A song of salvation

Beloved of God,

    We are still looking for a man to go with our youth to Fuge camp this summer. We may need more than one if several boys sign up. If this is something you can do, please contact Lori Hayward. 
    May I gently remind you that a week from Sunday is Mother’s Day? If you have a mother, or if someone has helped to mother you this year, please plan on showing them a sign of love and care. 

    Our Scripture reading for this week is Psalm 30. If you read all the way through the Psalm, you get so many images of rescue:
3 You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
        you spared me from going down to the pit.
Or there’s this one:
11 You turned my wailing into dancing;
        you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
12     that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

The whole psalm can be read as a song of salvation. It is about God’s mercy; how God puts His people in a better, safer, more lively place than they were before.
    This Psalm also has a note telling us exactly why it was written: for the dedication of the Temple. It is the only Psalm with this note. This  Psalm of rescue and salvation was written specifically to dedicate the site of the beating heart of Israel’s worship of God. It is God’s mercy, God’s salvation, and God’s power for us that this dedication psalm lifts up. The very heart of our worship can (should?) be a song of salvation and rescue. I hope you’ll take a little time to meditate on that this week. 

Please join me this week in praying for:

• Those who respond to emergencies on our highways, in our wildlands, in our communities, and even in our homes.
  
• Those locally and statewide facing danger or loss from wildfire.
  
• Defense and protection for those fighting these fires for the good of their neighbors.
  
• Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local levels. 
  
• One person you know and love who does not yet know Jesus. 
  
• Wisdom for this congregation in how we make decisions, carry forth ministry, and serve our community in Jesus’ name.
  
• Those facing sickness or recovering from it. 
  
• Students and teachers as the end of the term approaches.
  
• In praise for milder winds as our neighbors fight fires.
  
• Each other (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list). 
  

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,

Marshall