Through the Psalms Intro
Notes
Transcript
Announcements:
Announcements:
Wednesdays Nights have started back up
4 week series on some exciting stuff
The will of God
What life looks like after high school
Our Summer schedule is getting finalized and we’ll have it out soon
Camp July 16-19
We will have scholarship opportunities for those in need
Introduction
Introduction
I know it has been a couple of weeks since we’ve met normally
Easter & Baptisms
This week we are turning a new leaf and starting a new series
Actually 2 new series
Over the next year or so, as a church, we are going to be studying through the book of Acts
It is a continuation of the story of the Early Church after the cross—We see how the gospel goes out and spreads despite trials and persecution
But in addition to our Acts studies—as a church—we are going to make an effort to regularly take time to spend in the Psalms—The prayer book of God’s people
We will see worship in the Psalms and witness in Acts—two aspects that are vital to our discipleship to Jesus
Worship is the way we relate to God—keeping our eyes fixed on him despite what is happening around us
Witness is the way we relate outward to the world—a light in a dark world
So the next two weeks we will be in the Psalms and starting in May we’ll begin our studies in Acts
Any questions?
So today we are starting the Psalms
And we’ll start right at the beginning: Psalm 1
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Outline:
The Purpose of the Psalms
Look Specifically at Psalm 1
The Fruit of the Psalms
The Purpose of the Psalms
The Purpose of the Psalms
Anyone want to guess?
Where most of the Bible is God speaking to humanity…
The Psalms are giving us the words to speak to God
They are filled with words and expressions that teach us how to pray
In my experience talking with many high schoolers (and adults)—I think most of us don’t pray, because we don’t know how to pray
And the Psalms are here to teach us
We see in the Psalms that prayer is not a static thing
It’s not a simple repetition of words or an incantation to say the right things to get God to move
The pre-game prayer//The dinner prayer
But how we pray changes in different seasons, through different emotions, in the ups and downs
Just like any relationship we have
(Me and Anaiah)
The Bible has actually given us a book of prayers—The Psalms
They are filled with different emotions and human experiences
From praise and thanksgiving, to betrayal, sorrow, anger, and hope
Jesus himself quoted the Psalms more than any other book in the OT
So my heart as we take some Sundays to jump into the Psalms isn’t that we just learn about this book—but that we actually learn to pray
And prayer is all about relationship
Prayer is about speaking to God
You can’t expect to have any meaningful relationship with someone, without talking to them
How do you talk to people?
Attention
Be heard
Listen
If there’s one thing I want to leave you with as we study the Psalms—is that prayer is deeply relational
It is about talking to the living God by faith
So one of the purposes of the Psalms is to teach us how to pray
We see the examples of prayer from David and so many others
And I think as we read the Psalms—it actually expands our definition of what we think prayer is
But secondly, the Psalms root us in a community
We take part in the prayers of God’s people throughout thousands of years
These prayers have been prayed by countless people for millennium
Every Jewish boy was expected to have the Torah (1st 5 books) and Psalms memorized before they became a man
Jesus himself had the Psalms memorized—always quoting them
His last saying on the cross are direct quotations from the Psalms
“My god, my god”
“Into your hand I entrust my spirit”
Showing us that at his darkest moment—the place he ran to to find comfort… was this book of prayers
It is filled with such hope and confidence in who God is
And these prays aren’t only individual prayers
Many of the Psalms are songs—songs for choirs of people to sing
The Jewish people still sing these Psalms to this day in Synagogue
And not just the Jewish, but these Psalms have been adopted by the Christian faith
And have been prayed and sung by fellow believers since the Early Church
And these are the prayers and songs of the people that we will read about in Acts
So these Psalms root us in this historical ancestry—these have been and currently are the prayers of all of God’s people
And I think practically this does a few things:
It normalizes the difficulties of life (You are not crazy)
Sin/Forgiveness // Betrayal // Depression // Anxiety/Fear
Jesus himself knows these things
It gives us common vocabulary to pray together
Psalm 23 — Shepherd
It gives us promises that we know God has kept for thousands of years
Sometimes it can be hard to see the good when life is overwhelming and seems to be falling apart
But the Psalms help us to pray the very promises and goodness of God with our own mouths
So I know there are probably more reasons (I don’t want to oversimplify) but I think these are two important purposes in this book:
To teach us how to pray
To ground us in the traditions and community of God’s people throughout the ages
And today I want to talk briefly on Psalm 1
