The Psalms are for ALL seasons!
This Sunday (June 30, 2024) we’ll begin a new series that will cary us through September 1st, Summer in the Psalms. The Psalms have been a source of rich devotional reflection and spiritual balm for me and I know also for many of you. We read them in the mornings while we drink coffee. We sing them in worship. We post snippets from them together with art on our walls. We read them responsively in praise and confession. We recite them at funerals. We use their words to express our own emotions of joy, praise, anger, grief, frustration, fear, loneliness, and hope. Martin Luther said that the Holy Spirit wanted us to have the entire Bible in a briefer version, so He gave us the Psalms.
My hope with this series is to look deeply at a selection of 8 Psalms that will help us understand the message and purpose of the book, experience and apply the full emotional range of the Psalms, and gain tools to enrich your own reflections on their message in devotion and meditation.
The first two sermons will look at Psalm 1 & 2. Psalm 1 gives us the teaching purpose of the Psalms—namely, instructions in happiness and instructions in holiness. Psalm 2 gives us the overarching message of the Psalms: God is our King, our destiny is glory; our King is coming.[1] This message reminds us of the ultimate hope that the book points us toward—namely Christ Jesus, our coming King and rescuing savior, the one in whom all scripture including the Psalms finds its fullest meaning and fulfillment. As we look at the Psalms this summer, my hope is that you would see Jesus on every page and learn to delight and hope in the savior king who has come in power and grace for you.
Following the first two weeks, we’ll then look at examples of the three primary types of Psalms: Hymns, Laments, and songs of Thanksgiving, and finally apply three Psalms to three different life experiences we all encounter at times: hopelessness, the need for repentance, and learning to look with hope to the future. There is so much we could cover in this series, and so many more life experiences and emotions that the Psalms help us transform into worship. 8 weeks is not enough. But I hope this will give you the tools you need to dive into this treasure trove on your own with excitement and confidence that the Lord will speak.
As we go through this sermon series, I also encourage you to consider participating in the Adult Christian Education class on the Psalms that will begin July 14th. It will be a devotional-style class co-led by a number of leaders within the church, looking at the book, “The Songs of Jesus: a Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms,” by Tim & Kathy Keller. Additionally, should you desire to “go deeper” in learning how to read, understand and apply the Psalms to life, I recommend picking up a copy of the book, “Joy Comes In The Morning: Psalms For All Seasons,” by Dr. Mark Futato, my Old Testament Poets professor at Reformed Theological Seminary. It’s the best I’ve found on providing tools to read, understand, and apply the Psalms to life.
I’m looking forward to our journey together through the Psalms this Summer. May God bless us richly through his word.
[1] Futato, Mark. Interpreting the Psalms: an Exegetical Handbook. 2007 Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI.