I was glad when they said, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."

Good afternoon friends,
Today's reading is one of several Psalms called Psalms of Ascent. What that means is they were songs sung by pilgrims as they came to the end of their journey to worship in the temple in Jerusalem. The psalmist in this case rejoices in the beauty of Jerusalem and the opportunity to worship with the other people of God in God's house. Do we feel the same joy when we come to the house of the Lord? How could we open ourselves to that joy more?

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 122

¹I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

²Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.

³Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together.

⁴To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

⁵For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.

⁷Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”

⁸For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”

⁹For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

meditating on God's law

Good morning friends,
Today's reading is from Psalm 119, the longest Psalm in scripture. The whole Psalm is a mediation on God's law or Torah. We often think about law or commandments as negative, things we have to do. The Psalm reminds us that God's law (also commandments, decrees, ordinances) give life by teaching us the right way to live. This long Psalm is organized in 22 stanzas of 8 lines each. Each stanza begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet in sequence. There are different feelings in the Psalm, but the focus throughout is God's guidance through the Torah. May you find sweetness and blessing in this poem and in God's guidance today.

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 119:24-31

²⁴Your decrees are my delight, they are my counselors.

²⁵My soul clings to the dust; revive me according to your word.

²⁶When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes.

²⁷Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

²⁸My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

²⁹Put false ways far from me; and graciously teach me your law.

³⁰I have chosen the way of faithfulness; I set your ordinances before me.

³¹I cling to your decrees, O Lord; let me not be put to shame.

as the deer

Good morning friends,
Today's reading is the basis of one of our songs for worship on Sunday. The writer has a strong relationship with God, but feels like God is far away. She also feels persecuted by enemies, some of whom used to be her friends. She remembers better times when she had the respect of her community, but now she feels alone and like everyone makes fun of her. People even pick on her because of her faith. The beauty of the psalm is its honesty about hardship and the psalmist's trust in God even when times are hard. I pray your day is easier than the psalmists, but that your faith would be strengthened and encouraged by hers.

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 42

¹As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. ²My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? ³My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me continually, “Where is your God?”

⁴These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival. ⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help ⁶and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me. ⁸By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. ⁹I say to God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk about mournfully because the enemy oppresses me?” ¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my body, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me continually, “Where is your God?”

¹¹Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.

repentance

Good evening friends,
I'm sorry I didn't send this out earlier today, but since it's so late and since today and tomorrow's reading go together, I thought I would combine them into a single reading. Our reading is Psalm 51, which tradition says is King David's prayer of repentance after he had his officer Uriah killed to steal his wife, Bathsheba. The psalm is a beautiful reflection on God's forgiveness and our need. Many phrases in Psalm 51 are familiar and it is worth reading often when we feel lost of far from God. God already knows our shortcomings and loves us anyway. Don't let your sense of sin separate you from God; God is ready to hear you and heal you. 

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 51:1-19

¹Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; 

according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

⁵Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

⁶You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities.

 ¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶For you have no delight in sacrifice;

if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

¹⁷The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

¹⁹then you will delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

terror and pain

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Remember, today we celebrate our graduates and commission them for the next part of their journey. What a joy to celebrate the gifts of our young people!

Our first passage is terrifying. I always find myself drawn to it because the story is compelling. At the same time I am horrified by the story. We have a Bible that is not afraid of darkness; that is for sure. Our Psalm also picks up on the darkness of life, but in a healthy way. God can take the jagged edges of our emotion.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 22:1-14

1After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.



9When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called that place “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”



*Sunday

Psalm 13:1-6

1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

terror and pain

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Remember, today we celebrate our graduates and commission them for the next part of their journey. What a joy to celebrate the gifts of our young people!

Our first passage is terrifying. I always find myself drawn to it because the story is compelling. At the same time I am horrified by the story. We have a Bible that is not afraid of darkness; that is for sure. Our Psalm also picks up on the darkness of life, but in a healthy way. God can take the jagged edges of our emotion.

God bless,
Sam

Genesis 22:1-14

1After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall show you.” 3So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown him. 4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. 5Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there; we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” 6Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. So the two of them walked on together. 7Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8Abraham said, “God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together.



9When they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. 11But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14So Abraham called that place “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”



*Sunday

Psalm 13:1-6

1 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

creation and calling

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Today we'll be worshiping in Christler Hall. Immediately after worship we will hold our annual meeting to elect officers for the coming year. I hope you will be there to support our new elders and share your opinion. Nominations from the floor are allowed also as long as the person you want to nominate is present and agrees to serve.

Our first reading is a beautiful Psalm praising God in wonder for the beauty of creation. As another beautiful day opens in Rochester, this Psalm feels very appropriate. The second lesson is Jesus' great commission to the disciples (including us). It's short, but there's lots going on, which we'll also talk about in worship. I hope to see you there.
blessings,
Sam

Psalm 8:1-9

1 O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;
4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?

5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

9 O LORD, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!


*Sunday

Matthew 28:16-20
16Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

preaching to philosophers

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today we see Paul preaching at a meeting place for people interested in philosophy. Since he's not talking to people who know or care about Jewish tradition or scripture, he doesn't spend time quoting scripture. Instead, he works with their understanding of God, which is the temples in the city. He connects their worship with the true God, but then tells them they can come to know God better than they do now.