It is not a typical Psalm
It’s not really a prayer
It is a wisdom poem—just like the Proverbs we studied around a month ago
Psalm 1
Psalm 1
I think Psalm 1 acts as a gateway into the book of Psalms
It’s telling us who this book is for
1 How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
2 Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
4 The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Just like Proverbs, it clearly lays out two paths for each of us: The Wicked and The Righteous
And this is very subtle here but this Psalm lays out the difference between the two:
The wicked walk with the wicked
The righteous stay rooted in the Lord
Who we spend time with—will change our very character
And I think we all know this deep down
We become like our friends
Language/Vocabulary
People we like/dislike
Hobbies/Interests
Notice the shifting from walking -> standing -> sitting
Walk - accept sinful advice
Stand - accept sinful ways
Sit - completely adopt sinful ways in pride
And in the end these people will be blown away in the wind and unable to stand judgement
But the contrast is the person who delights in the Lord and meditates on his instruction
Someone who spends time with the Lord — someone who prays
Someone who walks, stands, and sits with the Lord
And these people are grounded and rooted and bear much fruit
And while those who spend time with the wicked, sinful, and mockers become like them
Those who delight and mediate in the Lord become like him
The Psalms open up with an invitation of fellowship
If you’re going to go on this journey of the Psalms—its going to require and intentional walking with and waiting on the Lord
This book isn’t for those who are opposed to God — You can read it and maybe understand a bunch
But the true power in this book is for those who delight in these Psalms and those who meditate on it
Those who chew on it and let it permeate their minds, words, and actions
And we see:
The Fruit of the Psalms
The Fruit of the Psalms
A deeply rooted life in God
Like a tree planted beside a flowing stream
Right next to all of the water and nutrients it needs
Never in need or crisis
We are invited into a life like this
If we walk in a life of prayer—with these words at our side and in our hearts and mind
Its like this tree
We have all we need for life and fruitfulness
Even if seasons come and go — easy seasons/difficult seasons
We bear fruit
The Psalms are inviting us into the unmoveable love that we find in relationship with God
We know the way of the wicked is tossed to and fro with no anchor
But like the Psalm ends
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
And I think we all want this unmoveable faith in our lives
We all want to bear fruit
We want to flourish and prosper
But we will only find it by pouring into our relationship with God
We will only achieve it by staying rooted in the person and works of Jesus Christ
And the Psalms will teach us how to do that
How we are to pray in every season
Whether you’re hurting, betrayed, sinning or sinned against, filled with thanksgiving and praise, or overcome by fear and anxiety—the Psalms give us the words to bring all of these things to the Lord
Personally: The Psalms have changed my life
I find that these Psalms are often my first reaction in prayer when I’m overcome by something
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.
Psalm 143:8
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I have what I need.
Psalms 51:1 NKJV
“Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.”
Psalm 46:10
Be still and know that I am God
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.
21 When I became embittered
and my innermost being was wounded,
22 I was stupid and didn’t understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward you.
23 Yet I am always with you;
you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me up in glory.
25 Who do I have in heaven but you?
And I desire nothing on earth but you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart,
my portion forever.
And my deepest desire and prayer is that these prayer become yours too
And that as we take time to spend in the Psalms throughout the next year or so
That each of you would grow in your prayer life
Not just in the amount of time or the number words that you say
But in your inner relationship with Jesus—that you all would be marked as people who pray
“We are too busy to pray, and so we are too busy to have power” — A.W. Tozer
Guys there is a deep well of power, peace, hope, joy in prayer
And I pray that each of you step into it
Conclusion
Conclusion
Instead of our typical small groups—as we take time in the Psalms, I want us to actually practice taking time to pray
And today we’re just going to start with a very basic prayer: How are you doing?
Between you and God—How are you doing?
He wants to know (not that he doesn’t know) but he longs for you to tell him
He longs to be invited into your present circumstances
Whether things have been awesome or horrible
and we’ll take communion
Reminding us of God love for us
So we’ll take a few minutes to do that:
Acknowledging God’s presence
Speaking to Him
Listening to Him
Feel free to skim through the Psalms
How was that?
