Have You Been Loved by God? Pastor Doug on Psalm 103
- Solo Faith Church Inc.
- Jun 21
- 3 min read
There is a question Pastor Doug Lattimore kept returning to one recent Sunday at Solo Faith Church: have you ever been loved? Not by a parent, a partner, or a friend — but by God. His message from Psalm 103 turned a familiar idea on its head. We spend a lot of energy asking whether we have been loyal enough to God. This message asked the opposite question: how loyal has God been to us?
Not Our Loyalty to God — His Loyalty to Us
Most of us, Pastor Doug noted, talk about faith in terms of what we owe — we need to be loyal to God, faithful to God, consistent for God. Psalm 103 flips the order. Before the psalm ever asks anything of us, it spends verse after verse describing what God has already done: He forgives all our sins, heals our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, and crowns us with love and compassion. This, Pastor Doug said, is God's loyalty to us — He is slow to anger because He is loyal to us.
He pointed to a pattern worth noticing. A true leader, he said, does not simply give orders and delegate — a true leader sets the example first. If God asks us to be loyal to Him, it is because He chose to show us loyalty first. Our part in the relationship — keeping His commandments and doing His will — comes at the very end of the psalm, and it is small compared to everything He has already given.
What Psalm 103 Says About God's Character
The psalm's most quoted promise is also its most personal: as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Pastor Doug lingered there. God does not treat us as our sins deserve. As a father has compassion on his children, he said, so the Lord has compassion on those who honor Him — and that compassion stretches forward, from everlasting to everlasting, even to our children's children.
It was, in the end, a message for anyone who has wondered whether they have ever truly been loved. Some people, Pastor Doug acknowledged, grow up in hard homes and reach the end of their lives unsure if anyone ever loved them at all. Psalm 103 answers that ache directly: open your heart to God, and you will not leave this life without knowing you were loved.
I will go to my grave knowing that I have been loved — and that's enough. — Pastor Doug Lattimore
At Solo Faith Church — a digital-first ministry based at 587 Old Charlotte Rd SW in Concord, NC, reaching from the Carolinas to Kenya — this is the kind of message the congregation gathers around: not what we can earn, but what God has already given. You can watch the full sermon above or join a service anytime at solofaith.org.
Solo Faith Church shares this message because the question at its center — have you been loved by God? — is one every neighbor deserves an honest answer to. In a county where many carry quiet burdens, a reminder of God's steadfast loyalty is something worth passing along.
You're Invited — Visit Solo Faith Church This Sunday
Solo Faith Church meets every Sunday at 587 Old Charlotte Rd SW, Concord, NC 28027. Come as you are. Learn more here.
Community Support Note: This story is part of Solo Faith Church's community journalism initiative to uplift Concord neighbors and share the work being done across Cabarrus County. The information in this post was drawn from a transcript of Pastor Doug Lattimore's sermon, shared directly with Solo Faith Church.
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