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

We had a wonderful Palm Sunday service this morning. The weather in Colorado Springs was cold and miserable but we still had a good group. We are singing 2 old gospel songs, Farther Along and Where Could I Go but to the Lord. We are also learning 2 new choruses, Bless the Lord (10,000 Reasons) and Worthy is the Lamb. Easter music has great depth and meaning for all Christians and certainly should be celebrated with good music and rejoicing. He has risen! Alleluia!

Bad Easter Jokes

What would you get if you crossed the Easter Bunny with an oversterssed person? An Easter basket case!
How does the Easter Bunny stay fit? EGG-xercise and HARE-robics!
What is the Easter Bunny's favorite state capital? Albunny, New York!
What's the difference between a counterfeit dollar bill and a crazy rabbit? One is bad money, the other is a mad bunny!
What's long and stylish and full of cats? The Easter Purrade!
Why shouldn’t you tell an Easter egg a joke? It might crack up!

 

This Sunday - DST Begins!

 

We had a great response to the shower for the twins last Sunday. The food and fellowship were good and it was enjoyed by all. Tommy and Vicki (and Eddie and Linda for the pounding items you all brought) thank you for your generosity.

As we did last Christmas we would like to send more packages to our soldier in Afghanistan that he can share with his unit. You know what to bring so git 'r dun!

Daylight Savings will end Nov 3

Spring begins March 20th

Easter is March 31st

Potluck, Pounding and Baby Shower this Sunday

Last Sunday we announced we will have a potluck this Sunday morning after church in celebration of a baby shower for Vicki, Tommy and the twins, Sekoya and Thomas. The twins need the small things at this time: diapers, sleepers and t-shirts. You can imagine what two infants need so bring all you can for this Sunday.

Ruth and Nancy are providing the meat for the fellowship so all you need to bring are side dishes and dessert.
We are also continuing to “pound” Eddie and Linda as they have a houseful and need help at this time. They can use prepared/packaged meals (like the Stouffer’s lasagna-type and similar), your basic Folgers coffee, creamer and paper products.
Bring what you can and plan on staying after service for lunch. The Lord bless your generosity.

What does it take to survive 25 years as a church?

We have met nearly every Sunday for 25 years beginning January 31, 1988. The only Sundays we did not meet were due to bad weather and that only happened 3-4 times over the years.

When you take 52 Sundays a year over 25 years you get 1300 Sunday services. That’s 1300 worship services planned and executed; an average of 4 songs each Sunday meant 5200 songs were sung; 1300 offerings taken up with people contributing each time (I can’t remember if we ever had a Sunday where the plate was empty); 1300 sermons; 1300 offertories; and coffee was made most of those Sundays!

That is the picture of faithfulness. Not every Sunday was a flawless execution of Christian ministry, but most Sundays were well-done and meaningful. The people of God have been faithful, and that is something to celebrate.

We don’t claim to be the be-all and end-all of church; we don’t even claim to be a good church. We know we’re a small church with limits to our service and talents, but what we do is pretty good and is dedicated to the Lord. We know we’re not more right, more righteous, or mo’ bettah (sic) than any other church in town. We’re simply a church that comes together to express our worship and thanks to God the best way we can. We are a group of families who have bonded together to commit ourselves to fulfilling the sacred command of assembling together “to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:12-13, NASB) It’s pretty simple, really.
We will follow up our service this Sunday, February 10, with a potluck dinner. Bring food and be prepared to fellowship into the afternoon.

And guys, don’t forget Valentine’s Day coming up next Thursday!