Most people enjoy a good celebration. Whether it is New Year’s, a birthday, an anniversary, a victory or achievement of some kind, it is wonderful to gather with friends and loved ones to celebrate. Psalm 98 is a psalm of celebration. In this post we’ll find out why. In Psalm 98, there are three words in verses 1-3Continue reading “Three important words about salvation that lead to exuberant praise around the globe – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Part 4”
Tag Archives: worship
How God’s similarity to the Winter Soldier is of vital importance – Advent Psalm of Celebration
What mental image comes to your mind when you think of God? I suspect most people have images of God, and those images are almost certainly incorrect or inadequate. We view God as “the big man upstairs.” Or God is a Santa Claus kind of figure, or a white man with gray/white hair and a flowingContinue reading “How God’s similarity to the Winter Soldier is of vital importance – Advent Psalm of Celebration”
Our traditional worship songs/hymns and Christmas Carols are not enough – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Part 2
Right around the end of November, the discussion in our church worship planning session gets around to the question of “When should we start singing Christmas carols?” People love singing Christmas carols. But is it too early to sing only Christmas carols on the first Sunday of Advent? Maybe we should go with 50/50 at least until weekContinue reading “Our traditional worship songs/hymns and Christmas Carols are not enough – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Part 2”
Is Santa Claus…God? – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Preview
Is Santa Claus…God? Of course not, but they sure do share some characteristics, don’t they? When we think of God, while we Christians do not believe Santa Claus is real, the typical cultural conception of God is very similar to the typical cultural conception of Santa Claus. Both are all-seeing benevolent givers of gifts who liveContinue reading “Is Santa Claus…God? – Advent Psalm of Celebration, Preview”
Advent and…the Psalms of Ascent, Part 5
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. How do the Songs of Ascent help us understand Advent? As I mentioned in the beginning of this series here, the Songs of Ascent wereContinue reading “Advent and…the Psalms of Ascent, Part 5”
The third leg of the journey into…The Psalms of Ascent, Part 4
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. The Third Antiphon (Chant) 130-134 At this point, this journey is on it’s last leg. The kids have fallen asleep. They’ve gotten cheerios allContinue reading “The third leg of the journey into…The Psalms of Ascent, Part 4”
The first leg of the journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 2
This week I welcome guest blogger, David Hundert. David and his wife Terri are members of Faith Church. David is currently studying for his Master of Divinity at Evangelical Seminary of Kairos University. The First Antiphon (Chant) – Psalms of Ascent 120-124 The first section of the Psalms of Ascent is referred to by some scholars asContinue reading “The first leg of the journey into the…Psalms of Ascent, Part 2”
Confidence in the middle of pain – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 5
This week we’ve studied the parallel structure of Psalm 30. We’ve found matching points here, here, and here, and now we are left with verse 6, for which there is no match. It is the center of the structure. Because it doesn’t have a match, that means it is David’s most important point. What does heContinue reading “Confidence in the middle of pain – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 5”
This too shall pass – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 4
As we study Psalm 30 this week, we’re discovering it’s parallel structure. We found its first matching pair of lines here, and we found its second pair here. To search for its third coupling, we first look at verses 4-5. These two verses are loaded with praise to God because, David says, God’s favor that lastsContinue reading “This too shall pass – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving, Part 4”
Can you feel others’ pain? – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving
The Netflix show Black Mirror is about the future. Each episode is a standalone, with no connection to the rest of the episodes, so they’re like mini-movies. The theme of Black Mirror is to imagine what the future will be like if medicine, artificial intelligence, social media and electronics continue to advance. In particular, BlackContinue reading “Can you feel others’ pain? – Advent Psalm of Thanksgiving”
Engaging Scripture 