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Summer in the Psalms
How to Live in God's World According to God's Word
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How to live in God’s world according to God’s Word—that’s the challenge we all face.
Thankfully, God has provided us with help for the journey. The Book of Psalms has been called a manual for all the seasons of the soul. Those seasons include times of grief and heartache but also joy and exhilaration. Periods of confident hope may alternate with days of perplexity and fear.
There are different kinds of psalms which speak to these different seasons. And there are different ways of grouping the psalms, but Old Testament scholar Mark Futato suggests a “big three” division into:
- Songs of Praise – These psalms provide us with a proper orientation, the way things ought to be. They give us a good sense of our surroundings and point us in the right direction.
- Songs of Lament – These psalms express disorientation. This is what happens when we get off track. Then we become confused, lose our sense of direction, become unsure of ourselves, fearful, depressed. Ever been there? I know I have!
- Songs of Thanksgiving – These psalms help us get reoriented or back on track. These psalms pick us up, dust us off and set us back on our way rejoicing.
In this twelve week series we will learn wisdom from all three categories to help us navigate the twists and turns of our journey from earth to heaven. Our hope is that our summer in the psalms will enable us to better experience the abundant life for which God created us. That’s the reason God has given us the Book of Psalms.
Messages
- Part 1 – A Primer on the Blessed Life – Robin Boisvert. Whatever shapes your thinking shapes your life, so there is no single thing you can do that is more profitable than regularly reading and reflecting on Scripture.
- Part 2 – The Lord Reigns – Robin Boisvert. Psalm 2 introduces the message of the entire book: God is King.
- Part 3 – God's Blessing Goes Global – Philip Martin. Because of our brokenness, we all need God’s blessing. In Christ, that blessing is ours for the asking, but not for us alone. It is to be shared with all nations, so they too will sing his praise.
- Part 4 – Hope for Unfinished Stories – Philip Martin. In trials, while waiting for our trustworthy Savior, we can pray, pour out our hearts, pivot, and praise.
- Part 5 – A Psalm of National Lament – Robin Boisvert. God’s goal is not for us to have happy lives apart from him. His goal is his own glory, which he graciously invites us to participate in. But that invitation also contains an element of suffering.
- Part 6 – Water in the Wilderness – Kevin Rogers. We carry more burdens than we ought because we have less of God than we need. Come to him in prayer, behold his power and glory, and let him satisfy your soul like water in the wilderness.
- Part 7 – Where to God with Guilt – Kevin Rogers. The path to forgiveness and freedom from guilt is one that goes to God in confession and pursuit of restoration.
- Part 8 – Let us Worship the LORD – Jose Troche. Everyone who believes in Jesus Christ has been saved from slavery to sin, so they can join David and the people of Yahweh in their worship and their proclamation of his marvelous works of salvation.
- Part 9 – The Source of Our Stability – Kevin Rogers. Life is short, so God himself is our only true protection, provision, and rest. May he help us to live wisely, be satisfied with his love, and see his power establish the works or our hands.
- Part 10 – A Hymn of Praise to God the Great King – Robin Boisvert. We must praise God because he is the great king who is worthy to be praised.
- Part 11 – Psalm 58 – Robin Boisvert. Does Psalm 58 make you uncomfortable, embarrassed, or troubled? How should we think about prayers in Scripture that call on God to curse our enemies?
Helpful Resources
- Psalms: An Introduction & Commentary (two volumes), Derek Kidner, IVP Publishing, Downers Grove, 1973. Absolutely the best brief commentary on the Psalms.
- Joy Comes in the Morning, Mark Futato, P&R Publishing, Phillipsburg, 2004. Brief popular introduction.
- How To Read the Psalms, Tremper Longman III, IVP Publishing, Downers Grove, 1988. Another helpful introduction.
- Interpreting the Psalms, Mark Futato, Kregel Academic, Grand Rapids, 2007. More advanced.