Praise

What would happen if the whole world praised God like Psalm 148 asked?  What would happen?

What would happen if we would praise God.  With everything we do and everything we say.

I would love to see it!

One more post!  We are almost done!

What have you most learned in the last two months?

Blessings!
Pastor Emily 

Justice

Psalm 146 is a justice Psalm!  Reminding us that there is justice for the oppressed!  I love verses 7-9!

How are we trying to help the afflicted, release the prisoner, help the hungry, and open the eyes of the blind!

Worse--how are we acknowledging the ways God is working to release us, save us from our afflictions, feed our hunger and open our eyes.

Today Lord, I'm standing waiting for you to fix me!  I am broken!

Blessings!
Pastor Emily 

Familiar

I think thats one of the things I'll take out of this study.  Other than remembering more of which Psalm is which--is the amount of scripture that is in my heart that I never knew was there.

Psalm 144 is so familiar.

"What are humans beings that you are mindful of them?"

"I will sing to the Lord a new song!"

"Blessed be the Lord, my rock!"

"Happy are those to whom these blessings fall"  (Praise God from whom all blessings flow?)

God is good--I'm so thankful that I have his word hidden in my heart!

Blessings!
Pastor Emily 

My Mouth

Since I was a little girl, my mouth was what I did best and what I did worst.  With it I could be cute and funny or hurting and biting.

Psalm 141:3 reminds me of that.  

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
   keep watch over the door of my lips.

I need that reminder.  That I can use my mouth for good.  That I can love on people instead of spreading hate.  Its so easy to use our words for evil.  Lord, set a guard over my mouth.  Keep watch over the door of my lips.

Blessings--
Pastor Emily 

God Knows You

Psalm 139 is familiar, isn't it?  

"You have searched me, and known me"

"Where can I go from your spirit?"

"For it was you that formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb"

The words seem so comforting.  We serve a God who knows us. Has known us.  Will always know us.  And loves us anyway.  Knows our deepest secrets and greatest sins.  Knows our greatest accomplishments and loves us anyway.  You were fearfully and wonderfully made!  How does knowing that make your life different?  Better?

That's why in Psalm 140 God can and will protect us.  Because he made us.  Special.  Favored.  Perfect.

Live into that today!

Blessings!
Pastor Emily 

It gets real

How would you use Psalm 137 if you had to preach a sermon about it?  Its a picture of a people.  Downtrodden.  Angry.  Alone.  Frustrated.  Abused.  Forsaken.

And the Psalmist gets real.  He is angry.  He wants revenge.  He feels alone and abandoned.

Sometimes we feel this way.  Sometimes we want these things.  Sometimes we get lost in a world of Psalm 137.

But Psalm 138 is hopeful.  "Even though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me."  There is hope even in our most irrational, frustrating, awful times.  There is hope.

That's what the message is.  In the midst of our anger and fear and frustration.  There is hope.

Do you have hope?  I pray you do!

Blessings--

Pastor Emily 

Worship

As I read these two Psalms, I tried to picture how they would be used in worship.  Would they be fast or slow songs?  Would they be sung by a powerful soprano voice or deep bass voice?  Would they come before or after the offering?  What would the acolytes look like?

I know that's probably silly, but a pastor thinks about things like that. I want to know what and how and why.

Then I heard this song.  And I stopped.  And remembered that it was deeper than my questions.

It was about God's steadfast love that endures forever.

Glory be to God.

Amen