The Psalm for this morning is a real statement of trust in the midst of trouble. The psalmist sees God's hand even in the hardship s/he has faced. When s/he looks back, the psalmist can see that God has been there all along. We may see the same thing if we look at our lives in the light of prayer.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 17:22-31

22Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. 23For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands, 25nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.


26From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live, 27so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him — though indeed he is not far from each one of us. 28For ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we too are his offspring.’

29Since we are God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals. 30While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”



*Sunday

Psalm 66:8-20

8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs;
12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows,
14 those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.
17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
19 But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

first prophets, then a son

Good morning friends,
Our reading this morning is from Hebrews. Hebrews is an interesting book because tradition has called it a letter, but it really doesn't have that shape. It was written to explain Christ's ministry to believers, it seems especially to believers who were Jewish (hence the title). One of my teachers had a theory that the author had been a priest in the temple before coming to know Christ, because the book makes lots of reference to Jewish sacrifice and other worship ceremonies. Throughout Hebrews one notices lots of scripture quoted. Whenever scripture is quoted in the New Testament, it is from the Old Testament. Our ancestors in the faith only had the Old Testament; the writings that became the New Testament weren't considered scripture yet.

The most quoted piece of scripture in Hebrews is Psalm 110, so much so that some writers think of Hebrews as an interpretation of Psalm 110. Our passage this morning also has quotes from other Psalms (Google is a great tool to find out where these quotes come from). Our passage today seeks to show how Christ is much greater than the angels. In a nutshell, angels (and prophets) are servants of God, Christ is God's firstborn son. Some of this seems obvious to us today, but remember our ancestors had to figure out how to think about Christ's ministry. It's interesting to look at how they used the scriptures to figure that out.

God bless,
Sam

Hebrews 1:1-12

Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom he also created the worlds. 3He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being, and he sustains all things by his powerful word. When he had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.


5For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”? 6And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.” 7Of the angels he says, “He makes his angels winds, and his servants flames of fire.” 8But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of your kingdom. 9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” 10And, “In the beginning, Lord, you founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands; 11they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like clothing; 12like a cloak you will roll them up, and like clothing they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will never end.”

winter praises

Good morning sisters and brothers,
Our reading for today is a Psalm of praise. The psalmist calls on humanity and all of creation to praise God for God's might and creativity. This Psalm lifts up Israel as God's special people, but it also affirms that God is Lord of all people. The joy of this praise is a good fit for the joy of Christmas, as we remember God's salvation through Jesus Christ. It's also a good reminder that even the winter weather is part of God's creation. May your day be filled with joy and praise.
God bless,
Sam

Psalm 148:1-14

1Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights!
2Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host!
3Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars!
4Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
5Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.
6He established them forever and ever; he fixed their bounds,
which cannot be passed.
7Praise the Lord from the earth, you sea monsters and all deeps,
8fire and hail, snow and frost, stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars!
10Wild animals and all cattle, creeping things and flying birds!
11Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth!
12Young men and women alike, old and young together!
13Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted;
his glory is above earth and heaven.
14He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the Lord!

voicing our sorrow

Good morning friends,
The Psalms are a great part of the Bible for expressing human emotions: the good, the bad and the ugly. We've heard the psalmist praise God with joy and talk about the comfort of following God. Today we hear the psalmist cry out in lament for the trouble s/he is facing. Many of the Psalms raise similar issues: arrogant or wicked people oppress the psalmist, illness is a constant sorrow, the psalmist looks for comfort in God and is still waiting. Some Psalms are full of anger against God for allowing such terrible things to happen. Most of the time these laments have a foundation in hope and trust in God, but sometimes the grief is too much to see that far ahead. The great thing about psalms of lament is that when we find ourselves full of sorrow or anger these words let us express our feelings honestly. God can handle our grief and anger. God can handle our hurt. And ultimately God will bring us through trouble to a new dawn of joy.

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 119:81-88

81My soul languishes for your salvation; I hope in your word.
82My eyes fail with watching for your promise; I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84How long must your servant endure? When will you judge those who persecute me?
85The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me; they flout your law.
86All your commandments are enduring; I am persecuted without cause; help me!
87They have almost made an end of me on earth; but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88In your steadfast love spare my life, so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

Happy are those...

Good morning friends,
For some of the next few weeks we'll be reading from Psalm 119. This is the longest of the Psalms and one of several Psalms about the joy of following God's way. There are lots of different words the psalmist uses to talk about God's way: ordinances, commandments, decrees, law. The term the Old Testament often uses to encompass all of these ideas is Torah, usually translated Law. We talk about the Torah as the first five books of the Old Testament since that's where most of the religious law is found. Law is only part of what Torah means, however. It also means instruction or teaching.

As we can see from the psalmist's enthusiasm as we continue in the days to come, following God's law means more than sticking strictly to a rulebook. It means rooting our whole life in God's word and God's way for our life. We were talking yesterday afternoon about how confirmation is a great opportunity for kids to dive into the Bible. We were also wishing there were more opportunity for adults to do the same, but time is always a challenge in making that happen. Anyone who spends a lot of time with the scriptures can testify that the word is sweet and nourishing for our life. I pray this Psalm will help us appreciate that sweetness and encourage us to find the happiness of God's instruction.

God bless,
Sam

Psalm 119:1-8
1Happy are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
2Happy are those who keep his decrees, who seek him with their whole heart,
3who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways.
4You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently.
5O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes!
6Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7I will praise you with an upright heart, when I learn your righteous ordinances.
8I will observe your statutes; do not utterly forsake me.