, I realized again how much God loves this church. God has blessed us with faithful leaders, each one serving in their part of the Body. And God has joined us together in one Spirit.
In the weeks to come, I want to hear more of your Psalms—your prayers, your stories, your songs. Because the Psalms are not only David’s. They are the prayers of God’s people. And we too are poets and singers with God’s song in our hearts. If you want to share your Psalm, please let me know.
The Psalms – Songs for the King
David was a musician, a poet, a singer-songwriter, a worship leader. The Psalter has 150 psalms. Many of them have short titles. Seventy-three are marked “of David,” but not all were written by him. Some psalms came from others—Moses, Solomon, Asaph and the sons of Korah, Heman and Ethan.
What we know is that the Psalms were collected and shaped under the authority of David’s line, and later arranged into five books—just like the five books of Moses. Some are written in alphabetical acrostic form, like Psalm 119. Psalm 1 and Psalm 2 set the stage, and Psalms 149 and 150 close with praise. The Psalms belong to the Writings, the “Ketuvim,” in the Hebrew Scriptures, and they were read and sung by God’s people again and again.
And there are many kinds of psalms—praise, lament, wisdom, royal psalms, and messianic psalms. Psalm 2 is one of those royal psalms. It speaks about the king, chosen by God, and points to God’s greater kingship. Psalm 1 describes the life of the righteous, and Psalm 2 shows the kingdom of the Lord, the King who rules, and the people who take refuge in him.
“You are My Son” – God’s Promise
Psalm 2:7 says, “You are my son; today I have begotten you.” (Psalm 2:7)
God promised the king that he would be his son and rule the nations. What an incredible blessing—to be chosen as God’s child, to inherit the throne!
And we see this promise fulfilled in the life of David. In 2 Samuel 2 and 5, David does not grab power for himself. Many others tried to—Abner, Absalom, Adonijah—but David waited on the Lord. God chose him. God anointed him. David suffered for 13 years, running from Saul. He mourned when Saul and Jonathan died. He asked the Lord, “Where shall I go?” God sent him to Hebron. There Judah made him king, and after seven years, all Israel came to him.
This promise also points beyond David to Jesus Christ. The New Testament uses Psalm 2 in Hebrews 1:5 and 5:5. God says to Jesus, “You are my Son.” And the same God speaks to us through Christ: “You are my sons and daughters, my beloved children.”
Hebrews tells us angels are mighty, but God never called angels his children. Instead, God made us his sons and daughters through Christ. (Hebrews 2:16) That means we share the authority of the King. We are like princes and princesses in his kingdom. What a gift!
Declaring God’s Sovereignty – My Story
I grew up as a pastor’s daughter. From high school I was a Sunday school teacher. I served with my husband as a minister’s wife, a candidate for ministry, and a lay supply for 17 years. But when God called me to be the senior pastor, I was so afraid. I thought: I don’t speak well. I have so many children. What if I ruin a church? I filled my journal with fears and tears for the last few months.
But the Psalms taught me. Laments begin in sorrow but end in praise. My journals often ended with God’s Word. God taught me: “This is not your ministry. This is mine. This is not your life. This is mine.” And peace came into my heart.
Even in these last two months with you—and with three other churches—I saw the same thing. God is the one at work. I saw not my weakness, but his greatness. When I give everything to the King, my burdens grow lighter.
Eric Liddell – Faith in the King
When I think of someone who lived this out, I think of Eric Liddell. He was an Olympic runner and a missionary. He was born in China to missionary parents, and later ran in the 1924 Paris Olympics. He refused to run on Sunday, and though many mocked him, he won the gold medal in the 400 meters.
After the Olympics, he went back to China as a missionary. During World War II, he was sent to a Japanese internment camp. He never saw freedom again. He died of a brain tumor in 1945, suffering greatly, separated from his wife and children. But in his suffering, he sang and prayed the hymn, “Be Still, My Soul.” When the pain was unbearable, he declared: “God is King. God is sovereign.” And his soul found peace.
Declaring God’s Kingship in Our Lives
Psalm 2:12 says: “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”
Brothers and sisters, when God is our refuge, we are truly blessed. In joy or in sorrow, in health or in sickness, God is our King. And today this King says to you: “You are my son. You are my daughter. You are mine.”
Maybe you are like me—facing new challenges, afraid of failure. Maybe you are like Eric Liddell—suffering in body or mind. Maybe you are grieving, like Jenny, who just lost Loren.
But even in grief, I saw her worship, teach children, prepare for the church conference, and even give testimony at today’s service after Loren’s funeral. She gave me Loren’s walking stick as a gift. Just like Elisha received Elijah’s cloak, I pray I may receive Loren and Jenny’s faith and carry it forward.
This church went two and a half years without a pastor. Yet God shepherded you. Jesus remained the head of this church. Each of you became hands and feet of the body. What a witness to God’s kingship! I felt blessed to have you as my first church as a senior pastor!
So even yesterday, after Loren’s funeral, I went home, did homework with my daughter, cut my son’s hair, picked apples with the kids, baked apple crisp, and prepared worship. And I kept saying to myself: “This life is not mine. This ministry is not mine. It all belongs to the King.”
Closing Prayer
So I ask you now: Where do you need to declare God’s kingship in your life?
Have you lost someone dear and sunk into sorrow?
Are you tired of praying because your situation never changes?
Are you crushed by pain, in body or spirit? Do you feel small and weak?
Then lift your eyes to the King. He is sovereign. He is here with us. Let us be still and declare together: Our God reigns. Amen.
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