Psalm 27 | Week 3

Psalm 27

Terror… threat… intimidation… anxiety… dread and the failure of nerve. It seems like a low-grade fear has gripped the soul of our nation, our neighborhoods and even our leaders. At the bottom of our trouble is a deep and subtle fear… of failure, of rejection, of loss, of each other. Yet the Psalmist, whose circumstances were more dire than our own, found a way to conquer his fears, not by casting them out but by finding God in them.

Psalm 100 | Week 9

Saying “thank you” is one of the first things we learn as a child, yet the words can seem shallow when there is lots to be thankful for. Perhaps that is the plight of most, even poor Americans. The more we have, the more we notice what we don’t have. Yet “thanksgiving” and “praise” mean something different in the Psalms. Here they are not just words, but rituals. They are not just manners, but ways of life.

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Psalm 130-131 | Week 8

As Americans we are not accustomed to waiting nor do we wait for the right things. This song, sung on the temple steps by a seeker on his way into worship, describes one whose heart is pure even if the rest of him is not. He was once in the depths and has found God’s forgiveness, but he has not yet found redemption. Here on the steps, between forgiveness and redemption, he waits for himself and for his people.

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Psalm 88 | Week 6

Darkenss, Loss, Overwhelmed. Grief. Desolation. Abandoned. These are sobering words that describe a season of life we are in, or perhaps someone in our circle of relationships. What do we do when these dark nights arise? More often than not our response is mixed with blaming God, ourselves or others. Our actions range from avoidance, forsaking others or even providing insufficient attempts to resolve the spiritual desert we are in.

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