Resting and Rejoicing in God’s Goodness - Steve Crawford

Main message: God is sovereignly good to his people: he gives his children restful security (so their anxious toil is unnecessary) and blesses them with faithful relationships (children or spiritual offspring who "walk in the truth"). Therefore believers are to depend on God's presence and care rather than on anxious self-reliance, and unbelievers are called to repent and trust Christ.

Key points:

• Psalm 127 frames two demonstrations of God's goodness: rest for the beloved (vv.1–2) and relationships for the blessed (vv.3–5).
• "Unless the Lord builds the house..." teaches dependence on God's presence and blessing; human effort apart from God is ultimately vain and ruinous.
• The Hebrew of "in vain" here (shav) conveys destructive falseness, not merely fleeting vanity; anxious, cursed toil (yetsev) characterizes life apart from God.
• Believers may legitimately rest (even sleep) as a gift from a loving Father; wrong rest (lazy sloth) is not commended, but restful dependence is.
• Children (or spiritual children) who "walk in the truth" are like arrows in a warrior's quiver — a visible demonstration of God's blessing; parents/disciples should pray and persevere, and take hope in God's work.
• The sermon closes with an appeal to examine one's relationship to Christ: if not born again, respond in repentance and faith.

Scriptures mentioned: Psalm 127, Psalm 121, Psalm 72, Psalm 73, Psalm 128, Ecclesiastes, 1 Kings 4:29, 1 Kings 9:15–17, Exodus 33:15, Genesis 2:2–3, Genesis 3:16, Proverbs 5:10, Jeremiah 22:28, Joshua (Jericho narrative), Daniel 5 (Belshazzar), James 4:13, 2 Corinthians 2:16, 2 Corinthians 3:4–6, 2 Corinthians 3:1–2, 3 John 4, Ephesians 5–6, Colossians 3.