2010 Psalm Series

copyright 2010 Lachlan Payne http://www.lachlanpayne.com

The Psalms stand alone in Scripture for their unique contribution as poetic verses and songs that speak of God’s character and our humanity. Arguably the most beautiful aspect of the Psalms is that they run the gamut of emotions. God knows we are living, breathing, weak-minded beings. He knows that we will struggle, that we will get angry, depressed, joyful, lonely, peaceful, and to all of that he says “yes! I know!” by the Psalms. The key is worshiping him in all of these things. For thousands of years countless people have been drawn to the Psalms for comfort and reassurance. Certainly for me; the Psalms are a regular part of my time of prayer and reading scripture, as they often help me find the words and posture in going before God.

Each May we enter a four week sermon series before beginning our long summer series, and this year it’s a look at the Psalms. With only four weeks/Psalms, it seemed appropriate to contrast two aspects: worship in sadness and joy, and worship in your day-to-day life and gathered together on Sundays and in Community Groups. Those are two areas that often become compartmentalized and end up as an “either/or” instead of a “both/and”.

Here are the Psalms we’ll study together. Join us for all four weeks:

Psalm 66 “Worship God With Joy”
Pastor @Nate_Williams
5/9/2010
The “joy” psalms are often based in the fact that God delivered David. The reason I chose this one is that it seems to set a tone of joy for the church, not just one dude saying “My life is good now, so I’ll have joy”. It’s saying “God is good, and has been good to Vintage21, and will be good through us, so we have reason for joy. THEREFORE, we should be people marked by joy, so that the city takes notice.”

Psalm 22 “Worshiping God In Sadness”
@PastorTyler Jones
5/16/2010
This is a fantastic Psalm because it’s also what Jesus quotes on the cross. Not only does it give words to those who are lonely, depressed, oppressed, struggling, but it points to the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ, as this is what He quoted on the Cross. He knows your suffering, as we find in Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Psalm 34 “Worship Is A Response Of Your Life”
@PastorTyler Jones
5/23/2010
The first verse of this Psalm sets the tone of a life of continuous worship: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth”. It then goes on to touch on many things to back this up: I sought the Lord and he answered me, those who look to him are radiant, blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. It should provide a good foundation to teach on living your whole life in response to God- not only is he worthy, but he’s good and provides like nothing else can.

Psalm 95 “Why We Gather And Sing: Worshiping In Community”
Pastor @MattStevensNC
5/30/2010
The key to this one is not the opening “Oh come, let us sing to the Lord”, but verses 6-7 “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hand. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” If we gather as people expecting to be fed, hardening our hearts and saying “Prove yourself!” to God, we will not sing on Sundays, and it’s a waste of time to try. We should be thankful, grateful sheep, praising the name of our Shepherd and Savior, Jesus Christ.