Has there been a time in your life when you felt yourself bursting with gratitude for God’s tremendous goodness? Please give this some thought and come this Sunday prepared to write down a few words for Pastor to share out loud during prayer.
This Sunday, June 11, we begin a 5-week series on the Psalms. We will see how the Book of Psalms progresses from praise to lament and then back again to thanksgiving. And we will reflect on how we experience that same pattern in life. Over the years our lives tend to move from “orientation” (praise) to “disorientation” (lament) and then, hopefully, to “reorientation” or new orientation (wisdom).
(We thank Rolf Jacobsen and Walter Brueggemann for writing about this pattern in the Psalms and in life,)
This week worship centers on Psalm 100: “Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Enter his gates with thanksgiving.” (NRSV) Or, as Eugene Peterson words it: “Enter with the password: ‘Thank you!’” (Orientation)
On June18 we worship with the lament of Psalm 13: “How long, O Lord? “ (Disorientation)
On June 25th Gary Gruebnau will speak on Psalm 23; (from Disorientation to Reorientation)
On July 2nd Pastor preaches on Psalm 30, a Song of Thanks (New Orientation)
On July 9th Psalm 150 rounds out the series with sheer praise! In Hebrew, the Psalms are called “Praises.” So the book of “praises” ends by inviting you to join in the praise, not just at worship, but in daily life.
Our life experiences are what it’s all about. Rolf Jacobsen writes: “when we are wallowing neck deep in the mire of life, we are invited to sing the songs of lament: O Lord, have mercy. When we are experiencing the grace and joy of life, we are invited to sing the songs of praise: Thank you God! When we are in a tough spot, but remember God’s presence, we are invited to say, “I trust you O God, you are with me.” And when we see God at work in the world, we are invited to point to God’s invisible hand at work and say, “Praise the Lord!”
Because life experiences are what it’s all about, you’ll be asked to share other experiences in coming weeks:
When in your life have you wondered “How long, O Lord?” How long must I bear this pain?
When in your life have you prayed from a situation of severe crisis, like “the valley of the shadow of death,” and found comfort in praying “I fear not, for you are with me”?
When in your life have you realized that you have made it through the time of crisis, you have climbed out of the darkest valley, and now you can now look back from a place of safety?
When in your life have you noticed God’s invisible hand at work in ordinary life, and said, “Praise the Lord!”
Again, please be prepared this Sunday to write down just a few words about a time when you were bursting with thankfulness to God.
Let God’s people and everything that lives praise the Lord. Amen.
See you Sunday,
Pastor Ron