The Banqueting Psalm - Psalm 23

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Is it odd that He only leads into the path of righteousness and then the next verse speaks of being led onto a path of darkness? No, for in this life we will always be faced with the possibility of darkness; as there is day and night, there are times of light and darkness in life’s circumstances

The “valley of the shadow of death” is literally “a valley of deep darkness;” paths that are low in valleys get dark faster than paths on ridges, and they are the easiest paths to get lost on. Since they are down low, predators like to strike from above while their prey is in a vulnerable position (righteousness keeps us on the “high ground”)
The wolf never gets very far away from the sheep and is constantly stalking (the shadow of death is always there)
Satan stalks us like a roaring lion, ready to pounce when we are vulnerable to temptation and deception; his “devouring” takes the shape of influencing us to fall ethically and morally, into “evil”
The rod and the staff were the tools of the trade for the shepherd, used to protect the sheep from predators and keep the sheep from wandering off; we can have peace and security knowing that if we begin to wander off the trail the Lord will “wop” us with His staff to get us back on track, and He will use that same “staff” to ward off the wolves
We can take comfort in this

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies
David changed the analogy from shepherd to a banquet hall where a gracious host provided wonderful hospitality. This generous host prepared a lavish table for David even while his enemies plotted against him and were even “at the door.” David takes great pleasure in the picture of enjoying a great banquet while his enemies are coming to get him
The host offered his guests cleansing and refreshing olive oil that each guest had poured over their heads in preparation for a well-prepared banquet (think finger bowls and hot towels)

David’s circumstances are not the subject of this psalm; he acknowledged that he was in trouble with the language of darkness, valleys and enemies, but he was comforted and at peace because of his relationship with the Lord. Because of his relationship with the Lord he would dwell in the house of the Lord forever

We never know how much we might miss this strange little thing called church until we don’t have it, and then we realize it means something to us. As David meditated, he understood and resolved to never leave it again
Communion with the Lord in His sanctuary is a place of peace, comfort, strength and blessing

The Psalms - Relationship with God expressed in poetry and song: the role of art in our faith

Our new worship service study will be about the Psalms
Obviously we won’t go verse by verse from Ch. 1 to Ch. 150 because we would never finish before most of us go to heaven, so we’ll stick to the highlights.
Music touches the emotions and the rational side of people; we need both in our worship
The human soul is not merely driven by intellectual and rational principles; the soul is also driven by emotion
Art touches the emotional side of man
We generally attribute emotional as spiritual, but the spiritual contains the intellect and rational side as well as emotion and imagination
In fact, there is no way to separate the emotional and the intellectual; we need both in living
The longest book of the Bible, the Psalms, is made up of poetry and songs: therefore art and music are extremely important to God
The Psalms come from human experience, the heart and soul of mankind attempting to express relationship with God in all of its glory and ingloriousness
·         The good and the bad
·         The soaring and the tripping
·         The devoted and the debauchery
There will be selected Psalms to go through verse by verse devotional style; however, if you have a favorite Psalm I will make sure and include it in our study so just let me know

We will start with Psalm 8:

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
²From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease
³When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
⁴What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
⁵Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
⁶You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
⁷All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
⁸The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas
⁹O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Easter: What's all the hubbub about?

Yeah, yeah, He's risen, but I need a job; I need to be free from depression; I need inner peace; I need victory over bad habits

So what’s all the hubbub about?
It’s not that it can’t be proven that Jesus lived, died and was resurrected; it’s that it means nothing to so many people for a variety of reasons
Because they have never experienced transformation
Because they don’t believe things ever change – all is determined by nature and chemistry
Because those that believe Jesus arose don’t live transformed lives
(Of course, what is the definition of transformed, sometimes any slight perceived imperfection is interpreted as “see, it doesn’t work” not taking into account a lifetime of struggle and victory)
Because it has not been tried for “fear of faith” (Is. 7:9, "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all")
Go ahead and believe that Jesus rose from the dead anyway: Go ahead, make my day! Believe!

Five Results for us if there is no resurrection

The gospel is empty and lifeless
The apostles were lying hucksters
Faith has no basis in reality; it is a pipe dream
The dead are gone forever; we have no hope
Following Christ is a pathetic joke

But if Christ is resurrected:

The gospel is good news and absolutely true
The history of the gospel, Christianity and the church is valid
Our faith rests on historical and logical truths
There is more to life than this life, and we will see our loved ones who were in Christ in eternity
This life has ultimate meaning and holds full joy and satisfaction in Christ