
Series studying the Psalms of Ascent in the Old Testament.
Video Message | Resources |
Week 1: A Specific Kind of Distress | Monday Memo notes More on Psalm 120 Want to dig a little more into the topics we found in Psalm 120?: – An illustrated guide to four most common kinds of liars: 4 Types of Liars and How to Handle Each Effectively – Here’s a quick dive into why we’re dishonest with each other: Research Reveals the Most Common Reasons People Lie – Check out this great poem “Words are Windows or Walls” by Ruth Bebermeyer, referenced by Marshall Rosenborough in “nonviolent communication”: WORDS ARE WINDOWS (or They’re Walls) – Check out Martin Luther King Jr.’s six principles of nonviolence: Terrorism Violent Extremism Six Principles of Non-Violence.pdf |
Week 2: Peace in our Jerusalems | Monday Memo notes More on a Theology of the Common Good Intrigued by the idea that Christians should be at the vanguard of seeking shalom for others and public institutions? Or how we should be champions of the common good? Check out these pieces: – Common Good Thinking – Together For The Common Good – Public Theology For The Common Good | Common Good – Christianity and the Common Good – Harvard Law School |
Week 3: On Our Side | Monday Memo notes Prayer for the Week We used this in worship yesterday, but we want to send it along to you for the week as a way of grounding you just weeks before election day. Adapted from Box Hill Baptist Church (Victoria, Australia): Heavenly Father, source of all truth and wisdom, who knows and loves the whole creation, watch over our nation this election season so that truth may prevail over distortion, wisdom triumph over recklessness, and the concerns of every person may be heard. Like our Lord Jesus, who chose the way of the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane, help us to turn our backs on self-interest and to support policies that sustain the poor, the vulnerable, and the frightened people in our nation. May the Holy Spirit give everyone in our country, beginning first and foremost with those who claim the name of Jesus, a passion for peace and inspire us to work for unity and cooperation in our political and social life together. God, we give thanks for the privileges of living in a democratic society, and take the responsibility of maintaining it seriously. Protect us from the sins of despair and cynicism, guard us against making idols of our politics and politicians, and strengthen us to seek and serve the common good. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ Our Lord, King of all kings, Prince of Peace, amen. |
Week 4: The God who Restored will Restore | Monday Memo notes Reflection Exercise this Week Spend a little time this week one of two ways: – Journal a little about how you can find that pattern of desolation and consolation repeatedly in your past. How did you wander away from God or rebel against God, and how did God bring you back? What were the “seeds” of repentance and sorrow that ultimately yielded a harvest of joy (verses 4-5)? – Do some personal assessment: are you in a season of desolation or consolation right now? Is it time to stop, turn around, and ask God to restore you to His side? Maybe it’s time to heed the positive invitation of repentance? |
Week 5: Happiness and the Fear of the Lord | Monday Memo notes Your Assignment this Week Your assignment this week is straightforward enough: find a concrete way or two to lean into “the fear of the Lord,” as defined in the book of Psalms: – Find a way to learn from or be taught by God about something in your life, perhaps a place where you feel stymied, stuck, or off course. – Obey God this week in some specific, new way. – Take time to be in awe of God, and perhaps spend a time reflecting on the past avenues or experiences in your life that have left you in awe of God. – Reflect once on God’s amazing, expansive compassion for you, others, and the whole world. |
Week 6: Out of the Depths | Monday Memo notes Scripture Reading this Week Your “read less, read better, read slower, read repeatedly, and read reflectively” psalm of the week is Psalm 131: Psalm 131 NRSVUE;MSG A Prayer for the Week These are the two prayers we used during the service yesterday, adapted from two of the PCUSA’s creeds (The Declaration of Faith from 1977, and The Belhar Confession from 1986). The first is about how the church should and should not relate to politics, and the second reminds us what our mission is and that is doesn’t change. “Lord God, over our history the church has struggled to be faithful to You in political situations: when we’re under persecution, or when we’ve been an established arm of the state, or when we’ve been separated from it. Help us not confuse Your Kingdom with our political institutions; likewise, help us not equate the Christian faith with any nation’s way of life. May we be law-abiding citizens until and unless the state commands us to disobey God or claims authority that belongs only to God. May we take no part in government imposing Christian faith by legislation or granting the church undue advantage, amen.” “May we, oh Lord, as Your church stand by people in any form of suffering and need, which implies, among other things, that the church must witness against and strive against any form of injustice, so that justice may roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream. As the possession of God, the church must stand where the Lord stands, namely against injustice and with the wronged. In following Christ the church must witness against all the powerful and privileged who selfishly seek their own interests and thus control and harm others, amen.” |
Week 7: David and a Resting Place for God | Monday Memo notes Scripture Reading this Week Your last “read less, read slow, read repeatedly, read reflectively” assignment in the Psalms of Ascent will be the last two – enjoy!: Psalm 133 NRSVUE Psalm 134 NRSVUE |