Prepare For Sunday | August 9th, 2026
Everyone is looking for life.
We chase it in our careers, our families, our accomplishments, our finances, our experiences, and countless other places. Every promise of our culture is, at its heart, a promise to help us truly live.
But what if we’ve been searching in all the wrong places?
In Psalm 16, David reveals that everyone looking for life must answer three questions:
Which path will you follow?
What treasure will you pursue?
What future are you seeking?
While the world tells us that life is found in what we can achieve or possess, David discovers something far greater: the Lord himself is the path to life, the greatest treasure we can possess, and our only hope beyond death.
Join us this Sunday as we explore one of the Bible’s most beloved psalms and discover why the risen Christ alone can lead us into the fullness of joy and the life we were created to enjoy.
The Path to Life | Psalm 16
Big Idea: The path to life is not found in getting more from God, but in discovering that God Himself is life.
I. Choose Your Path (Psalm 16:1–4)
Everyone is looking for life… so they choose a path.
II. Choose Your Treasure (Psalm 16:5–8)
Everyone is looking for life… so they choose a treasure.
III. Choose Your Future (Psalm 16:9–11)
Everyone is looking for life… so they choose a future.
Scripture Reading
Psalm 63:1–5
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips.
Corporate Confession of Sin
Leader: Friends, David confessed, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Yet how often we seek life somewhere other than God. Let us come before our gracious Father and confess our sins together.
All: Most merciful Father, You alone are the fountain of life, yet we confess that we have run after other gods.
Leader: We have looked for life in success rather than in Your presence, for security in our possessions rather than in Your promises, for identity in our achievements rather than in Your love,
and for joy in created things rather than in our Creator.
All: Instead of saying, “The Lord is my portion,” we have clung to treasures that cannot satisfy. Instead of setting You always before us, we have fixed our eyes on our fears, our ambitions, and our desires.
Leader: Forgive us for believing that something less than You could give us life.
All: Turn our hearts again to Christ, who alone is our refuge, our inheritance, and our everlasting joy.
For His sake we pray.
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Leader:
Hear the good news of the gospel from the Word of God.
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
—Psalm 16:11
David spoke these words prophetically of Jesus Christ. Though He entered the grave for our sins, God did not abandon His Holy One to death. Christ is risen! Because He lives, all who repent and trust in Him are forgiven, welcomed into the Father’s presence, and given an inheritance that can never perish.
Hear also the promise of our Savior:
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
—John 14:6
In Jesus Christ, the path to life has been opened. Your sins are forgiven, your future is secure, and your greatest treasure can never be taken away.
Thanks be to God!
